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“Hillview offers the complete package; excellent academic and teaching facilities combined with brilliant pastoral care.� J Harman, Parent
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Welcome from the Headteacher It is a great pleasure to introduce you to Hillview School for Girls, a highly successful non-selective school with a mixed Sixth Form in the heart of Tonbridge. Hillview is proud of its friendly, supportive ethos where students have the confidence to explore and develop their passions across a wide field of study and experience. A Hillview student is confident, aspirational, resilient and determined. Our dedicated, passionate staffing body supports each individual’s personal development, from their first steps through the school gates to when they leave at the end of their Sixth Form studies. Students develop life-long skills throughout their time at Hillview, whether this be through the supportive, caring pastoral system, within their education or through the extensive opportunities available to every child. Our high-flying performing arts specialism achieves exceptional standards within both the performance and production arts. With direct links into industry and higher education, our students are able to access unique experiences and secure their future progression within this challenging field. All students benefit from the confidence, creativity and resilience that the performing arts instil and use these essential
transferable skills to secure success across their studies, within their interests and in preparation for the world of work. Hillview School for Girls is recognised as one of the top performing non-selective schools in Kent and is the highest achieving non-selective girls’ school in Kent. Students learn within a focused, engaging environment, which combines the right mix of knowledge, skills and techniques, enabling them to flourish as independent learners. Each child’s needs are addressed through the personalised approach our school takes to support the individual, resulting in happy, successful students. I look forward to welcoming you to our vibrant, exciting school and developing our future working partnership to support your child in the next stage of education. Do visit our website for more information, visit the school on the open days or, even better, see the school in action on one of our many day tours which are available throughout the year.
Hilary Burkett Headteacher
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Inspiring a passion for achievement As one of the top-performing non-selective schools in Kent, we have high expectations of all our students. Progress and attainment are consistently high and we have a long-standing track record of success. Our dedicated, passionate teachers inspire students through creative, fun and well-crafted lessons that contain the right levels of challenge and support. This ensures that students can develop a rich portfolio of skills, knowledge and confidence to help them achieve their personal best. At Hillview, we raise students’ aspirations and reward their hard work. We support the development of independent young women who are equipped for the challenges of the modern world within and beyond education. The vast majority of our students stay at Hillview for their post-16 education. High levels of academic success ensure that many of them go on to study at Russell Group universities.
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There’s a good balance of care for students, discipline and an ethos of nurtured academia. Year 7 Parent
www.hillview.kent.sch.uk
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Hillview is a happy, purposeful environment where students can feel confident and secure. At the heart of our success is the care we take with our students.
This is a caring, supportive school. Students enjoy coming to school. The respectful and harmonious ethos permeates the school community. OFSTED 2013
We understand that the transition to secondary school can seem daunting, so we have a structured transition programme and work closely with our local primary schools and parents to ensure that students who join us in Year 7 feel at home and settle into the school quickly. Achievements are recognised and praised regularly and we have a strong rewards culture, which enhances learning and performance throughout the school. Behaviour is excellent and we have very high expectations with regard to discipline
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and respect for others. Personal Development Learning (PDL) lessons are an important part of the curriculum and help build decisionmaking skills, self-assurance and self-discipline. Taught by specialist teachers, these lessons include personal, social, health and economic studies. We are proud of our pastoral support and student welfare provision at Hillview. Students’ mentors are usually the first point of contact, but our wider pastoral team and highly experienced teachers, dedicated SENDCO and support staff are all on hand to ensure that they are supported, both academically and psychologically.
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‘I have been very impressed with the time and attention given to the transition process, which has been extremely helpful in enabling my daughter to settle quickly’. Year 7 Parent
www.hillview.kent.sch.uk
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Nurturing imagination
and innovation
With specialist Performing Arts status, Hillview School for Girls is a recognised leader in Performing Arts provision and holds the prestigious Artsmark Platinum Award from Arts Council England. Our subject experts have a proven track record of delivering imaginative, engaging lessons, as well as producing a wide range of annual shows, musicals, concerts and exhibitions, to professional standards.
We have a full school orchestra which performs regularly and students who play a musical instrument are able to access lessons from peripatetic music specialists. We also offer LAMDA qualifications to students who wish to gain an additional industry-recognised qualification in the Performing Arts.
Dance Students at Hillview thrive and flourish academically and socially because of the well-rounded education we offer in which Dance plays a vital role. Dance lessons excite and challenge students as well as enabling them to develop essential skills for the workplace and beyond. Dance can awaken a zest for learning which often translates through to many other subjects.
