school prospectus - wymondham high academy...5 wymondhamhigh.co.uk the art department provides a...

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S C H O O LP R O S P E C T U S

A C A D E M I C , C R E A T I V E , A S P I R A T I O N A L

2wymondhamhigh.co.uk

“Our vision is to develop happy

and successful people who accept

responsibility, demonstrate determination

and act with humility.”

It is a privilege to lead Wymondham High. Visitors to our school comment on its purposeful and calm atmosphere. I firmly believe this is achieved through having high expectations and through the support of our parents.

Our community of over 1600 young people is a vibrant and focused environment in which we

enable our children to succeed. Our academic record at GCSE level is excellent, consistently

placing us in the “Top 5” secondary schools in Norfolk and Suffolk over the last 4 years. The

results of our students in our Sixth Form places us in the top 20% of schools nationally in terms

of attainment and progress. There is no magic formula for this achievement; our children are

simply expected to work hard. However, whilst the outcomes of our pupils are very strong and

the reason many parents wish to send their children to Wymondham High, we do not obsess

about results; they form a substantial but not unique part of your children’s school life.

Our Academy staff offer a wealth of extra-curricular activities in which our children can

participate. These include our highly successful sporting programmes, expressive and dramatic

arts, Duke of Edinburgh Award and Young Enterprise. Many of you will also be aware of our

evening events such as the Harry Potter extravaganza and Zombie Runs. Pupils also have the

opportunity to have their views represented through the Principal’s Councils in Year 11 and

13. There are a remarkable number of ways in which pupils and students can become involved

in school life!

Our school vision places an emphasis on our children to act in ways that demonstrate skills

which will support them as they move into adult life and that are valuable within our society.

Equally as important, we teach them to understand WHY these expectations are important.

This can only be successful with the support of parents and as an extended member of the

school community, we ask for your absolute support in upholding our values. By selecting

Wymondham High as your child’s school you are accepting that we are uncompromising in our

expectations of the young people within our care and that if they fall short of these values we

will always take appropriate action.

I am proud of the achievements of our young people here at Wymondham. We are fortunate

enough, every day, to see and recognise the achievement of our pupils. We are able to support

them not only through their academic journeys, but also through the time they need someone

on whom to lean. I think this is very well summed up by an e-mail from a parent following the

examination results in the summer:

“League tables say a lot, but little acts of help and kindness mean far more to the kids and

their parents.” Parent of Year 13 student [2017]

Mr Jonathan Rockey Principal

W E L C O M E T O … W Y M O N D H A M H I G H A C A D E M Y


Wymondham High is a dynamic and personalised learning community built on traditional values that sets high academic and social standards, valuing and supporting all individuals.

O U R A I M S A R E :• To have high quality staff, who strive

to improve their practice, engaging and encouraging all learners in continual progress and success.

• To be a well-led and effectively managed school which allows everyone to thrive in a safe, healthy and supportive environment.

• To provide a broad, inclusive curriculum that promotes choice and recognises cultural diversity, enabling all to fulfil their learning potential.

• To encourage effective learning through high quality teaching which enthuses and motivates.

• To promote as a community a strong moral ethos of tolerance, respect and support.

• To support social, recreational, artistic and learning needs through effective partnerships; placing the school at the heart of the community.

• To instil a love of learning so that our learners continue to develop even after their time at our Academy.

T H I S I S O U R A C A D E M Y



The Art Department provides a range of range of opportunities for pupils to develop creative thinking and skills, and discover their own artistic identity, all of which benefits them in their studies and personal development.

Our Academy has specialist arts facilities including a 98-seater studio theatre, a professional standard recording studio (used by Ed Sheeran) and an art-specific ICT suite which offers additional courses in both KS4 and post-16 and a new arts path programme in Sixth Form. These resources allow a considerable degree of enrichment to both curricular and extracurricular activities, including a new post-16 Arts Path and are also available for community use.

We have developed close links with practising artists so students gain valuable experience of working alongside professional artists, musicians and performers. Also, we work closely with Norwich University College of the Arts, the University of East Anglia and the Norwich Playhouse.

