School Prospectus

Les Quennevais School

“Learning to be your best – through excellence and enjoyment”

PROSPECTUS

WELCOME

I am delighted and proud that you are considering choosing Les Quennevais as the next chapter in your child’s educational journey. Before making this very important decision, I hope this prospectus will give you an insight into the very special culture we cherish here at Les Quennevais and the powerful and exciting place for learning our school is known for.

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 committed to a philosophy of love, laughter and learning.

We are ambitious for your child and the potential each of them has as an individual learner. 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.

All our students and staff are immensely priveleged to learn and teach in the world class facilities that we are surrounded by. However, the real quality of a school is demonstrated by the people who come to it everyday.

We want our students’ time with us to be full of memorable experiences on which 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

OUR VALUES

AMBITION RESILIENCE RESPECT

OUR VISION LEARNING TO BE YOUR BEST

THROUGH EXCELLENCE AND ENJOYMENT

“Les

School is in a class of its own.”

ACADEMIC SUCCESS

The academic challenge and excitement of our curriculum is at the very heart of what we do at Les Quennevais School.

We treat every subject as a five year course, building on the essential foundations of Key Stage 2 to create articulate, confident, passionate learners at Key Stage 3. The three years before GCSEs are such a vital experience for our students. This is where new passions are awakened, new skills are taught and refined, knowledge is steadily built on in a deliberate manner to ensure every child in our care has the very best chance of academic success. Nothing is left to chance, there are no ‘time-filling’ units of work. The curriculum in every subject has been designed to allow students to thrive in their five years with us. Our examination results clearly reflect this, but the curriculum is far more than terminal exams. It is about real enjoyment every day. Learning is fun! It is rewarding and it opens new doors to future prospects, ambitions and interests.

At Les Quennevais School, the curriculum is a talking point for every subject, every single week. Through timetabled collaborative planning time, we are able to give our staff time to discuss the curriculum and how best to teach it. To upskill knowledge, discuss strategies for explanations, modelling and to enable independent work to be highly successful. This is a highly distinguished part of what makes us so successful as a school.

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 progress reports and our robust assessment model. Parent teacher meetings with your child’s form tutor are essential to establish a partnership to discuss your child’s progress. Parents are also invited to attend annual Parents’ Evenings when they can meet teachers to review individual progress across subject areas.

Our academic curriculum occupies twenty-five hours of the school week.

The curriculum starts as soon as students enter our doors in the morning. The expectations they meet and the conversations they have help steer the values we place on the curriculum. It shapes what we believe matters and what is important to know and do well. A curriculum is a shadow of what it can be without strong pastoral support and the detailed knowledge our staff have for every child in our care.

As well as the statutory curriculum time, there are enrichment opportunities and extra support sessions available. From intervention sessions first thing in the morning to make sure every child meets their potential in Maths and Science, to lunchtime clubs; jamming in the music room as part of a group or even our French Film Club. There are also a wide range of academic, creative and sporting opportunities which start after 3.00pm. We often welcome visiting speakers such as scientists, authors, artists and famous athletes to spark new life into the curriculum and our students.

All of these everyday experiences would not be possible without the exceptional staff we have at Les Quennevais School. The expertise our teachers have for their subjects is incredible. Not just the knowledge of their subject, but the most effective and engaging ways to ensure students learn effectively. Teachers continue to adapt and apply innovative approaches to ensure that students enjoy a diverse range of learning experiences 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 and Google Classroom

We place great emphasis on the early development of good study habits. Homework is an essential part of this process, embedding and retaining the knowledge and skills learnt in lessons. Students and parents are provided with logins to our online Class Charts system where they can view 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. As a school we are also avid users of Google Classroom, where we have virtual classrooms filled with lesson resources and tasks which can be set to help reinforce learning further. Individual subjects also use a range of on-line platforms to help reinforce classroom learning through evidence-informed assessment strategies. These have been tested and evaluated as the most beneficial for each curriculum area.

Red Nose Day 2023

A BROAD CURRICULUM

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 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 (History, Geography and Religious Studies), Design Technology (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 or other equivalent qualifications and have an extensive variety of option choices in addition to their compulsory subjects of English, Mathematics and Science.

In Year 9

At this highly important time of a child’s school career when 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 dedicated lesson time and personalised interviews using informed advice and guidance from subject teachers.

Students at Les Quennevais School are encouraged to become aware of the full range of opportunities open to them post-16.

