abbeydale grange school - prospectus 2008/09

8/14/2019 Abbeydale Grange School - Prospectus 2008/09

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ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST

MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2008/09

OuR ROle ANd key OuTCOMeS

The role o the school is to provide a frst-class

education to a diverse range o pupils that respects

and builds on their own experience and knowledge.

INdIvIduAl ACHIeveMeNT

Every student will:

R be successul and sel-confdent in school

and when they leave

R develop a positive attitude to learning and

accept being challenged intellectually

R have a highly-personalised curriculum, that

oers choice and diversity in education or all

R experience a curriculum that is broad, balanced

and creative with multiple approaches and

opportunities or enrichment

R learn according to their individual needs

through acceleration or dierentiation

R develop thinking, study, lie and social skills

as well as literacy and numeracy

R have a confdent sta team able to provide

the best possible education or them

ReSOuRCeS

Our acclaimed media arts expertise will:

R create strong city-wide links

R extend opportunities or developing the

ICT skills o students and sta

R enhance teaching and learning across

the curriculum

COMMuNITy

Abbeydale Grange will be recognised as:

R Shefelds International School

R being totally comprehensive in intake

R delivering education through a human-scale, carin

individual education o the whole young person

R working in partnership with parents/carers throug

a range o eective and innovative strategies

R ensuring the saety and well-being o each studen

R contributing an important element in Shefelds

city-wide provision

RelATIONSHIpS

We will ensure that the school community:

R respects and values the dierent attributes

o each student and adult in school

R gives students the sel-confdence

to play a ull part in society

R gives students the social skills to

relate successully to others

R supports a house/amily structure

with tutor groups across the years

R osters enterprise skills and economic

awareness at all levels.

vAlueS & pRINCIpleS

elIZAbeTH THAw HTOO /

Intrmiat 1

At Camp I met new people and made new

riends. I enjoyed helping to make dinner

and sleeping in the tent with my riends.

I loved the pasta!

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Dear Parent / Carer

Welcome to the second edition o our prospectus

as a Foundation School.

We continue to welcome students and their amilies

rom across the city as well as the local area. We

are very pleased that the number o First Preerence

places has increased signicantly or 2008/9. The

school remains truly comprehensive in its intake.

On the rst page o this prospectus you will have

read some questions that we believe most parents/

carers ask beore choosing a school. We hope togive you enough inormation to answer some

o these questions. Here are a ew more key

events rom 2007/8:

R 10% o students achieved 3+ A* and A grades

at GCSE in 2007

R 98% o students went onto urther education

or training in 2007

R Three students who let in 2006 have been

oered Oxbridge places

R The school has participated in art projects at

the Weston Park Museum and the Victoria and

Albert Museum in London

R Athletes have run or the county with great success

R A student who let in 2007 has won the 3000m

or England and is representing the country at

the Commonwealth Games in India

R A student has won direct entry to the Italia

Conti drama school in London

R The school choir has perormed at theRoyal Albert Hall

R Students took part in a joint project with

Bents Green Special School and the National

Trust to create some amazing public art on the

Longshaw Estate

The school emphasises its community eel throughits Summer Fair, International Food Evening, School

Sports Day and charity undraising. Over 300.00

was quickly collected or the victims o the cyclone

in Burma.

Our aim is that every student will leave school eelin

successul and sel-condent. We do not believe

that any student should ever eel he or she has ailed

It is our responsibility to ensure each student nds

his or her particular aptitude and then develops this

in later lie through urther qualications or training.

I am proud to be the Headteacher o Abbeydale

Grange and proud o our excellent dedicated sta w

contribute so much to the success o each student.

I hope you enjoy reading the prospectus and will

come and visit the school to see or yoursel what

makes us so special. Do get in touch by phone or

email to arrange a visit.

IntrODUCtIOn


MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2008/09

CatHerIne BULL /

Hdch

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enGLISH

The aim o the English department at Abbeydale

Grange is to mould pupils into inquisitive, thoughtul

students who are able to speak, write and read

independently. These are skills crucial or unctionality

and success in lie as well as school.

