ASHFIELD SCHOOL
Welcome to At, we are very proud of our strong reputation for providing an excellent education for all our students within our outstanding facilities. Our vision for the school is to support and challenge all learners to aspire to fulfil their potential. This is what we all firmly believe in and strive to achieve at all times. Our students come first. We recognise their If you join us, we expect you to take a full different needs and work hard with them part in the life and work of the school, to to develop talents and potential in a spirit meet the challenges that we offer, and to of mutual respect. We value the unique endeavour to become an active member of contribution of each student to our learning our school community. community. Highly qualified teachers and support staff provide an excellent, caring environment in which students can learn and flourish safely. Most importantly, our pupils know that they come to a happy school where academic standards are high and where discipline, hard work and learning go hand in hand with respect, courtesy and kindness. is a great I am very proud to be the Head Teacher of and feel privileged to work place to learn. I ve made some great friends and the staff are really supportive. with students, staff, parents and governors who all expect the very best from our school. We are dedicated to continually improving Josie, Year 11 the quality of education we provide. 2 Mr R Vasey, Head Teacher 3
My first year at Ashfield was fantastic! It was full of great opportunities for everyone to enjoy. At first I was nervous to move up to secondary school, but all the teachers and especially your tutor are so supportive. Evie, Year 8 Expectations & Aspirations Our vision is to support and challenge all learners to aspire to fulfil their potential. is a happy school with high principles and good discipline, enabling each and every child to learn within a calm and safe environment. We encourage our students to respect themselves, each other and their environment, and we expect them to work hard, behave well, and come to school in the correct uniform with the correct equipment, ready to learn. Our teachers are committed, professional and supportive, and will provide your child with a first class education designed to enable them to fulfil their potential and succeed. We will always endeavour to provide your child with any extra support needed, and are very proud of the pastoral system we have in place to ensure that the needs of our students are fully met at all times. We encourage our students to become responsible members of the school and the wider community, and with this in mind, each year group has adopted a charity. Students organise many events to raise funds for these charities, as well as taking part in the larger charity events such as Race for Life, Macmillan Coffee Morning and Children in Need. We firmly believe that it is just as important to reward good behaviour as it is to punish bad behaviour, so our A Points system enables students to save up Achievement Points and then cash them in for goodies - it s no surprise that this has proved incredibly popular with students! We have also just introduced a new system whereby they can donate their Achievement Points to one of our chosen year group charities, and we are very proud to see how many students have opted to do so. 4 5
Academic Achievement & The Curriculum Key Stage 3: Years 7-9 Key Stage 4: Years 10-11 All pupils will study the same subjects for the first two years at Ashfield: Mathematics Drama Additional support across the curriculum is provided by Faculty Learning and Progress Assistants for pupils on the SEN (Special Educational Needs) register. All pupils will study the following subjects during Years 10 and 11: GCSE Mathematics GCSE Science - Core and Additional Tutor Time (delivering SMSC and IAG) GCSE English - Language and Literature Physical Education English - Language and Literature Art Science - Biology, Chemistry and Physics Design and Technology Humanities - Geography, History and ICT Philosophy and Ethics PDE - including Personal, Social and Modern Foreign Languages Health Education and Careers Physical Education Tutor Time Music In Year 9, pupils have an element of choice between Drama / Music or extra Physical Education, and an element of choice between Design and Technology / Art / ICT. This alters slightly the number of periods allocated to these subjects. Additional resources are allocated to pupils in receipt of the Pupil Premium and to those below national expectations in Literacy and Numeracy to ensure that they make the progress required in KS3 to access a full range of pathways in KS4. In Year 7, pupils with 4C or below in their reported KS2 English levels follow the Hackney Literacy Programme in Languages curriculum time. Pupils will then opt for 2 subjects from the following group (6 periods each a fortnight). All pupils must select at least 1 which is an EBacc subject. Pupils are given guidance in their selection with a view to maximising their progress across a suite of 8 subjects. GCSE History GCSE Geography GCSE French GCSE German Either BTEC Business Studies, BTEC Engineering, GCSE Food Technology, BTEC Hairdressing, BTEC Health and Social Care, Cambridge Technical ICT or BTEC Construction. Pupils will then opt for 2 further subjects (5 periods each a fortnight) from the following group. A pupil s pathway for a particular subject will be determined by academic potential and progress, with a view to maximising achievement across 8 subjects. GCSE Art / BTEC Art GCSE Graphic Products / BTEC Automotive Engineering GCSE Resistant Materials GCSE Business Studies / BTEC Hairdressing BTEC Business Studies BTEC Health and Social Care BTEC Children s Play BTEC Hospitality GCSE Computing Cambridge Technical ICT GCSE Drama GCSE Media Studies / BTEC Media Studies GCSE Electronic Products / GCSE Philosophy and Ethics GCSE Product Design GCSE Physical Education / BTEC Sport BTEC Engineering GCSE Photography GCSE Food Technology GCSE Sociology BTEC Fashion GCSE Triple Science 6 7
