Shene School: embedding a full learning culture to enrich the lives of all; developing and sustaining a successful community of learners
Shene School continues to Aspire, Acquire, Attain and Achieve: these represent the four elements of our Mission Statement for the students in our care: we want every child to aspire to be the best they can; acquire a range of experiences, skills and knowledge; attain the highest grades they can; and achieve so they reach their potential.
This year has begun on a real high for us, with results almost double what they were two years ago. These 2009 results were the best the school has ever gained: we matched or beat targets set by the national organisation used by government. We are delighted to say that this points to rapidly improving progress. Children therefore attained good grades, but, just as important, they achieved: they made progress from where they started with us in Year 7 and we are so thrilled that the many strategies we put in place to support all our students have borne fruit.
These outcomes were achieved through the hard work and dedicated attitude of all the staff who pulled together in 2008 - 09 as a real ‘Team Shene’ to make a difference to the lives of the children who attend(ed) our school.
As you will guess, our staff believe that education is about far more than the results at the end of Year 11 and we are proud and passionate about offering a huge range of extra curricular opportunities to the students. Some examples of these are:
- 25 different sports available, ranging from the traditional football, rugby, tennis and so on to the more esoteric: dodgeball, kayaking, sailing, Aussie rules football, to name just a few
- A huge range of trips, both in the UK and abroad. Some examples of these are the History/ Modern Foreign Languages trip to France; the Geography trip to study tourism at Windsor; the BTec two day visit to a music studio; thePGL ‘bonding’ trip for Year 7; Duke of Edinburgh trips; and a PE trip to Wimbledon in July to watch the semi finals.
- There is a range of clubs and after-school activities including library Bookworms; ICT; Chess; Dance; art club; a huge range of sports teams; homework clubs; choir…
- We involve ourselves in lots of external activities: we were awarded funds to run a Stemnet Club (Science, Technology, Maths) which has involved making rockets and robots; we were the Jack Petchey Speak Out competitionborough winner in 2008 and the Borough Engineering Challenge winner in 2009; our PE department visited a school in Africa (Malawi) and we have collected and sent hundreds of books and resources to the children there
- We enrich our curriculum in as many ways as possible. In addition to the trips mentioned above, we have hosted Musical Masterclasses, Yad Vashem (a Holocaust Memorial organisation), Theatre in Education groups, sportsorganisations, universities and many more, all to inspire and enthral our students
We are also very proud of our curriculum itself, which has been designed to meet the individual needs of each student and the Key Stage 4 curriculum offer was judged as ‘Good’ with outstanding features in our last Ofsted inspection (November 2008). Students follow one of three pathways, each containing a wealth of options and opportunities, including vocational courses, the Diploma, and the opportunity to work in local business or through local FE colleges. The KS3 curriculum has also undergone changes: personalisation, fast tracking, developing reflective and effective learners are part of the mix for our Years 7 – 9.
Please don’t just take my word for it: visit us in our school and see us in action. Just telephone the switchboard and we will be delighted to see you.
Lesley Kirby
Headteacher, Shene School
