St. Mark’s Church of England Academy
A community founded on Love, Hope and Trust. ACADEMY PROSPECTUS
Welcome and Vision Welcome to the vibrant community of St. Mark’s Church of England Academy. I hope our prospectus gives you a glimpse of the fantastic offer we make to young people, their families and the wider community. Vision “To provide an outstanding education, based on love, hope and trust and dedicated to academic and character excellence.”
The Academy’s values permeate the school strongly www.stmarksacademy.com
OfSTED
St. Mark’s offers a commitment to achievement within a community underpinned by the values and teachings of the Church. We are committed to inspire in our young people a thirst for learning, high levels of motivation, a great sense of fun, wonder and excitement alongside the highest levels of development, progress and achievement. We love staff to speak with excitement about teaching and learning, constantly giving their best, consistently having the highest expectations of students and themselves, delivering outstanding
lessons as a way of life and regularly carrying out Practitioner research to constantly raise the bar. Parents are our close partners in education, fully trusting us to honour our promises, working with us to ensure that every day their child is loved, nurtured and challenged to develop and achieve at the highest levels. The Academy is sponsored by CfBT – an educational charity, whose aim is “Providing education for public benefit”. Working with CfBt, the Southwark Diocese and partners in Merton allows us to bring additional expertise to the academy and benefit to students and staff. The best way of seeing the Academy is to visit during a normal school day. As Principal, l am always happy to welcome you to see our school and its wonderful facilities.
Lisa Peterkin Academy Principal
St. Mark’s Church of England Academy
Academic life The curriculum at St Mark’s has been carefully designed for the 21st Century world.
Throughout the curriculum, subject teachers focus
Students in Key Stage 3 follow a curriculum engineered to maximise their progress in the core areas of English, Mathematics and Science. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum with our students following programmes of study in traditional academic subjects, languages, PSHE and RE alongside practical subjects.
skills ensures students are able to learn effectively
All our programmes of study at Key Stage 3 are built with the demands of GCSE and A level in mind: students follow a logical ‘spiral’ where knowledge, understanding and skills are developed from Year 7 through to the end of Year 13, ready for university entry, employment or training. Our GCSE programme offers a very wide range of core and optional subjects. We have effective provision for our Gifted and Talented students offering them excellent opportunities to be extended and challenged. We have good levels of support for those students with additional needs. We have an excellent track record of working with students who do not speak English at home.
on developing cross-curricular skills including literacy and numeracy along with Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural skills (SMSC). The development of these and independently. Our curriculum is extended through a comprehensive extra-curricular enrichment programme with a wide range of academic, sporting, musical and other enrichment activities on offer including for example Mindfulness and Duke of Edinburgh. We ensure a variety of trips and events take place to extend our students’ opportunities. We have very high quality teaching at St Mark’s, only ever recruiting high quality subject specialists. Teachers are given excellent training and development. Strong quality assurance systems mean lessons are habitually good and often outstanding. St Mark’s Academy has enviable facilities on an impressive site. For example we have cutting-
St Mark’s is a good school because it cares for its students, goes the extra mile. ST. MARK’S STUDENT
edge Science laboratories and excellent Sports facilities. Technology is used effectively to extend learning.
www.stmarksacademy.com
6th Form At St Mark’s, our mission is to provide an outstanding education for every young adult that learns with us. As a school based Sixth Form College, students who attend can enjoy the extra freedoms and responsibilities, yet still remain part of a nurturing and challenging community founded on love, hope and trust.
St Mark’s is a potpourri of students with diverse culture. St Mark’s Academy is not only inviting for teachers and students, but also parents. ST. MARK’S PARENT
Our varied curriculum offer ensures students can prepare for the next stage of their education. Whether their ambition is to attend a Russell Group University or gain credible qualifications respected and recognised by universities leading directly into employment and training, we have the path that will facilitate this. Each day students will experience high quality, creative teaching and learning, delivered by staff who have a unique understanding of pupils’ strengths and areas for development. This will inspire a thirst for learning.
Our students have excellent leadership and enrichment opportunities that provide the skill set required for higher education. We pride ourselves on high quality career guidance and exceptional links with apprenticeship schemes and businesses that prepare our students for the world of work. Our Higher Education Programme combines academic experiences and cultural visits to provide an all-encompassing preparation for university life. The commitment we have to the success of every student, along with the supportive relationships between staff and students means that St Mark’s Sixth Form can be a place that cultivates your son or daughter’s path towards the next stage of their life.
www.stmarksacademy.com
Achievement and aspiration The curriculum at St Mark’s has been specifically designed to create an aspirational ‘learning community’ providing every young person with the chance to enjoy the very best education. The academy has an ambitious aim of ensuring all students make ‘outstanding’ progress; we are committed to ensuring all pupils make at least 4 levels of progress between KS2 and the end of KS4 and good levels of progress continue to the end of KS5. There is also specific focus on high levels of progress for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils. St Mark’s prides itself on an offer that is distinctive, varied, enjoyable and based on good assessment of pupils’ learning, believing that through working closely with parents, we can support our young people in achieving their goals. We continually track students’ progress, intervening at appropriate stages. The academy has developed a broad range of strategies to support its young people, tailored to students’ individual learning styles. St Mark’s reports to parents on their child’s attainment at six separate points throughout the academic year. Providing regular feedback on
progress enables individualised support. St Mark’s ensures there are individual education plans for every student who requires one. We nurture a culture in which high aspiration is celebrated and effort rewarded, holding regular assemblies celebrating attainment. Students are keen to be identified as those who aspire highly and achieve well; these students are presented with black academy jumpers and ties which identifies them as high performers.