Teachers within the department are enthusiastic

and caring and believe that every student has

valuable contributions to make to the subject

based on the three aspects o

R ReadingR Writing

R Speaking and Listening

We also place great importance on students

being able to work productively with each other

in situations where they clearly understand the

aim o their collaboration.

Richard Shaw

Leader or English and Literacy,

Head o Fire House

MatHS

The Mathematics department at AGS is dedicated

to providing mathematical experiences or all studen

and showing them that while being an important too

in other subjects, Mathematics is a subject in its own

right. We hope they will discover the awe and wonde

to behold within its boundaries.

The versatile, inspiring, lively and riendly sta are

committed to oering help and support to all studen

in order or them to achieve their ull potential.

The Maths department has subscribed to MyMaths.co.uk, an interactive Maths website that is used or

some classroom lessons as well as being a solid

revision base or our students.

The website provides ready-made lessons which allo

us to take a topic rom the beginning right through to

its conclusion. It has been designed to work well on

Interactive whiteboard as well as a suite o compute

Its large text, animations, interactivities, and random

question generators help us to bring Maths alive.

This is an Internet resource, so our students can use

it within school and at home or revision and learning

There are also six Booster packs on MyMaths: each

pack includes lessons and online Worksheets which

our students can do or homework. The packs are

intended to help our students cross a key borderline

Halima Rachad

Acting Subject Team Leader or Maths


MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2008/09

COre SUBJeCtS

IMran aHMeD /

High 2

Discussing work with my classmates

helps me a lot in my education.

MUnIF ZIa / tch of Mhs

& Hd of eh Hous

I believe in spending time really getting

to know the students. I regularly give up

lunch times to go and talk to students and

this helps me to engage them when we are

in the classroom.

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WHat DOeS It Mean?

We have proessional ICT resources or making high

quality multimedia work. We use this expertise to

enrich students experiences in a range o subjects:

R Art & Design

R Perormance Arts

R Media Studies

R Music

R Web Design (DiDA)

R Creative & Media 14-19 Diplomas

We have achieved some excellent results in thesesubjects, well above national averages, and students

oten go on to use these skills to great advantage in

Higher Education and a variety o careers.

HOW DOeS MeDIa artS StatUS SUPPOrt

tHe WIDer CUrrICULUM?

We use these innovative techniques and ICT

to support students throughout the curriculum.

For example,

Students use us to develop their writing skills, dratin

lm scripts, radio programmes or web content. Liter

skills are developed through creating image-based

narratives in lm, animation and graphic novels.

Students numeracy and ICT skills are enriched byusing proessional web authoring, graphics and edit

sotware. We are able to display students work in

new and exciting ways and there are numerous extra

curricular experiences or all students.

WHO DO I COntaCt tO FInD OUt MOre?

My name is Joe Gradwell, Lead Media Arts Teacher.

Just call or email me and we can meet in school or

an inormal chat about what acilities and learning

opportunities we can oer your child.


MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2008/09

SPeCIaLISt MeDIaartS SCHOOL

MartHa SnOW /

High 2

I like Drama but its a lot o hard work.

You have to do loads o rehearsals beore

a play, but I think it pays o in the end.

raGDaH aBDULLaH /

Imdi 1

I love being in choir because we get to

go to amazing places like the Albert Hall.

Being in choir helped me to meet lots

o new people.

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StUDY SUPPOrt SeSSIOnS

Higher 1 (Year 10) students have approximately three

and a hal hours o study support sessions per week.

In these sessions, they are able to work individually

in small groups with the help o a teacher to do

homework, coursework and revision.

These sessions will help students to be:

R Able to plan time eectively

R Increasingly independent, sel-motivated learners

R Better equipped to manage their GCSE workload

R Prepared or the next step into sixth orm,college and university

aStrOnOMY

GCSE Astronomy is a new course or Abbeydale

Grange. The course is available to students in

Intermediate 2, Higher 1 and Higher 2 and is run

as a Lesson 7 option (3pm).

