remarkable At Writhlington, we believe that every member of staff contributes to the development of your son or daughter; whatever their role, we expect all staff to support your child, challenge them to excel and celebrate their achievements. It is only through close partnership between students, their families and school staff that we can make your child’s dreams a reality.
Writhlington School and the local community have BENEFITED FROM THE £42 million investment in our campus. This has produced an incredible learning environment for our students, complete with industry-standard, state-of-the-art resources within a stunning setting. In fact, Writhlington School was recognised as the best new-build secondary school in the country in 2012 by the British Council for School Environments. However, it is what goes on behind its doors that I believe makes Writhlington simply remarkable. The behaviour and attributes of a Writhlington student are second to none; I am privileged to work with incredible young people, as well as exceptional staff. This prospectus can only give you a brief snapshot and I would encourage you to visit in order to see our school community in action.
We have very high expectations at Writhlington in terms of conduct, academic achievement and sporting prowess, but most of all we have the aspiration that your child will achieve greatness. We aim for students to leave Writhlington as successful and confident young people who are ready to take on new challenges, as well as being able to handle the setbacks that life will deal them and move forward. They will have the courage to act on their convictions – even in the face of adversity – and the wisdom to treat others with the respect and courtesy they would expect themselves. This is what I want for my child and I want nothing less for yours. Mark Everett, Headteacher
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At Writhlington, we develop 21st-Century learners 2
versatile No one knows what the future will bring. What is clear is that by the time your son or daughter leaves school, the world will be a very different place to the one it is now. The skills and attributes that a young person needs to be successful within a global, knowledge-based economy are not measured by mere grades but by the ability to ‘think and respond’ to change. At Writhlington, we aim to create 21st-century learners – creative, collaborative problem-solvers who communicate well and have a high level of digital literacy, alongside strong skills in traditional literacy and numeracy. Although we recognise the importance of academic achievement and examination success, we adopt a highly creative approach to teaching and learning that helps to prepare students to take their place in the world. With active learning in the
classroom through discussions and group work, the opportunity to give presentations to their peers and to adults – even speaking at conferences – and many enriching activities based around enterprise, our students develop their confidence, their adaptability to change and their resilience under pressure. The school has embraced the use of digital learning and communication, putting us at the forefront of technological developments nationally. Every student has a digital learning device to support them in their studies at school and at home, enabling quick and easy communication with tutors and collaborative learning between peers. This is mirrored by the systems in place to support you as parents and carers in monitoring your child’s progress and to facilitate communication between home and school.
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Learning is at the heart of what we do. At Writhlington, we believe that we are all – both students and staff – part of a learning community. Throughout our lives, our successes are based on the foundations that we build during our time at school, so we strive to embed in our young people an openness to learning and an acceptance of the need to continue to grow and develop.
school magazine, making podcasts, shooting films or operating a recording company, students discover their potential and develop their self-belief. In this respect, our learning community is supported by our outstanding facilities and our established – and nationally celebrated – online learning environment, which is accessible anywhere and at any time.
We do this by making learning a creative and enjoyable process. We nurture enquiring minds by encouraging active investigation of problems and exploration of solutions. The school provides a wealth of opportunities at the heart of the curriculum and within every subject area to help develop students’ creativity. Through practical challenges such as running the school shop, publishing the
In addition, we encourage a love of learning by ensuring that we employ inspirational teachers who are committed to our programme of continuing professional development. This not only enhances their teaching skills and their ability to respond to new ideas and technologies, but also makes them excellent role models of self-development for our students.
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For your son or daughter to be successful within future study or employment, he or she needs to have the confidence to seize opportunities and the courage to respond to change.
