Main School Prospectus 2024

OXTED SCHOOL BRING ING OUT THE BEST

BRINGING OUT THE BEST

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The emphasis on equality of opportunity is demonstrated well by the care it takes to make sure that students make good progress.

Parent

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WELCOME Welcome to Oxted School, part of the Howard Partnership Trust.

Established in 1929 with 22 students, the School today has nearly 2000 students; making it one of the country’s largest secondary schools. Oxted is firmly rooted in the local community and combines the traditions and values of its heritage with the very best facilities and latest developments in Quality First Teaching.

Our size allows us to provide a very broad curriculum and an extensive range of opportunities for our students. However, we work very hard to make a large school ‘feel’ small and ensure our students have a clear sense of belonging.

Consequently, we believe that students get the best of both worlds: all the diversity and opportunity that a large school brings with the personalised care, guidance and support a small school offers.

As a comprehensive school committed to providing opportunities for all, we set ambitious and challenging targets for all students and work together with them and their parents to meet or exceed them. Our staff employ a range of teaching styles to challenge students, encourage independence and develop the broader skillset they will need in life. However, a young person’s time in the classroom provides only a part of what they learn at school and we are committed to ensuring that students benefit from a huge variety of exciting, enrichment experiences.

In September 2015, Oxted School formalised its partnership with The Howard Partnership Trust (THPT), a Surrey based Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), and joined THPT. This innovation in high quality partnership work has enabled us to accelerate our school improvement journey and realise our aims for the young people we serve.

Mr M M J Devenney Principal

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HIGH ASPIRATIONS The first thing students are told when they arrive at Oxted School is to Aim High, we believe that high aspirations are one of the key components of success.

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BRINGING OUT THE BEST

As a comprehensive school, we know that the challenges we set our students need to be personalised. We do this by setting demanding academic targets for all students and then working collaboratively with them and their families to ensure these targets are either met or exceeded. We work hard to ensure students are guided towards the opportunities which will enable them to achieve to the best of their ability.

From the moment students enter Oxted School, they are encouraged to think independently, engage in teamwork and ask questions when faced with a problem. An Oxted student does not ‘give up’ when faced with a challenge but instead embraces it. Creativity, ingenuity and resilience are keys to success in the modern world and we expect all our students to achieve – not because we tell them what to think, but because we teach them how to think.

Seize

Opportunity

Teachers take an interest in your views and encourage participation and questions. Modern resources encourage us to work independently but teachers offer support as well. Student

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Bringing out the Best so pleased with Oxted commitment and great support. I wish my school had been like that!

Parent

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SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY Our strong School community is underpinned by our five Houses: Detillens, Foyles, Grants, Stocketts and Tenchleys.

All students are allocated to a House. The house system provides our students with a sense of identity and community;inter-House competitions are a regular feature of life at Oxted School. Their well-being, behaviour, attendance and progress are overseen by a year team dedicated to that year group who move with them as they go up through the school.

We place great importance on students’ academic progress which is carefully monitored by class teachers, form tutors and year progress leaders. In partnership with parents, these teams will ensure that each student has the best opportunities to succeed. This pastoral structure underpins our intervention programme, ensuring students are constantly challenged and supported so that they can make progress across all their subjects.

The greatest positive influence on our student community is the rest of our student body. That is why we encourage mixed-age activities across the School.

We have a strong and well-established peer-mentoring programme led by senior students, and many of our Sixth Formers take on the role in supporting in subject areas to engage younger students and assist them in their learning.

Students at Oxted are always encouraged to express their views. Our School Council discusses and shapes the future of the School and students are regularly asked for their input on our School Improvement Priorities. We know that success is not down to one individual, that it is a team effort.

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A BESPOKE CURRICULUM A real strength of the school is the extensive careers programme. Pupils receive detailed guidance on their possible future options. Ofsted 2018 The curriculum is a strength of the school. Pupils enjoy a varied diet of subjects at key stage 3 and have excellent opportunities to explore their passions in key stage 4. Ofsted 2018

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The world is changing constantly, and young people today need a curriculum that will prepare them effectively for life beyond Oxted.

All staff at the School are committed to providing a dynamic curriculum based on the skills and knowledge our students will need when they leave the School as young adults. Whether they choose to go on to higher education or directly into training or employment, we have a range of curriculum pathways that will prepare students for Sixth Form and beyond.

All students follow our broad and engaging curriculum when they join the school. When they make their option choices during Year 8, they are guided onto learning pathways that have been carefully designed to respond to students’ needs and abilities, ensuring that each individual has the best chance of success.

Many of our young people will follow a GCSE or English Baccalaureate pathway whilst some choose to supplement this with a number of BTEC or vocational qualifications. Whatever choices they make, we are dedicated to ensuring that students choose subjects they both enjoy and will succeed in.

HighAspirations INCLUSION TEAM The Inclusion Team provide in-class support and individual education programmes for students with learning difficulties.