Central to our role within the community is the increased emphasis put on effective links with local organisations and stakeholders. Through a developing partnership with a cluster of local feeder primary schools and neighbouring secondary schools, the Academy is providing young people, over a wide area with opportunities to share in the benefits of our expertise. There is also an expanding programme of artistic activity for the wider community of Wymondham andthe surrounding villages.

A R T , C O M M U N I T Y A R T S , D R A M A ,M E D I A S T U D I E S , M U S I C T E C H N O L O G Y

E X H I B I T I O N S A N D V I S I T S An important part of students’ experience of the arts is an opportunity to perform and exhibit their work publicly. Curricular and extra-curricular arts work is regularly entered into local, regional and national festivals and exhibitions.

We also provide opportunities for students to visit local and national events, theatre productions and workshops.

W E A R E H E R E F O R Y O U


S T U D E N T V O I C E

Having an active and vibrant student voice is crucial at the Academy. Every year selected students participate in either regional or national events where they can put forward their own views on student concerns and developments and share innovative ideas with other schools to prepare fully for exciting challenges to come.

The Academy has its own council where elected members across year groups meet at least once per half term, together with the Student Voice Coordinator to discuss Academy initiatives. The Head Boy and Head Girl are also on the team to bridge the gap between Student Voice and the Principal’s Council. In recent years pupils have been responsible for student welfare and have received training from the School Counsellor to become peer mentors to further support our Wellbeing initiatives within the Academy.

Finally, each selected student will develop their leadership and communications skills by working closely with volunteer student teams and staff members to enhance the impact of the student voice across the Academy.

T H E P R I N C I P A L ’ S C O U N C I L S

We are very keen to hear from students about what they feel are the key issues for the Academy. As a result, the Principal has organised two groups of students to meet in his study each week. The two groups are the Senior Principal’s Council (Year 13 students) and the Principal’s Council (Year 11 pupils).

K E E P I N G Y O U I N F O R M E D . . .

As well as keeping you up to date with the academic progress of your child through profiles and parents’ evenings, we also produce a weekly bulletin. Our website, Twitter feed and Facebook page can also keep you up to date with what’s happening at the Academy. The focus is predominantly on the students; it’s an opportunity to showcase their work and their achievements. Our website continues to evolve both as a method of keeping parents well informed but also to showcase the fantastic work from the Academy.

Head Girl, Charlie Farmer and Head Boy, Elliot Carolan


C A T C H M E N T A R E A A N D A D M I S S I O N S

Areas served by the Academy: Ashwellthorpe (inc. Fundenhall), Barford, Barnham Broom, Deopham (inc. Hackford), Kimberley (inc. Carleton Forehoe), Marlingford (inc. Colton), Morley (inc. Morley St Peter & Morley St Botolph), Runhall (inc. Coston & Brandon Parva), Tacolneston, Wicklewood, Wramplingham (inc. Crownthorpe), Wreningham, Wymondham (inc. Downham, Silfield, Spooner Row, Suton, Wattlefield). Besthorpe Carr / Black Carr and Forncett End are included.

To check your catchment you can use the website www.whereilive.norfolk.gov.uk or contact the Customer Service Centre on 0344 800 8020. If there are more requests for places than places available, the Academy will admit children in the following order of priority:

• Children with a statement of special educational needs naming the school;

• Children in public care who are due to transfer;

• Children who are due to transfer and live in the area served by the school;

• Children of staff: to qualify for this criterion the member of staff concerned must have been in post at the school for 2 years at the date of application. The only exception to this rule will be where the school can demonstrate a recruitment issue for that post;

• Children who are due to transfer and live outside the area served by the school, who have an older brother or sister attending the school at the time of admission (but not the Sixth Form);

• Children who are due to transfer who live outside the area served by the school and attend a feeder school (see below) at the opening date of the admission round i.e. usually at the beginning of September each year;

• Children who are due to transfer and live outside the area served by the school.

Notwithstanding these arrangements, the Secretary of State may direct the Academy to admit a named student on application from a local authority (LA). Before doing so, the Secretary of State will consult the Academy.

