3 minute read
Community College
Carterton Community College: ‘a school where relationships matter’
The summer term at Carterton is vibrant and varied. It’s a time of endings and new beginnings and also a time where we are able to offer a wide range of trips and visits and other activities. As we reach the end of this term, we will have completed our first uninterrupted year since the 2019/2020 school year. As we say farewell to our school leaders, wishing them the very best for their futures, we can reflect on the last year.
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It’s been a significant year for us. We’ve celebrated our 50th Anniversary, our Year 11s and 13s have taken their first formal examinations since the summer of 2019, and the high point for us was our March Ofsted Inspection in which the College and Sixth Form was judged Good in all areas.
The Ofsted inspectors recognised, that despite the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have significantly improved the school. Staff have worked hard to improve teaching and learning so that students enjoy their lessons and fully invest in the school. Inspectors saw us living our values, the strength of our relationships and students happily rising to the challenge of our high aspirations.
Amongst the many positive comments about the school, Inspectors made a point of mentioning our ‘influential’ student Service Ambassadors, who insisted that the lead Inspector joined the Service Club for lunch and told him about the support and opportunities service students have at the College. This year saw the introduction of April as the Month of the Military Child, which we celebrated in a number of ways, the climax of which was a display by the RAF Falcons, dropping onto the school field. One of the team is an ex student who made sure he met up with teachers he remembers from his time at the College.
Raising awareness of service children’s experience has been a strong focus of Oxfordshire County Council in recent years. The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock opened their Children And Military Lives exhibition (June – November) featuring a number of our students stories, and our students continue to feature in the Little Troopers podcasts which are engaging, and amusing conversations about their lives as service children. Some of our service students helped to facilitate the recent Service Children’s Voice event.
Through our STEM partnerships with RAF Brize Norton and STEM Learning students have had amazing opportunities and a lot of fun. From rockets to robots, students have led and participated in team challenges using design and manufacture skills, using new found knowledge of electronics, avionics and programming. And not just College students: we held Primary STEM Day on 28th June with partner primary schools which was an exciting and enjoyable day for us and them!
This term is also when we meet our next generation of students. We welcomed many Year 5 parents and families to our information evening on 22nd June; the weather was warm and our hall was full, and hosted Year 6 transition days at the start of July. Our 2022/23 Year 7 is already full; however, we will always try to accommodate students moving into the area. We have record numbers joining our Sixth Form this year, including students from other schools.
Ofsted Inspectors spoke to our pupils who ‘talked happily about their experiences of school and said they feel safe’. We’ve had so many good words spoken and written about us this year, but I feel that the last words should be those of a pupil to the Ofsted Inspectors:
