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YOUR GUIDE to education in and around Bristol, 2013

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

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2 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 3Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Education 2013 State education

Index

DESPITE being dog-gedly defended by theGovernment, the freeschool movement hascontinued to courtcontroversy in Bristolover the last 12

m o n t h s.The jury is still out on whether free

schools – one of Education SecretaryMichael Gove’s flagship policies – a rebenefiting the city’s educationsystem or hindering it.

Favoured by the Coalition Govern-ment, free schools are like academiesin that they receive their fundingdirectly from Whitehall and haveflexibility over what they teach.

They were described by theDepartment for Education as“all-ability state-funded schools setup in response to what local peoplesay they want and need in order toimprove education for children intheir community”.

Nationally, there are now 174 freeschools – more than twice as many asthis time last year. Another 100 aredue to open from next year and bey-ond.

But it has been far from plain sail-ing for free schools to have set up inBristol so far.

The first free school ended up on asite unpopular with parents, thesecond faces a battle to secure a per-manent home while another freeschool project had the plug pulled onit at the 11th hour with a reported lossof £132,000 in taxpayers’ m o n e y.

The city’s first free school was cre-ated following a campaign for a newsecondary school led by parents liv-ing in the BS9 postcode, but BristolFree School was eventually locatedon an unpopular site in Southmead.

Critics say there was no need for anew school in BS9 as there were othersecondary schools in the area withsurplus places.

Despite this, the school is now over-subscribed and received a “good” r at -ing in its first Ofsted inspectionearlier this year.

The city’s first primary free school,Cathedral Primary School, opened ina temporary home on the campus ofBristol Cathedral Choir School in thecity centre earlier this month. Butcontroversy surrounds its proposedmove to a permanent home in part ofBristol Central Library.

Support from the Department forEducation for Bristol PrimarySchool, which had been due to openthis month to serve pupils in theinner city, was withdrawn in March.Some 114 sets of parents wanted tosend their children to the school,which would have been based inE a s t v i l l e.

Another free school – SteinerAcademy Bristol – is set to open nextSeptember, but its location has notbeen confirmed.

One of the biggest challenges fa-cing the DfE and the Education Fund-ing Agency is the task of findingsuitable classroom space in the shortwindow of opportunity between afree school application being giventhe green light and its opening date.

Bristol Free School appeared to be

a perfect example of how the freeschool system was supposed to work.Families in BS9 disenchanted withtheir secondary education optionswere able to campaign for thecreation of a new school for theirc o m m u n i t y.

They succeeded and in 2011, whenthe secondary they wanted was born.But the location of the school, atformer Defra offices in BurghillRoad, Southmead, drew criticismfrom parents who had been cam-paigning on the basis the school wouldbe created on the site of the former StUrsula’s School in Brecon Road.

Accommodation has also proven tobe a hitch at Cathedral PrimarySchool, which opened in CollegeSquare earlier this month. Lessonsfor reception pupils are temporarilybeing delivered in Abbey House, partof the Bristol Cathedral Choir School.But there will not be enough spacewhen more children join the schoolover the next three years.

A proposal to create classrooms forthe school on the lower two floors ofBristol Central Library has attractedmuch criticism. A petition has alsobeen launched to fight the move.

It appears the library has beenchosen as development land availablefor a new school in the city centre iss c a rc e.

ant to enter serious negotiations.“As it is, the storage and main-

tenance floors of the library are anideal, safe site for us, close to ourexisting facilities, offering us plentyof room to expand and with playspace among the trees in the middleof College Square.

“Yet the timing is tight; we will runout of space in Abbey House by July2015, so the major work required toturn the library building’s dilapid-ated lower floors into a light andmodern primary school will need tobe completed by September 2015. Werelish the challenge.”

Despite the difficulties over findinga suitable site, the school is alreadyhugely popular with parents, with 180applications being made for the 30places on offer this academic year.

Mr Blundell said he was impressedby the rigour of the free schoolapplication process.

He said: “As an established edu-cation provider, we found the processof setting up a new school challengingand robust, but of course manageablefor us.

“In fact, the rigour of the processdid much to allay my concerns aboutfree schools, as this is not somethingto go into lightly.”

Due to open next September is Bris-tol Steiner School. The organisersbehind the successful free school ap-plication had expressed a preferencefor moving into the former ElizabethShaw Chocolate Factory in Easton.But 12 months ahead of its opening, alocation has not been confirmed.

Joe Evans, lead proposer for Stein-er Academy Bristol, said a shortlist ofsites for the new free school had nowbeen drawn up.

Mr Evans said: “The EducationFunding Agency provided a long listof potential sites which we have beengradually narrowing down with sitevisits, assessments of access to greenspace, cost and so on.

“We are now at the stage where weare working with a small shortlist,with EFA doing detailed studies onhow the spaces could be used, costs ofconversion or new-build and so on.

“It’s obviously very challenging tomarket a new school when we don’tyet have a site but hopefully we canmake an announcement soon.”

Of the free school process, MrEvans added: “It’s been very demand-ing but the huge amount of supportand enthusiasm that we’ve met withhas kept us all going.

“In general, what we’re seeing isthat there is if anything more supportthan we realised for a bit more di-versity and choice within education.

“DfE are extremely supportive ofour vision for a school that combinesthe ethos of Steiner education withthe professional management prac-tices of state education.

“We feel as though we’re part of areally positive shift in education. Ofcourse, the real challenge is stillahead of us – creating and running anamazing school.”

As the Steiner project grows fromstrength to strength the campaignersbehind the Bristol Primary Schoolmust be wondering where it all wentw ro n g .

Mystery surrounds the reason forthe withdrawal of support for theproject as they have not been madepublic. It had been expected to behoused in a disused office block close

to Eastgate Shopping Centre, a choicewhich drew criticism from nearbyschools as it was considered to be aninfringement on their catchmenta re a s.

After the DfE withdrew support forthe school, the South West branch ofthe National Union of Teachers(NUT) accused the Government ofwasting public money.

The trust received grants totalling£132,000 from the DfE to help set upthe school.

Education officials in Whitehalllater tried to claw back some of themoney given to The BristolInner-City Schools Trust, which wasbehind the project.

The DfE said backing had beenwithdrawn as the trust’s proposalshad failed to meet the Government’s“stringent criteria”.

At the time Andy Woolley, theNUT’s South West regional secretary,said: “Considerable amounts of pub-lic money have been wasted on thisproject by the Government in order topromote one of Michael Gove’s petprojects. Free schools are as yet un-tested over any period of time in thiscountry but in other countries suchas Sweden they are now blamed forbeing a major contributor to fallingeducational standards.”

Steve Spokes, who had been linedup to be the principal of the school,promised that any unspent fundswould be returned to the DfE.

Speaking to the Po s t in March, hesaid: “In terms of a waste of tax-p aye r s ’ money, what does seem unfairis that the people of Bristol haven’tgot the school many of themwanted.”

Councillor Brenda Massey, assist-ant mayor for children’s and youngpeople’s services, said the councilwas keen to work in conjunction withfree schools, as it had done withCathedral Primary over its libraryplan.

But she said free schools croppingup in areas where there is not a bigdemand for places could be unhelp-ful.

Councillor Massey said: “Wi t hCathedral there is a shortage in thecity centre and that school willprovide 420 places. But with BristolFree School, there wasn’t a particularshortage of secondary places in thatarea. We need to consider the im-plications and impacts on existingschools in that locality. While someare welcomed, some are not so helpfulin addressing our shortage.”

A spokesman for the DfE said theEFA was now advising free school

proposers on sites much earlier –before they even submit their ap-plications to the department.

He said the EFA had worked withboth free school proposers in the cityand Bristol City Council to securesuitable sites.

The EFA says it is confident it willcontinue to deliver suitable sites formore than 90 per cent of free schoolswithin a year of them being ap-p rove d .

The DfE said about 80 per cent ofmainstream free schools are in areasthat need school places, or in areas ofdeprivation, and that all 93 freeschools opening this term are doingso in their designated sites asplanned.

The spokesman said: “Bristol isalready home to two popular freeschools. The Bristol Free School wasrecently rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in itsfirst inspection and the newly-openedCathedral Primary School is alreadyoversubscribed. We are looking for-ward to more free schools opening inthe city, including the Steiner Schoolnext year.”

Free schools face challenge of finding their place

“ ...............................................................

As an established educationprovider, we found the processof setting up a new schoolchallenging and robust...In fact,the rigour of the process didmuch to allay my concernsabout free schools, as this isnot something to go into lightly

Bristol Cathedral ChoirSchool principal Neil Blundell

............................................................................

