St Bernard's High School Prospectus 2024

ST BERNARD’S HIGH SCHOOL

LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU

WELCOME HEADTEACHER’S

As the headteacher of St Bernard’s High School, I am delighted to welcome you to our school prospectus and thank you for showing interest in our school.

St Bernard’s (as we often are known) has a wonderful history of providing an excellent Catholic education to young people in Southend and its surrounding areas. Whilst our school was founded by the Bernardine Sisters, there has been an educational provision on our site since 1875. In 1910, the sisters formally took over the site; the beginning of the school that we currently have today. We are a highly successful girls’ school with a thriving mixed Sixth Form.

High expectations and educational standards alongside all-encompassing pastoral care make St Bernard’s more than a school. We know our students and build connections with each and every one – we are a family! We recognise and seek to further develop, deepen and nurture the individual talents, abilities and possibilities within all of the students that we serve.

We prioritise getting to know our students’ ambitions (and their families) as we understand our role in helping and guiding them towards their chosen paths towards fulfilling lives both professionally and personally.

We are proud of the achievements of our students and staff at both GCSE and A Level. Whilst our performance measures at GCSE and A Level would place us well above national averages and within the top 20% of schools in the country, we are never complacent and always want to push further forward.

St Bernard’s is a very special place in which to learn and work. We fully understand the importance of providing our young people with a holistic Catholic education which cherishes the spiritual and supports the academic ability of all within our school community. We are committed to living our mission statement, “Love one another as I have loved you,” as we enjoy and celebrate the strong relationships which have built and sustained our diverse community since we began.

I hope that you find the information that you need in our prospectus taking a little time to get to know better our school community and its distinctive nature.

MRS.

ALLISON MOISE-DIXON, HEADTEACHER

The

Bernardine

charism, ‘There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is love’, is truly reflected in the learning achieved and service given by the students.

CATHOLIC SCHOOL INSPECTION, MAY 2024

CATHOLIC LIFE

SCHOOL VISION & ETHOS

COMPUTERS TEACH CONTENT, TEACHERS TEACH VALUES.

You must not only teach content, but the values and customs of life. There are three things that you must pass on. A computer can teach content, but to understand how to love, to understand values and customs which create harmony

in

society, it takes a good teacher. POPE FRANCIS

Ours is a community where we continually work towards living out our Mission Statement, “Love one another as I have loved you,” in our school and in the parish communities to which we belong. This aspiration is supported by our strong and effective pastoral system, underpinned by Gospel values, which provides an effective base for students’ academic and personal development. We are fortunate to enjoy a close, positive relationship with our families who support us in achieving these aims. The result is a very special ethos, with a combination of faith, focus and fun, as staff and students share in learning at St Bernard’s together.

We are ambitious for every young person who enters our doors. We aim to continue to drive the school towards outstanding so that our students fondly remember the broad, balanced, experiential education they received which prepared them for the demands of the 21st century

both professionally and spiritually. Our challenging and relevant curriculum aims to provide our students with skills and knowledge that will sustain them long after they have left St Bernard’s. We believe that inspired by faith, a belief in the power of education and its ability to make a difference underpinned by a commitment to empowering our young people, our students will thrive!

Our strategic aims are laid out in our school development plan which is overseen by our Trustees (governing body) who are responsible for holding to account the headteacher and senior leaders to see this vision fulfilled.

St Bernard’s enjoys a committed and talented staff who share in this vision and know how vital it is for us to know the capabilities of all our children and how we can best support them to meet and excel against challenging targets. Every child counts.

OUR SCHOOL

CURRICULUM

KEY STAGE 3

St Bernard’s High School has an ambitious, broad and balanced three-year Key Stage 3 curriculum that meets the needs of all learners. It provides challenging and creative learning in the school, in the outdoor environment and in the local community and beyond. As well as providing a secure foundation for achievement in Key Stage 4, our curriculum equips learners with the skills that they will need to succeed in education, life and work.

The main principles of our curriculum are outlined below:

• The curriculum has the following characteristics: breadth, balance, relevance, adaptation, progression and continuity coherence.

• The curriculum promotes knowledge and understanding; mastery of intellectual, physical and interpersonal skills and personal qualities, values and attitudes.

• Equality of access for all students.

• The school provides appropriate tasks and teaching techniques to support high expectations and appropriate challenges.