The course includes:

R Visits to the National Space Centre in Leicester

R Night-time visits to the Peak District

R Use o binoculars and high-powered telescopes

The course involves the ollowing units o study:

R Planet Earth

R The Moon and Sun

R The Solar System

R Stars and Galaxies

R Observing techniques and space exploration

Any students (or parents) interested in Astronomyas a hobby or studying or the GCSE, please

contact Mr Dave Askew.

eXPLOratIOn

The Opening Minds curriculum was developed by

Royal Society or the Arts to give young people an

education that helps them learn practical lie skills

in a challenging world. It is now being used in over

200 schools across the country; schools involved

in a three-year pilot study experienced signicant

improvements in both student and teacher motivatio

and showed solid gains in student perormance.

The RSA, and Abbeydale Grange, believe that a

curriculum which ocuses only on subject contentcannot provide students with the skills and abilities

that they will need i they are to make a success o

their uture lives. Young people ace environmental,

technical, social and economic challenges and an

ever-increasing volume o inormation.

The RSA Opening Minds curriculum is the result o

eight years o research and is based on teaching

specic competences. These include: skills or

learning, the ability to manage relationships and

situations well, and good citizenship.

From September 2008, all Access (Y7) students willollow the Opening Minds curriculum in lessons calle

Exploration or 8 periods a week. Using science,

technology and geography, all taught by specialist

teachers, it will give students the chance to learn in

depth and apply knowledge in a very hands-on wa

InnOVatIOnS In LearnInG


MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2008/09

SteLLa DILLOP / High 2

In my opinion, I think netball is a good

sport, because the more you do the

sport, you learn and get better at it, andyou develop a better social skill with your

team members. Its a great way to keep

t and healthy!

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We pride ourselves on the care we oer each student.

There is a mentor or each year-group and a senior

learning mentor takes responsibility or Child Protection

and Looked-Ater Children. These colleagues liaise

with amilies closely and look ater the well-being o

students.

There are also three Key Stage Managers, who ensure

that each student is able to meet his or her academic

targets.

Our House system oers a unique support structure

with sta and students building relationships on a daily

basis. At Abbeydale Grange we have our houses

Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Everyone, sta and students

alike, belongs to one o these houses. Within each

house there are 8 tutor groups which involve no more

than 20 students o all ages. Having a small tutor

group with students o all ages develops teamwork

and leadership, and links with our Human Scale

Education ocus.

The tutor group meets every day ater break or

15 minutes. Two sta members are attached to

each tutor group and get to know the students well,

and these tutors meet with parents on LearningConerence Days.

eaCH HOUSe HaS a COLOUr

Earth Jade Green, Air Sky Blue,

Water Royal Blue, Fire Maroon.

During the year there are inter-house competitions

o many kinds, culminating in our Sports Day at

Woodbourn Road Stadium.

UnIFOrM

Our uniorm consists o:

1. Black trousers, black skirt or shalwar kameez

(not jeans, not tracksuit bottoms)

2. Polo shirt in house colours or white

3. Black zip-up school sweatshirt

4. Flat black shoes (not trainers)

5. Team colours (e.g. trampolining sweatshirt

or choir teeshirt) may also be worn.

PaStOraL Care& tHe HOUSe SYSteM


MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2008/09

HSer naY BLUt DOH /

Imdi 1

I was araid o abseiling, but when I did it

I elt very happy and I even did it twice!

Marta BaYOn /

tch of Spish

The school has given me new opportunities,

such as on Wednesdays I give Spanish

language lessons to local primary school

children, so that there is continuity rom

primary to secondary school.

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BreaKFaSt CLUB

The start o a day sets the tone. Breakast Club oers

the chance or the young people o Abbeydale Grange

School to unite in a relaxed manner, take on some

provisions and head into a day o learning.

R Students are involved in setting the t or purpose

breakast menu in line with National Standards or

Food in Schools.

R Students use some o their cooking lessons to

make items to be sold at Breakast Club.

R Students are involved in money transactions and

accounting, learning Maths and Enterprise skills.

R Students are involved in the day-to-day running

o the breakast provision including:

Preparation / Delivery / Concluding service

(cleaning, packing away and organising or

next time)

GarDenInG

Q. Why teach gardening on our school allotment?

A. Growing organic vegetables is un and healthy.

The same qualities and skills learnt as a gardener

can help us become good parents we tenderly

nurture seedlings with love and care.