The team work alongside subject specialists helping to differentiate the curriculum so that those students with special educational needs are able to achieve their potential.

The Centre for Students with Visual Impairment is resourced to support up to 16 students in the mainstream school. It is well equipped and staffed to meet the needs of students who are blind or have a visual impairment, of all abilities between the ages of 11and 19.

Pupils are keen to contribute in class and happy to share their ideas in discussions. They are confident about giving their opinions without prompting and work happily in groups.

Ofsted 2018

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Seize

Opportunity

A significant strength of the school is the range of opportunities that pupils have to learn beyond the classroom. There is a wide range of after school clubs, including sports, music, drama and the arts. Pupils are encouraged to take part and as a result many pupils achieve great success at both the regional and national level. Ofsted 2018

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FANTASTIC LIFE EXPERIENCES Whilst academic success is vital, we believe success is about more, so we encourage students to seize opportunities beyond the classroom.

Our students take part in regular Inter-House competitions in PE, Science, Music, Maths and other subjects. We aim for every student to go on our Year 8 camp, as it develops many of the team-building and leadership skills required both in School and life beyond. The majority of our students also undertake the Duke of Edinburgh Award and many go on to complete international voluntary expeditions, with recent destinations including Borneo, India, Uganda and Costa Rica. Other opportunities include day visits, field trips and collaborative workshops with our feeder schools. Residential trip opportunities include our ski trip, language exchanges, food and culture expeditions and visits to places of historical interest.

We offer an extensive range of enrichment activities. Our Drama department produces an annual School show or musical, which invariably involves a cast of over 100. Our Music department boasts a strong choir, orchestra and band, as well as many smaller, specialist groups.

The PE department runs a wide range of sports clubs at lunch time and after school and we take our thriving sports teams to neighbouring schools for competitive fixtures. Many of our students compete at county level and some even at national level.

There is something for everyone at Oxted School. Knowing that our most successful students are those who engage fully with school life, we encourage all students to take advantage of the fantastic opportunities on offer.

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FACILITIES The facilities on offer at Oxted School are second to none. As the School has grown, we have been able to create dedicated facilities which are well suited to the learning of each subject.

Our buildings housing Science, Art, Maths, Design Technology and Drama have been purpose-built. In addition, there are specialist hubs: the Music department has a recording studio and practice rooms, big enough to rehearse large ensembles, while Dance students have the use of a large and airy dance studio complete with sprung floor. Extensive ICT facilities include twelve dedicated teaching rooms equipped with a mix of PCS and MACs, featuring the latest video editing, computer programming plus subject specific specialist software. For sport and PE, we have extensive fields, an all weather pitch, nine hard tennis courts, a high quality sports hall and a swimming pool, all onsite.

SAFEGUARDING

At Oxted School we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

All adults who work with pupils are DBS checked. We follow Surrey Local Authority’s safeguarding procedures and where necessary work in partnership with other agencies that support children and families, to ensure we address the needs of our pupils with sensitivity, care and confidentiality.

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Teachers at Oxted are always looking out for students and how they can help them in their work.

Student

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THE HOWARD PARTNERSHIP TRUST

The Howard Partnership Trust (THPT) grew out of a long-standing federation, the first in Surrey, originally formed in 2007 at the request of the DfE and Surrey LA. The success of this federation between Howard of Effingham, an Ofsted Outstanding school and Thomas Knyvett College resulted in the formation of THPT, when the partnership’s first primary school, Kenyngton Manor joined in 2013. The Trust now comprises a diverse range of primary and secondary schools across Surrey.

All our schools uphold a shared vision in which there is a commitment to ‘bringing out the best’ in young people of all abilities and aptitudes, so increasing their life-chances. Those working in partnership with THPT are justly proud of the strength of collaboration and inclusion present in each of our schools. We believe that by embedding a culture built around our ethos of partnership, inclusion, excellence and energy, our vision can succeed. The inclusive ethos of the MAT is enhanced by a number of Special Centres attached to mainstream settings.

Schools within THPT remain local schools and retain their own unique features to serve their local communities. However, they are all underpinned with the same guiding principles: namely to ensure that a first rate education is provided through consistently high quality teaching which facilitates excellent learning within an inclusive, caring, vibrant environment. THPT schools provide a student-centred, broad curriculum with a personalised approach where the individual student lies at the heart of everything we do.

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OXTED SCHOOL B R IN G IN G OUT THE BEST

There are strong links with other schools in the trust that support assessment and help teachers seek out the best are very positive about the support that they receive and welcome the opportunities to meet and share best practice with their colleagues. Ofsted 2018 BRINGING OUT THE BEST

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OXTED SCHOOL BR INGING OUT THE BEST

Bluehouse Lane, Oxted Surrey RH8 0AB Tel: 01883 712425 Email: Frontdesk@oxted.thpt.org.uk X: @oxtedschool Facebook: Facebook /oxtedschool www.oxtedschool.org

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