SCHOOL PROSPECTUS Les Quennevais School “Learning to be your best – through excellence and enjoyment”
WELCOME TO Les Quennevais School School days are precious. They are the foundations on which our future lives are built. A time when opinions are formed, passions awakened, friendships made and characters are shaped. As a school it is vital that we give our students the best possible foundations for their future lives, by ensuring that they will be happy and fulfilled, part of an engaging and successful learning environment where they will realise their potential, rise to the challenge and develop a lifelong love of learning. Moving up to secondary school is a giant step in the journey of your child’s life; but it shouldn’t be a leap into the unknown. Les Quennevais School is proud of the outside reputation it has in our community and particularly proud to be the first school of choice for our families in the west of the Island. Our school has a powerful sense of identity and purpose with a unique atmosphere: happy, friendly, united, successful and forward thinking. The ethos of our school is a major strength and is based on a set of shared and uncompromising values. We have exceedingly high expectations of behaviour and as a result we are proud of the excellent relationships we forge with our students, parents and members of the community. We place our students and their needs at the centre of everything we do. We pride ourselves on the deep levels of support and guidance we offer to our students and place equal emphasis on the importance of developing young people who have a clear sense of purpose and an active moral conscience. We expect our students to behave as responsible citizens who will make a positive difference in the society of today and of tomorrow. The intrinsic aims of the school are based around the pursuit of excellence and enjoyment in every area of school life. We are ambitious for your children and the potential that each of them has as an individual learner. We recognise the importance of providing a quality curriculum, rich in depth, challenge and full of opportunities to excel and exceed expectations. Our curriculum needs to be one that our young people will actively engage in fully and contribute to. This must be underpinned by quality teaching, delivered by teachers who inspire, challenge and motivate and demonstrate an interest in our students in and beyond the classroom.
You only get one chance at a secondary school education. It has to matter and we want to make a difference to every child who comes to us. Our school is based on traditional values, with a forward thinking vision, driving school improvement forward. The world beyond school for this generation is ever changing and uncertain. What the future will look like is an unknown. The rapid pace of technological change means that many of your children will be working in jobs that we can’t even imagine and they will need to solve problems in the world that are yet to exist. Our role is to ensure that each student leaves Les Quennevais School, fully equipped with the skills, the confidence and the qualifications they will need to succeed in an ever changing world. We want their time with us to be full of memorable experiences that they can happily reflect on and draw upon, for many years to come. That is what makes our job so challenging and so rewarding because, as a school, we know we can make a difference to your child. This prospectus will give you a flavour of our school, but to really understand us, you need to pay us a visit. What makes a school is not always the things that are tangible, the building or the facilities; it is the feeling, the culture, the atmosphere, the buzz that permeates around it. We look forward to welcoming you to Les Quennevais School and joining our school community. Sarah Hague Headteacher Les Quennevais School
OUR VISION AND VALUES
OUR VISION STATEMENT Learning to be your best through excellence and enjoyment
OUR MISSION STATEMENT Realising individual potential through a culture of excellence
OUR CORE VALUES Ambition Ambition
Respect Respect
Resilience Resilience
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we value everyone's contribution to making the school a better place
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we pursue excellence and enjoyment for all
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we have high expectations
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we work together with respect, responsibility and trust
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we recognise success
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we take pride in all we do
FEEDBACK ON OUR SPECIAL COMMUNITY “This is a school which doesn’t just go the extra mile - it goes the extra ten miles for its students.” - Alan Taylor Bennett HMI “Teachers take great pride in what they do - students speak very highly about the staff - there is a really great bond.” - Judith Rundle HMI “The quality of provision for students’ welfare and safety is outstanding. As a result, there is a palpable sense of pride throughout the school and a great sense of community.” - Alan Taylor Bennett HMI
“My child has been encouraged to be the best version of herself. The school’s ability to get the very best out of each young person in their care speaks volumes about the community at Les Quennevais School” - Year 11 parent “The quality of teaching and support my child has received during his time at Les Quennevais has been second to none. Thank you for always making time for us as a family and for inspiring him in so many ways.” - Year 11 parent “Transferring from Year 6 to Year 7 at Les Quennevais School has been a wonderful experience. From day one, my child has felt welcomed, challenged and supported to be the best that she can be. I am so grateful that she will be part of this special community for the next five years.” - Year 7 parent
NEW LES QUENNEVAIS COMING 2020 “And it felt as if a door had been opened to another world - all at once I understood the power and importance of my surroundings!” - Leonardo da Vinci
In September 2020, the long awaited transition to a new school building will become a much longed for reality. A school is so much more than a building, as we have seen over the years on our current site. It is the people, the culture, the values, the curriculum that are the most influential factors in determining a successful and happy life at school. However, with a state of the art building to enhance and support the many strengths we already have at our disposal – we will now see real magic happen. The new Les Quennevais School is a purpose built and highly innovative building that includes groundbreaking learning spaces that will simply transform many of the experiences we can offer our students. It has been carefully designed to encourage and nurture the curious minds of children to ignite creativity, analytical thinking and a love and passion for learning. With lots of natural light and a connection to the natural elements that surround us, we have very deliberately sought to bring the “outside – in” to the school, with a range of unique design features that will enable our students to be inspired, to hypothesise, to debate and creatively reflect during their days at school: • • • • • • •
Art Studios with balconies to maximise North light, Photography Studio and Textile Studios. 175 seater “Hypothesis Room” which acts as a lecture, debate, performance and conference space. State of the art Design Technology workshops with a “Fab Lab” discovery feature and Food Technology spaces with overhead cameras for demonstrations. World Class Science Zone, to include “Super Labs”, a “Reaction Chamber” and outdoor balconies for biological and ecological study, a nature reserve and a digital demonstration area. The innovative Immersive Experience Zone which can take you to the trenches in the First World War, A French bistro in Paris and inside the digestive system. Two Drama Studios and an outdoor Amphitheatre. Sports Centre featuring two Sports Halls, Dance and Yoga Studio and a Cardio Gym Zone.