• Parents are provided with curriculum information relevant to their child.

• The curriculum is subject to planned evaluation and review by senior staff, and the governors’ Teaching & Learning Committee.

• Provision is made within the school for all students with additional needs.

• The curriculum includes strong representation from the arts, languages and technology disciplines, in order to develop all aspects of students’ skills, knowledge and understanding. Students study: Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Technology, Computing, Modern Foreign Language, Geography, History, PSHE, PE, Art, Music, Dance, and Drama.

A full tutorial programme is offered which focuses on the needs of young adults as they progress in their education, and helps them to develop the skills and knowledge they need to understand and participate in their local community. Students have regular tutorial time covering PSHE / RSE topics, as well as preparation for the next stages in their learning journey.

As a Catholic school, St Bernard’s wishes to assist young people in their journey of faith. We share with all our students the Catholic vision of life through a structured programme of Religious Education. The aim is to help students know and understand this tradition in a clear and more comprehensive way. The Religious Education programme of study supports and helps strengthen the ethos of the school, and the partnership between family, parish and school.

Pupils work hard in lessons and their behaviour in class is focused and engaged.

OFSTED 2023

KEY STAGE 4

The Key Stage 4 curriculum is a two-year programme, designed to ensure that all students receive a broad, balanced and relevant educational experience, which equips them for life-long learning in an ever-changing society. In addition, as a school with a Catholic ethos, we also believe that the spiritual and moral dimension of education is an essential part of personal growth and academic development.

Our Key Stage 4 Curriculum is broad so that students can experience a range of opportunities across the curriculum; balanced because it is unwise for students to narrow down their options before the age of 16; relevant to students’ individual needs and to the demands of a rapidly-changing world; and personalised so that the level and type of work are suited to the ability and learning style of each individual student.

In Key Stage 4, students have enhanced time for the core subjects of English and Mathematics. As a faith school, it is right that all students follow a GCSE RE course. The time allocated to PE for all students recognises the importance of health and fitness in our lives and all students have the opportunity to become confident in a foreign language.

KEY STAGE 5

Our curriculum offers flexibility and choice within a guided structure. In creating our offer, we are careful to listen to student demand and where possible we will add extra classes for popular subjects. Within this framework, which promotes the ‘English Baccalaureate’, students usually take ten GCSE qualifications: Religious Education, English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Science (double award), a Modern Foreign Language and three options subjects. Further information is available on the website under Curriculum, GCSE Option Choices: GCSE Option Choices - www.stbernardswestcliff.org.uk

Information on the Key Stage 5 curriculum is available on the website under Sixth Form, Courses on Offer: Courses on Offer - www.stbernardswestcliff.org.uk

EXTRA-CURRICULAR

Across all Key Stages many extra-curricular activities are available, including the Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh award, the Arts Leader award, clubs in Art, Dance, Drama, Music, Photography and Physical Education are available, as well as sports teams, homework support and revision classes. The library and computer rooms are available at lunchtimes, with study facilities also available before and after the school day.

PASTORAL CARE

St Bernard’s prides itself on the strong pastoral team that has developed and grown. Heads of Year are available to support all the students in the year group and have regular interactions with them.

St Bernard’s also has a team of learning mentors to support students for a range of issues. These can include for example time management, stress and anxiety and examination strategies when revising. Students can be referred to the learning mentor team via their Head of Year or self-refer to the Pastoral Support Manager. Once a Learning Mentor is assigned, they will then take part in a programme which normally lasts about 6 sessions. If a student needs more sessions, this will always be accommodated. Group sessions are also run by the learning mentor team and these include young carers and bereavement.

For those students who struggle with transition - whether that be from Year 6 or into the Sixth Form, the learning mentors can support that transition with a bespoke support plan addressing the needs of the students.

St Bernard’s High School is a welcoming, inclusive school. Leaders have high expectations of pupils in terms of learning and behaviour. OFSTED 2023

There is a calm and respectful atmosphere within the school and all members of the community live out the mission, ‘Love one another as I have loved you’.

CATHOLIC SCHOOL INSPECTION, MAY 2024

ST BERNARD’S HIGH SCHOOL

Many pupils choose to study the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). The EBacc is an academically ambitious range of GCSE subjects that provides a foundation for a wide range of future careers and/or study.

OFSTED 2023