Bristol Cathedral Choir School’sprincipal Neil Blundell, who chairedthe project steering group behindCathedral Primary School, said se-curing a site for the primary was thebiggest challenge of setting up a freeschool. He said: “One considerationis our location at the centre of a majorcity in the south of England.

“Land prices are high, yet we haveonly a limited budget from the De-partment for Education. Some havepointed out a number of availablesites on Harbourside – yet even sup-posing these were affordable andthere were no planning constraints,they do not usually offer enclosedoutdoor play space.

“We are keen to have the primaryschool within easy walking distanceof the senior school so that facilitiessuch as the dining hall and, of course,the cathedral, can be shared – andthat makes any site which requiresbusy Anchor Road to be crossed prob-l e m at i c.

“One final problem is the timescale. We did not secure our fundingagreement from the DfE until Junethis year, less than three months be-fore we were due to open this Septem-ber – and for many free schools it canbe even later. Yet until that agreementis secured, landowners and de-velopers are understandably reluct-

Marc RathEducation reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

� Kate Murray, head of library services, with Councillor Simon Cook in thelower floors of Bristol’s Central Library which Cathedral Primary Schoolhopes to occupy Photo: Michael Lloyd BRML20130830C-010_C

� Getting creative to cope with rising demand ............................... 4&5

� Tough year but city school’s pass Ofsted test ............................. 6&7

� How inner city charity opens door to university ........................... 8&9

� Meet the teachers trained to change lives ............................... 10&11

� Nurseries unite to help give every child best start in life .......... 12&13

� Choosing a secondary school in Bristol .................................. 14&15

� ‘A royal college could shine light on profession’ ............................ 16

� Former head’s mission to build children’s love for writing 100 wordsat a time ....................................................................................... 18&19

� Projects to prove ‘STEM can take you anywhere’ ................... 20&21

� Celebrating a century at the forefront of training ..................... 22&23

� Meet the heads ..................................................................... 24 to 32

AdvertisingMarc England 0117 934 3428marc.england@b-nm.co.uk

EditorialMarc Rath 0117 934 3637marc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

See the school in actionOPEN MORNINGS

Monday 30th September11.15am -12.45pm

Tuesday 1st October11.15am -12.45pm

A warm invitation to Year 6 Students andtheir Parents to join us for

Open EveningThursday 26th September 2013 6.00-8.30pm

Tours 6pm -7.45pm ~ Headteacher’s Speech 8pm

ASHTON PARK SCHOOL

Tel: 0117 3772742Email: info@ashtonparksixthform.co.ukWeb: www.ashtonpark.net/sixthform

Don’t miss out…come and see us!

Ashton Park Sixth Form Centre

Impressive Results | Amazing FacilitiesBroad Range of Courses | High Level Care

Exciting Activities and Opportunities

With you everystep of the way

Wednesday 9th October 20136.30 - 8.30pm

Headteacher’s Speech 6.30 - 7.00pmTours of Sixth Form Centre 7.00pm

OpenEvening

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

2 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 3Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Education 2013 State education

Index

DESPITE being dog-gedly defended by theGovernment, the freeschool movement hascontinued to courtcontroversy in Bristolover the last 12

m o n t h s.The jury is still out on whether free

schools – one of Education SecretaryMichael Gove’s flagship policies – a rebenefiting the city’s educationsystem or hindering it.

Favoured by the Coalition Govern-ment, free schools are like academiesin that they receive their fundingdirectly from Whitehall and haveflexibility over what they teach.

They were described by theDepartment for Education as“all-ability state-funded schools setup in response to what local peoplesay they want and need in order toimprove education for children intheir community”.

Nationally, there are now 174 freeschools – more than twice as many asthis time last year. Another 100 aredue to open from next year and bey-ond.

But it has been far from plain sail-ing for free schools to have set up inBristol so far.

The first free school ended up on asite unpopular with parents, thesecond faces a battle to secure a per-manent home while another freeschool project had the plug pulled onit at the 11th hour with a reported lossof £132,000 in taxpayers’ m o n e y.

The city’s first free school was cre-ated following a campaign for a newsecondary school led by parents liv-ing in the BS9 postcode, but BristolFree School was eventually locatedon an unpopular site in Southmead.

Critics say there was no need for anew school in BS9 as there were othersecondary schools in the area withsurplus places.

Despite this, the school is now over-subscribed and received a “good” r at -ing in its first Ofsted inspectionearlier this year.

The city’s first primary free school,Cathedral Primary School, opened ina temporary home on the campus ofBristol Cathedral Choir School in thecity centre earlier this month. Butcontroversy surrounds its proposedmove to a permanent home in part ofBristol Central Library.

Support from the Department forEducation for Bristol PrimarySchool, which had been due to openthis month to serve pupils in theinner city, was withdrawn in March.Some 114 sets of parents wanted tosend their children to the school,which would have been based inE a s t v i l l e.

Another free school – SteinerAcademy Bristol – is set to open nextSeptember, but its location has notbeen confirmed.

One of the biggest challenges fa-cing the DfE and the Education Fund-ing Agency is the task of findingsuitable classroom space in the shortwindow of opportunity between afree school application being giventhe green light and its opening date.

Bristol Free School appeared to be

a perfect example of how the freeschool system was supposed to work.Families in BS9 disenchanted withtheir secondary education optionswere able to campaign for thecreation of a new school for theirc o m m u n i t y.

They succeeded and in 2011, whenthe secondary they wanted was born.But the location of the school, atformer Defra offices in BurghillRoad, Southmead, drew criticismfrom parents who had been cam-paigning on the basis the school wouldbe created on the site of the former StUrsula’s School in Brecon Road.

Accommodation has also proven tobe a hitch at Cathedral PrimarySchool, which opened in CollegeSquare earlier this month. Lessonsfor reception pupils are temporarilybeing delivered in Abbey House, partof the Bristol Cathedral Choir School.But there will not be enough spacewhen more children join the schoolover the next three years.

A proposal to create classrooms forthe school on the lower two floors ofBristol Central Library has attractedmuch criticism. A petition has alsobeen launched to fight the move.

It appears the library has beenchosen as development land availablefor a new school in the city centre iss c a rc e.

ant to enter serious negotiations.“As it is, the storage and main-

tenance floors of the library are anideal, safe site for us, close to ourexisting facilities, offering us plentyof room to expand and with playspace among the trees in the middleof College Square.

“Yet the timing is tight; we will runout of space in Abbey House by July2015, so the major work required toturn the library building’s dilapid-ated lower floors into a light andmodern primary school will need tobe completed by September 2015. Werelish the challenge.”

Despite the difficulties over findinga suitable site, the school is alreadyhugely popular with parents, with 180applications being made for the 30places on offer this academic year.

Mr Blundell said he was impressedby the rigour of the free schoolapplication process.

He said: “As an established edu-cation provider, we found the processof setting up a new school challengingand robust, but of course manageablefor us.

“In fact, the rigour of the processdid much to allay my concerns aboutfree schools, as this is not somethingto go into lightly.”

Due to open next September is Bris-tol Steiner School. The organisersbehind the successful free school ap-plication had expressed a preferencefor moving into the former ElizabethShaw Chocolate Factory in Easton.But 12 months ahead of its opening, alocation has not been confirmed.

Joe Evans, lead proposer for Stein-er Academy Bristol, said a shortlist ofsites for the new free school had nowbeen drawn up.

Mr Evans said: “The EducationFunding Agency provided a long listof potential sites which we have beengradually narrowing down with sitevisits, assessments of access to greenspace, cost and so on.

“We are now at the stage where weare working with a small shortlist,with EFA doing detailed studies onhow the spaces could be used, costs ofconversion or new-build and so on.

“It’s obviously very challenging tomarket a new school when we don’tyet have a site but hopefully we canmake an announcement soon.”

Of the free school process, MrEvans added: “It’s been very demand-ing but the huge amount of supportand enthusiasm that we’ve met withhas kept us all going.

“In general, what we’re seeing isthat there is if anything more supportthan we realised for a bit more di-versity and choice within education.

“DfE are extremely supportive ofour vision for a school that combinesthe ethos of Steiner education withthe professional management prac-tices of state education.

“We feel as though we’re part of areally positive shift in education. Ofcourse, the real challenge is stillahead of us – creating and running anamazing school.”

As the Steiner project grows fromstrength to strength the campaignersbehind the Bristol Primary Schoolmust be wondering where it all wentw ro n g .