If all children within any of the above rules cannot be offered a place, the highest priority will be given to children living nearest to the school within that rule. To determine who lives nearest, distance will be measured on a straight line ‘crow fly’ basis, using Ordnance Survey data. If, following the application of admission rules and distance, two applicants cannot be separated for a final place at a school, the Academy will use random allocation to determine the priority for the remaining place.

Feeder schools: Barford Primary, Barnham Broom CE VA Primary, Morley CE VA Primary, Robert Kett Junior, Spooner Row Primary, Tacolneston VC Primary, Wicklewood Primary, Wreningham VC Primary.

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Outside visits and expeditions are employed as a means of consolidating and enhancing normal classroom instruction, fostering leisure time interests and providing valuable social training.

These range from one day visits during the normal school day, to extended excursions to other parts of the United Kingdom, Europe and the rest of the world.

Language department visits to France, Germany and Spain are arranged each year.

Financial assistance for trips is available to eligible families – please contact our Finance Office for details.

O U T S I D E V I S I T S A N D E X H I B I T I O N S


Wymondham High Academy is a school that is characterised by exceedingly high expectations of all students. The school demonstrates a rigorous commitment to ensuring that all students make exceptional progress during their time here and also that all students are well supported in making an effective transition to independent adulthood.

The Academy takes a graduated approach to SEND provision and is committed to ensuring Quality First classroom provision for all students. All teachers are teachers of SEND and accordingly the Academy ensures that the quality of professional development opportunities for staff results in the provision differentiated learning experiences for students. Our teachers employ a variety of creative methods to engage, enthuse and motivate students.

The SEND Department is led by the Director of Learning Support, Miss L Sacre who is supported by an experienced team of Teaching Assistants and Learning Mentors. There is a high level of commitment to the training and development of these specialised staff. This ensures a high level of expertise and the ability to lead time-limited and structured interventions specifically designed to impact on the progress and attainment of individual students.

Quality First Provision High quality and appropriately differentiated teaching at the Academy enables the vast majority of students to make good or outstanding progress. We are committed to the ongoing development of the Provision and Access Map, so ensuring that appropriate packages of suitable intervention can be tailored to the needs of individual students.

Intervention Students are identified for intervention when they are not making sufficient progress or if their attainment is below average. Suitable programmes of intervention are available to all students, irrespective of formally identified or diagnosed SEND. Appropriate intervention forms part of the Academy’s methods of identifying SEND.

Outside Agency Support Where Quality First classroom teaching and appropriate supplementary intervention does not result in improved attainment or progress, the SEND Department will seek further support for students from outside agencies and other professionals including Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, ASD Specialists, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and other service providers.

S P E C I A L E D U C A T I O N A L N E E D S


T R A N S I T I O N Primary feeder schools provide information with regard to the identified and diagnosed SEND of students making the transition to Wymondham High. This information is distributed to teaching staff.

The SEND Department makes every effort to ensure that the transition from primary to secondary school is a positive experience for students. Additional transition visits are arranged during the summer term prior to admission and enhanced transmission packages are available.

Contact: if you would like to discuss any aspect of Special Educational Needs Provision, please contact Miss L Sacre.

The Able, Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator liaises with teaching staff to ensure that they are all aware of the most effective and current methods of responding to the needs of students on the Academy’s Able, Gifted and Talented Register.

Identifying students with exceptional abilities and/or talents early is crucial so the Academy uses criteria and data scrutinised by Heads of Department, as well as primary school and parental recommendations to ensure all students reach their full potential.

A wide variety of in-house and extra-curricular activities are available for these students to excel, including participating in workshops, fast track groups, competitions, crosscurricular studies, master classes, festivals, applying for student leadership posts, listening to talks from outside speakers or companies and being actively involved in educational festivals. Also we offer Outreach opportunities including visits to top universities including Oxford and Cambridge and regional events aimed at engaging and inspiring young people.

For further information please contact Miss J Macpherson.