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08 Music Music develops self-expression, leadership skills and a capacity to understand and express ideas and feelings. It also enables students to develop an awareness of other cultures and traditions. The teaching of the key areas of musicianship such as composing, performing, listening and appraising supports the development of the whole student.
Drama Drama allows students the freedom to explore issues and themes in a safe environment, while harnessing performance skills which are transferable, assisting students with presentations, speaking, listening, and social interaction. Drama is the platform from which students can raise their self-esteem and confidence, while empathising with characters’ situations and predicaments. It allows young people to become secure, thoughtful and compassionate and to adapt and thrive in any environment.
We are proud to work with:
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Wide-ranging and stimulating
curriculum
Every student at Hillview has the opportunity to gain a high-quality education through the provision of a rich and exciting range of subjects. This diverse curriculum allows students of all abilities to develop their competencies in accordance with their interests and emerging ambitions. As well as studying the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science, students joining Hillview in Year 7 will learn French or Spanish, as well as History, Geography, P.E., Dance, Drama, Art, Textiles, Personal Development Learning and Food Technology. Careers provision is also integrated into the curriculum and students are
given one-to-one advice from our qualified Careers Advisor during their time here. We appreciate that every student is unique, so from Year 9 onwards, a variety of progression routes are on offer to suit different learning styles and interests. With a detailed knowledge of their students, our teachers monitor attainment regularly and provide individual feedback and guidance to ensure that no one is left behind. We ensure that every student
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receives the right level of support and challenge for their needs. Our aim is to create curious and active learners who will go on to become well-rounded citizens, able to flourish in today’s increasingly knowledge-based, interconnected world. We achieve this through our approaches to teaching, learning and behaviour, but also through extracurricular activities and trips, our attitude to pastoral care, student leadership and our whole-school ethos.
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It’s good to be part of a forward-thinking school that is focused on producing confident, well-educated girls ready to face an everchanging future. Caroline Ross, Year 7 Parent
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Celebrating ourunique qualities
Leadership and responsibility Students are actively involved in helping to shape the school. Through the Student Council, students are able to represent their peers on the key issues that affect them, whilst others might apply to become school ambassadors or subject ambassadors. In the Sixth Form, we also offer the opportunity for students to stand for Head Boy and Head Girl or to become a prefect.
Community work Through learning communities, students are responsible for organising a variety of fundraising initiatives throughout the year. These range from bring-and-buy sales to donations and enterprise projects that involve the local community. We also have a long-standing connection with the village of Kabubbu in Uganda and have raised funds for the Quicken Trust charity to enable Hillview students and staff to visit and support the cause several times over the past five years.
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elopment
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Leadership & Responsibility
ExtraCurricular
Community Work
Extra-curricular
It is always a great pleasure to visit the school and I always come away feeling invigorated after seeing so much enthusiasm and drive within your young charges. Former Year 11 Parent
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With over 80 extra-curricular clubs, there is something to spark every interest. Our cheerleading team is particularly popular and has won several community competitions. We also have a wide range of sports clubs – from gymnastics to handball, netball and hockey. Other clubs range from Languages to Fashion, Duke of Edinburgh, Art and Philosophy and of course these are complemented by a range of trips and visits each term; including recent trips to Spain and New York. A range of outside speakers and workshops are organised each term too. Our successful Modern Languages department is part of the Erasmus Plus programme, which enables six European schools to collaborate and become involved in cultural exchanges and the sharing of best practice.
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Building a supportive
environment
We are an inclusive school. Every individual counts at Hillview, so it is important that everyone feels integral to the wider Hillview community, a part of something big. The learning communities form the basis of our mentor groupings and also lend a competitive edge to the sporting and rewards activities that we participate in throughout the year. Each of these groups is led by a Leader of Community and meets weekly for assembly.
Each learning community is also linked to a charity and everyone is encouraged to work together on fundraising and other community activities. Within our vertical mentoring system there is a sense of mutual respect and care. We have developed a very successful peer mentoring system, so that there is real trust between students and also between students and staff.
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We work in partnership with parents and encourage them to be involved with the school. Regular communications include parent consultation evenings, a weekly newsletter, reports, contact with your daughter’s mentor and other information events. Our active, friendly Parent Teacher Association holds regular meetings, which all parents are invited to join.
The sense of community, mutual support and nurture within the school is obvious and a real credit to the staff. Year 11 Parent
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Hillview School for Girls Brionne Gardens Tonbridge Kent TN9 2HE SAT NAV Postcode: TN9 2DQ T: 01732 352793 E: admin@hillview.kent.sch.uk www.hillview.kent.sch.uk