Live • Learn • Aspire • Achieve
live learn aspire achieve
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“THE LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF THE SCHOOL ARE OUTSTANDING.” Ofsted 2014
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welcome Welcome to Whitefield School, a mixed multi ethnic school in Barnet.
so many schools to choose from and there is so much for you and your child to take in, but I want to say a few words about our unique school community. Be reassured that what I say is accurate – as Ofsted said repeatedly when they inspected us in January 2014 ‘You know your school.’
The purpose of this prospectus is to give you a feel for our school and an understanding of our ethos. I hope that it encourages you to visit us if you haven’t already done so and that in time your child will become a student here and that you will feel able to play an active role in the wider school life. Choosing the right school for your child is among the most important decisions you will ever make and I understand the pressure that you are under to get it right. There are
We are building something rather special at Whitefield; a school where you can expect your child to be academically successful and to achieve beyond the results predicted for them by government targets. We are building a school where there is so much going on beyond the classroom that your child should be engaged in a whole range of activities and opportunities so they will be very tired by the end of the week but excited about coming to school each day. We are building a school where student staff relationships are remarkably strong and are recognised by all who visit us; a school where
your children will be happy, safe and well looked after. At Whitefield we are building a school where your child will be prepared for the unique challenges of being an adult in the 21st century. Our vision is ‘Live, Learn, Aspire, Achieve’, which embodies our core beliefs about the education all students should enjoy. The rest of this prospectus seeks to explain the deeper significance of each of these words and what it actually means for you and your child. I look forward to meeting you. Kind regards, Martin Lavelle, Headteacher
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“THE SCHOOL’S WORK TO KEEP STUDENTS SAFE AND SECURE IS OUTSTANDING.” Ofsted 2014
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live We are passionate about the need to ensure that your child benefits from a truly rounded education. “STUDENTS OF ALL AGES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WIDE RANGE OF EXTRACURRICULAR AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES ON OFFER. THESE AND THOUGHT PROVOKING, RELEVANT ASSEMBLIES AND LESSONS HELP TO PROMOTE STUDENTS’ OUTSTANDING SOCIAL, MORAL, SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT.” Ofsted 2014
Our commitment to this is shown through over one hundred field and residential trips which ran across a single calendar year, to various weekends away on Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions. There are also opportunities to be coached by Saracens RF, extra curricular clubs ranging from producing the school magazine and television to, learning to operate our state of the art theatre lighting and sound equipment, a whole array of very successful sports clubs, performing arts clubs, technology clubs and international events. We expect your child to take full advantage of what we offer and to this end we monitor every individual to ensure that they get involved. These activities are crucial to your child’s future success and happiness as they develop the resilience they will need for a life after school.
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“STUDENTS ARE VERY PROUD OF THEIR SCHOOL. THEY ENJOY COMING TO SCHOOL AND THEY BEHAVE WELL. THEY WANT TO LEARN AND THEY WORK HARD IN LESSONS.” Ofsted 2014
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learn We want all Whitefield students to achieve their very best both inside and outside the classroom. We expect our students to behave exceptionally well. We believe good order in every classroom allows everyone to learn from the very best opportunities that our teachers provide. Throughout their time at Whitefield School your child will have a very wide range of opportunities for all types of learning – academic, creative, and practical.
With your help we will prepare your child for the 21st century because they will need to be a lifelong learner, a responsible citizen and equipped for the world of work. Your child is unique and we will make sure that they are properly supported to gain the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to equip them for the next stage of their educational journey. Ambition and success, inspiration and effort – your child needs them all and Whitefield School will nurture them every step of the way.