Students commence their Key Stage 4 studies immediately after May half-term in Year 9. This gives them a headstart with the curriculum prior to Year 10 and is a valuable part of our Key Stage 4 curriculum plan.

Year 11 Parent

“I am proud my children go to Les Quennevais. Staff have high expectations, the school is routed in academic excellence.“

“We believe that if children are happy and inspired they will thrive.“

Sarah Hague, Headteacher

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 have 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 our 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 through extension projects and extra curricular activities.

Our House system is a huge part of belonging to Les Quennevais and it is a powerful dimension of our culture. We actively encourage all students to get involved in the wide variety of events that the House competition offers.

“This is a school which doesn’t just go the extra mileit goes the extra ten miles for its students.”

Alan Taylor Bennet (HMI)

COMMITMENT TO LIFELONG LEARNING

At Les Quennevais School, an important part of our learners’ education is the preparation for their adulthood. We aim to equip our students with all that they need for a happy and successful future.

To ensure that our students are well equipped for their future, we begin Careers education at the start of Year 7 and it forms a compulsory element of our Year 9 and Key Stage 4 PSE programme. This makes students aware of the opportunities available to them in the world of work and provides students with the skills required to make the transition from school to employment or post-16 studies.

Trident Work-Related Learning and Enterprise Education are significant facets of the development and preparation our students undertake in readiness for joining the world of work. Students spend two weeks out of school gaining valuable work experience in the Spring term of Year 10.

Links with local employers are well established and they work in partnership with subjects enhancing curriculum delivery and assisting with a number of projects throughout the school community. We run our own in-house Careers Fair which is experienced by all year groups and is attended by over 30 different sector employers in the Island. We invest in a wide range of enrichment opportunities in the medical field and beyond, opening up ideas of future careers for students at Key Stage 4.

“This school has fantastic facilities and such great opportunities to extend your learning beyond the classroom.”

Niamh, Year 9 student

WIDER OPPORTUNITIES TO SUCCEED

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 run after school activities with an aim to provide our students with as wide a variety of sporting experiences as possible. We have enjoyed continued success with our representative teams in 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, mordern 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 our famous whole school productions. 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 in which our students are encouraged to participate.

Activity Week

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.

Leavers’ Ceremony and Ball

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.

A SCHOOL WITHOUT COMPARISON

The new Les Quennevais School was designed in conversation with every teacher at our school as well as a wide range of students. It was designed with the child at the heart of the experience. From classroom design, to our bespoke social areas, this school is unparalleled in its conception.

We believe that learning should be an interactive and engaging experience. We are proud of our stateof-the-art facilities that enable students to learn in imaginative and exciting ways. The school’s design incorporates versatile learning spaces, which inspire creativity and enrich the learning experience for all.

Our Immersive Room provides opportunities for an intensely visual learning experience, where we can bring the World War One trenches to life or immerse ourselves into the world of Van Gogh. In Science we have our innovative and world class Super Lab; two connecting classrooms with its very own reaction chamber, enabling us to do experiments which rarely get seen at a secondary school. Along with our own biodome, weather station and wildlife sanctuaries on our Science balconies, we really have everything a young budding Scientist could dream of. But it doesn’t stop there. Outside the Science lab, we have a huge nine screen digital wall where we can link up to the International Space Station or screen live experiments from the Science Labs. We also have our own nature zone where we can look at habitats and bio-diversity and conduct outdoor research and experiments. No stone has been left unturned in capturing the hearts and minds of our future Scientists.

The vast Art rooms have their own balconies for students to express themselves ‘en plein-air’. We have a bespoke photography studio for professional shoots and a computer suite which uses industry standard software to create the magical images which grace the corridors. Alongside this, our very own textiles room with screen printing facilities and digital embroiderers to enable every creative whim to be realised and challenged.

Drama has a uniquely valued place within our school, with our school productions a sell-out every single year. We now have a double height space with state-of-the-art lighting and sound for every day lessons along with an outdoor amphitheatre to let our students have the very best experiences possible when exploring the Drama curriculum.

Our Design Technology rooms have exceptional facilities including the very latest technology and software to enable the most complex and conceptual of designs to be realised. In Food, we have two brilliantly equipped and designed rooms and our very own tasting room which wouldn’t look out of place in a Michelin star restaurant.

