The Albany Prospectus

Traditional Values

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Dear Parents and Friends Welcome to The Albany School, a happy and successful community where every student is recognised as an individual and where we aim for all to reach their potential. We believe that every child has a talent and can experience success as they develop into young adults through the supportive and caring environment we provide.

The School is first and foremost a place of learning where students feel safe and enjoy their educational journey. Learning is at the centre of everything we do both in and out of the classroom and with so many opportunities at The Albany we feel your child will flourish here with us.

At The Albany we respect the traditional values of hard work, good manners, and self-discipline, whilst also preparing our students for their future lives in an ever changing world. We benefit from a dedicated and well qualified staff who bring 21st century learning alive for each individual.

So why seek a place for your child at The Albany? We pride ourselves on our family atmosphere, the fact that students feel safe and cared for and that, by surveying our pupils, we know that they continue to feel supported. As a parent, you are now faced with the very important decision as to which school is best for your child. While we strive to include in this Prospectus all the information you need, we strongly believe that you cannot find out if this school is right for your child simply from documentation or an Open Evening. There is only one way to fully experience and appreciate what our School has to offer and that is to visit during a normal school day. I therefore invite you to contact us to arrange a visit or to answer any further questions you may have.

Please do not hesitate to contact us regarding any aspect of transfer or admission. I look forward to working with you and your child over the coming years.

Adam Thorne Head Teacher

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Aims In order to provide Traditional Values with a 21st century approach to education we aim:(i) To provide an environment in which each individual can flourish,

developing existing talents and interests and discovering new ones. (ii) To help each pupil to achieve the highest possible academic standards. (iii) To lead each pupil from dependence to independence, and to equip him

or her to deal successfully with life beyond school. (iv) To develop in each pupil the sense of belonging to a community;

encouraging an awareness that membership of a community brings

responsibilities as well as privileges.

Parent of a Year 11 Pupil “I am writing a long overdue letter to express my thanks for everything that

has been done for my daughter in her time at the Albany. The school has more

than fulfilled my expectations, not

only because she was able to perform to the best of her ability in her GCSE exams, but even more importantly, for

the fact that she leaves school as a happy, confident and optimistic young adult.�

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(v) To foster the feeling that learning is exciting, and that education is a

life-long process.

Curriculum (i) To help pupils develop lively, enquiring minds; the ability to question and

argue rationally; and to apply themselves to tasks and physical skills. (ii) To help pupils acquire knowledge and skills relevant to adult life and

employment in a fast – changing world. (iii) To help pupils use language and number effectively. (iv) To instill respect for religious and moral values; and tolerance for other

races, religions and ways of life. (v) To help pupils understand the world in which they live; and the

inter-dependence of individuals, groups and nations. (vi) To help pupils to appreciate human achievements and aspirations.

Year 7 Curriculum The National Skills Curriculum (NSC) was introduced to year 7 students at The Albany in 2009. It is a skills based curriculum which focuses on all the skills needed to be successful at GCSE level in all subject areas. Students have NSC lessons for 9 hours each week and the topics covered have been written for them specifically to stretch and develop their independence, literacy, research, team work and reviewing skills.

The NSC was introduced to modernise the year 7 curriculum and to ensure that maximum challenge was encouraged in reading, writing, speaking and listening. We also wanted to specifically develop thinking skills, self-assessment and group work.

The units of work are: Me, myself and I, Who killed Mr Malbon?, Food for thought, No one’s ever heard of Romford, Castaway and The Devil wears Primark. These use very up to date resources and the students find them challenging and stimulating to take part in. All students have the use of a laptop for these lessons and they take part in lots of outdoor activities where they collect their own

data. For example doing surveys at the local shops and carrying out nature walks in the local park. This year they will also do science experiments in the laboratories each week.

Ofsted trained inspectors Have reviewed the NSC and were extremely positive in their feedback. This was largely because the response of our year 7 students and their parents has been so positive. Students report to us that they enjoy the NSC and that they feel very well prepared for year 8 as a result of this curriculum.

In terms of levels of progress, we have noticed that standards have risen rapidly and we are now in the top 10% of most improved schools in the country.

If you would like to come up to the school and see the NSC in action please don’t hesitate to book an appointment.

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Curriculum Years 8 and 9 have an increased academic approach to ensure that the skills acquired are used to achieve high standards in the end of key stage tests.

Students at The Albany are offered a very wide choice of options for GCSE and other nationally recognised qualifications. Links with local colleges, sixth forms and businesses are strong, and students are fully supported in their choices for the future.

Pathways In year 9 students choose the subjects they want to study in years 10 and 11.

Choosing the right options is the next big decision for a Parent and

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child to take after choosing the right secondary school. We aim to give as much advice and guidance as possible. Every year 9 student, accompanied by a Parents/Guardian/s is interviewed by a member of senior staff. Based on attainment and attitude to learning staff will give advice and make recommendations as to the most beneficial option pathway for your child. Some students are very academic and already know they want to pursue a place at University, whilst other want to choose a more practical or academic pathway. We have found Pathways interviews to be extremely beneficial to all concerned.

Ofsted “Students helped to select the catering company and as a result an increasing number

Gifted & Talented At The Albany Gifted and talented children are those who have one or more abilities developed to a level significantly ahead of their year group (or with the potential to develop these abilities).

At The Albany the term ‘gifted’ refers to those pupils who are capable of excelling in academic subjects such as English or History. ‘Talented’ refers to those pupils who may excel in areas requiring visio-spatial skills or practical abilities, such as in Music and PE, Drama or Art. Pupils are identified for the programme by test results and teacher recommendation, and given the opportunity to flourish through National CfBT Gifted & Talented (Y&GT) Academy registration, Classroom Provision and Out of School Hours Support.

of students now choose the healthy option at lunchtime. A wide range of sports clubs are well attended and students gain sports leader awards.