To become confident and courageous learners, our children must embrace the concept of lifelong learning. When they leave us, we want nothing to hold them back from realising their dreams. The foundation stone on which we develop a thirst for learning is our individualised provision. By offering a personalised curriculum with appropriate pathways through all Key Stages, we nurture students’ aptitudes and talents, securing successful outcomes and enhancing self-belief. In our broad and balanced Key Stage 3 curriculum, children are taught the skills that enable them to learn effectively. They are set by ability in some subject areas and within mixed ability groups in others. They are given opportunities to excel but also to try, fail, try again and succeed. Through challenge, they develop resilience and confidence. Careful guidance is given to students and their families prior to selecting a pathway at Key Stage 4 that focuses on their future progression routes in Post 16 studies, at university or in a career. In Key Stage 4, learners are given a breadth of routes to ensure success, whatever their abilities. In Post 16 learning, their pathways are focused further, allowing them to concentrate on achieving their goals. Throughout their time at Writhlington, we encourage students to take on a variety of leadership roles. Under our ‘Learning to Lead’ programme, students organise events in school, raise funds for charity, support younger students by acting as mentors and welcome visitors. They can also represent their peers on the elected Student Council, contributing to the school’s development in a range of ways – such as participating in the school review process, assisting with interviews for new staff and helping our community to become more environmentally friendly.
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confident
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happy The key to a learner’s success at school is that he or she is happy. We have a strong pastoral structure that is designed to identify problems before they develop, ensuring that every child is happy in themselves and within school. Each child who walks through our door is special and has unique talents. We aim to discover and nurture these abilities, encouraging students to develop and showcase them, both in the classroom and through extra-curricular activities. Tutors are the lynchpin of this system, acting as the point of contact for parents and carers, as well as the young people themselves.
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Each child is in a mixed tutor group with their peers and their class tutor stays with them up until our Post 16 provision. Tutor groups meet briefly in the morning and for a longer session around midday. We have very high expectations in terms of student appearance and conduct. The school operates a system of rights and responsibilities that is designed to develop students’ ownership of their learning environment. There are, of course, clear rewards and sanctions in place to ensure high standards of behaviour.
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successful We believe that the biggest impact on successful learning and therefore student achievement is excellent teaching. High expectations of staff and students have developed an open culture of learning within the school. Our teachers are experts in their field and yet continue to learn themselves, many supporting the development of teachers in other schools and all working together to share best practice. Students are taught how to learn and they are all, irrespective of ability, stretched and supported, with their achievements celebrated. We believe that all children should make more than expected progress. This means that – working together with you – we set challenging targets, rigorously monitor progress, develop aspirations and encourage your son or daughter to take responsibility for their learning.
are fully informed and we encourage an active dialogue with families. Our innovative parental portal enables you to check at any point the progress of your child and be updated on both homework and class work. Writhlington’s exam performance is extremely high and continues to develop year on year. However, we are never complacent and are constantly adapting our methodology, provision and curriculum to meet the needs of our learners. Most important to us is what each child will need for the next stage of his or her journey in life in order to be successful – whether that be Post 16 learning, university, a college apprenticeship, training or employment.
The school has simple and clear measures of academic progress. We provide regular contact with home to ensure that parents and carers
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active Writhlington is full of young people engaged in an immense range of extracurricular activities. 12
Many are regionally, nationally or even internationally successful, while others simply enjoy what they do and strive to achieve their personal best. Whether it is being part of our outdoor pursuits programme, our Combined Cadet Force – a rarity within the state sector – or our elite sporting academies, there is a world of opportunities available to our students.
We believe that life is a collection of stories that develop as we grow, our experiences adding to the richness of what makes us who we are. Writhlington offers a wealth of these experiences: conservation work in Laos, the Himalayas or other parts of the world; the chance for your son or daughter to teach university graduates or lead seminars for educationalists; participation in national sporting competitions; exhibiting artwork at a famous London gallery; climbing mountains in Iceland; running across Dartmoor; organising charity events; or leading a discussion in class. These experiences make our students richer people, stronger characters and more rounded individuals. Personal challenge is key to what makes Writhlington students remarkable and through the very wide range of opportunities we offer, we instil in them a desire to exceed expectations.
The achievements and opportunities available to your child are impossible to list within these brief pages, so we encourage you to review our website which details all of our current successes and activities, including our exam results.
www.writhlington.org.uk
SOUTH STOKE
Knobsbury Lane, Writhlington, Radstock BA3 3NQ Tel: 01761 433581 Fax: 01761 438567 Email: info@writhlington.org.uk www.writhlington.org.uk