Senior leaders are a key strength in this academy OfSTED www.stmarksacademy.com
www.stmarksacademy.com
Student Leadership The academy champions student voice and leadership opportunities, enabling students from all years to be successful leaders and learners. Our young people develop key skills, which they can use in later life, such as working in teams, public speaking, project management, overcoming challenges and mentoring. Yearly, we continue to widen the opportunities available, ensuring student voice and leadership remain an integral part of academy life. All students are invited to complete the whole school survey, which feeds into school improvement considerations.
This is an Academy that helps you to achieve your best, and one where you flourish.
HEAD BOY
Head Boy and Head Girl and Prefects Many students across the school aspire to be the 6th form Head Boy or Head Girl. Prefects are chosen from the 6th form with a deputy Head Boy and Girl in year 11. Previously, these students have gone on to represent the academy in many ways: addressing the whole school, leading on projects and managing prefects.
Academy Student Leadership Team Each year, a group is elected across the school, to represent all young people on the Academy Student Leadership Team. They work together on a weekly basis to discuss key issues and concerns, enabling student voice to be part of school improvement projects and decisions. The whole academy goes through a voting process; each student will then be interviewed and asked to present their ideas. Student Ambassadors This is the most popular leadership activity students of any age can participate in. As ambassadors students meet and greet visitors, representing the public face of the academy. Students take this role very seriously endeavouring to be internal and external ambassadors, acting as role models. Students have the opportunity to represent the academy at Open Days and Parents’ Evenings, even delivering presentations to parents, students and governors. There are many other ways students can get involved - becoming a member of the House Councils, Sports Leaders, Literacy and Numeracy mentors, Transition buddies. We look forward to continuing to strengthen this work, preparing and developing future leaders.
Care, guidance & support At St Mark’s positive relationships are at the core of any support and guidance offered. We take pride in the positive relationships we have within our community, having developed a restorative practice for when things don’t go to plan. We have a highly trained group of staff working with students, staff and families to provide support where it is needed.
St. Mark’s is a good school because staff go the extra mile to help our young people and there is a definite community feel to our school. I love it!
ST. MARK’S STAFF
All students are part of a vibrant House System. They have a coach who has daily personal contact and also access to a non-teaching pastoral specialist House Co-ordinator. The daily contact with the coach is an opportunity to have discussions regarding personal development and academic achievement. These are documented in each student’s Progress File. This will, over time, build a holistic profile of each individual pupil. The House Coordinator and Coach remain with a student for five years providing a level of care to allow students to flourish.
There are many other ways in which students may receive additional support from a full range of staff working in our “Inclusion Team”. There are specialist Literacy and Reading support programmes run by a team of SEN and EAL specialists, supporting students with additional needs. Our Vulnerable Students co-ordinator alongside the Kids Company offer a range of therapeutic provisions for students and their families.
www.stmarksacademy.com
Parents and community Strong relationships between home and school are vital to the success of young people. We start building these relationships from transition. Parents are invited to come to St Mark’s to meet our staff and are shown around the academy by a highly trained group of ambassadors. Parents have a range of one to one meetings, information evenings and smaller more informal coffee mornings. We are unique in the borough as we visit the home of every student joining us in Year 7. This is a real opportunity for us to get to know a family and to show we are willing to engage with them outside of the academy environment.
PROSPECTIVE PARENT www.stmarksacademy.com
Very welcoming. I felt totally at home, relaxed and valued as a visitor, most importantly as a prospective parent interested in choosing this school for my child
We take pride in the way we communicate with families. Staff will not hesitate to contact families to offer support, guidance and encouragement. We operate an open door policy, encouraging parents to come to see us should there be a reason.
We have a full programme of Parents’ Evenings throughout the year. These are vital to the success of all learners offering an opportunity for parents to meet with staff to discuss the progress of their son or daughter. Parents too can be involved in many ways including parent forums, surgeries, and information evenings Parents are actively encouraged to join us in our planning time as we see them as key partners in taking the academy forward.
Faith and values at St. Mark’s St Mark’s Church of England Academy is an inclusive Christian community committed to developing Christian values through everything we do. These shared values have shaped St Mark’s over recent years giving the academy its distinctive character. We welcome staff and students of all faiths and none. We strive to develop mutual understanding and respect between faiths. There is a designated chapel space and a multi-faith area to support the spiritual lives of members of the school community. St Mark’s has its own part-time Academy Chaplain working to develop the Christian ethos of the school community.
Acacia Road, Mitcham CR4 1SF T: 020 8648 6627 F: 020 8640 8305 E: schools@stmarksacademy.org.uk www.stmarksacademy.com
Sponsored by Southwark Diocese Board of Education
St Mark’s Church of England Trust is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England & Wales. Company No. 5875416 Registered Office: 60 Queens Road, Reading RG1 4BS