Many walk or cycle to school.”

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Pastoral care The ethos of the school is based upon strong relationships, mutual respect and the sense that we along belong to one family. The School is committed towards the children in its care, and to this end a well defined system of pastoral care has been developed. Success is recognised, shared and celebrated as much as possible and students are encouraged to have a voice in the way that the school operates via our School Council, Year Councils and regular student surveys, and the Student Leader Committee’s.

Pastoral System The Pastoral System comprises of four “Houses”, Integrity, Discovery, Aspiration and Enterprise. They are overseen by Heads of House.

Form groups are organised in a Vertical Tutoring system. This means that each Form will be made up of approximately  Four year 7 pupils  Four year 8 pupils  Four year 9 pupils  Four year 10 pupils  Four year 11 pupils

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The benefits are that the older students can always give the younger students help and advice as they have usually experienced things previously at the school. Form groups meet for 20 minutes registration/ assembly/information sharing four days a week.

There are 11 form groups in each house and the form tutors are the first port of call in the case of any queries or concerns. The Assistant Head in charge of the pastoral system and the Pastoral Support Officer work closely with the Inclusion Department who ensure that a wealth of varied support interventions are implemented across the curriculum whether they be for academic support or emotional/ behavioural support. We are fortunate to have a full time dedicated Student Support worker and an EAL support worker within the Inclusion Department.

Students are rewarded through an online system of credits and awards are given out on prize giving evenings for attendance, academic achievement, extra-curricular commitment and exceptional progress. Rewards trips are run separately to Activities Week .In addition teachers regularly give certificates, stickers, postcards home, and of course verbal praise.

Student Leaders There are opportunities for students to become involved in Leadership from the moment they step in to the school. Peer Mentors are trained in yrs 8 and 9 and operate discreetly as part of our anti-bullying policy. Students from all years are invited to become part of an enterprise team and take part in our many ventures to primary schools. In school activities are augmented to promote and retain excellent links with our feeder schools. In years 10 and 11 Student leaders are elected by all members of staff and carry out a range of duties. Year 11 student leaders are an executive team of twenty including Head Student Leaders who assist and speak at Prize-giving Evenings, Parents Evenings, and Open Days and Governors meetings. Student leaders are invited to take part in the teaching staff interviewing process and indeed sat as a panel to interview the new Head teacher. They are adept in showing parents, new candidates and other visitors around the school and are delegates for individual departments in the school as well as maintaining a useful presence about the school at break-times and lunchtimes. The School Council (Student Voice) provides opportunities for students of all ages to have their say about their school and to make positive changes.

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Physical Education and Sports Indoor facilities include gymnasium, sports hall and a fully equipped Health and Fitness Suite.

Outdoor Sorts Facilities include:  6 state of the art all-weather tennis courts and clubhouse  specially built all-weather 5-a-side football pitch  a hard court hockey pitch  football and rugby pitches  a synthetic cricket strip plus 3 practice nets  a 300m athletics track with throwing circles for shot and discus.  4 netball courts  outdoor and indoor basketball courts  volleyball court The school also makes use of a local golf course as well as a swimming pool and other facilities at the local sports centre. The adjacent Harrow Lodge Park is used for cross-country.

Our commitment is to improve and support Physical Education in the local community.

Sports Leadership Award Year 10 students have had the opportunity to participate in the accredited BST (British Sports Trust) Sports Leadership Award.

Staff are committed to providing a full extra-curricular programme; clubs and matches taking place before school, lunchtime and after school, as well as at weekends.

Competitions are arranged at inter-Year and inter-school level in all team sports, and pupils are actively encouraged to extend their participation to club level outside of school.

P.E. is very popular and successful as an option.

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Fundraising for Charity Our annual fund-raising event organised by pupils continues to be an enormous success uniting the performing talents of pupils with the presentation skills of those organising it. Pupils raise several thousand pounds a year for charity, and often local organisations are presented with a cheque at special assemblies. Strong links exist with the community and these involve fund-raising, and charity work. Harvest Festival gifts are distributed to the community annually via our link with the YMCA.

Ofsted “Participation in enrichment activities is high and a wide variety of opportunities in sport,

music and drama are valued by students. Care, guidance and support for learners are good.

The school has recently introduced procedures to monitor students' academic progress and this information is shared with students and parents at both parent meetings and

academic review days. This is supported by an increased focus on marking, target setting and feedback which is helping students to make further progress.�

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School Trips and Activities Pupils in Year 7 are offered the opportunity to visit ‘Stubbers’ Outdoor Pursuits Centre for an overnight camp and receive two days of water-sports instruction. There will also be three days of visits which have included Colchester Zoo, Nature Walks and visits to Canterbury. This is extended in Year 8 to a long weekend at the Little Canada Centre on the Isle of Wight, where pupils develop leadership skills alongside activities such as climbing, abseiling and dragon-boat racing.

The third week in June is known as Activities week. During this week the normal timetable is collapsed and every department offers some kind of activity or trip. Students have visited Italy, USA, China, France, Spain, Poland and various destinations in the UK. There is also an annual Ski Trip which has proven to be very popular and successful.

For students that do not want to travel abroad there are plenty of other day trips and activities which include a visit to the Harry Potter Studios, London Dungeons, Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures. Teachers also offer many school based activities which have included bag and badge making, card making, languages challenges, music, sport and computer based activities,

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The Albany School Specialist Business & Enterprise College Broadstone Road, Hornchurch, Essex RM12 4AJ

Telephone: 01708 441537 Fax: 01708 437157 e-mail: admin@thealbany.biz | Website: www.thealbany.biz

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traditional values

21st century education