PROSPECTUS
Important Key Dates Year 7 Open Evening 11 October Deadline for applications 31 October National Offer Day 1 March Year 7 Welcome Inductions Day 8 July
Excellence Resilience Aspiration I am delighted to introduce you to Montsaye Academy; an established school which offers a warm and welcoming start to your child’s secondary education. We are located in a vibrant local community in the market town of Rothwell. I feel privileged to lead Montsaye Academy, it is a fantastic school that provides students with a rich education, continual support, and a huge range of opportunities. Whether it be sports, the arts, sciences, or other areas of interest, our students flourish into
Montsaye Academy is part of the Pathfinder Schools family of 10 schools. Our Trust has a clear vision to transform the lives of the students in our schools through providing them with inspiring learning experiences, both inside and outside the classroom. This vision is driven by our values: aspiration, responsibility and courage. We work with each child to understand their aspirations. This supports them to aim high and to achieve their goals. We encourage our children to take responsibility for their learning and their behaviour. This is critical in developing the skills for success in their lives after school. We believe in having the courage to face challenges and to support each other. This equips them to thrive during difficult times in both their learning and their lives.
independent, resilient, and courageous young people, who are proud of their education and are ambitious to reach their potential. We understand that it is a family decision when choosing a secondary school, and a decision which is incredibly exciting; our prospectus will give you an insight into what we offer our students throughout their time with us, however we are confident that you will learn the most by coming to visit us. We hold an annual open evening, and welcome you to attend one of our school tours. Mrs Deb Wilson Principal
Choosing a secondary school is an important decision, we would strongly encourage you to visit us and find out more about Montsaye and the way we work. You will find happy learners, committed staff and a learning community that puts children at the heart of every decision and every action. We are very fortunate to work in a Trust where our schools are located within the same area and where secondary staff work so closely with primary staff to support transition to make the move from primary to secondary school as smooth as possible. We look forward to welcoming you to Montsaye Academy. Ms Emma Sims CEO of Pathfinder Schools
School Values Our values of Excellence, Resilience and Aspiration underpin everything we do, and are a common language throughout the school.
Excellence Montsaye Academy celebrates excellence in everything we do and achieve. Our curriculum is designed to ensure our lessons are both varied and challenging with enquiry, thinking, questioning and independence developed every day. Our students are encouraged to show their best behaviours in every interaction they have with school staff, visitors and their peers. Our school routines have been developed to support students to maintain their readiness to learn in every lesson, every day.
Resilience Our young people live in a complex and ever-changing world, to enable them to thrive at Montsaye Academy they are offered opportunities, new and yet to be defined challenges.
Resilience is about persevering through setbacks, and risking mistakes to reach our goals. At Montsaye Academy, we want everyone to have the tenacity to overcome barriers and exceed expectations. We are passionate about our culture of determination and courage, where we equip our students with the skills they need to be responsible, confident, and well-rounded citizens.
Aspiration Wherever our students start, and wherever they want to go, our mission is to support them to become the best version of themselves. We achieve this by providing support, guidance, and challenge throughout their secondary journey. All students take part in careers related activities whether that be in subject focused sessions, on work experience, meeting university admissions tutors or apprenticeship providers. Our staff continually invest in guiding students to explore their options and be ambitious, plan for journey A and journey B, and ultimately support, encourage and guide them towards a bright future.
Excellence in care At Montsaye Academy we have a dedicated team of experienced staff who are available to support the changing needs of our students, supporting them to feel safe and happy, with their questions answered. Every student has a form tutor who they see daily, and who forms a key link between home and school, supporting us to work in partnership with our families. We also have dedicated safe spaces across the school for students to meet with their peers, and to receive support and guidance should they need to talk to a trusted adult.
What our students say: “Line up gets me prepared for the day and if I forget something, my tutor helps me out.’’ “I like that we read in form time; it’s always calm.’’ “Our teachers are nice and friendly.’’ “Our sports field is huge so we can all play football if we want.’’ “I can come back to Montsaye to swim in the evening which is really fun.’’ “I know teachers care about me.’’
Curriculum Our curriculum is designed to ensure that students have a rewarding and enjoyable experience at school that prepares them for further study at GCSE, Post 16 and beyond. The Montsaye Academy curriculum produces excellence, inspires resilience, and champions aspiration for everyone. Through our curriculum, we aim to: • • • • • •
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provide high challenge and high expectations guarantee access to a wide range of subjects and learning experiences tailor to the needs of our students, with wide ranging needs and talents ignite deeper learning prepare our students for their next steps, both academic and in their future careers provide opportunities for students to learn how to keep themselves safe both in their community and the wider world share knowledge of local and national concepts
In Key Stage 3, (Years 7, 8 and 9) all students follow a broad and balanced programme so there is an opportunity to experience a range of subjects over the three years. At Key Stage 4, (Years 10 and 11), students can specialise in subjects most relevant to them and their career aspirations. We have a comprehensive Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural development (SMSC) programme built around the Montsaye Academy values of Excellence, Resilience and Aspiration. We run dedicated ERA days providing our students with opportunities to learn from and be inspired by a wide range of experts, further equipping our students to flourish whilst learning at Montsaye and in whatever they choose to do next.