A B L E , G I F T E D A N DT A L E N T E D S T U D E N T S


C E L E B R A T I O N


Our young people are encouraged to pursue their interests, hobbies and studies and we are always keen to celebrate their triumphs and successes.

There are regular celebration assemblies, a sports presentation event, the main school ‘Woscars’ Evening, along with letters home, Parentmail, the use of Twitter, credit points and a Freedom Pass in Year 11.

Year 11 and 13 both have a Formal and Leavers’ Celebration Days with obilgatory fancy dress and a day of fun activities.

Emotional Wellbeing is a high priority for Wymondham High Academy. For a number of years, it has provided a professional counselling service but now has the addition of a Wellbeing Centre.

This room provides young people with information, advice and guidance on the best way to manage their wellbeing. This is available at break time drop-ins; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday. On the same days during form time and lunchtime, it also offers emotional support and low-level therapeutic interventions via IT, Arts & Craft run by trained staff with which to build trusting relationships.

T H E W E L L B E I N G C E N T R E


The reasons for choosing a school for your child will be extremely varied, but a key factor in many parents’ decision will be the academic performance of a prospective school.

We are very proud of our high academic standards. In 2018, we achieved fantastic results placing us as one of the top 5 Academies in the county with 84% of students achieving a Grade 4+ in English and 80% achieving a Grade 4+ in mathematics. We also achieved almost 95% Grade 5+ in Triple Science along with 85% in the arts subjects.

Our Post-16 learners performed equally well with 86% of entries achieving an A-C grade. This combined with a progress score of +0.23 places us in the top 10% of Sixth Form providers nationally.

As always, there are eye-catching results in terms of A* grades, but headline figures always mask the personal stories – young people who have persevered with their studies and succeeded against the odds – and we are so proud of all of them.

We believe passionately that it is vitally important to the academic and personal growth of the pupils to ensure that their curriculum is broad and balanced. We actively encourage the children to follow expressive and performing arts, as well as technology and humanities subjects at GCSE. Well over half of our children follow these subjects through to the end of Year 11 and they perform extremely well in examinations as a result of their dedication and enjoyment of these subjects.

O U T C O M E S . . .

You are never on your own at Wymondham High. The first port of call for our children is their form tutor; this is the person who will know the children better than anyone. However, we are fortunate to have a dedicated non-teaching pastoral team to support the needs of our pupils throughout their time in the lower school and at any point during the school day.

Led by our Assistant Principal, our team includes a full-time Wellbeing Manager and Mental Health Support Worker. Our inclusion team also includes a Behaviour Co-ordinator and Child Protection Officer to ensure the safety of our children at all times. This system has proven to be extremely effective and ensures we can be responsive to needs of the children. The behaviour of the young people is always excellent, something that visitors comment on and that we are proud of.

We expect our pupils to engage in their own learning and take responsibility for their actions. From cleaning their tables at lunchtime to supporting other young people who may be struggling, being part of a community is extremely important to us as a school. It is equally important for pupils to understand why we have these expectations.

B E H A V I O U R A N D P E R S O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T


Wymondham High Academy places all students and staff at the heart of the learning process to provide a safe, secure and accessible environment in so far as the building will permit in

terms of accessibility for all types of disability. To this end we will ensure that the needs of all learners are fully assessed prior to transfer to Wymondham High Academy and that individual

needs are met in as far as it is reasonably possible given the contraints of the building. Over the last two years some modifications have been made to improve access arrangements

to the school.

Registered Office: Folly Road, Wymondham, Norfolk NR18 0QT T: 01953 602078 E: [email protected] www.wymondhamhigh.co.uk

F R E E D O M O F I N F O R M A T I O N The Freedom of Information Act requires publicly funded bodies, including schools to be clear about the information they publish. We have produced a publication scheme setting out all the information we publish on a regular basis and where to find it. Please note that this includes all

the School Policy Documents. Ask the office to let you see the scheme or provide you with a copy free of charge.

Please note that all information contained in this brochure is correct at the time of publication

(October 2018) but may be subject to change.

Wymondham High Academy. A Company Limited by guarantee. An exempt charity.

Registered in England and Wales No. 7725111

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