2025 Whole School prospectus by Prince Henry's High School

PRINCE HENRY’S HIGH SCHOOL

An “Outstanding” Academy for Students aged 13-18

2025 Prospectus

PARVA MAGNA CRESCUNT

WELCOME TO PRINCE HENRY’S HIGH SCHOOL EVESHAM

I am very proud to be Chairman of Governors at Prince Henry’s High School. Today, we are a 13-18 co-educational comprehensive school with 1,300 students, including a strong Sixth Form of approximately 330. Situated just north of Evesham town centre, the school occupies a large campus of 18 acres with extensive playing fields, a 325-seat theatre (The Henrician Theatre), Sports Complex and Sixth Form Centre.

With consistently outstanding academic achievement, and well established as both an Academy and a Teaching School Hub, we are firmly looking to the future. We are committed to providing the very best education and opportunities for your child, as well as developing the next generation of teaching professionals. During the last visit to the school by Ofsted in March 2024, they made the following observation: “Everyone at Prince Henry’s is proud to be part of a united and vibrant community…. Pupils flourish academically and grow into caring and responsible young adults. They learn alongside enthusiastic, dedicated and knowledgeable staff”.

The governing body and staff of the school are committed to the achievement of high standards of academic work and behaviour for all students, whilst ensuring that they are happy, well-balanced young people with a moral sense of responsibility towards each other, as well as to the local and wider community.

Our aim is that students who leave Prince Henry’s will be confident, secure young people, equipped with the qualifications, experience and skills to make a positive contribution to society. The school has been accredited with the Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSCD) Gold Award, Career Mark and recently has been re-accredited as an Inclusion Quality Mark Centre of Excellence for our work in supporting our students. Under the direction of our Headteacher, Dr Evans, the staff at Prince Henry’s will ensure that the very best teaching and learning environment is created for our students.

Prince Henry’s High School is a very special place with a distinctive ethos. I hope that we will be able to welcome you to the Prince Henry’s community.

Mr S Butcher Chairman of Governors

LEFT TO RIGHT: MR A HULSE (OPERATIONS MANAGER), MRS C WEBB (ASSISTANT HEAD), MRS N BARKER (DEPUTY HEAD), MR B FREEMAN (SENIOR DEPUTY HEAD), DR A EVANS (HEADTEACHER), MRS A LUNGLEY (DEPUTY HEAD), MRS S THOMAS (DEPUTY HEAD), MR A DUFFY (ASSISTANT HEAD)

A message from the Headteacher

It is a privilege indeed to be Headteacher of such an outstandingly successful school and to work with such dedicated students, staff, parents/carers and governors. As a parent myself with one child who has just started their second year at university having attended Prince Henry’s, and another who is in the early stage of their teaching career, I fully understand that choosing the right school is one of the most important decisions you will ever have to make. I hope the information in this prospectus will provide you with a flavour of our wonderful school.

We are all very proud of being part of Prince Henry’s High School and are conscious of its history, current achievements and distinctive ethos. Visitors to the school and classroom often comment on the sense of purpose and commitment that they encounter, and the respect afforded to them by our students. We hope that you will feel the same and that you will share our belief that Prince Henry’s has something very special to offer. We ensure at Prince Henry’s that our students strive for the highest standards and have a wide range of opportunities to learn effectively, both academically and socially. We have a formal and friendly approach to everything that we do at Prince Henry’s and all our students – including the Sixth Form - wear their school uniform with pride.

Our guiding principle is for everyone here to succeed, and we believe that success is achieved through hard work and motivation. Truly successful education is a partnership between our students, parents/carers and, of course, school. Our aim is to develop our young people to have self-confidence, and to use their talents and skills for their own benefit as well as that of the communities in which they may one day live. Through our active promotion of our universal values and our enrichment and guidance programmes, we aspire to nurture and grow our students so that they can develop their personal characteristics as well as individual talents and abilities.

Our students are supported by an experienced, dedicated and committed staff to ensure their learning experience is as wonderful as it can be.

In recent years, the school has undergone a significant building and refurbishment programme, which has already seen £10m of capital investment into the site, including a brand new Design & Technology building that was completed in 2021. Our new Sixth Form Centre, with its large Common Room, has been further enhanced with an expansion of its Private Study facilities for our students to enjoy.

In 2022, we opened a brand new Learning Support (SEND) Department and developed new department bases for History, RE, Geography, Maths and Psychology. We also saw the completion of a purpose-built conference centre, as well as a new base for our Music department. Our English and Language classrooms are very modern too, as are our Science Laboratories. The Henrician Theatre has undergone a refurbishment this summer. There has also been significant investment into our sports facilities, with an expansion of the multigym in 2023 and the installation of a 3G football pitch is due to be completed by the end of 2024.