Extra-curricular/enrichment programme We offer a variety of lunchtime and after-school activities to give students the freedom to explore their interests in a familiar and safe environment. Our activities accommodate a broad range of interests and passions: our annual school musical is extremely popular within our local community. Our students are supported to take part in academic competitions such as Mathematical challenges, and we are proud to offer the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Working in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, Montsaye Academy is one of 500 secondary schools in the country with its own Combined Cadet Force (CCF). We believe that student achievement isn’t simply measured in terms of success in exams; we continue to be passionate about supporting and developing the whole child. Montsaye students benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities which develop their curiosity, thirst and wonder of the world in which they live: • • • • • •
PGL residentials Ski trip Art trips to Berlin, Barcelona, Florence University and theatre visits STEM opportunities Science and Geography field trips
Admission Process
Working as part of a Trust to support transition to secondary school As part of Pathfinder Schools Multi-Academy Trust, we are fortunate to have established links and positive relationships with primary schools so transition to secondary school is less daunting for children and their families. Our staff work with primary colleagues within the Trust in many different areas and this helps to support the transition process from Year 6 to Year 7. Primary school pupils have the opportunity to visit us during the day to see the school in action and meet with our students to work on reading, Mathematics, and sports, and to watch our fantastic annual musicals. Our Sixth Form students also work with primary pupils as part of the Pupil Parliament, developing ideas to benefit all students in the Trust.
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Parents can apply for a place using the online admissions system on the local council website. www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/childrenfamilies-education/schools-and-education/schoolsadmissions The closing date for transfer applications for September 2024 is 31 October 2023 Results for the 2024/25 transfers will be made available at the beginning of March 2024 If your child has been refused a place in the school you have applied for, you have the right to appeal against this decision.
Details of our admission criteria are available to view via our website.
Facilities The Base
Health and Nutrition
A dedicated safe space for learners who require additional support to access the curriculum, equipped with a wealth of resources, a sensory room and experienced staff.
Our school restaurant provides our students with competitively priced healthy choices for breakfast, break and lunch. Students also have the option to bring their own lunch into school if they wish.
ERA Hub We have a wellbeing focused nurture hub where students can meet to discuss key issues, plan events and work alongside school leaders to further develop the school, its’ environment and offer for young people.
Sports and Fitness At Montsaye, our students have access to a broad range of sports and fitness activities due to our comprehensive facilities. We are proud of our sporting and fitness facilities and offer these to the local community outside of the school day and term time. On site we have: • • • • • • •
20m swimming pool 4 badminton court size sports hall Third generation rubber crumb all weather pitch 5 grass football pitches 30+ station fitness suite Dance studio 4 tennis courts
For more information about our hire facilities, please visit the Sports Centre section of our website www.montsaye.northants.sch.uk/sports-centre.
What our staff say: “There’s a family atmosphere amongst staff.” “Shared resources allows flexibility and we are constantly evolving to further improve.” “Excellent team spirit.” “There’s a staff buzz; they rally the troops and get on board to have some fun.” “Montsaye staff really care about students.”
Sixth Form life Montsaye Academy is proud to offer a wide range of courses in the Sixth Form, which are taught by highly experienced subject specialists. Smaller teaching groups allow for individualised support and guidance; our Sixth Form and Year 11 teams invest time to better understand our students’ aspirations for the future enabling them to choose the right courses for them. The Sixth Form has its own dedicated area which allows students to experience the greater freedom of Sixth Form life. Students have their own ICT suite, study rooms, garden, snack hub social space as well as free onsite parking and access to our gym and swimming pool. Our Sixth Form students leave Montsaye Academy with a commitment to exceed; willing to help others, unafraid to follow their dreams and champion their beliefs. This is reflected in our high standards of dress and commitment to the school and our community. We encourage Sixth Form
students to make contributions in a range of leadership roles. We appoint a Head Boy, a Head Girl, deputies, and student ambassadors to represent the voice of the student body, provide a link between students and school and support the school to be even better through their leadership and engagement in a range of projects and initiatives.
What our Sixth Form say: “We benefit from smaller class sizes. It means that the help is always there.” Artemii “Because I really enjoy my subjects, the work doesn’t actually feel like work.” Madeleine “I like the independence we are given. It prepares us well for university.” Cameron
For further details about anything contained within this booklet, please contact:
Montsaye Academy
Greening Rd, Rothwell, NN14 6BB Tel: 01536 418844 Email: office@montsaye.pfschools.org.uk Follow us on Twitter: @montsaye
Sixth Form
Mrs K Jones, Head of Sixth Form kjones@montsaye.pfschools.org.uk 01536 418844 ext. 3024
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