MEA Central - Prospectus 2023

A FANTASTIC FUTURE FOR ALL

A FANTASTIC FUTURE FOR ALL

Welcome from the Principal

Dear Parent/Carer,

I am delighted to welcome you to MEA Central.

We are a mixed secondary school of over 1050 scholars in South Manchester, defined by our mission, ‘A fantastic future for all’. We work tirelessly to remove any barriers that might prevent our young people from achieving their potential and living successful, happy lives. Our culture combines high expectations, warmth and encouragement with a focus on excellent academic outcomes to create informed citizens who will go out into the world and do what is right.

Our values of Citizenship, Achievement and Participation and our belief in the power of language and the importance of the spoken word will develop confident young adults with a strong sense of social responsibility. We expect our students to meet our high expectations in terms of commitment and work ethic, but we also seek to ignite their intellectual passions and curiosities

so that they become autonomous, fulfilled learners during their time with us.

There is so much more to MEA Central than what happens inside our classrooms, however! Our scholars benefit from a level of pastoral care and attention second to none, and our co-curriculum, which includes our extensive extra-curricular programme, ensures every child can gain valuable cultural capital and experience success in areas such as sport, music, drama and community activities.

I hope this prospectus gives you a flavour of our school and welcome you to get in touch if there is anything more you would like to know about us. I look forward to seeing you here soon.

E. Reynard Principal

“ LEADERS ARE DETERMINED THAT EACH AND EVERY PUPIL AT THIS SCHOOL WILL SUCCEED. ”

Expert Teachers WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

At MEA Central, we refer to teaching and learning as ‘the main thing’; we prioritise what is happening in our classrooms, on a daily basis, to ensure that teaching and learning is excellent.

We develop teachers who are attuned to the needs of students as individuals and who are ‘relentlessly bothered’ about removing barriers to learning.

Academic rigour is paramount, and our teachers must be able to judiciously and confidently share a body of knowledge, from their subject area, with aplomb. In advance of a lesson, teachers annotate important texts; preempt misconceptions and plan their questions accordingly; discuss consistent approaches and language with their teams or script the teaching of particularly challenging concepts.

Every lesson is carefully planned using research driven structures that accelerate learning and ensure not a minute is wasted. Language development and literacy underpin every activity in order to develop young people who are confident, articulate communicators, and the outcomes of learning are neatly recorded in beautiful books.

Outstanding teachers transform lives: they fire the imagination through a combination of intellectual challenge, secure subject knowledge and mutual trust, and they never settle for mediocrity or minimal compliance.

Knowledge-rich Curriculum

Knowledge-rich

As E.D. Hirsch puts it, “The ability to act and communicate effectively within the cultural commons is a requisite to the success of any citizen, with success defined minimally as the ability to earn a good living, participate in democratic self-government, and meet every citizen as an equal”.

We teach challenging content across all subjects. In English, in Year 7, all students study full texts by Dickens, Tennyson and Blake, and by the end of Key Stage 4 they will have studied four Shakespeare plays in-depth. In Mathematics, our Key Stage 3 pathways focus on developing students’ deep conceptual understanding by taking the time to teach key procedures in depth. In Drama, students study two of the most influential practitioners of the twentieth century - Stanislavsky and Brecht - devising and performing polished, innovative performances.

OUTSTANDING

An academic, subject centred curriculum which builds cultural capital – the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that one can tap into to demonstrate one’s cultural competence – is the best way to prepare students for the future.

“ PUPILS ARE EAGER TO LIVE UP TO THE HIGH EXPECTATIONS THAT STAFF HAVE OF THEM . AS SUCH, PUPILS’ BEHAVIOUR DURING LESSONS IS EXEMPLARY . ”

BEHAVIOUR AND ATTITUDES (Ofsted 2022)

A WORLD

Beyond the Classroom

At MEA Central, we seek to prepare our students for life after school at their chosen college or university and beyond – equipping them to become suitably qualified and confident to lead, to serve and to do good in the world.

We believe that young people who have a wide experience of extra-curricular activities are better educated, more able to work in teams and more confident to express their creative talent. At MEA Central, we combine a breadth of experience through our co-curriculum. We expect every student to attend at least two clubs a week and take part in projects and community service.

Sport and physical activity feature centrally in our ethos of a rounded education. We are fully inclusive and the aim is to identify and help develop the potential of all students from the interested novice to the elite performer. We aim to develop resilience, commitment and – most importantly – a desire to win and lose with dignity and kindness.

“PUPILS AT MANCHESTER ENTERPRISE ACADEMY ARE INCREDIBLY PROUD HAPPY TO BE PART OF DIVERSE AND RESPECTFUL COMMUNITY. EVERYONE BE THEMSELVES. ”

MANCHESTER CENTRAL PROUD AND A RESPECTFUL EVERYONE CAN

ACADEMIC SUCCESS

2022 Examination Results – the best in the country!

Through our expert teaching and ambitious knowledge-rich curriculum design, we have achieved phenomenal examination results, with some of the best results in the country.

Students at MEA Central make exceptional progress.

Progress 8 tells you about the progress that pupils in a school make from the end of primary school to the end of Year 11. It is a type of value-added measure, which means that pupils’ results are compared to other pupils nationally with similar starting points. (Department for Education)

These figures are approximate depending on your cohort size

The majority of schools fall within this range

We are making a difference. In 2022, we were:

• Top 7% of schools in the country for progress

• Top 2% of schools in the country for progress of disadvantaged students

• Only three schools in the country have a smaller gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students

Here are some of our headline measures from our GCSE results in 2022:

OUR

Transition Promise

We know that deciding on a school for your child is an incredibly important choice. We have developed our promise to parents and students so that every child can be happy and succeed.

“At MEA Central, you will learn about character virtues and take part in SCC Days. They are great fun!”

SE - Year 9

“You will love our library, called Treetops. There are hundreds of books, and you can borrow as many as you like!”

PT - Year 10

“The best thing about MEA Central is Quiet Club at break and lunch time. I have met lots of new friends there.”

AH - Year 8

“There are so many clubs to choose from. I go to four different ones a week!”

GT - Year 8

“The best thing about moving to secondary school is doing more practical subjects like Drama, Music and Food Technology.”

RC - Year 7

“The House competitions are EPIC!”

MS - Year 8

Principal: Emily Reynard

MEA Central, Lytham Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 6PL

T: 0161 499 2736

E: admin@meacentral.org.uk

www.meacentral.org.uk