Royal Latin School Prospectus 2018

The Royal Latin School

“High Expectations for All”

www.royallatin.org

Welcome to The Royal Latin School

“Royal Latin School is providing students with an outstanding education” (Ofsted, 2009)

Aims Welcome to The Royal Latin School, a co-educational grammar school of approximately 1260 students including a large sixth form of around 400. We became an Academy on 1st September 2011 and have a long tradition of providing an excellent quality of education with high expectations for all our students both in and out of the classroom.

Our school is one of the top-performing state schools in the country; our results at GCSE and A level are consistently excellent. Students are able to participate in a wide range of extra-curricular activities enabling them to be “exceptionally well prepared for their next steps in learning and the world of work” (Ofsted, 2009). We give students a high degree of responsibility and are proud of the way in which they represent the school with maturity and respect for others.

Students benefit from a rich and diverse curriculum, enhanced by the school’s outstanding teaching which provides the very highest standards of learning for all students. We attach a good deal of importance to understanding each student’s individual needs, helping all students to enjoy school and make the most of their ability.

Our website (www.royallatin.org) has details of our policies and will give you a further insight into the nature of the school. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you would like to visit us, we would be delighted to welcome you to the school.

1. To foster academic, moral, spiritual and personal development.

2. To encourage excellence.

3. To develop students to become active responsible citizens.

Culture We seek to promote and encourage the following qualities: - an emphasis on quality and excellence; - self respect, self-confidence and self-discipline; - respect and tolerance for different ways of life, beliefs and opinions; - a concern for equal opportunities and the challenge of stereotypes; - courtesy of speech; - an emphasis on quality and excellence; - smart appearance - we are all ambassadors for the school; - flexibility and adaptability to change; - a sense of responsibility - both personal and collective.

Motto 1. High expectations for all (1993) 2. Alle may God amende (Ruding 1471)

David Hudson, Headteacher

The Royal Latin School Then and Now “Students are eager and highly motivated learners and make good use of every opportunity presented to them.�

(Ofsted comment) RLS c1891

Brookfield House

The Royal Latin School has been based in Buckingham since its foundation. It is almost certainly the oldest school in the county. The first school building, the Chantry Chapel, is the oldest surviving building in the town and is now owned by the National Trust.

One of the features most remarked upon by first-time visitors to the school is its enviable setting. Old and new buildings sit in harmony in a park setting which supports some magnificent trees, rare plants and wildlife.

Extensive playing fields cover 22 acres.

Our oldest building, Brookfield House, started life as a hunting lodge much loved by a former Prince of Wales. Rotherfield, formerly a proud town house, is now our Sixth Form Centre where students have their own study facilities, refurbished in 2017. A lecture theatre with seating for 120 is incorporated in the Rotherfield complex.

The newly refurbished 6th Form Centre

We are proud of our history and excited by the future development of the school as we look forward to our 600th Anniversary in 2023. We have ambitious plans to transform the site with three phases of development, (the new Discovery and 6th Form Centres; a Sports Campus; and a Performing Arts Centre) that will ensure our students benefit from first class resources.

The main School Library is very well stocked, with more than 15,000 books, and computers equipped with a wide range of software and broadband internet access.

The Discovery Centre

School Library

Learning in the Classroom

We offer a wide range of subjects that provide both a broad understanding of essential areas of study as well as the opportunity to specialise in specific interests.

- Key Stage 3 comprises Years 7 and 8 only. This allows teachers to move with greater pace through National Curriculum programmes of study.

- Students then spend Year 9 to 11 studying GCSE courses. During these three years students study the core subjects and choose four options from fourteen subjects. In all subjects teachers have more time to go into real depth, pursuing elements that might be of A’ Level standard.

- In the Sixth Form students choose three A-level subjects from a broad range of academic choices. Students also pursue a range of extension ‘Latin Learning’ options and the Extended Project Qualification.

In all Key Stages we have high expectations of students’ academic abilities and our outstanding results show that students are well prepared for examination success.

Comments from Ofsted: “Students work in close partnership with their teachers, often studying topics to the levels beyond those required in the examination syllabus.”

“Students achieve outstanding A-level examination results and gain access to a wide range of degree-level courses.”

“Students make outstanding progress and attain very high standards in GCSE and GCE A-level.”

“Students enjoy being at this school enormously. The school sets high expectations of students’ academic and personal achievements, as do the students themselves who do their best to rise to them.”

Support for Learning

We know that all students need different forms of support at various stages of their school career.

Settling in: Our Year 7 Transition Lead visits all our feeder primary schools (over 30 of them!) to ensure that we get to know as much as possible about our new students before they arrive.

- Our Induction Days in July give students and parents an opportunity to get to know us, (and us them!)

- In September all Year 7 students follow an introductory unit that helps students adjust to the demands of their new school.

Sixth Form: We welcome around 40 new students each year and go to great lengths to ensure they integrate quickly.

Special Needs: We have a number of students with specific learning needs and they are supported by our SENCO (Special Education Needs Coordinator) and specialist Learning Support Assistants.

Who to turn to: - Form Tutors are the most important first point of contact, supported by Heads of Year who follow students through Years 7 to 11.

- Student Leaders: Sixth Formers are trained as ‘peer listeners’ and linked to form groups in Years 7 to 11. We also have Sixth Form mentors who provide clubs and extension opportunities for gifted and talented students.

Communication: We keep in touch with parents regularly, both about academic progress and more general school issues, using the following: - The Latin (a monthly Newsletter) - Termly progress checks - The school website - Student planners - Parent Portal - Email - Phone calls home

Comments from Ofsted: “Students receive extremely good personal support because great attention is given to understanding each one’s individual needs. Students are helped to settle in quickly.”

“The students who join the sixth form in Year 12 from other schools feel that the support they receive on joining the school is highly effective and that it is easy to settle in.”

“Students who require additional academic support are very well provided for with additional resources, learning support assistants and adjustments to the curriculum to ensure that they can achieve as well as others in the school.”

Learning Beyond the Classroom

We believe that an outstanding education should also involve opportunities to learn in a variety of settings.

Sport: Girls and boys represent the school in athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rounders, rugby and swimming Music and Drama: There are many opportunities to perform throughout the year, with an annual production. Recent highlights have included wonderful performances of Grease and Our House.

Duke of Edinburgh Award: Over 100 KS4 students achieve their Bronze Award each year and the most motivated are then able to take their Gold Award in the Sixth Form.

Enrichment Days: These ‘off-timetable’ days allow all students to participate in trips, visits and activities that would not be offered in normal curriculum time. Many of the competitions linked to our thriving House System take place on these days.

Charity: Students make a significant contribution to local and national charities, including links with local special schools.

A key theme running throughout all areas is our high expectations of students as leaders.

We aim to provide opportunities for them to develop their confidence and ability to lead teams as part of our responsibility to prepare the leaders of the future.

Comments from Ofsted: “An extensive range of sports and leisure activities.”

“Students make an outstanding contribution to the school and wider community through their involvement in a wide range of activities.”

“Students are eager and highly motivated learners and make good use of every opportunity presented to them.”

Headteacher: Mr David Hudson MA (Cantab) The Royal Latin School Chandos Road Buckingham MK18 1AX

Tel: 01280 813065 Fax: 01280 813064 E-mail: office@royallatin.org Web: www.royallatin.org

Academy Trust Co No: 07686209 Registred: England & Wales