Many students from Prince Henry’s go on to achieve outstanding success in their future careers and lives. We want for your child exactly what you want as parents and carers – the best and nothing but the best. Prince Henry’s has a great deal to offer your child, and I am as excited as ever at the prospect of leading everyone connected with the school to develop, maintain and extend its exceptional quality.

To see Prince Henry’s at its best, please take a few moments to look at the numerous photos and videos celebrating the activities and wonderful achievements of all our students.

We look forward to welcoming you and your family to our school!

Dr A A L Evans Headteacher

“Everyone at Prince Henry’s High School is proud to be part of a united and vibrant community. There is an all-encompassing togetherness that runs through every aspect of school life.”

Introduction

Prince Henry’s High School has a successful history dating back 600 years. As a school, we are conscious of our history and of a longstanding tradition of doing things well. With consistently Outstanding Ofsted reports, and well established as both an Academy and a Teaching School Hub, we are firmly looking to the future. We are committed to providing the very best education and opportunities for every child, as well as developing the next generation of teaching professionals.

“The school is committed to providing a high-quality education to all pupils in each subject. It is achieving this aim.”

Ofsted 2024

“Extra-curricular opportunities – these are wide and varied, and afford your students a range of experiences that develop their character and ‘skills for life’ outside of academic provision… …the fact that you have maintained, and built upon, your previous Gold verification in 2019 is testimony to how highly SMSC is valued in your school.”

National Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural Development

Quality Mark Verification Report 2022

“Young people of all ages whom I met were extremely appreciative of the wealth of extra-curricular activities and enrichment opportunities that they could experience. They feel very well prepared for future learning and life in general.”

Inclusion Quality Mark Review 2024

Our School Houses

“The values of the school are very much ‘lived’ by all stakeholders, and there is an evident, almost ‘tangible’, sense of team spirit and a genuine mutual respect between staff and students.”

Inclusion Quality Mark Review 2024

Our Uniform

We believe that it is in the best interests of both the school and the local community which it serves to require all our students to wear proper school uniform and present themselves smartly. We are grateful for the support of our parents/carers and of the students themselves in achieving high standards of dress and appearance both in and out of school.

Students are expected to respect and adhere to the uniform code and we ask parents/carers to help us by supporting us in this endeavour.

Prince Henry’s Sixth Form Uniform

“Pupils

flourish academically and grow into caring and responsible young adults. They learn alongside enthusiastic, dedicated and knowledgeable staff.”

Ofsted 2024

Our Mission

To create and develop the very best Teaching and Learning environment for all our students and staff, based upon the virtues of sound universal values.

Our Aim

To enable our students to leave Prince Henry’s with a first class, outstanding education that becomes fully embedded and integrated into their future lives.

“The value that you place on Music and your commitment to a broad and balanced curriculum has been recognised, and as a result, we would like to celebrate it.”

Music Mark 2022

Summer Concert Switzerland trip

Drop the Mic 2023

Grease, 2024

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Extra-curricular activities

It is our aim to provide opportunities for the development of individual talent in all main areas of extra-curricular activity. Students are encouraged to join and participate in an extensive range of clubs, activities and special events. Sports and games, music, drama and the performing arts are all particularly strong, aided by the presence on site of our sports hall and all weather sports pitch, as well as our wonderful fully-equipped and air conditioned modern theatre. These amenities are also available for letting to the local community outside of normal school hours.

More than thirty extra-curricular clubs and societies are normally on offer at the beginning of each term, giving students excellent choice as well as opportunities to develop their interests and skills. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is well established, with a large number of our students currently involved at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels. Please see the Extra-Curricular Activities area of our website for details of the opportunities currently available.

The school’s House system encompasses the whole school, with students in all year groups allocated to a House. It covers the entire curriculum and encourages teamwork, competition and esprit de corps.

There are also several educational trips and visits within this country and overseas. In the past year, students enjoyed overseas visits to Berlin and the Belgian

WW1 battlefields, as well as Geography trips to the Netherlands and Switzerland. Similar trips, including ski-ing in Italy and a Sixth Form trip to New York and Washington, as well as the reintroduction of a Music Tour to Bavaria are planned for the coming year.

Prince Henry’s enjoys an enviable reputation for the quality of its Music and Drama, and is accredited with Artsmark Gold status. With its own theatre seating an audience of 325, a studio theatre and Music suite, it has excellent facilities. The quality of teaching by both subject specialists and peripatetic music staff is outstanding, giving students the opportunity to develop their musical and theatrical skills to the full. There are a wide variety of opportunities to showcase these talents, culminating in the annual school play or musical, and, at the time of writing, are looking forward to our production of “Guys and Dolls” in Spring 2025.