The specialist facilities for Physical Education such as the stunning Sports Hall, trampolining room and our purpose built Dance Studio and Cardio Suite, inspire enrichment and excellence across the curriculum as well as giving every opportunity for our budding sports stars to thrive in their five years with us. Every classroom is equipped with the very latest Promethean boards, enabling 4K visuals in every classroom placing staff and students at the forefront of new teaching and learning technologies to help inspire the very best academic performance. Our Hypothesis Room, a 120 seater lecture theatre, gives our students the full University experience from Year 7 upwards.

Finally, our social spaces were designed with student welfare and happiness in mind. Students have a range of comfortable seating options and zoned areas to eat their lunch and chat with friends. Outside, there are individual courtyards for different year groups, a large playing field, a hardcourt area and state-of-the-art 4G pitch which is enthusiastically filled with footballers at every opportunity. Every area has seating and beautiful landscaping to ensure all students are able to relax and have fun in a positive and safe environment at all times.

This truly is a school without comparison. Every visitor comments that it is beyond compare. From the inception of the school’s first design, students, teachers and the school’s leadership team have pored over every aspect of the school design to ensure it really is the most extraordinary learning environment for our lucky students.

TODAY’S LEARNERS, TOMORROW’S LEADERS

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 our new school, it should not be forgotten the involvement previous student leaders had in discussions with designers and builders so we could all enjoy these incredible new facilities that not only benefit existing students, but will also benefit students in years to come as well as the wider 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 over 150 students in the last two years. A new initiative with a Biomedical programme has allowed our students to work with some of the leading professionals in this field and experience lectures from University Professors, Doctors, Surgeons and leading biomedical scientists. 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.

“As a Key Stage 4 student, I believe I was treated as an adult and had been given the opportunity to develop a wide range of leadership skills.”

Talia, Head Girl 2022-23

THE HOUSE SYSTEM

Upon joining Les Quennevais School, students are placed in one of three school Houses, named after the first three Headteachers of the school; McKeon, Tranter and Watts.

Each House consists of a Head of House, who is a member of the Senior Leadership Team together with four positions of responsibility for students including House and Sports Captains. Each House nurtures and supports the academic, social and personal development of students during their time at Les Quennevais.

A diverse range of House competitions throughout the academic year helps to embed the ‘Spirit of Quennevais’, encouraging personal and shared responsibility as students strive to earn coveted House Points for their respective Houses. Students who have modelled the school’s core values either in or out of school are recognised and celebrated each half term as ‘Half Term Heroes’ and have the chance to contribute to weekly House points via our Class Charts points system which are awarded to students for demonstrating one of our core values: Ambition (e.g. academic/sporting/creative success and achievement)

Respect (e.g. impressive classwork/homework, a kindly act in or out of school, embodying school’s core values)

Resilience (e.g. attainment, progress relative to current/target grades, overcoming personal difficulties)

This ensures that all students have a fair and equal chance of earning points for their respective Houses, regardless of academic, sporting or creative ability. We firmly believe that every student is capable of demonstrating resilience, every student can try their best to produce impressive work, every student can participate in the plethora of extra-curricular and enrichment opportunities offered to them; every student can display our core values.

House Points earned from House competitions and weekly Class Charts points are updated and displayed in the main School Hall on our bespoke House Points scoreboard. This acts as a constant motivation to students as to where their respective Houses are currently placed in the overall annual House Competition.

Our House System is just one way in which our school community come together in a positive spirit of participation and competition, none of which would be possible without all members of the school working together and demonstrating each of our core values.

So strong is the culture of our House system at Les Quennevais, that members remain connected to their House long after they have left our school.

COMMUNICATION

The key to a successful school is a successful partnership between the school, parents and the wider community. At Les Quennevais School, we believe in celebrating the achievements of our students across all aspects of school life.

To ensure the amazing every day activities here at Les Quennevais are effectively highlighted to parents and the wider community, the school produces ‘Q News’, our termly newsletter.

‘Q News’ is exceptionally well designed and curated to ensure the achievements of our students and the incredible Les Quennevais culture are celebrated as fully as they should be.

Copies of the newsletter are sent home to all parents at the end of each term, and are available from the school reception. A digital copy can also be found on the school’s website.

For instant access to school life and information, parents can follow us on our Twitter and Facebook pages. Our school has an active and full social media profile which gives a real flavour of day-to-day life at Les Quennevais School.

facebook.com/lesquennevaisschool

twitter.com/LesQuennevaisSc

“Absolutely brilliant magazine about an amazing school. No wonder so many people want their children to go to Les Quennevais. The other schools need to look and learn from what you are all doing.“

Year 10 Parent

OUR MISSION

REALSING INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL THROUGH

A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE

NOTES