Mystery surrounds the reason forthe withdrawal of support for theproject as they have not been madepublic. It had been expected to behoused in a disused office block close

to Eastgate Shopping Centre, a choicewhich drew criticism from nearbyschools as it was considered to be aninfringement on their catchmenta re a s.

After the DfE withdrew support forthe school, the South West branch ofthe National Union of Teachers(NUT) accused the Government ofwasting public money.

The trust received grants totalling£132,000 from the DfE to help set upthe school.

Education officials in Whitehalllater tried to claw back some of themoney given to The BristolInner-City Schools Trust, which wasbehind the project.

The DfE said backing had beenwithdrawn as the trust’s proposalshad failed to meet the Government’s“stringent criteria”.

At the time Andy Woolley, theNUT’s South West regional secretary,said: “Considerable amounts of pub-lic money have been wasted on thisproject by the Government in order topromote one of Michael Gove’s petprojects. Free schools are as yet un-tested over any period of time in thiscountry but in other countries suchas Sweden they are now blamed forbeing a major contributor to fallingeducational standards.”

Steve Spokes, who had been linedup to be the principal of the school,promised that any unspent fundswould be returned to the DfE.

Speaking to the Po s t in March, hesaid: “In terms of a waste of tax-p aye r s ’ money, what does seem unfairis that the people of Bristol haven’tgot the school many of themwanted.”

Councillor Brenda Massey, assist-ant mayor for children’s and youngpeople’s services, said the councilwas keen to work in conjunction withfree schools, as it had done withCathedral Primary over its libraryplan.

But she said free schools croppingup in areas where there is not a bigdemand for places could be unhelp-ful.

Councillor Massey said: “Wi t hCathedral there is a shortage in thecity centre and that school willprovide 420 places. But with BristolFree School, there wasn’t a particularshortage of secondary places in thatarea. We need to consider the im-plications and impacts on existingschools in that locality. While someare welcomed, some are not so helpfulin addressing our shortage.”

A spokesman for the DfE said theEFA was now advising free school

proposers on sites much earlier –before they even submit their ap-plications to the department.

He said the EFA had worked withboth free school proposers in the cityand Bristol City Council to securesuitable sites.

The EFA says it is confident it willcontinue to deliver suitable sites formore than 90 per cent of free schoolswithin a year of them being ap-p rove d .

The DfE said about 80 per cent ofmainstream free schools are in areasthat need school places, or in areas ofdeprivation, and that all 93 freeschools opening this term are doingso in their designated sites asplanned.

The spokesman said: “Bristol isalready home to two popular freeschools. The Bristol Free School wasrecently rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in itsfirst inspection and the newly-openedCathedral Primary School is alreadyoversubscribed. We are looking for-ward to more free schools opening inthe city, including the Steiner Schoolnext year.”

Free schools face challenge of finding their place

“ ...............................................................

As an established educationprovider, we found the processof setting up a new schoolchallenging and robust...In fact,the rigour of the process didmuch to allay my concernsabout free schools, as this isnot something to go into lightly

Bristol Cathedral ChoirSchool principal Neil Blundell

............................................................................

Bristol Cathedral Choir School’sprincipal Neil Blundell, who chairedthe project steering group behindCathedral Primary School, said se-curing a site for the primary was thebiggest challenge of setting up a freeschool. He said: “One considerationis our location at the centre of a majorcity in the south of England.

“Land prices are high, yet we haveonly a limited budget from the De-partment for Education. Some havepointed out a number of availablesites on Harbourside – yet even sup-posing these were affordable andthere were no planning constraints,they do not usually offer enclosedoutdoor play space.

“We are keen to have the primaryschool within easy walking distanceof the senior school so that facilitiessuch as the dining hall and, of course,the cathedral, can be shared – andthat makes any site which requiresbusy Anchor Road to be crossed prob-l e m at i c.

“One final problem is the timescale. We did not secure our fundingagreement from the DfE until Junethis year, less than three months be-fore we were due to open this Septem-ber – and for many free schools it canbe even later. Yet until that agreementis secured, landowners and de-velopers are understandably reluct-

Marc RathEducation reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

� Kate Murray, head of library services, with Councillor Simon Cook in thelower floors of Bristol’s Central Library which Cathedral Primary Schoolhopes to occupy Photo: Michael Lloyd BRML20130830C-010_C

� Getting creative to cope with rising demand ............................... 4&5

� Tough year but city school’s pass Ofsted test ............................. 6&7

� How inner city charity opens door to university ........................... 8&9

� Meet the teachers trained to change lives ............................... 10&11

� Nurseries unite to help give every child best start in life .......... 12&13

� Choosing a secondary school in Bristol .................................. 14&15

� ‘A royal college could shine light on profession’ ............................ 16

� Former head’s mission to build children’s love for writing 100 wordsat a time ....................................................................................... 18&19

� Projects to prove ‘STEM can take you anywhere’ ................... 20&21

� Celebrating a century at the forefront of training ..................... 22&23

� Meet the heads ..................................................................... 24 to 32

AdvertisingMarc England 0117 934 3428marc.england@b-nm.co.uk

EditorialMarc Rath 0117 934 3637marc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

See the school in actionOPEN MORNINGS

Monday 30th September11.15am -12.45pm

Tuesday 1st October11.15am -12.45pm

A warm invitation to Year 6 Students andtheir Parents to join us for

Open EveningThursday 26th September 2013 6.00-8.30pm

Tours 6pm -7.45pm ~ Headteacher’s Speech 8pm

ASHTON PARK SCHOOL

Tel: 0117 3772742Email: info@ashtonparksixthform.co.ukWeb: www.ashtonpark.net/sixthform

Don’t miss out…come and see us!

Ashton Park Sixth Form Centre

Impressive Results | Amazing FacilitiesBroad Range of Courses | High Level Care

Exciting Activities and Opportunities

With you everystep of the way

Wednesday 9th October 20136.30 - 8.30pm

Headteacher’s Speech 6.30 - 7.00pmTours of Sixth Form Centre 7.00pm

OpenEvening

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

4 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 5Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

IT is seldom anyone feels sym-pathy for a local authority. Butit is hard not to sympathisewith Bristol City Council giventhe size of the task it faces overprimary school places. Withone of the fastest growing pop-

ulations of children in the country,the council is under enormous pres-sure to create more school places –and quickly.

And it is having to become in-creasingly creative and resourcefulto provide enough places to meet theever-rising number of young childrengrowing up in our city.

Take the new academic year forexample – more than extra 320 placeshave been created for the 2013-14 re-ception intake. Yet hundreds morestill will be needed to keep pace with

With the population of young children in Bristol continuing torise rapidly, Bristol City Council faces a huge task in meeting thegrowing demand for classroom desks. With a police stationalready converted into a school and library and officeconversions in the pipeline, the authority has shown it is willingto come up with imaginative solutions. MARC RATH re p o r t s .

burgeoning population over the com-ing years.

This year there were 5,329 applic-ations for primary school places – thefifth rise in a row and a 1,300 increaseon the 2008 figure.

But with a shortage of land to buildschools on and a lack of space atexisting school sites for expansions,the council has been forced to workimaginatively to come up with solu-t i o n s.

This month, St John’s PrimarySchool in Clifton has welcomed itsfirst pupils at its new annexe – aconverted police station in nearbyRe d l a n d .

The Victorian police station inLower Redland Road has been con-verted into teaching areas and of-fices, with the former white-tiled

cells being turned into a school lib-rary, and an extension is being builtto house new classrooms.

The city has been a hive of activityover the past few years with buildingprojects taking place simultaneouslyat many primary schools.

This month, pupils returned fromthe summer break to extendedschools at Ashley Down Primary,Glenfrome Primary in Eastville, FairFurlong Primary in Withywood, Col-s t o n’s Primary in Cotham and MayPark Primary in Eastville.

But it is in the comingyears that the most un-likely of places couldbecome schools. Apublic library,former chocolatefactory and former

council offices have all been touted aslocations for new classroom space.

The moves follow the uniquemeasure taken at Hannah

More Primary School in StPhilip’s, which saw modularclassrooms installed on itsroof last year.

Councillor Brenda Mas-sey, assistant mayor for chil-

dren and young people’sservices, said: “Bristol has

had a huge rise in population, alot higher that quite a lot of other

places. It’s a challenge and we areaware of it. The main issue is findingsuitable accommodation in placeswhere the demand is highest. In cent-ral areas it’s difficult because it is sobu i l t - u p.

