Aldersley High School
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WELCOME Aldersley High School provides a strong, knowledge rich environment where students are valued as individuals within a culture of high expectations and achievement. Choosing a secondary school is one of the most important decisions that you will make. Your child will need to feel safe and secure and be assured that they will have access to a wide range of opportunities and experiences which will shape the rest of their life. We believe that your child is entitled to the very best education and here, at Aldersley High School, we offer just that. As a “Good School” (OFSTED 2018) with a consistent track record of success at the highest level we feel immensely proud of our achievements. The outstanding facilities enjoyed by the school are put to full use, by a very caring and committed staff, ensuring that your child reaches their full potential. We believe in hard work and in encouraging achievement of all kinds. Our approach is founded on a special partnership between you as parents, the school and child; education is most successful when parents are closely involved in their child’s
development. We will therefore, work closely with you to ensure your child achieves the very best. We believe in setting high standards but will support each child to achieve these. We know that with good teaching, a well-disciplined environment and a structured system of guidance and support, all students who attend Aldersley High School will grow into confident, capable young people, well prepared for adult life. Our school has recently undergone a major refurbishment and new Sixth Form rebuild in addition to a significant investment in ICT. This will enable us to ensure that our pupils and community have access to inspiring 21st century facilities. This prospectus can only provide an outline of the school and what if can offer you child. We invite you to visit us and see for yourself.
Mrs Nicola Davis, Headteacher
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ACADEMIC
EXCELLENCE FOR ALL Children come first and everything we do must reflect this single purpose. The Amethyst Academies Trust, of which Aldersley High School is the founding school, strives to ensure the best outcomes for children in all our schools. By working together to create a network in which outstanding practice is shared and staff are given access to world class professional development, we aim to ensure that every child receives the very best education. Our vision is to support your child in order to become a rounded, employable individual who is inspired to pursue their dreams and confident
enough to embrace all challenges with determination in order to successfully achieve their goals. Year after year our student progress scores reflect the fact that our school adds significant value to each child’s potential, regardless of their starting point. We are a school that rigorously challenges and supports all students, regardless of their background, to achieve their full potential and secure the future they dream of.
“Aldersley is a great school with a dedicated team of staff who ensure that children are the priority, giving children total support both academically and pastorally.” Parental Quote from Ofsted 2018
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TRANSITION
INTO YEAR SEVEN
“Every pupil spoken to by inspectors, when asked, would recommend the school to others.” Ofsted 2018 We highly value the relationships developed over time with our main feeder schools and work closely with them to ensure that students and parents experience a positive transition into year seven. Students settle into school quickly and make progress that is historically significantly above average. The move into year seven is an extremely important time and one that lays the foundation for successful relationships and their pathway to employment. It is such a fundamental aspect of making students successful, independent and enthusiastic learners that we begin work with them in year four. The happiness of our students is our utmost objective; we pay particular attention to how students settle in and continue to liaise with our primary colleagues, as appropriate, once the autumn term has begun to
guarantee your child has the best start to their high school education. Students are introduced to life at Aldersley High School through a variety of workshops, lessons and sports days in addition to our three-day induction programme in July and our ‘Team building’ preinduction: designed for those students who are joining us from other schools where they have had less opportunity perhaps to experience life with us, or to form new friendship groups in readiness for September. Students are empowered through all of these opportunities to start school with us in confidence which acts as a springboard to their successful journey to GCSEs and beyond.
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OUR CURRICULUM: “Leaders are committed to improving pupils’ employability skills.” Ofsted 2018 At Aldersley High School, we offer a broad and balanced curriculum, allowing your child to develop a passion for learning across a wide variety of subjects. Our curriculum raises the aspirations of our students and encourages them to become well-rounded, employable individuals and future leaders. The heart of our curriculum is knowledge based: teachers ensure that the knowledge they are imparting during lessons is challenging and purposeful at all times and will allow your child the opportunity to make cross-curricular links where appropriate and be fully prepared for the next stages in their education, employment and training. We use knowledge books and knowledge organisers to support your child in their acquisition of knowledge and revision and recall across all subjects. Most students study the full range of English Baccalaureate qualifications at Key Stage 4, alongside
further qualifications from a range of creative and vocational based subjects; your child and yourselves will be fully supported during this exciting transition stage. Furthermore, our extra-curricular offer will allow your child to take part in a range of activities including a plethora of sporting teams; regular showcases of Creative and Performing Arts subjects and the opportunity to gain a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. We encourage as many of our students as possible to remain in school for our Period 7 enrichment offer, whereby your child will be able to not only focus on intervention in subjects, but also engage with our debate club; creative writing and book club; design and technology club; sports teams including netball, basketball, rugby and football; Dance and Drama groups and our school choir and rock group.
“Pupils attend regularly because they enjoy school.” Ofsted 2018
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SIXTH FORM Amethyst Sixth Form is the final stage in your child’s journey with us, with all students automatically being offered a place at The Amethyst Sixth Form having achieved success at GCSE. Aldersley Students grow increasingly excited about continuing their education within the Trust, as a result of a guidance programme designed to break down barriers and build long lasting relationships with Sixth Form Staff and Students. Our students can enjoy a wide range of Level Three courses from challenging vocational courses to academic A levels, combined together with a number of additional qualifications and designed to create individual programmes of learning with specific careers and pathways in mind – bridging that gap between study and employment – in order to suit your child and their aspirations. It is this combination of academic excellence, strong community ethos and
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the provision of enriching activities which develop their personalities and prepare them for employment and higher education, that make our Sixth Form so successful. As in the lower school, your child will be supported by an experienced team of teachers, tutors and pastoral staff, working together to achieve excellent academic outcomes which will enable them to continue their studies. A high percentage of our students choose university as their next step, with many of them securing places at prestigious Russell Group universities across the UK, in which to continue to pursue their dream career.
AMETHYST
ASPIRE PROGRAMME “High standards of behaviour and engagement are evident in lessons.� Ofsted 2018 As a part of the Trust, students at Aldersley High School embark on a futures programme with us from day one. This programme has been written to ensure that your child will supported to become a future leader with high expectations and the knowledge to succeed. The skills that they learn on the programme help them to develop into responsible world citizens who believe in their goals and passions.
to help them explore the wider world of employment and higher education.
We achieve this through an extensive guidance programme that begins in year seven and continues with regular one-to-one interviews as our team of dedicated advisors provide your child with bespoke and impartial advice, opportunities and experiences
It is this careful and incremental guidance that will ensure that your child leaves us able to contribute to society in a manner that is both progressive and forward thinking.
We are fortunate enough to have established, over the years, strong links with many employers who provide regular opportunities for mock interviews and CV writing as well as advice when attending our regular careers fairs, inspirational talks and assemblies.
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SPORT
AT ALDERSLEY: “Pupils appreciate the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities on offer at the school.� Ofsted 2018 At Aldersley High School, we value physical education and sports, encouraging many of our students to become Sports Leaders during their time with us. Our fantastic facilities include a three badminton court sports hall; climbing wall; a health and fitness suite; a dance and aerobics studio, alongside a number of football and rugby pitches and netball and basketball courts. We offer an extensive out of hours learning programme within our Period 7 enrichment and the
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school has a proud record of successful individuals and teams who have played and performed at exceedingly high levels. In addition to curriculum based lessons, we provide opportunities for your child to engage with sport and physical education outside of their lessons and compete regularly for Wolverhampton and beyond, for both their physical and mental fitness.
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Aldersley High School Barnhurst Lane, Codsall Wolverhampton, WV8 1RT Tel: 01902 556868 www.aldersley.aatrust.co.uk
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