SCHOOL OF THE WEEK: King Henry VIII Comprehensive

KING Henry VIII Comprehensive in Abergavenny is a hub of learning as KATH SKELLON found out.

ELSPETH Lewis is relishing her post at the helm of a busy Abergavenny school.

She has almost completed her first year in charge at King Henry VIII Comprehensive but admits that whilst it has been extremely busy, she has found it ‘rewarding.’

Mrs Lewis firmly believes in making sure that teaching and learning is at the heart of everything.

She said: “At King Henry VIII our expectation is that every individual pupil gets the best possible education and opportunities, regardless of ability or background.”

“Learning is at the heart of all we do, through high quality teaching we ensure every pupil’s talents and abilities are catered for, allowing them to excel academically but also develop skills that allow them to become more independent in their learning and prepare them for life beyond school.”

Mrs Lewis credits her dedicated team of staff with creating a positive learning environment that allows pupils to succeed and flourish.

“Last summer the hard work of pupils and staff, high expectations and a relentless focus on the quality of teaching and learning paid dividends. At 2014 at Key Stage 3, 4 and at A2 the school gained its best-ever examination rates.”

“In our recent Estyn inspection report the school environment was described as an inclusive community with a caring ethos, celebrating and rewarding success and achievement.”

However, Mrs Lewis said whilst she is pleased with these results the school continues to improve on these results for this summer.

“Already Year 11 have secured 66 percent A*-C in GCSE Maths, this is a further improvement on last year and this augurs well for the final outcomes this summer.”

“As headteacher I work very closely with the governing body and over the past 18 months there has been a rapid improvement in standards, teaching and learning and leadership. We have a very accurate picture of where the school currently is and what we need to do to improve further.”

“I truly believe that King Henry VIII has the potential to be excellent in the next few years fully delivering the vision that every pupil, no matter what their background or ability will get the best possible opportunities and education.”

“We expect our pupils to be courteous and polite and to develop excellent relationships with their peers and staff to maximise their learning opportunities.”

“Secondly we make sure our curriculum excites and engages all our learners. At Key Stage 3 our specialist teachers underpin the National Curriculum with an extensive range of enrichment activities. These include a wide range of weekly, sporting, drama. Music and subject based clubs. We welcome guests that run workshops with pupil and we undertake various visits to local and national exhibitions and conferences.”

Among the activities that pupils have been involved in includes Year seven working with Crucial Crew on their personal safety, and a visit to the Lab in the Lorry to undertake weird and wonderful experiments.

The mobile science lab came to the school in March. Designed to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, the lab offers the opportunity to explore the sciences through interactive experiments. The lorry is fitted with three distinct areas where groups can take part in each of the fun and informative experiments.

Budding poets undertook a workshop with ex-pupil and local writer Matthew Plum whilst 40 pupils school’s visited the Hay Literacy Festival last month. Whilst Arianna Scarpetta reached the final 29 out of 29,000 entries in the BBC’s Little Painting Challenge with her painting of a tiger.

“At Key Stage 4 we offer a flexible provision that allows pupils to opt from a wide range of subjects. This is backed up with a programme of guidance and support to ensure pupils are following courses that match their talents and aspirations. There is again a range of curriculum enrichment opportunities with the focus on supporting the coursework of pupils and on developing their wider skills and competencies. Examples of these activities include Rotary competitions such as Young Musicians and public speaking, working with Arts Alive and our annual careers fair.”

“Nearly all sixth formers progress onto higher education with many attending Russell Group Universities. For those intending to progress into the world of work we provide a bespoke Skills to Succeed programme in conjunction with Careers Wales.”

“We are delighted that we have been able to extend the provision we offer post-16 by joining forces with Cardiff City Football Club to be the Monmouthshire hub in a high level sport and education partnership.”

Mrs Lewis said that as well an engaging curriculum, the school strives to develop, build and extend the literacy, numeracy and digital skills of the pupils. It also aims to strengthen their personal qualities, so they develop characteristics to become highly effective learners and citizens.

She adds: “We would hope the achievements of our learners will enable them to become successful leaders, employers, employees and entrepreneurs in a rapidly changing world.”

The school is striving to improve its areas of provision and this term, teachers have been working in cross-subject teams to make lessons even better for pupils.”

As we tour the school we notice the welcoming reception area which proudly displays digital images and information of pupils’ achievements on a screen on the wall.

The school is a constant hive of activity with budding tennis players practising out on the court and a plethora of lessons taking place in classrooms, from studying music to history and science.

Mrs Lewis is eager to show us the school’s library which is manned by a full-time librarian.

“A good library is absolutely critical,” explains Mrs Lewis.

“There is a real push on literacy. It is absolutely key and unless they can read confidently, that impacts on oracy and underpins everything.”

“It’s a lovely resource and we feel very lucky to have it.”

“We are taking literacy across the curriculum. It is well-used and lots of departments will use it for research lessons because we have a variety of resources that perhaps they have not got in their classrooms.”

Technology is one of the areas where the school is constantly moving forward.

“We have a good ICT capacity but have started to integrate ipads and the virtual learning environment which we are continuing to roll out.”

“They are an integral part of the learning process.”

In the music technology suite pupils are using state-of-the-art equipment to record compositions. Mrs Lewis explained that whilst it is part of the curriculum, pupils must work towards using the suite as they need keyboard and software skills to use the equipment.

Mrs Lewis believes that every pupil should get the best possible opportunity and education regardless of background, gender or ability.

When asked what she hopes pupils will leave King Henry with she replies; “We want them to get the best post-exam results and want them to be really nice people when they leave.”

“If you are going to make a success you have got to have those skills.”

FACTFILE

King Henry VIII Comprehensive School, Old Hereford Road, Abergavenny.

Headteacher: Mrs Elspeth Lewis

Acting Deputy Head: Martin May

Chairwoman of Governors: Rod Cunningham

Number of pupils: 1,000

Ages: 11 to 18

Last Inspection

An inspection carried out by Estyn in December 2014 found that the school provides all pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum. It meets pupils’ needs and builds systematically on previous work. Extra-curricular provision is a valuable feature of the school and many pupils are actively involved in school life and they give effective support to the local, community. The school’s motto of ‘respecting tradition, embracing the future’ is successfully promoted and is evident in the culture of the school. Its library is well-resourced and used effectively by a wide range of pupils and supports and encourages pupils both to read and research.