“The police station and library areexamples of the council using ima-gination to convert these buildingsfor educational use. The officers inparticular should be congratulatedfor looking outside the box and notgoing for the standard options.”

She hinted that more schools could

spring up in former council offices inthe coming years, as the authorityconsolidates its offices at CollegeGreen and Temple Street.

She said: “We will potentially havecouncil buildings becoming empty.But not only does the building have toprovide space, there has to be spacefor the children to go out and play aswell. You can find a building whichcan be converted that has no outdoorrecreational space.

“We don’t want children to have togo for a 10-minute walk to get to theirnearest open space.”

Some of the more creative sugges-tions have not always been well re-c e ive d .

The proposal to use two floors ofBristol Central Library asclassrooms for Cathedral PrimarySchool has attracted more letters ofcomplaint to the offices of the BristolPo s t than almost any other topic overthe last 12 months.

Last September, the city councilunveiled its School OrganisationStrategy 2012-2016. It included plansto build new primary schools andexpand 15 others to ease Bristol’sprimary school places crisis.

The city council faces spending£250 million over the coming years toensure there are enough places avail-

able to cater for the city’s rapidlygrowing population of young chil-dren. Earlier this month, the LocalGovernment Association claimedtwo in three local authorities wouldhave a shortage of places by 2016.

David Simmonds, chairman of thea s s o c i at i o n’s Children and YoungPeople Board, said schools across thecountry were having to take “e x t re m em e a s u re s ” including converting non-classroom space and reducing play-ground space.

He said: “This seriously risks pri-oritising quantity of places at theexpense of the quality of educationwe are providing.”

Once the huge increase of youngchildren has passed through Bristol’sprimary schools, the focus willswitch to the provision of extra sec-ondary school places.

Ms Massey said: “Numbers willcontinue to rise, and after theprimary stage, we will hit the sec-ondary stage so we can’t take our eyesoff the ball.

“We need to look at our existingcapacity and, at the moment, we havesome secondaries which are not asfull as they could be so there might besome leeway.

“It’s being accurate with forecast-ing which is a tricky thing to do.”

Getting creative to cope with rising demand

� St John’s Primary School’s Falcon Class settle into the new annexe insidea converted police station in Redland; below left, Councillor Brenda MasseyPhoto: Dave Betts BRDB20130912E-007_C

“ ..................

Numbers willcontinue torise, andafter theprimarystage, wewill hit thesecondarystage so wecan’t takeour eyes offthe ball

CouncillorB re n d aMassey

...............................

“ ..............................

The police stationand library areexamples of thecouncil usingimagination toconvert thesebuildings foreducational use

CouncillorB re n d aMassey

............................................

SIXTH FORM COLLEGEST BRENDAN’S

Broomhill Road, Brislington,Bristol, BS4 5RQinfo@stbrn.ac.uk0117 977 7766

VISITAN OPEN EVENT

Saturday 12 October 201310.30am – 2pm

Wednesday 23 October 20135pm – 8pm

Thursday 24 October 20135pm – 8pm

stbrendanssixthform.com

A College just for SixthForm students, offering thebiggest choice ofA-levels andBTECs in Bristol/Bath - in anycombination - all on one site

Faith in Learning

T. 0117 942 4328E. admissions@colstonsgirls.bristol.sch.uk

www.colstonsgirls.bristol.sch.uk

Wednesday 18th September 2013Tuesday 24th September 20136.00 - 8.00pm

Open Evenings Year 7

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

4 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 5Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

IT is seldom anyone feels sym-pathy for a local authority. Butit is hard not to sympathisewith Bristol City Council giventhe size of the task it faces overprimary school places. Withone of the fastest growing pop-

ulations of children in the country,the council is under enormous pres-sure to create more school places –and quickly.

And it is having to become in-creasingly creative and resourcefulto provide enough places to meet theever-rising number of young childrengrowing up in our city.

Take the new academic year forexample – more than extra 320 placeshave been created for the 2013-14 re-ception intake. Yet hundreds morestill will be needed to keep pace with

With the population of young children in Bristol continuing torise rapidly, Bristol City Council faces a huge task in meeting thegrowing demand for classroom desks. With a police stationalready converted into a school and library and officeconversions in the pipeline, the authority has shown it is willingto come up with imaginative solutions. MARC RATH re p o r t s .

burgeoning population over the com-ing years.

This year there were 5,329 applic-ations for primary school places – thefifth rise in a row and a 1,300 increaseon the 2008 figure.

But with a shortage of land to buildschools on and a lack of space atexisting school sites for expansions,the council has been forced to workimaginatively to come up with solu-t i o n s.

This month, St John’s PrimarySchool in Clifton has welcomed itsfirst pupils at its new annexe – aconverted police station in nearbyRe d l a n d .

The Victorian police station inLower Redland Road has been con-verted into teaching areas and of-fices, with the former white-tiled

cells being turned into a school lib-rary, and an extension is being builtto house new classrooms.

The city has been a hive of activityover the past few years with buildingprojects taking place simultaneouslyat many primary schools.

This month, pupils returned fromthe summer break to extendedschools at Ashley Down Primary,Glenfrome Primary in Eastville, FairFurlong Primary in Withywood, Col-s t o n’s Primary in Cotham and MayPark Primary in Eastville.

But it is in the comingyears that the most un-likely of places couldbecome schools. Apublic library,former chocolatefactory and former

council offices have all been touted aslocations for new classroom space.

The moves follow the uniquemeasure taken at Hannah

More Primary School in StPhilip’s, which saw modularclassrooms installed on itsroof last year.

Councillor Brenda Mas-sey, assistant mayor for chil-

dren and young people’sservices, said: “Bristol has

had a huge rise in population, alot higher that quite a lot of other

places. It’s a challenge and we areaware of it. The main issue is findingsuitable accommodation in placeswhere the demand is highest. In cent-ral areas it’s difficult because it is sobu i l t - u p.

“The police station and library areexamples of the council using ima-gination to convert these buildingsfor educational use. The officers inparticular should be congratulatedfor looking outside the box and notgoing for the standard options.”

She hinted that more schools could

spring up in former council offices inthe coming years, as the authorityconsolidates its offices at CollegeGreen and Temple Street.

She said: “We will potentially havecouncil buildings becoming empty.But not only does the building have toprovide space, there has to be spacefor the children to go out and play aswell. You can find a building whichcan be converted that has no outdoorrecreational space.

“We don’t want children to have togo for a 10-minute walk to get to theirnearest open space.”

Some of the more creative sugges-tions have not always been well re-c e ive d .

The proposal to use two floors ofBristol Central Library asclassrooms for Cathedral PrimarySchool has attracted more letters ofcomplaint to the offices of the BristolPo s t than almost any other topic overthe last 12 months.

Last September, the city councilunveiled its School OrganisationStrategy 2012-2016. It included plansto build new primary schools andexpand 15 others to ease Bristol’sprimary school places crisis.

The city council faces spending£250 million over the coming years toensure there are enough places avail-

able to cater for the city’s rapidlygrowing population of young chil-dren. Earlier this month, the LocalGovernment Association claimedtwo in three local authorities wouldhave a shortage of places by 2016.

David Simmonds, chairman of thea s s o c i at i o n’s Children and YoungPeople Board, said schools across thecountry were having to take “e x t re m em e a s u re s ” including converting non-classroom space and reducing play-ground space.

He said: “This seriously risks pri-oritising quantity of places at theexpense of the quality of educationwe are providing.”

Once the huge increase of youngchildren has passed through Bristol’sprimary schools, the focus willswitch to the provision of extra sec-ondary school places.

Ms Massey said: “Numbers willcontinue to rise, and after theprimary stage, we will hit the sec-ondary stage so we can’t take our eyesoff the ball.

“We need to look at our existingcapacity and, at the moment, we havesome secondaries which are not asfull as they could be so there might besome leeway.

“It’s being accurate with forecast-ing which is a tricky thing to do.”

Getting creative to cope with rising demand

� St John’s Primary School’s Falcon Class settle into the new annexe insidea converted police station in Redland; below left, Councillor Brenda MasseyPhoto: Dave Betts BRDB20130912E-007_C

“ ..................

Numbers willcontinue torise, andafter theprimarystage, wewill hit thesecondarystage so wecan’t takeour eyes offthe ball

CouncillorB re n d aMassey

...............................

“ ..............................

The police stationand library areexamples of thecouncil usingimagination toconvert thesebuildings foreducational use

CouncillorB re n d aMassey

............................................

