WELCOME
from the Principal I am delighted to welcome you to The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, a popular and vibrant learning community serving the families of Lancing, Sompting and Shoreham.
At SRWA we are absolutely committed to ensuring that our young people reach their full potential and we are lucky to have a great team of teachers who are totally committed to their subjects and our students. I can honestly say that great teaching is the foundation of what makes SRWA work. We believe that the whole child is the whole point which is why we ensure all of our students experience a curriculum that is both rich and challenging as well as developing their wider experiences through an extensive extra-curricular provision. As well as a robust academic core our students benefit from a fantastic offer in terms of the creative arts and we are well known for our Music, Dance and Drama departments. Likewise, our sporting provision is excellent and we are very proud of the extremely active and successful SRWA Bears, an accredited basketball school with the biggest development programme in Sussex. We understand that the day to day experience for our students is paramount and we work hard to provide an ambitious and stimulating educational environment that challenges them all to achieve their very best while ensuring they feel well supported and nurtured through our excellent pastoral system. Students joining SRWA in year 7 are embarking on an exciting seven-year journey. We are proud to be an 11-18 school that allows students to build on their successes at Key Stage 4 in the sixth form where our award-winning careers provision supports them in taking the right next steps. Former sixth formers have gone on to an excellent range of destinations from employment to top universities, including Russell Group and Oxbridge.
The Seven-Year
JOURNEY We look forward to guiding your child through their seven-year journey at SRWA, as they progress from year 7 through to our sixth form and onwards to university or the world of work. Our rich, everyday curriculum inspires and develops students, preparing them to be global citizens and ready for their next steps; while our year group pastoral teams will know and nurture your child, supporting and guiding them throughout their time here. Students also receive focussed help during key times such as primary transition, choosing GCSE options, exploring post-16 subjects in our sixth form, and making important choices like careers and university. We work in partnership with parents and carers to teach our students to be resilient, while always encouraging them to be ambitious and aim high. We have high expectations for our students and take pride in seeing them move on to some excellent destinations, including some of the world’s top institutions such as Oxford University.
An Inspiring
CURRICULUM At The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, we provide a rich and rewarding curriculum experience that aligns with our ethos of developing the whole child to be a mature and successful member of our community. We understand ‘curriculum’ to be what the students experience every day, both in lessons and in the many extra activities, and experiences they have available to them outside of the classroom. It is our solid consensus that a broad and balanced curriculum with a strong academic core is a right for all our students. We, therefore, provide a three year Key Stage 3, covering all aspects of the national curriculum including PSHE, Citizenship, SRE and IT. At Key Stage 4, our curriculum is structured to ensure high ambition for all our students. All students are entitled to follow the Ebacc pathway regardless of prior attainment or SEND - we believe this is the most appropriate route for the majority of our students. A number of vocational options are also made available at Key Stage 4 to further expand the offer. Currently, over 75% of our students complete an Ebacc pathway and we have a committed ambition for this to increase further.
BEYOND
the Classroom Our commitment to educating the whole child means that we invest a lot in our extended curriculum. Our expectation is that every child in the Academy will be involved in some form of personal enrichment during their time with us. The after-school clubs and extra-curricular opportunities at the Academy are therefore numerous and cater for the many varied interests of our students, ranging from activities as diverse as debating to Dungeons and Dragons, and coding to creative writing. Sports are a huge part of Academy life and we encourage students to take part and represent the school in their chosen sport. Our SRWA Bears Basketball Academy is well-known in the area and beyond, providing students with fantastic experiences and expert coaching. Performing Arts is another huge strength of the Academy and the quality of opportunities in this area is exceptional. Students will have the chance to play in a band, sing in a choir and to take part in the numerous music, drama and dance performances that take place throughout the year. We believe that trips are a valuable part of the experience of every child and we offer a wide range of educational visits including overseas.
SIXTH Form
As part of their seven-year journey, we encourage all year 11 SRWA students to continue their learning at W6 Sixth Form, a welcoming and vibrant extension of the Academy. One of the many benefits of studying at W6 is that students have the best of both worlds - the traditional support of a school, alongside the freedom to follow their own path. We know our students very well and pride ourselves on offering a personalised experience where the curriculum is tailored to their needs, ensuring that each of them is on the right path to their chosen destination. Sixth formers enjoy a more relaxed and informal setting in their own dedicated W6 building, with excellent resources, separate from the main school. Their relationships with teachers become more of a partnership, working together to navigate towards their aspirations and goals. We are immensely proud of what our students achieve, from entering some of the top universities in the world to working in competitive industries. The work we do at W6 is all about supporting students in achieving their next steps, whatever they might be. W6 is a great place to develop and grow as an individual, build new friendships and start new in a space that combines all the best SRWA has to offer with the benefits of a mature and independent college environment.
Links and
PARTNERSHIPS At SRWA we work hard to ensure that our Academy is well connected to the real world. We enjoy fantastic support from the local business community and host successful careers events where our students get to interview industry experts and learn about different career paths and choices from the horse’s mouth. It is important to us that we bring learning to life wherever possible so our students take part in real life science research through our links with IRIS (Institute of Research in Schools), they build and race their own car through Greenpower and perform in real theatres, learning from working professionals thanks to our association with Chichester Festival Theatre and the National Theatre. In sports we are proud to be the home of the Sussex Bears basketball team and are one of the few schools around to have our own successful Basketball Academy offering high level coaching every day before school. As part of the wider Woodard Corporation family, we are fortunate to benefit from close working links with Lancing and Hurstpierpoint Colleges, both among the best independent schools in the country. We share expertise and curriculum knowledge, broadening the range of opportunities available to both our students and staff.
SPONSOR'S Message
Welcome to The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, part of the Woodard Academies Trust. We are a collaboration of six schools across England working together to meet our ambitious goals for students and staff. Our motto is opening minds, raising expectations and transforming lives and we strive to create learning communities where every student sets high expectations and achieves them regardless of background. We want to ignite in them a curiosity about the world and a love of learning that will stay with them for life. We know that a successful education will transform the lives of young people into adulthood so they have rewarding careers, strong relationships, and make positive contributions to their community and society. We invest heavily in our staff and seek to provide opportunities to share best practice, develop expertise, draw on local, national and international research, and form partnerships within and beyond the Trust. We support them to further their careers within the school and Trust - so we retain and develop the best teachers. We are proud to be part of the wider Woodard group of schools, founded by Nathaniel Woodard in 1848, which includes independent and affiliated schools, some of which are the best performing in their region. We all share the founder’s vision of an excellent education, underpinned by Christian values while welcoming people of all faiths and none.
Upper Boundstone Lane Sompting, Lancing West Sussex, BN15 9QZ t: 01903 767434 e: enquiries@srwa.woodard.co.uk w: www.srwa.woodard.co.uk
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