Our allotment puts us into the heart o the communi

where we help out our neighbours, share tips and

enter the Annual Show. We also make connections

in school with Art, Science and ASDAN.

Tony Tigwell

Head Gardener (and Teacher)

LInKS SCHOOL SPOrtS PartnerSHIP

Abbeydale Grange has a School Sports Co-ordinato

(Mrs Sandra Whiteld) who works with our partner

primaries, Holt House Inants, Carter Knowle Junior,

Sharrow Primary and Abbeydale Primary School.

The SSCO helps the primary schools develop highquality PE and increased opportunities, such as

sessions to introduce children to cricket, rounders,

trampolining and even belly-dancing.

The SSCO can also tap into PE, health and sport

proessionals who work supporting schools, and

make links with local community sports clubs and

other school partnerships.

KeLLY GItHInJI /

Imdi 2

I like going to Breakast Club because

it helps a lot, especially when I wake up late.

I know I can have breakast in school.

aLternatIVe LearnInG


MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2008/09

rYan SUGDen / High 1

Ive learnt lots about planting and growing

vegetables rom Mr Tigwell. Ive learnt new

skills such as double digging.

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aCCeSS CaMP

The annual Camp is an opportunity to promote a

strong sense o group cohesion amongst our Access

students. Students have the opportunity to work with

a variety o people in a dierent and oten unamiliar

environment. Thornbridge Outdoors Centre is anideal location or the camp and provides additional

opportunities or outdoor and adventurous activities

such as abseiling, nature work and team building.

Students regularly return rom camp with new-ound

condence, as well as new riendships and the

memory o exhilarating experiences that remain

with them or years to come.

Kate Grapes

PE Teacher & Camp Leader

neXt StePS

Our staying-on rate into post-16 education exceeds

by ar the citys average. All students are encouraged

to consider college or sixth-orm education. We have

active links with Sheeld Hallam University and the

Gited and Talented Academy at Warwick University.

A representative rom the Connexions service is in

school every week.

Claudine Thomas, rom Connexions:

Our role in school is to provide inormation, adviceand guidance, as well as an integrated youth support

service. There are lunch time drop-in sessions,

one-to-one support, group work and we always

attend parents evenings.

SPeCIaL eDUCatIOnaL neeDS

At Abbeydale Grange we believe that equal opportu

does not necessarily mean treating every student in

same way, but rather providing each student with th

appropriate opportunity to achieve their true potenti

Some students will need additional help, support anchallenge to ull this philosophy.

For every individual, the school strives to create a

learning environment in which a student is able to

progress as ar and as ast as they can.

We have two Special Needs Co-ordinators, one

who co-ordinates outside agencies and support or

individuals, while the other concentrates on student

achievement, ensuring everyone is set appropriate

and challenging targets.

Some o our sta - the Esteem Team sta, or instan

- have a role which is primarily to work with students

with special needs. However, everyone who works a

Abbeydale Grange has skills in this area and works t

make the curriculum accessible to everyone.

There is an Integrated Resource Unit with 20 places

or students with moderate learning diculties. Thes

students divide their time between mainstream lesso

and the Esteem Team, which oers targeted suppor

and practical learning activities.

Our ull Special Educational Needs policy is availabl

on request rom the school or on the website at

www.abbeydalegrange.co.uk

DISaBLeD aCCeSS

The majority o our teaching rooms are on the rst

and second foors; there is ramped access to the

ground foor and a disabled toilets. September 2008

sees our new community classroom on the rst foo

with disabled access rom the car park.

We are limited by ty-year-old buildings but the sch

will always make every eort to meet the needs odisabled students or sta. Please let us know i we c

do anything to make it easier or you to contribute to

the lie o the school.


MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2008/09

LaY eH HtOO /

Imdi 1

I liked everything about camp, especially

abseiling. I made lots o new riends.

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Designed by

thecaeteria.co.uk

Photography

Carl Rose

carlrosephoto.com

Abbeydale Grange School

Hastings Road, Shefeld,

South Yorkshire, S7 2GU

Tel. 0114 2557301

Fax. 0114 2508540

Email. enquires@abbeydalegrange.

shefeld.sch.uk

www abbeydalegrange co uk

abbeydale grange school - prospectus 2008/09

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