Physical Education within the school fully embraces the Olympic ideals of respect, excellence and friendship and has held the School Games Platinum Award for a number of years. Opportunities exist in a broad range of both team and individual sports for students to fulfil their potential, whether that is as a team player representing the school, or as someone who simply wants to participate. There are regular fixtures against other schools.

Admissions and transfer from Middle School

Prince Henry’s has a large catchment area and the map below is for guidance. For more detailed information, please see our website or contact the school.

Key dates for September 2025

Admissions

to Year 9

Applications for a school place must be made online through your Local Authority

Worcestershire residents: https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20099/ school_admissions

Deadline for applications: 31st October 2024

School offer notification dates: 1st March 2025

Student achievement

Prince Henry’s is a truly comprehensive school and we recognise that raw examination results only tell part of the story, as we celebrate the achievements of our students in all their diversity. This has been formally recognised as we were re-accredited with the Inclusion Quality Mark, Centre of Excellence, in June.

For many years students across the whole ability range have enjoyed considerable academic success, as you will see from the images and videos on our website. We are proud that each year, the vast majority of our students progress to the university, college, apprenticeship or employment opportunity of their choice.

At GCSE, students’ results are consistently high and we some excellent achievements across the full range of English, Maths, Science, Humanities, Languages, as well as the more practical and vocational subjects.

Having one of the largest Sixth Forms in Worcestershire, the vast majority of our post-16 students do go on to higher education, with well over 35% consistently being awarded places at Oxford, Cambridge, a Russell Group or a Times Top 20 university.

“There is an expectation of and support for high standards of conduct and achievement in the belief that all students have strengths and talents to be discovered and nurtured and can experience success.”

“The school takes particular care of its most vulnerable pupils.”

Curriculum

Year 9 students are divided into 11 mixed-ability Tutor Groups taking into account friendship groups, a mixture of students from various Middle Schools and a full range across all abilities. They will stay in these forms for the next three years with the same Form Tutor, if that is possible. The Tutor will help them settle into the school, advise them through important stages of their school career and show concern for their personal and academic progress and welfare.

For teaching purposes, students are divided into three “Abbey” groups – Evesham, Pershore and Tewkesbury. Each group covers the full range of ability and has approximately one third of all students for that year in it. Departments then divide this group up in the most appropriate way for their subject.

Year 9 students follow a broad curriculum which includes English, Maths, Science, Technology and Art, History, Geography, a modern language (French, German or Spanish), Information Technology, Music, Physical Education, Personal Health Social and Relationship Education, Citizenship and Religious Education. Students choose their GCSE subjects in the Spring of Year 9. Please see the Options Booklet area of our website for information about the subjects currently available.

Sixth Form

The reputation of our Sixth Form has been established over many decades and, with its recently modernised and expanded Sixth Form Centre, it continues to grow stronger year-by-year. This was recognised by Ofsted in 2024 who, when judging our Sixth Form to be Outstanding, described it as “a shining light”. Under the leadership of Mrs Webb, as Head of Sixth Form, following their GCSE studies, our students make excellent academic progress, which is reflected in their achievements at A Level. Each year the vast majority of our students go on to secure their first choice university place, apprenticeship or employment opportunity, with a number of them successfully gaining places at Oxbridge and other leading universities.

Prince Henry’s has a Student Ambassador system and looks to its senior students to involve themselves in the life of the school, including the House system. This includes supporting charities, social events, sporting fixtures, as well as hosting at Open Evenings and acting as Subject Champions. Some Sixth Formers take part in work placements with the elderly, help Year 9 students with their lessons, volunteer in The Henrician Theatre and train as Community Sports Leaders.

Please see the Sixth Form area of our website to get more of a flavour of life for our Year 12 and 13 students, as well as further information about the curriculum, entry requirements and application process. For students considering joining our Sixth Form in September 2025, a Sixth Form Open Evening is being held on Thursday 7th November 2024 from 5pm-7pm.

Find out more about Prince Henry’s

We hope that you will find this Prospectus helpful. A Sixth Form Prospectus and a GCSE Courses Booklet are also readily available and can be downloaded from our website. Copies of our regular newsletter for parents/carers will help to convey the atmosphere of the school and the wide range of activities which form part of our daily life. More information regarding our admissions process for both Lower School and Sixth Form can be found in the Admissions area of our website.

“The sixth form is a shining light. Sixth-form students work together with their teachers harmoniously. There is an aspirational culture that values hard work.”