The Grove School

Sonia Taylor, Headteacher

According to Aristotle, “excellence is never an accident. It is always the results of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wide choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” At The Grove School, we have our vision based around ‘A mindset to succeed’, where students consistently work hard to strive for their best.

We are so lucky to be able to work with so many talented students and staff that are dedicated to becoming the best that they can be. Whilst not every student is necessarily academic, we strive to make sure all students have access to opportunities beyond the curriculum and have a space to be able to find enjoyment in school and be the best that they can be. Students have been involved in creating their curriculum and we have also spent a lot of time developing our extra curriculum offer to provide lots of opportunities beyond the classroom, and this is certainly an area that we will be continuing to focus upon in the next school year.

This term, we are focusing on some of the excellence that we have experienced in our school and the contributions that our staff and students have made in achieving this Trust value.

Beyond the classroom, we have had a range of musical events that have been able to showcase our excellence in talent from both our school and the local community. Not only have ‘Voice Box’ been involved in a range of performances in the local community, but our talented students have also performed at our recent open evening, Year 6 move up events and in our Grove Music Summer Celebration evening where they provided a concert demonstrating true excellence and joy at the height of the summer term.

Our Careers programme at The Grove School is a vital element of our Discovery Curriculum where we introduce our students not only to elements of discovering our self and our place within the community but also in developing dreams and ambitions for the future. The Grove School was again awarded the achievement of 100% pass of all of the Gatsby Benchmarks for the fifth time in a row and it is the first school in Shropshire to achieve this status. We have also recently undertaken our first Careers Fair for many years, with companies sharing information for students to explore and experience.

As part of our end of year celebrations, staff also wanted to have the opportunity to share some of the excellence that they get to experience every day with some of our students at The Grove School. Although we don’t have enough space to share all of our students’ achievements here, we would like to share some of our really notable mentions here:

Mr Darlington wanted to celebrate Phoebe in Year 9: “When I first met Phoebe in September, she lacked confidence and as a result did not really like Maths. Despite this, she has made a huge effort in her Maths lessons this year. She has been extremely driven to succeed in the subject. Whether it be asking more questions in class or independent revision outside of school, her dedication and hard work have been truly impressive. It was great to see her hard work pay off with her end of year test where she achieved an amazing score answering questions all at a GCSE standard. I am not sure if she loves Maths now, but she certainly isn’t afraid of it anymore. A huge well done.”

Mr Barber wanted to highlight the work of Lauren in Year 10 for GCSE PE: “What an absolute pleasure Lauren is in the classroom, she is self-motivated and has a real hunger to achieve, her work ethic is exemplary. She is willing to help and support other students and is a true role model to all.”

Mr Jackson wanted to share his gratitude for the efforts of his Year 10 GCSE English class: “I am so lucky to be able to teach this class. They are one of the brightest groups that I have had the pleasure to teach in some years and have a thirst to be excellent. Whilst they are only halfway through their course, Market Drayton is really lucky to have such talented young minds who will undoubtedly set the world on fi i th f t ith th i t ti l and mind set to succeed.” grove-school

The PE Department wanted to share their gratitude for the efforts of Charlie and Shea in Year 8 and Konnor, Isla and Savannah in Year 9: “We cannot praise these students enough. They consistently demonstrate an outstanding work ethic and commitment in every lesson, and always show a real interest and desire to improve in all sports/activities. They use their initiative and volunteer to organise equipment and set up working areas. They have made PE lessons a really positive experience this year.”

Other notable mentions include: Katelyn P, Arthur H, Laiannie L, Ava L, Scarlett H, Grace G, Jasmine-Lily J, Ewelina B, Noah S, Evie B, Owne S and Ollie G.