“THE BEHAVIOUR OF STUDENTS IS GOOD. THEY BEHAVE WELL IN LESSONS AND THEY WANT TO LEARN. THEIR POSITIVE ATTITUDES CONTRIBUTE TO THE GOOD PROGRESS THEY MAKE.” Ofsted 2014
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“THE HEADTEACHER AND ASSOCIATE HEADTEACHER LEAD BY EXAMPLE AND CONSISTENTLY REINFORCE THE SCHOOL’S VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND AMBITIONS FOR THE STUDENTS.” Ofsted 2014
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ASPIRE We are determined that our students will be the best that they can be and are constantly raising our expectations and standards. To this end we have established strong links with many of the top Russell Group Universities. For example, we have had students selected to attend summer placements at Cambridge University to study sciences. We work with The Brilliant Club who offer our most academic students an insight into university life, who expose them to critical thinking and who prepare them for applying to the top universities. Many of our students are and will be the first generation of university students in their families. We have an outstanding track record of working with students at every academic level. We have very experienced SEN and EAL teams and
a staff who are committed to making work accessible to all students and we regularly review our curriculum provision to ensure that there is something appropriate for all learners. We have a strong careers programme with our own in-house careers advisor and students are given 1:1 interviews which parents can, by prior agreement, attend. These interviews can be crucial in helping students decide and shape their own futures and our Student Voice, which meets regularly and reports to the Senior Leadership Team are increasingly influential in the decisions we make about teaching and learning or how to further improve our school.
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“RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ARE VERY GOOD AND TEACHERS KNOW THEIR STUDENTS WELL. STUDENTS WANT TO LEARN AND ARE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE WAY TEACHERS GIVE FREELY OF THEIR TIME TO HELP THEM.” Ofsted 2014
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achieve Students in year 7 are taught in mixed ability classes for some of their lessons but are set by ability for maths and English. Students can take two languages from Year 7 and our results in GCSE and A Level languages are consistently high.
As students move up the school there are a number of pathways designed to ensure that students fulfil their potential. Students are guided into their GCSE choices from the start of Year 8 in many subjects. This allows students to experience a curriculum which is personalized to suit their needs and aptitude and has led to our considerable recent success at both GCSE and A Level. The tremendous progress our students make from Year 7 to Year 11 regularly puts us in the top 1% of all secondary schools in the country.
parents throughout the year and parents have access to their child’s attainment, attendance and behaviour data 24/7 through our online reporting system.
There is extensive monitoring of every student’s progress in every subject and a vast range of intervention programmes in place to support and stretch every child. We are in regular contact with
Whatever the academic starting point of your child, Whitefield will ensure that they achieve beyond what they thought was possible, in lessons and beyond the classroom.
We are quick to identify the more able students in all year groups and use a range of methods to ensure they achieve their potential. We run exciting programmes designed to stretch and challenge all students. We are pleased to say that every year 100% of our sixth form students go on to study at their university of choice.
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sixth FORM For those students wishing to continue their education beyond Year 11, Whitefield School offers a friendly, focussed, supportive AND ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT in which to study.
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What is unique about Whitefield is that Post-16 students can benefit from all the advantages of a school with great facilities, excellent pastoral and student welfare programmes where you know the teachers and they know you, small class sizes but you also have the flexibility to study a very wide range of courses delivered by committed and skilled staff. Ofsted praised the ‘remarkable pace of
change’ that has pervaded the school since 2009 and our large and vibrant sixth form has, like the rest of the school, benefitted from these changes. Sixth Form students at Whitefield have access to an exciting range of enrichment activities, including structured work experience, numerous leadership opportunities, volunteering schemes
and trips within the UK and abroad. Our sixth form students are able to access a very wide range of courses including: traditional A level courses (such as English, mathematics, all the sciences, history, geography, languages, art and design, and many others) alongside very successful vocational courses such as Business Studies, ICT, sport, drama, music technology and much more.
“THE EXCELLENT BEHAVIOUR OF SIXTH FORM STUDENTS MAKES A STRONG CONTRIBUTION TO THE SCHOOL’S POSITIVE ETHOS. THEY LEAD BY EXAMPLE AND ARE VERY POSITIVE ROLE MODELS FOR THE YOUNGER STUDENTS.” Ofsted 2014
The school is well served with both bus and underground connections
Whitefield School Claremont Road London NW2 1TR WHITEFIELD SCHOOL
Tel: 0208 455 4114 Email: admin@whitefield.barnet.sch.uk www.whitefield.barnet.sch.uk