SIXTH FORM COLLEGEST BRENDAN’S

Broomhill Road, Brislington,Bristol, BS4 5RQinfo@stbrn.ac.uk0117 977 7766

VISITAN OPEN EVENT

Saturday 12 October 201310.30am – 2pm

Wednesday 23 October 20135pm – 8pm

Thursday 24 October 20135pm – 8pm

stbrendanssixthform.com

A College just for SixthForm students, offering thebiggest choice ofA-levels andBTECs in Bristol/Bath - in anycombination - all on one site

Faith in Learning

T. 0117 942 4328E. admissions@colstonsgirls.bristol.sch.uk

www.colstonsgirls.bristol.sch.uk

Wednesday 18th September 2013Tuesday 24th September 20136.00 - 8.00pm

Open Evenings Year 7

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

6 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 7Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

THERE would have beenmuch trepidation in theclassrooms of Bristolschools at the beginningof the last academicyear. Anxious teachingstaff due a visit from the

Gover nment’s education watchdogOfsted knew the bar had beenraised.

They were facing a new, tougherform of assessment, and, on top of

that, would only be given 24hours’ notice of a visit.

Under the more de-manding inspection

framework, they weretold schools must bejudged “good” as aminimum, with the“satisf actory” g radebeing changed to

“requires improve-ment”. Previously, a

school would only havebeen ordered to improve if

it was given the bottom ratingof “i n a d e q u at e ”.

Despite the considerable changesBristol schools acquitted themselvesadmirably over the course of the year,with many equalling or betteringtheir previous judgements.

So were schools comfortable withthe new framework?

Well, surprisingly most head teach-ers preferred the shorter notice peri-od. They were contacted by Ofsted theday before and warned of an im-minent visit, rather than having atwo or three-day cushion to makepre parations.

Heads found they were happier forinspectors to see their schools “asthey are” rather than with classesbeing taught by teachers primed spe-cifically to impress inspectors.

One of the first schools in Bristol,and the country, to welcome inspect-ors working under the newguidelines was Chester Park JuniorSchool in Fishponds. The schoolpassed the inspection last Septemberwith flying colours, receiving a“good” r at i n g .

The school’s head teacher TonyPhillips was thrilled Chester Parkhad improved on its last inspectionrating of satisfactory, which it wasawarded in January 2010.

After the inspection result waspublished, Mr Phillips told theBristol Post: “I didn’t have time tohave the jeepers – you go into shockfirst of all.

“What it means is that the inspect-ors see the school as it is becauset h e re ’s no chance to set things up.

“T here’s no chance for the teachersto put on an all-singing and all-dan-cing show for the inspectors.

“They get to see how the school isoperating every day.”

Following the success of ChesterPark, several other schools in the cityfollowed in its footsteps by recordingimpressive inspection results.

Southville Primary picked up a“good” rating before nearby AshtonGate Primary was awarded an “out-standing” judgement. PatchwayCommunity College, the first second-ary to be inspected under the newframework in South Gloucestershire,earned a “good”.

The success continued into 2013,particularly in south Bristol, withSt Peter’s Church of EnglandPrimary in Bishopsworth, BridgeFarm Primary in Whitchurch andHeadley Park Primary all beingclassed as outstanding.

In the spring, it was the turn of eastBristol schools to shine.

Whitehall Primary became thefirst inner city school to attract anoutstanding r at i n g .

In March, it was reported that 47per cent of primaries and secondariesvisited by Ofsted across the countryin the last academic year saw ratingsrise in comparison with previous in-s p e c t i o n s.

Under the more rigorous assess-ment, schools were told they mustgain an outstanding grade for “qual-ity of teaching” to achieve an overalloutstanding judgement. In primaryschools, inspectors were told to focusmore on reading and phonics bylistening to children reading.

Ofsted teams were also directed tolook closely at students in receipt ofthe Pupil Premium, and evaluate howthe funding is spent.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the regulat-or’s chief inspector, insisted the scaleof improvement was far higher thanlevels witnessed in previous years.

He said schools were rising to thechallenge and insisted Ofsted’s newinspection system was “injecting asense of urgency” into schools andforcing them to prioritise improve-m e n t s.

Speaking in March he said: “I’mclear that scrapping the satisfactoryjudgment and replacing it with ‘re -quires improvement’ is injecting asense of urgency in both schools andlocal authorities.

“Heads and governing boards nowhave a much greater focus on tacklingthe central issues of school improve-ment.”

However, Christine Blower, generalsecretary of the National Union ofTeachers, said schools were workingunder considerable pressure andstress to improve their inspectionrating. She said: “This may have beenat the expense of working in a waythat really is in the interest of allch i l d re n . ”

Ofsted hit the headlines again inBristol during the summer term afterannouncing its intention to carry outa series of co-ordinated inspections ina single week to establish why thecity’s schools were performing belowthe national average.

There was outcry from the edu-cational community in the city. Crit-ics accused Ofsted of deciding Bristolwas failing before the inspections atthe 16 schools had been carried out.

Ofsted was also criticised for usingoutdated figures as the basis of itsswo o p.

The watchdog justified the move byclaiming Bristol was being outper-formed by UK cities of a similar sizeand demographic, placing it belowthe likes of Plymouth, Brighton andSouthampton.

It said that as of December last year,32 per cent of the city’s schools hadbeen rated satisfactory, requiresimprovement or inadequate.

This compared to a national av-erage of 26 per cent and a regionalaverage of 22 per cent.

As part of the exercise, inspectorsalso examined the quality of supportschools were receiving from the citycouncil.

Ahead of the inspections, LornaFitzjohn, Ofsted’s outgoing regional

director for the South West, said: “Itcannot be right that local authoritieswith the same demographics interms of population size and levels ofdeprivation have such varying levelsof provision in schools. All parentsshould have the same chance of send-ing their children to a good or betterschool but in Bristol the chance ofbeing able to do so is much lower thanin other parts of the country.”

But the city council said that usingmore recent figures, from March, 28per cent of schools per cent of thecity’s schools had been rated satis-factory, requires improvement orinadequate – lower than Bristol’sstatistical neighbours.

As it turned out, Ofsted found littleevidence of poor standards duringthe swoop, with ten schools improv-ing on the ratings they had receivedin previous inspections and four re-maining on the same grade.

One school, St Patrick’s CatholicPrimary in Redfield, was awarded thetop grade, outstanding, while tenothers were rated good.

Clare Campion Smith, chairwo-man of the council’s Children, YoungPeople and Families Scrutiny Com-mission, criticised Ofsted for la-belling the city’s schools poor beforethey had a chance to prove otherwise.

Earlier this month, Ofsted publishedits findings from the inspections.

It revealed that the total proportionof schools judged either good or out-standing in Bristol was now 81 percent – above the England average of 76per cent.

Praise for Bristol schools fromOfsted was welcomed by the citycouncil.

Ms Fitzjohn said there was causefor optimism but added that “m u chmore remains to be done” to ensureall pupils in Bristol receive the highquality of education expected.

The council’s interim strategic dir-ector for children, young people andskills Isobel Cattermole said: “Fe e d -back from government inspectors istaken very seriously and many of theareas highlighted already have plansof work in place.

“The role of the local authority is achanging one with new trading re-lationships for services like financeand human resources.

“I want to see more good practiceshared between schools, building onthe work we’ve done to facilitate net-works, support governors and headteachers in their day to day work.

“Together we are striving forexcellence and for every school to begood or better.”

With the introduction of tougher inspections and acontroversial ‘blitz’ on Bristol which was branded a sluron the city, Ofsted has rarely been out of the headlinesin the past 12 months. MARC RATH re p o r t s .

Tough year but city schools pass Ofsted test

� Sir MichaelW i l s h a w,Ofsted’s chiefi n s p e c t o r,said schoolswere rising tothe challengeposed by there g u l a t o r ’snewinspectionsystem

� Celebrations at Chester Park Junior School inFishponds last year after a visit from Ofsted

“ ...................................................................................................................................................

