Rodborough School - Prospectus 2022

WELCOME TO RODBOROUGH SCHOOL

“Students have fantastic attitudes to their learning. They are diligent and want to do well. Students’ behaviour is excellent, both in and out of lessons. They are rightly proud of their academy.”

CEO Welcome

Rodborough joined our Trust in March 2021. The Trust has been instrumental in raising the standards of the quality of education in its three secondary schools: Farnham Heath End School, Woolmer Hill School and Weydon School.

The Trust has an excellent track record for transforming not only the standards of learning but also the environment of the schools and its facilities. We have begun that process at Rodborough with over £4 million invested into a new 3G pitch and multi games areas, a refurbished Maths Centre and improved English and Languages faculties.

We will continue to invest in the school by ensuring the new leadership have the support and resources required to lead Rodborough School in the future.

I am very excited at the prospect of the school thriving within the Trust and serving its community by offering students a joyous, splendid and scholarly education, which they will look back on with great pride and fondness.

I hope you share our ambitions and choose to be a part of our partnership.

John Winter - CEO

It is a pleasure to welcome you to Rodborough School.

For more than seventy years Rodborough has provided an excellent education to young people between the ages of 11-16.

Since 2021 we have been proud to be part of the Weydon Multi Academy Trust.

Whilst our students make good progress and achieve very well in national examinations, we also place a great deal of emphasis on inspiring and challenging our students to develop as rounded young adults able to play a leading role in their community.

Located in Milford near Godalming, Surrey, Rodborough is set in over 20 acres of grounds surrounded by woodland. Our students attend from Milford and local villages such as Elstead, Witley, Chiddingfold, Thursley, and Hambledon as well as from the town of Godalming itself.

We provide a curriculum that supports the development of the learner as well as providing breadth and depth of experience.

Our collaboration with other local schools and colleges means that we are able to offer a wide range of specialist opportunities for our students designed to meet a range of differing needs. Outside of the classroom, we take pride in the range of opportunities we offer which include an impressive variety of trips, a very successful Duke of Edinburgh programme and many clubs and societies. Our sports leadership and prefect programmes are designed to encourage students to become involved in their community whilst at the same time develop their leadership skills.

We hold an open evening each year when prospective students and their parents have the opportunity to see all of our departments in action. Further details of this and other events that we are running can be found via our website at www.rodborough.surrey.sch.uk. We encourage prospective students to come and see the school during a school day and hold a series of tours during September and October.

On behalf of the Weydon Multi Academy Trust, thank you for your interest in Rodborough School.

THE CURRICULUM

We believe that it is essential that our students are able to benefit from the experience of a broad and inspiring curriculum. In the Lower School (Years 7 to 9) students study a wide range of subjects which help to develop their subject specific skills and knowledge in the arts, creative, practical and academic subjects.

The school day is divided into six, fifty-minute lessons and begins at 8:45am with a tutor period or assembly. The school day ends at 3:25pm and includes a forty-five minute lunch and twenty-minute mid-morning break.

Years 7 to 9

Subjects studied by all students in Key Stage Three are:

• Art

• Computing

• Design & Technology*

• Drama

• English

Students from Rodborough go on to achieve well at Sixth Form or FE Colleges, university and then in a range of exciting careers from starring in the West End to involvement in large engineering projects and international finance.

• French

• Geography

• German • History

• Mathematics

• Music

• Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE)

• Physical Education (PE)

• Religious Education (RE)

• Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)

* Design and Technology in Years 7 – 9 includes Food & Nutrition, Graphics, Resistant Materials and Textiles.

Years 10 & 11

In Key Stage Four all students follow a ‘core’ of examined and non-examined subjects.

Core examined subjects:

• Mathematics

• English Language and Literature

• Science (offered as a combined double award or separate Biology, Chemistry and Physics)

• Religious Education (Philosophy and Ethics) (short course)

Core non-examined subjects:

• Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE)

• Physical Education (PE)

Vocational Options

are prepared well for the next stage in their education, employment or training. Most students go on to further education after leaving the academy. Students have equal opportunities to succeed, therefore, because of the very effective curriculum.”

Ofsted

“Students have high expectations of their own behaviour and that of other students…They work very hard in lessons and want to achieve well.”

“There’s no shortage of things to do and get involved in here; you’d have to try hard to be bored.”

Year 10 pupil, quoted by OFSTED

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

We have a wide and varied programme of clubs and activities.

We have thriving sports teams in football, netball, rugby, cricket and athletics. Our sports teams have a very strong track record of success in local, county and national competitions.

Our clubs reflect a wide range of interests and a full list of what is available is published each term.