These are just a selection of the very specific and bespoke features we have created to ensure our students are immersed in a world of cutting edge education, and surrounded by the expert care we provide.
EDUCATION FOR ALL
Our students are learning to work independently and make their own informed decisions by utilising careful guidance and target driven assessment by their teachers. Parents are regularly informed about their child’s progress as we report upon achievement, attitude towards learning and any causes for concern. This information is provided in the form of student interim reports and an annual Full Report. Parents are invited into school to discuss the Full Report with the Form Tutor. Parents are also invited to attend annual Parents’ Evenings when they can meet subject teachers to review individual progress.
Our academic curriculum occupies twenty-five hours of the school week. At Key Stage 3, we actively promote personalised learning and thinking skills so our students are equipped for life in the modern and ever-changing world. Thus, students progress into Key Stage 4 with the confidence to make decisions and think critically and independently – key requirements for examination success and the world of work. At Les Quennevais School learning and teaching are central to a student’s experience. Students are encouraged to be independent and creative. Staff expertise is excellent and teachers continue to adapt and apply innovative approaches to ensure that students enjoy an enriching range of activities across the curriculum. Student voice is of great importance to us and we regularly ask students for feedback on their learning experience. Great emphasis is placed on the individual learning needs of each student and a wide range of strategies are in place to support them and to remove any possible barriers to successful learning. This is supported by an outstanding system of care, support and guidance from the pastoral team.
Homework / Class Charts We place great emphasis on the early development of good study habits. Homework is an essential part of this process. Students and parents are provided with logins to our online Class Charts system where they can view any homework set, instructions, deadlines and key resources. The system also reports instantly to parents any achievement or behaviour points awarded. The portal can be accessed via any internet enabled device and allows parents to keep a close track of homework and better support their child.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: HIGH EXPECTATION
We continually strive to develop quality learning opportunities for the benefit of all members of our community. We offer an exciting and varied curriculum which is designed to meet the interests and aptitudes of all our students, ensuring that learning is balanced to individual needs. From the outset this is assisted by close liaison with our Western Partnership primary schools, which provide as complete a picture of each child’s prior learning as possible. In certain academic subjects, students are grouped (set) according to ability so as to facilitate learning; the timing of such setting varies between subjects. All students follow the Jersey Curriculum and the syllabus of each subject takes account of local and United Kingdom requirements.
In Key Stage 3 Throughout Years 7, 8 and 9 all our students follow courses in English, Mathematics, Science, Modern Foreign Languages, Humanities which includes History, Geography and Religious Studies, Design Technology which includes Graphics, Resistant Materials and Food, ICT, Art, Drama, Music, Physical Education, Personal and Social Education.
In Key Stage 4 Throughout Years 10 and 11, all students aim for up to 10 GCSE Examinations or other equivalent qualifications and have an extensive variety of option choices in addition to their compulsory subjects which include English, Mathematics and Science.
In Year 9 At that highly important time of a child’s school career when options choices must be made for GCSE courses, we offer a range of guidance and support to ensure children make the right choices for the right reasons. Whilst understanding that the initial options choice is a matter to be decided between parents/guardians and students, we give the maximum assistance possible in this matter, which includes a dedicated lesson time and personalised interviews to discuss choices by using informed advice and guidance from subject teachers. Students at Les Quennevais School are encouraged and helped to become aware of the full range of opportunities open to them post-16.
CARING FOR ALL We believe that all our learners deserve the very best care, guidance and support, from the time they first make contact with Les Quennevais School to the time they look back warmly to their school days having moved on into the next phase of their lives.