Together we are striving for excellence and for every school tobe good or better Isobel Cattermole

B

ACKWELL

S

C H O O

L

Fairfield High School

Open MorningsThursday 3rd, Friday 4th,Thursday 10th October 9.15 - 10.30am

Open EveningThursday 26th September 6.00 - 9.00pm

Top school in Bristol for Value Added

FairfieldHigh SchoolAchieving Excellence

“An extremelyharmonious and cohesivelearning communitywhere all thrive”Ofsted June 2013

Please call:0117 952 7100 orEmail: fairfield.s@bristol.gov.ukfor further details or information

“An extremelyharmonious and cohesivelearning communitywhere all thrive”New

thisyear- Philosophy for Children

Join us at one ofour Open Events

Thursday 26 September4.30pm - 7pmSouth Bristol Skills Academy

Saturday 5October10am - 2pmCollegeGreen Centre

Wednesday 9October4.30pm - 7pmCollegeGreen Centre

Saturday 19October10am - 2pmAshley DownCentre

0117 312 5000 cityofbristol.ac.uk

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

6 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 7Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

THERE would have beenmuch trepidation in theclassrooms of Bristolschools at the beginningof the last academicyear. Anxious teachingstaff due a visit from the

Gover nment’s education watchdogOfsted knew the bar had beenraised.

They were facing a new, tougherform of assessment, and, on top of

that, would only be given 24hours’ notice of a visit.

Under the more de-manding inspection

framework, they weretold schools must bejudged “good” as aminimum, with the“satisf actory” g radebeing changed to

“requires improve-ment”. Previously, a

school would only havebeen ordered to improve if

it was given the bottom ratingof “i n a d e q u at e ”.

Despite the considerable changesBristol schools acquitted themselvesadmirably over the course of the year,with many equalling or betteringtheir previous judgements.

So were schools comfortable withthe new framework?

Well, surprisingly most head teach-ers preferred the shorter notice peri-od. They were contacted by Ofsted theday before and warned of an im-minent visit, rather than having atwo or three-day cushion to makepre parations.

Heads found they were happier forinspectors to see their schools “asthey are” rather than with classesbeing taught by teachers primed spe-cifically to impress inspectors.

One of the first schools in Bristol,and the country, to welcome inspect-ors working under the newguidelines was Chester Park JuniorSchool in Fishponds. The schoolpassed the inspection last Septemberwith flying colours, receiving a“good” r at i n g .

The school’s head teacher TonyPhillips was thrilled Chester Parkhad improved on its last inspectionrating of satisfactory, which it wasawarded in January 2010.

After the inspection result waspublished, Mr Phillips told theBristol Post: “I didn’t have time tohave the jeepers – you go into shockfirst of all.

“What it means is that the inspect-ors see the school as it is becauset h e re ’s no chance to set things up.

“T here’s no chance for the teachersto put on an all-singing and all-dan-cing show for the inspectors.

“They get to see how the school isoperating every day.”

Following the success of ChesterPark, several other schools in the cityfollowed in its footsteps by recordingimpressive inspection results.

Southville Primary picked up a“good” rating before nearby AshtonGate Primary was awarded an “out-standing” judgement. PatchwayCommunity College, the first second-ary to be inspected under the newframework in South Gloucestershire,earned a “good”.

The success continued into 2013,particularly in south Bristol, withSt Peter’s Church of EnglandPrimary in Bishopsworth, BridgeFarm Primary in Whitchurch andHeadley Park Primary all beingclassed as outstanding.

In the spring, it was the turn of eastBristol schools to shine.

Whitehall Primary became thefirst inner city school to attract anoutstanding r at i n g .

In March, it was reported that 47per cent of primaries and secondariesvisited by Ofsted across the countryin the last academic year saw ratingsrise in comparison with previous in-s p e c t i o n s.

Under the more rigorous assess-ment, schools were told they mustgain an outstanding grade for “qual-ity of teaching” to achieve an overalloutstanding judgement. In primaryschools, inspectors were told to focusmore on reading and phonics bylistening to children reading.

Ofsted teams were also directed tolook closely at students in receipt ofthe Pupil Premium, and evaluate howthe funding is spent.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the regulat-or’s chief inspector, insisted the scaleof improvement was far higher thanlevels witnessed in previous years.

He said schools were rising to thechallenge and insisted Ofsted’s newinspection system was “injecting asense of urgency” into schools andforcing them to prioritise improve-m e n t s.

Speaking in March he said: “I’mclear that scrapping the satisfactoryjudgment and replacing it with ‘re -quires improvement’ is injecting asense of urgency in both schools andlocal authorities.

“Heads and governing boards nowhave a much greater focus on tacklingthe central issues of school improve-ment.”

However, Christine Blower, generalsecretary of the National Union ofTeachers, said schools were workingunder considerable pressure andstress to improve their inspectionrating. She said: “This may have beenat the expense of working in a waythat really is in the interest of allch i l d re n . ”

Ofsted hit the headlines again inBristol during the summer term afterannouncing its intention to carry outa series of co-ordinated inspections ina single week to establish why thecity’s schools were performing belowthe national average.

There was outcry from the edu-cational community in the city. Crit-ics accused Ofsted of deciding Bristolwas failing before the inspections atthe 16 schools had been carried out.

Ofsted was also criticised for usingoutdated figures as the basis of itsswo o p.

The watchdog justified the move byclaiming Bristol was being outper-formed by UK cities of a similar sizeand demographic, placing it belowthe likes of Plymouth, Brighton andSouthampton.

It said that as of December last year,32 per cent of the city’s schools hadbeen rated satisfactory, requiresimprovement or inadequate.

This compared to a national av-erage of 26 per cent and a regionalaverage of 22 per cent.

As part of the exercise, inspectorsalso examined the quality of supportschools were receiving from the citycouncil.

Ahead of the inspections, LornaFitzjohn, Ofsted’s outgoing regional

director for the South West, said: “Itcannot be right that local authoritieswith the same demographics interms of population size and levels ofdeprivation have such varying levelsof provision in schools. All parentsshould have the same chance of send-ing their children to a good or betterschool but in Bristol the chance ofbeing able to do so is much lower thanin other parts of the country.”

But the city council said that usingmore recent figures, from March, 28per cent of schools per cent of thecity’s schools had been rated satis-factory, requires improvement orinadequate – lower than Bristol’sstatistical neighbours.

As it turned out, Ofsted found littleevidence of poor standards duringthe swoop, with ten schools improv-ing on the ratings they had receivedin previous inspections and four re-maining on the same grade.

One school, St Patrick’s CatholicPrimary in Redfield, was awarded thetop grade, outstanding, while tenothers were rated good.

Clare Campion Smith, chairwo-man of the council’s Children, YoungPeople and Families Scrutiny Com-mission, criticised Ofsted for la-belling the city’s schools poor beforethey had a chance to prove otherwise.

Earlier this month, Ofsted publishedits findings from the inspections.

It revealed that the total proportionof schools judged either good or out-standing in Bristol was now 81 percent – above the England average of 76per cent.

Praise for Bristol schools fromOfsted was welcomed by the citycouncil.

Ms Fitzjohn said there was causefor optimism but added that “m u chmore remains to be done” to ensureall pupils in Bristol receive the highquality of education expected.

The council’s interim strategic dir-ector for children, young people andskills Isobel Cattermole said: “Fe e d -back from government inspectors istaken very seriously and many of theareas highlighted already have plansof work in place.

“The role of the local authority is achanging one with new trading re-lationships for services like financeand human resources.

“I want to see more good practiceshared between schools, building onthe work we’ve done to facilitate net-works, support governors and headteachers in their day to day work.

“Together we are striving forexcellence and for every school to begood or better.”

With the introduction of tougher inspections and acontroversial ‘blitz’ on Bristol which was branded a sluron the city, Ofsted has rarely been out of the headlinesin the past 12 months. MARC RATH re p o r t s .

Tough year but city schools pass Ofsted test

� Sir MichaelW i l s h a w,Ofsted’s chiefi n s p e c t o r,said schoolswere rising tothe challengeposed by there g u l a t o r ’snewinspectionsystem

� Celebrations at Chester Park Junior School inFishponds last year after a visit from Ofsted

“ ...................................................................................................................................................

Together we are striving for excellence and for every school tobe good or better Isobel Cattermole

B

ACKWELL

S

C H O O

L

Fairfield High School

Open MorningsThursday 3rd, Friday 4th,Thursday 10th October 9.15 - 10.30am

Open EveningThursday 26th September 6.00 - 9.00pm

Top school in Bristol for Value Added

FairfieldHigh SchoolAchieving Excellence

“An extremelyharmonious and cohesivelearning communitywhere all thrive”Ofsted June 2013

Please call:0117 952 7100 orEmail: fairfield.s@bristol.gov.ukfor further details or information

“An extremelyharmonious and cohesivelearning communitywhere all thrive”New

thisyear- Philosophy for Children

Join us at one ofour Open Events

Thursday 26 September4.30pm - 7pmSouth Bristol Skills Academy

Saturday 5October10am - 2pmCollegeGreen Centre

Wednesday 9October4.30pm - 7pmCollegeGreen Centre

Saturday 19October10am - 2pmAshley DownCentre

0117 312 5000 cityofbristol.ac.uk

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

8 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 9Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

WITHOUT huge fan-fare, the collectivechances of Bris-tol’s inner citychildren reachinguniversity took agiant stride for-

ward earlier this year.An educational charity called

IntoUniversity opened its first centrein the city in January and has beenquietly but effectively working toraise aspirations of pupils who tra-ditionally would not go into highere d u c at i o n .

