Head’s Introduction

Chigwell School is an exciting place to be. Not only is the school steeped in history, but we are outward facing, forward thinking and strive to ensure all within the school community are fully prepared to successfully contribute to a future society that is ever changing.

Chigwell is defined by a stunning location, a diverse pupil body, outstanding individualised pastoral care, academic excellence, and a holistic education. We provide a nurturing environment to ensure that a Chigwell pupil is, first of all, happy: they are adventurous in spirit, courageous and resilient, innovative in their approach, kind to others and we aim to make them life-long learners. We look to instil these values in all aspects of school life so that pupils can use them as a springboard for success in their school careers and life beyond the school gates.

The school is approaching a significant milestone in its history. In 2029 we celebrate our 400th anniversary. It is therefore a momentous time to reflect on our journey to date, as we continue to build and develop our future. We are shortly to complete the new Sport & Wellness centre, which will add significantly to our exceptional facilities around the site, and we have ambitious plans for the school, our pupils, and the wider community. This document seeks to provide an insight into the key areas we are prioritising, and our direction of travel over the next six years.

In setting out our vision, we hope you will join us as we look forward with commitment and drive to ensure that the next 400 years of the school’s history build on the strengths of the past whilst continuing to deliver success for the future.

Damian King Head

Chigwell is a mixed day school, with a small Sixth Form boarding section, from age 4 all the way through to age 18. We are fortunate that our site spreads over 100 acres of green countryside on the edge of London, one of the most vibrant cities in the world. It’s a warm and welcoming school with an international feel.

The school has been educating pupils on the same site since 1629, and throughout that time we have provided a holistic education, focused not merely on offering an excellent academic provision, but an environment in which pupils are cared for and feel a sense of belonging, whilst also making sure they are adaptable and prepared for the ever-changing world beyond the school gates.

Chigwell is special. It offers a nurturing environment where we aim to develop children’s character with kindness alongside setting high expectations. Staff constantly seek to find ways to help each child realise their potential, whether that is scholarly, sporting, creative or a sense of social responsibility. We think it is rare to find a school that not only talks about its values, but also lives them day to day. This epitomises Chigwell School.

We look to inspire our pupils to fulfil their potential and forge their own path to success. This derives from our school motto: ‘Aut viam inveniam aut faciam‘, translated as: ‘Find a way or make a way.’ It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that Chigwellians, both past and present, have accomplished a breadth of achievements, alongside exhibiting endless ability and determination to make a positive impact on society. Chigwellians are independent in spirit, adventurous in approach and empathetic in how they treat others.

Our values act as a cornerstone to shaping the character of young people into citizens of tomorrow. They are:

• Happiness First

• Courage and Resilience

• Innovative Approach

• Community of Kindness

• Lifelong Learning

It might perhaps seem counterintuitive in a fast-paced modern world, where the drive for ‘bigger, better, more’ seems inescapable, but we are confident that pupils who recognise the importance of our values in all their interactions are better equipped to go out into the world and make their mark.

Our values not only help cultivate Chigwellians who will become inspiring role models for others, but those values also act as a moral compass in our decision making and are a promise of how we will behave in achieving our vision.

Our strategy for the coming years centres around three main themes:

In an age in which the mental health of young people (and the nation as a whole) is becoming more complex, exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic, and the pressures created by social media and the online world, we want to continue to invest in the school’s wellbeing and pastoral provision so we are able to provide individualised care. We want to create a school community that is resilient and confident, enabling pupils to journey through life happy and content.

Central to all good schools is the educational provision. We are extremely proud that we are not only academically successful, but we also have a holistic provision that is supported by the co-curricular activities. We also recognise that the future workplace will not remain the same as it is today. We need to ensure our pupils are equipped to be versatile, to fully understand and be comfortable with technology, and also to have developed their softer skills in public speaking, presenting and managing.

We realise that we have a wonderful environment for pupils to flourish in and have a responsibility to manage this carefully.

We want our pupils to understand the duty they have to society via voluntary service and charity work, and embed in them the knowledge that they can each make a difference.

These themes will be expanded upon in more detail on the following pages.

We plan to open a new Health & Wellbeing centre, to complement our already strong pastoral, counselling and medical support structures. A newly-appointed Head of Wellbeing will draw on latest research to join together the strands which are known to improve individuals’ wellbeing; emotional, physical, and spiritual health. This provision will ensure that we have effective individualised support for our pupils, enabling them to thrive and embrace all the opportunities which the school provides, as well as face the pressures of the 21st century. This means that Chigwell can be big enough to matter, but small enough to care. The centre will offer support for parents, staff and also for alumni; those that have recently left the school and may have fewer support structures at university.

