Ethos and Values

 

Our ethos of Equality, Opportunity, Inclusion and Achievement is central to all we do and believe.  

Our aim is to support students to be:  

 

• Ambitious and confident individuals 

• Respectful kind and considerate of other  

• Equipped with the skills to be successful in the future and to adapt to challenges and opportunities to the fast-changing world.  

 

We have an established and comprehensive Personal Development curriculum, which works alongside our academic curriculum to enhance students’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development alongside their personal, emotional and health education.  

 

Students acquire knowledge and understanding and skills they need to manage their lives now and in the future, our students develop the qualities and attributes they need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society.  

 

Highlights of the Personal Development Curriculum

 

• At KS3 and 4, all students participate in a curriculum programme, covering a diverse range of topics from eating disorders to sex education to religious education.  Lessons use a range of primary and secondary sources to make topics meaningful and ‘real’ for students, who participate in structured discussions to fully explore viewpoints and deepen understanding.   

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• Our pastoral team deliver an enhanced tutorial programme across all three key stages.  As well as sessions dedicated to improving literacy and numeracy skills, students develop their oracy skills, learn about the world of work, explore GCSE and A-level mindsets, and develop their knowledge of a range of health and well-being issues, with a particular focus on mental health.

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• In addition to the tutorial programme, a calendar of assemblies ensures students are kept informed about issues in school, in their local community, and in the wider world. Assemblies are diverse and cover issues such as: Remembrance Day, Anti-Bullying Week, LGBT month, and Martin Luther King. 

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• Twice a year, we build on all these topics through our Diversity Days, where a number of outside speakers come in and deliver workshops to our students.  Again, the breadth of coverage is wide-ranging: disability sports, AIDS, homelessness, LGBT, Christian traditions, Muslim traditions, and many more.

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• Our History department offers a number of visits throughout the year aimed at developing students’ cultural awareness.  Many of these are local and take advantage of the wealth of history on our doorstep, we also participate in a programme which enables two Key Stage 5 students to visit Auschwitz for a day. On their return, they share this experience with all students in school through a programme of assemblies, tutorial activities and lesson input. 

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• Culturally, our music students participate in the TICE (This Is Creative Enterprise) programme, a local initiative that introduces students to current industry trends, perspectives and emerging opportunities by giving them the chance to explore in full the scope of the careers that exist within the commercial creative industries.