The centre aims to help childrenwho tend to do far less well at school,are unlikely to go to university andpreviously had little chance of en-tering the professions.

Those targeted for support are chil-dren who previously would not havegiven going to university a secondthought.

There are countless reasons whythose youngsters do not set theirsights so high. They may come fromimmigrant families lacking languageskills, be encumbered by the attitudes

of their siblings and other familymembers or it might be that theirparents did not go through highere d u c at i o n .

An expanding national charity,IntoUniversity decided to locate inBristol after being approached byBristol University’s vice-chancellorProfessor Eric Thomas.

The university provides funding

ning programme that supports youngpeople from disadvantaged back-grounds to attain either a universityplace or another chosen aspiration.

In the last academic year, morethan 9,000 young people aged seven to18 benefited from an IntoUniversityprogramme. Of the Year 13 studentsparticipating, 77 per cent progressedto higher education. This compareswith a national average for stateschools of 34 per cent.

Following a successful pilot in Lon-don 11 years ago, the charity was setup in 2007 to prevent young peoplefrom Britain’s poorest backgroundsfacing a considerable educational dis-advantage. The programme of sup-port provides children and youngpeople from disadvantaged back-grounds with the help that manymiddle-class children receive as amatter of course.

Primary and secondary studentscan receive after-school help withhomework, coursework, literacy andnumeracy from trained tutors.One-to-one support is also offeredwith GCSE, AS Level, A2 Level anddegree options, coursework, revi-sion, exam techniques, UCAS forms,interview techniques and gap years.

To prepare for university life, stu-dents can also join the Focus pro-gramme. This offers young people

learning experiences which aim toimmerse them in a single topic orsubject area and concludes with a“g raduation” ceremony with certi-ficates and a celebration.

Students on the scheme may also

get the opportunity to join a ment-oring programme. They are pairedwith undergraduates who providehelp with school work, social andinter-personal skills, and confid-ence-building. The scheme gives

young people role models who havealready made it into university, whoencourage them to think about theirfutures and raise their aspirations.

Some 200 people attended thec e n t re ’s opening day in Januaryand there was an official launchevent held in April. So far, 1,011students have participated in thescheme in some way.

More than 100 students have beenattending academic support sessionsand 17 students have been paired withan undergraduate student from Bris-tol University as part of the ment-oring scheme.

In addition 45 Year 8 students havetaken part in a buddy programme, aninteractive two-day programme ledby university students introducingthem to university life. The buddydays were on biology, involving stu-dents from Bristol MetropolitanAcademy in Fishponds, and engin-eering, involving Fairfield HighSchool in Horfield.

Some 300 students have beenthrough a two-year primary focusprogramme, covering topics includ-ing enterprise, journalism and law.Each week ended with a day at BristolUniversity including a campus tourand “g raduation” c e re m o ny.

A further 396 students have takenpart in a secondary Focus pro-

How inner city charity opensgramme, including Year 9 students atBristol Metropolitan Academy. Year12 students at The City Academy inRedfield went on a “Day of UniversityLife” trip to Imperial College London.Secondary students attend the centretwice a week, while primary schoolpupils visit once a week.

Rachel Reid, who leads the BristolEast Centre, said the charity hadreceived a warm welcome to the cityfrom schools, families and com-munity groups.

“The University of Bristol, whichwas instrumental in bringingIntoUniversity to the city and whichprovides essential funding andsupport, has helped by providingworkshops run by lecturers, trips tothe university and large number ofstudents volunteering as mentorsand tutors to our young people.

“Our open day in January sawmore than 150 people attend to enjoycookie-making, having a ‘g raduationphoto’ taken, games and a balloonl a u n ch .

“Community groups and the coun-cil have been helpful in spreading theword about IntoUniversity and arange of organisations have referredyoung people to us.”

The centre has a team of fourdedicated staff along with 40committed volunteers, mainly from

“ ...............................................................

Bringing together Bristolstudents with young peoplewho are eager to learn, but whomay not always have the bestopportunities to do so, isproving to be a powerful andfruitful combination

David Alder, Bristol University............................................................................

and support for the centre, which isbased at the Old Library, in TrinityRoad, Easton.

It is one of 15 IntoUniversity learn-ing centres and only the third to beestablished outside London.

At each centre IntoUniversity of-fers an innovative and award-win-

Bristol University, who act as ment-ors and tutors to the young people.Individuals from a range of profes-sions have also given up their time tolead workshops, and the charityhopes to have more volunteers fromthe local community joining thisye a r.

Ms Reid said the centre set anambitious target of working with 672students in its first year. This year thetarget has been increased to 1,100s t u d e n t s.

So how does the charity aim toimprove educational attainmentamong the most disadvantagedpupils in the city?

Ms Reid said: “IntoUniversity aimsto raise aspirations and improve edu-cation attainment though ourlong-term pastoral programme. Wework in partnerships with schools,colleges and the University of Bristolto support students to reach theirpotential.

“Our Primary Focus programmeand Primary Academic Support Cur-riculum relate to the national cur-riculum, while our secondaryprogrammes draw upon the exper-ience and expertise of students andp ro f e s s i o n a l s. ”

In a survey of its students con-ducted during the summer, IntoUni-versity said 82 per cent of

� From left, Jo Woods, a University of Bristol student volunteering at theIntoUniversity Centre, with centre leader Rachel Reid and volunteer managerMatilda Walls BRJK20130911B-001_C0

door to university

participants felt they were morelikely to go to university as a result oftaking part in the programme.

Bristol’s University’s director ofmarketing and communicationsDavid Alder said the universityjoined forces with IntoUniversity aspart of its commitment to raisingaspirations and educational attain-ment among young people in Bris-tol.

He said: “Key to the centre’s suc-cess is the involvement of our stu-

dents who provide academic supportthroughout the programmes.

“Bringing together Bristol stu-dents with young people who areeager to learn, but who may not al-ways have the best opportunities todo so, is proving to be a powerful andfruitful combination.”

� Rachel Reid, centre leader at the Bristol East IntoUniversity Centre, withYear 6 student Leo Kibe Photos: Jon Kent BRJK20130911B-002_C0

Marc RathEducation reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

51% GCSE results5 A* - C(inc. English & Maths)One of themost improvedschools in thecountry

Take the next step...

Merchants' Academy is a good schoolwhere all students achieve well

Ofsted

OPENEVENING26 Septemberfrom 5pm

Open day.......any day

Open Evening

”“18:00-20:30Monday 23 September

www.oasisacademyjohnwilliams.org

Open MorningsTuesday 24 September, 09:30 - 11:00Wednesday 25 September, 09:30 - 11:00Saturday 28 September, 10:00 - 12:00Monday 30 September, 09:30 - 11:00Tuesday 1 October, 09:30 - 11:00

Like us on

GCSE Results 2008 - 2013

%5A

*-Cinclud

ingEn

glish

&Maths

“Good” with “Outstanding”Leadership and ManagementOfsted 2013

Our Academy is an excitingplace to learn and we takeseriously the fact that ourstudents only get one chanceat an excellent education.

We are bold in our ambition toprovide all students with afirst class education in astimulating environment.

A new school for students aged 14-19.

Education taken out of the classroom with practicalreal-life projects.

Do you want to follow a career in:

You can study this alongside GCSE and A Levelsubjects in an innovative way.

Real lifeReal woRkReal education

what is the bathstudio school?

BuSinESS &ADminiStrAtion

it, ComputinGAnD GrAphiC DESiGn

CrEAtivE mEDiA,JournALiSm

AnD BroADCAStinG

if you are Year 9 or 11 and looking for somethingdifferent find out more at:

www.thebathstudioschool.org.ukphone: 01225 831933Email: info@thebathstudioschool.org.uk

#bathstudioschool

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8 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 9Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

WITHOUT huge fan-fare, the collectivechances of Bris-tol’s inner citychildren reachinguniversity took agiant stride for-

ward earlier this year.An educational charity called

IntoUniversity opened its first centrein the city in January and has beenquietly but effectively working toraise aspirations of pupils who tra-ditionally would not go into highere d u c at i o n .