Our focus on wellbeing will run alongside our already strong provision in:

Developing pupils' self-confidence and resilience

We want pupils to be first-rate versions of themselves. We strive to support the personal development of all pupils and safeguard their welfare so they are able to navigate the challenges of the world for themselves, making well-informed choices.

Celebrating diversity

We welcome pupils of all backgrounds, and aim for every pupil to have fun, feel valued and engage fully in all elements of school life. We encourage allyship and recognise that we are stronger when we bring our authentic selves to school. We will therefore engage in a three-year programme of equality, diversity and inclusion training for both staff and pupils.

Chapel

The Chapel, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024, is the heart of the school and is truly a place of communion. It is a place where all our pupils can be reflective, mindful and spiritual. Irrespective of their religion or none, the Chapel is about togetherness.

Pupil engagement

Teaching is all about building good relationships with pupils and, listening to pupils’ feedback is crucial. Over the coming years we will be expanding opportunities for pupils to be engaged in school systems, seeking their views on areas such as school policies, recruitment and development plans.

Partnership with parents

We are developing plans to bolster existing structures to ensure that parents are fully involved in the life of the school and equipped with the knowledge they need to navigate key issues such as study skills, mental health and internet safety.

We want to be academically excellent without being exclusively academic. We will therefore look to develop a rigorous High Achievers’ Programme from Year 3 to 13 whilst also investing in the broader educational provision in the coming years. These initiatives will ensure that we not only focus on exam success but also increase a pupil’s creativity, curiosity and enjoyment, and give space for these to thrive. Alongside opening our state of the art sports facility, we will also be extending academic and co-curricular opportunities, including integrating more elective subjects in the curriculum, lecture series, themed weeks along with widening choice for clubs and societies, and expanding the existing trip provision.

We will put three new management positions into the school: Deputy Head (Academic) to focus on standards and excellence in the classroom, and to develop the high achiever's programme; an Assistant Head Co-Curricular to refresh and enhance the co-curricular and trips provision, and a Director of Sport to review and refresh the sports offer.

The backbone to this provision is excellent staff and, in the current educational landscape, this is an area we need to continue to invest in.

To that end, we are looking to become a centre of excellence for teacher training to ensure we have a pipeline of quality teachers into the school.

Our focus on excellence will continue to work alongside our already strong provision in:

Developing our teachers

If the school has inspiring teachers who are passionate about their subjects and build strong relationships with pupils, then learning takes care of itself. Over the coming years, we will create our professional development programme with the understanding that the best staff are those that continue to learn alongside pupils.

We know that IT can be a powerful servant to education. We want to ensure pupils make full use of these systems to complement their learning: at the same time learning how to be good online citizens. We will be looking to develop our use of devices in the classroom.

The power of the co-curricular can’t be underestimated in a school’s provision. It is in this area of school life in which pupils learn to take their own initiative when setting up a club or society, generate their resilience by learning to fail well in low stakes environments and work collaboratively in teams. So many of these skills are not measured in league tables but make the biggest differences to pupils when they leave the school and university and enter the world of work.

The higher educational landscape is an exciting one. Though many of our pupils will go on to study at Russell Group universities, there are many more options which pupils are exploring. These range from the liberal arts education of America, to the degree apprenticeships provided by the best of UK employers, to setting up a business straight after school, or pursuing an elite sports path. Each of these pathways is supported by the school’s career provision and networking events bring together higher education providers, Old Chigwellians, and local businesses to inform pupils of their opportunities.

Over the coming years, we will aim to reduce the negative environmental impacts of our activities and provide greater environmental stewardship of our site. To that end, we are looking to develop a field centre on our 100-acre school site. This centre will complement our current forest school to provide a focal point for our sustainability aspirations. Not only will this start a rewilding programme to increase the biodiversity of our site, but it will also look to educate our pupils on how food is sourced, grown, and served. In time, we also plan to add new courses on ecology to the curriculum throughout the school, which will integrate with our wellbeing provision.

Our focus on service will continue to work alongside our already strong provision in:

Bursaries

Our provision of means-tested bursary place is a vital part of our identity as a school. We realise that schools like ours can be engines of social mobility, and we will continue to increase our bursary support in the coming years to remove financial barriers to accessing a Chigwell education.

We are keen to form genuine partnerships with other schools and the local community, promoting a mutual exchange of ideas. We will share best practices as a responsible and ethical citizen and neighbour.

We are keen to develop the pupil life-long connection with the School via the Old Chigwellian network. This will not just support those who have left the school, but also ways in which the alumni are able to support current pupils.

We will look to increase the options for travelling to the school via public transport in order to reduce our school’s impact on the environment and reduce commute times for busy parents.