Key Stage 5: Years 12-13 (Post 16) For details of the vast array of Post 16 courses we offer, including A Levels and vocational courses, please see our website or ask for a copy of our Post 16 prospectus. www.ashfieldpost16.com Pastoral Care Tutor System All students are proud and active members of a tutor group, year group and House team. Your child will stay with their tutor all the way through school, and they will be their first point of contact for most issues. Pastoral Team Each year group has its own pastoral team, with staff who are experienced in dealing with issues that can effect the emotional and academic well-being of students. There is always a member of staff that your child can go to in times of need. Special Educational Needs/ Inclusion The school works within the legal framework to ensure that special educational provision is made for children who, by virtue of their learning difficulty or disability, need additional support to enable them to participate fully in the educational experience. More information is available in the annually-updated Year 6 booklet that is enclosed at the back of this prospectus. Full-time School Counsellor We are lucky enough to have a full-time, on-site school counsellor who is available to students by appointment. Most issues, however, can usually be resolved by the tutor team and pastoral team. Full-time, Independent IAG Careers Advisor Our full-time careers advisor runs an exceptional programme of advice and guidance for our students to ensure that they receive good advice, at the appropriate time, to help them make those very important decisions about careers/life after school. Library We have an exceptionally well-stocked library that is open from 8am until 4pm, Monday-Thursday, and from 8am until 3.30pm on Friday. Students can use this calm environment to read, or they can make use of the computers or tablets that are available for them there either before school, at break, lunchtime or after school. 8 9
Our Facilities Our students are lucky enough to enjoy some of the best facilities in the area. From our Olympic standard sports facilities to our professional tiered-seat theatre, our swimming pool to our sprung-floor dance studios, our individual music rehearsal rooms to our drama studios, our purposebuilt vocational workshops and salons to our photographic studio, not to mention our bright, modern, newly-refurbished classrooms, students are provided with the perfect environment for learning. The quality of our facilities enables us to offer the most incredible opportunities to our students and we extend those opportunities to the extracurricular activities available every night of the week anything from playing handball to building a telescope, getting help with revision to taking part in our spectacular annual school show. 10 11
There are so many extracurricular activities at Ashfield that we re spoilt for choice. Stephen, Year 11 Work Hard Play Hard Here at Ashfield, we expect our students to work hard, but we also want them to be happy and to have some fun. There is always something interesting happening in school, whether it s a concert, the annual school show, sporting events, Year 11 Prom, school trips, special visitors (anyone from a children s author to creatures from the Rainforest!), House Championships, talent shows, Race for Life, Children in Need, Christmas Fair etc. We have a very active and vibrant PE Department and a wide range of teams that students can join, many of them achieving high levels of success. The camaraderie at Ashfield is unique, and whilst the school is a community in itself, it is also a vibrant part of the wider community. Students do not hesitate to get involved in fundraising for local causes, and each year group has selected their own charity for whom they will raise money - initiatives that we are keen to support. We are very proud of the way our students represent the school and themselves, and articles about their achievements can be found in the local press most weeks. Students can learn to play a wide variety of instruments in our modern and welcoming Music Department, or maybe join the now famous Ashfield Vocal Ensemble - our stunning, competition-winning choir who have developed an exceptional reputation for themselves over the last few years, and who have recorded a number of CDs. 12 13
Post 16 Centre And what about after Year 11? Ashfield Post 16 Centre looks like a college. It feels like a college. It offers the variety of academic and vocational choices of a college. But it has the support network and pastoral care of a school, along with an A Level pass rate of 99%! The best of both worlds? We think so, but don t just take our word for it. Our student numbers are rising every year because we offer our students exactly what they want: great teachers, effective support, outstanding facilities. 14 15
Design by www.fifteen.co.uk and Post 16 Centre Sutton Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, NG17 8HP Tel 01623 455000 Fax 01623 455001 admin@ashfield.notts.sch.uk