We provide a highly effective pastoral structure led by a proactive pastoral team, carefully co-ordinating students’ personal, social and academic development. We encourage positive, warm and caring relationships between students, staff and parents/ guardians and create a community where all students are encouraged to achieve or exceed their potential. The first point of contact at the school for parents is the student’s Form Tutor who is responsible for taking a particular interest in the welfare and progress of each student in the Tutor Group, building a positive working relationship with the student’s home. Form Tutors will normally remain with their Tutor Group from year to year. Each Tutor Group belongs to a Year Group which is led by a Head of Year. The Heads of Year are key members of the school’s Guidance and Learning Support Team, which aims to provide academic and personal guidance together with timely and appropriate support for each student. Each Tutor Group is a member of one of the three houses; McKeon, Tranter or Watts and each house is led by a Head of House. Students across all year groups belong to a House, which enables children of different ages to work together collaboratively, sharing their learning with one another. Students may need particular help for a wide variety of reasons. To reinforce individual work, there is a department for students with special educational needs and disabilities, whose staff either provide assistance within the classroom or provide individual/small group tutoring. Gifted and Talented students will be supported and inspired to develop their talents across the curriculum and through extension projects and extra curricular activities.
ALL OUR FUTURES
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A WORLD OF ENRICHMENT
We believe in enriching lives. Consequently, we have a range of activities that take place outside the academic curriculum and we encourage all students to participate fully in these enrichment opportunities. Our Physical Education department regularly runs after school sporting activities with an aim to provide our students with as wide a variety of experiences as possible. We have enjoyed continued success with our representative teams in the local inter-schools competitions. In addition to sports, a wide programme of enrichment activities is offered throughout the year, including The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, visits to theatres, modern foreign language day trips and exchanges, public speaking competitions, field trips, entrance in the Jersey Eisteddfod, poetry slams, peace debates and exhibitions. Music groups, including a variety of student led rock bands, regularly meet and perform live. The school steel band have an excellent reputation across the Island. All students have the opportunity to engage in whole school productions performed at the Jersey Opera House. Many subject based after school clubs exist, such as photography and textiles club, STEM and science clubs, we also have a range of lunchtime clubs organised by the Prefects in which our students are encouraged to participate.
Activity Week
Leavers’ Ceremony and Ball
Activity Week has run successfully in the school for more than thirty years. It is a vibrant part of the school curriculum and offers students the opportunity to get out of the classroom and experience a wide range of activities including residential experience off the Island, outdoor challenges, creative skills and community action. We hope that all students will take the opportunity to travel off -island at least once during their time here at school.
The end of Year 11 is celebrated with a formal day time ceremony in school where students receive awards and their Record of Achievement folders. The evening is celebrated by a Leavers’ Ball in one of Jersey’s 4* hotels. This is always a popular, exciting and glamorous occasion, marking a fitting end to the year and our students time at Les Quennevais School.
DEVELOPING THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW Students at Les Quennevais School are encouraged to reach out to the wider world to become global citizens of the twenty-first century. Our school is an all-inclusive community; in it we are continually working to ever strengthen the impact that our learners make within the wider community. Our Student Parliament consists of 80 students representing the views of all students from Year 7 – 11. We encourage our learners to gain a growing understanding of their rights and responsibilities and the role they can play in addressing and advocating for the issues they feel strongly about. Student Leadership teams, Prefects, House Captains and Form Representatives serve a very important purpose in giving a voice to our students and helping to steer our school’s contributions to the wider community. With a new school on the horizon, our student design team are in regular discussions with builders and designers as we feel it is important for students to have their views recognised in shaping the future of our school and community. Our students organise and participate in charity appeals on a whole school basis and, where appropriate, are encouraged to engage with others in the community such as the Jersey Lions Club annual Swimarathon. We actively promote the values of a social conscience and doing something for others. Many local, national and international organisations benefit from our involvement. We are very proud of our Super Fundraiser status awarded by Comic Relief as one of the top 3% fund raising schools in the UK on Red Nose Day. This event has become an outstanding feature on our school calendar when the whole school comes together in fancy dress, ‘gunging’ teachers and performing in various talent shows with the united aim of raising as much money as is humanly possible for good causes. Further new opportunities have been presented with the Duke of Edinburgh Award being offered to students at both Bronze and Silver level; an opportunity that has been seized by 50 students in Year 9 and Year 10. Some of our students are also recognised for their global work taking part in an international project: LEAP. This allowed students from Taiwan, China, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Spain and South Africa to meet and work with Les Quennevais students on social enterprise projects. This vast range of opportunity has a significant impact on the personal and social development of our students, helping them thrive with purpose, energy and a sense of the positive impact a community can make together.
OUR STUDENT LEADERS “Les Quennevais School is a community that helps awaken passions, shape character and enhance and celebrate diversity. The school has empowered me to feel confident to approach challenges with a new found self-belief.” - Katie, Head Girl “Les Quennevais is more than just a school; it’s a community where the foundations of which are built on passion, respect, resilience and ambition. The school is close to my heart and will always remain there.” - Cole, Head Boy
“We are so grateful to be given this opportunity. The school has given so much to all of us, so to be in a position to give something back means everything in our final year of school.” - Finn, Deputy Head Boy “We all just want to be the best advocates for Les Quennevais. We realise that we will be the last Year 11 students to go through this school building. It is such an exciting time for the whole school and wider community. We want to help with the transition to the new school and ensure that all the students take the special feeling of the current building and fill the new build with nothing but positivity and hopes for the future.” - 2020 Student Leadership Team
+44 (0) 1534 743171 | lesquennevais.sch.je Les Quennevais School, St Brelade, Jersey JE3 8JW