Music and drama thrive at Rodborough. We encourage students to take music lessons and join a group such as our Jazz Band, which regularly performs at local events as well as bi-annual international tours.

Through our partnership with The Music Works, which is located on our site, we are able to provide first-rate rehearsal spaces, easy access to tuition and state of the art digital recording technology.

Our annual productions have become an important fixture in the local arts programme and involve students backstage and in the orchestra pit, as well as on the stage.

“Teachers work hard to help students achieve their best.”

Ofsted

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

All students are encouraged to participate fully in the school and local community. We have an active school council, led by our ‘Senior Team’. This allows students to make a real contribution to whole-school development.

In Year 11 all students are encouraged to become prefects and take responsibility for a range of duties around the school as well as lead developments in their specialist areas such as community work or our thriving Eco-school programme.

Leadership development is also supported through our extensive Sports Leaders programme. Students in Year 10 are able to complete this course at school and are then able to support the extensive range of sporting activities both within school and in support of our local partner primary and secondary schools.

“Students are extremely polite and show high levels of respect for each other and for the adults who work with them.”

SUPPORTING STUDENTS

We recognise that a good education also involves providing appropriate support during a time in their lives when our students are facing the challenge of growing up. We ensure that there is a comprehensive programme of transition to help students feel secure when they first join us. We also have clear and supportive systems to make certain support is there when and if it is needed during their time with us.

The Tutor

We have a year group tutoring system. Students are allocated to one of six tutor groups in Year 7 under the leadership of the Year Leader. Tutor groups usually remain together throughout their five years at Rodborough. The tutor is the first point of contact for most questions that students and parents may have. They can be contacted through a note in the student planner, an e-mail or telephone call.

Additional Support

In addition to our pastoral system, our full time Student Welfare Officer is available to provide further support throughout the school year.

Transition

Our Year 7 Leader works closely with our partner primary and junior schools in order to ensure that transition to Rodborough is as smooth as possible. The transition process includes group and individual meetings, two transition days for our new intake in the July before they start and information meetings for students and their parents / carers. Care is taken to ensure that the tutor groups contain a mix of students from different schools and backgrounds yet allow students to feel confident that, wherever possible, they are with someone they know. To help our new students to settle in quickly and encourage them to make new friends, we run a series of team-building activities in the summer term and during their first weeks at Rodborough.

“The school promotes a core vision that encourages pupils to excel, develop new skills and have positive attitudes.”

For students with an Education, Health and Care Plan or statement of additional need, we provide a range of support to help them make progress.

Our Special Educational Needs (SEND) team provide in-class and withdrawal support in our SEND area. The team works closely with partner schools to assist the transition process and help prepare an appropriate programme that best supports the student.

ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS WORK RELATED LEARNING

Working in partnership with the National Autistic Society (NAS) and Surrey Local Authority, Rodborough has a specialist centre for students with autism: This resource base supports up to twenty students across Years 7 to 11. Admission to the centre is through Surrey Local Authority’s Special Educational Needs admissions process.

All students participate in our work-related learning programme through the curriculum, assemblies, the tutor programme and with independent advisors.

Students in Years 9, 10 and 11 benefit from independent careers advice, either within a group or individually. In the summer of Year 10, students participate in our work experience programme in order to gain a taste of the workplace before they make their final further education choices.

Our website is updated to include news and calendar items as well as the latest information about our curriculum. In addition, we send home a weekly newsletter.

The newsletter contains information on upcoming events, reminders about important dates and includes features on a range of activities. Additional letters home are used to provide more detailed information about an event or trip. We send most of our communications home using e-mail and a copy of each communication is added to our website for reference. Parents / carers can also log in to ‘Arbor’, which is our information management system. This allows parents / carers to access data about their child, including copies of reports and details of any set home learning.

COMMUNICATION SIXTH FORM PROVISION

Students will record homework, deadlines and notes in their planner, which we ask parents / carers to sign on a weekly basis. Comments and queries can be made by parents / carers to tutors through the student planner. For more detailed or urgent matters, parents / carers can contact staff by e-mail using the info@rodborough.surrey. sch.uk address or by telephoning.

Our Sixth Form partner is Godalming College. Godalming College offers outstanding post-16 provision and, as a feeder school, our students are guaranteed a place at the college, if it is the right option for them.

We work closely with Godalming to ensure that there is a smooth transition from our upper school into further education. Whilst over eighty percent of our students move on to Godalming, we ensure that students are supported to make the right choice for them post-16.

As well as Godalming College our students go on to attend Guildford, Alton and Farnham Colleges. They receive independent advice to help them with these decisions in addition to our own guidance programme.

“The school community is a harmonious environment where pupils feel safe and are happy.”