The centre aims to help childrenwho tend to do far less well at school,are unlikely to go to university andpreviously had little chance of en-tering the professions.

Those targeted for support are chil-dren who previously would not havegiven going to university a secondthought.

There are countless reasons whythose youngsters do not set theirsights so high. They may come fromimmigrant families lacking languageskills, be encumbered by the attitudes

of their siblings and other familymembers or it might be that theirparents did not go through highere d u c at i o n .

An expanding national charity,IntoUniversity decided to locate inBristol after being approached byBristol University’s vice-chancellorProfessor Eric Thomas.

The university provides funding

ning programme that supports youngpeople from disadvantaged back-grounds to attain either a universityplace or another chosen aspiration.

In the last academic year, morethan 9,000 young people aged seven to18 benefited from an IntoUniversityprogramme. Of the Year 13 studentsparticipating, 77 per cent progressedto higher education. This compareswith a national average for stateschools of 34 per cent.

Following a successful pilot in Lon-don 11 years ago, the charity was setup in 2007 to prevent young peoplefrom Britain’s poorest backgroundsfacing a considerable educational dis-advantage. The programme of sup-port provides children and youngpeople from disadvantaged back-grounds with the help that manymiddle-class children receive as amatter of course.

Primary and secondary studentscan receive after-school help withhomework, coursework, literacy andnumeracy from trained tutors.One-to-one support is also offeredwith GCSE, AS Level, A2 Level anddegree options, coursework, revi-sion, exam techniques, UCAS forms,interview techniques and gap years.

To prepare for university life, stu-dents can also join the Focus pro-gramme. This offers young people

learning experiences which aim toimmerse them in a single topic orsubject area and concludes with a“g raduation” ceremony with certi-ficates and a celebration.

Students on the scheme may also

get the opportunity to join a ment-oring programme. They are pairedwith undergraduates who providehelp with school work, social andinter-personal skills, and confid-ence-building. The scheme gives

young people role models who havealready made it into university, whoencourage them to think about theirfutures and raise their aspirations.

Some 200 people attended thec e n t re ’s opening day in Januaryand there was an official launchevent held in April. So far, 1,011students have participated in thescheme in some way.

More than 100 students have beenattending academic support sessionsand 17 students have been paired withan undergraduate student from Bris-tol University as part of the ment-oring scheme.

In addition 45 Year 8 students havetaken part in a buddy programme, aninteractive two-day programme ledby university students introducingthem to university life. The buddydays were on biology, involving stu-dents from Bristol MetropolitanAcademy in Fishponds, and engin-eering, involving Fairfield HighSchool in Horfield.

Some 300 students have beenthrough a two-year primary focusprogramme, covering topics includ-ing enterprise, journalism and law.Each week ended with a day at BristolUniversity including a campus tourand “g raduation” c e re m o ny.

A further 396 students have takenpart in a secondary Focus pro-

How inner city charity opensgramme, including Year 9 students atBristol Metropolitan Academy. Year12 students at The City Academy inRedfield went on a “Day of UniversityLife” trip to Imperial College London.Secondary students attend the centretwice a week, while primary schoolpupils visit once a week.

Rachel Reid, who leads the BristolEast Centre, said the charity hadreceived a warm welcome to the cityfrom schools, families and com-munity groups.

“The University of Bristol, whichwas instrumental in bringingIntoUniversity to the city and whichprovides essential funding andsupport, has helped by providingworkshops run by lecturers, trips tothe university and large number ofstudents volunteering as mentorsand tutors to our young people.

“Our open day in January sawmore than 150 people attend to enjoycookie-making, having a ‘g raduationphoto’ taken, games and a balloonl a u n ch .

“Community groups and the coun-cil have been helpful in spreading theword about IntoUniversity and arange of organisations have referredyoung people to us.”

The centre has a team of fourdedicated staff along with 40committed volunteers, mainly from

“ ...............................................................

Bringing together Bristolstudents with young peoplewho are eager to learn, but whomay not always have the bestopportunities to do so, isproving to be a powerful andfruitful combination

David Alder, Bristol University............................................................................

and support for the centre, which isbased at the Old Library, in TrinityRoad, Easton.

It is one of 15 IntoUniversity learn-ing centres and only the third to beestablished outside London.

At each centre IntoUniversity of-fers an innovative and award-win-

Bristol University, who act as ment-ors and tutors to the young people.Individuals from a range of profes-sions have also given up their time tolead workshops, and the charityhopes to have more volunteers fromthe local community joining thisye a r.

Ms Reid said the centre set anambitious target of working with 672students in its first year. This year thetarget has been increased to 1,100s t u d e n t s.

So how does the charity aim toimprove educational attainmentamong the most disadvantagedpupils in the city?

Ms Reid said: “IntoUniversity aimsto raise aspirations and improve edu-cation attainment though ourlong-term pastoral programme. Wework in partnerships with schools,colleges and the University of Bristolto support students to reach theirpotential.

“Our Primary Focus programmeand Primary Academic Support Cur-riculum relate to the national cur-riculum, while our secondaryprogrammes draw upon the exper-ience and expertise of students andp ro f e s s i o n a l s. ”

In a survey of its students con-ducted during the summer, IntoUni-versity said 82 per cent of

� From left, Jo Woods, a University of Bristol student volunteering at theIntoUniversity Centre, with centre leader Rachel Reid and volunteer managerMatilda Walls BRJK20130911B-001_C0

door to university

participants felt they were morelikely to go to university as a result oftaking part in the programme.

Bristol’s University’s director ofmarketing and communicationsDavid Alder said the universityjoined forces with IntoUniversity aspart of its commitment to raisingaspirations and educational attain-ment among young people in Bris-tol.

He said: “Key to the centre’s suc-cess is the involvement of our stu-

dents who provide academic supportthroughout the programmes.

“Bringing together Bristol stu-dents with young people who areeager to learn, but who may not al-ways have the best opportunities todo so, is proving to be a powerful andfruitful combination.”

� Rachel Reid, centre leader at the Bristol East IntoUniversity Centre, withYear 6 student Leo Kibe Photos: Jon Kent BRJK20130911B-002_C0

Marc RathEducation reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

51% GCSE results5 A* - C(inc. English & Maths)One of themost improvedschools in thecountry

Take the next step...

Merchants' Academy is a good schoolwhere all students achieve well

Ofsted

OPENEVENING26 Septemberfrom 5pm

Open day.......any day

Open Evening

”“18:00-20:30Monday 23 September

www.oasisacademyjohnwilliams.org

Open MorningsTuesday 24 September, 09:30 - 11:00Wednesday 25 September, 09:30 - 11:00Saturday 28 September, 10:00 - 12:00Monday 30 September, 09:30 - 11:00Tuesday 1 October, 09:30 - 11:00

Like us on

GCSE Results 2008 - 2013

%5A

*-Cinclud

ingEn

glish

&Maths

“Good” with “Outstanding”Leadership and ManagementOfsted 2013

Our Academy is an excitingplace to learn and we takeseriously the fact that ourstudents only get one chanceat an excellent education.

We are bold in our ambition toprovide all students with afirst class education in astimulating environment.

A new school for students aged 14-19.

Education taken out of the classroom with practicalreal-life projects.

Do you want to follow a career in:

You can study this alongside GCSE and A Levelsubjects in an innovative way.

Real lifeReal woRkReal education

what is the bathstudio school?

BuSinESS &ADminiStrAtion

it, ComputinGAnD GrAphiC DESiGn

CrEAtivE mEDiA,JournALiSm

AnD BroADCAStinG

if you are Year 9 or 11 and looking for somethingdifferent find out more at:

www.thebathstudioschool.org.ukphone: 01225 831933Email: info@thebathstudioschool.org.uk

#bathstudioschool

Powered by

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10 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 11Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

ers, inspiring the young people whoneed them the most”.

The organisation’s slogans include“One great teacher can change ach i l d ’s life” and “How much youachieve in life should not be determ-ined by how much your parentsear n”. Graduates of the scheme havealready worked their magic atschools in cities including London,Manchester and Liverpool.

New research has revealed that aGCSE student studying eight subjectsbenefits by an increase of one grade ifTeach First recruits are working intheir school.

Teachers and politicians have beencampaigning for Teach First to bringits trainees to Bristol for many years.And this month, 32 Teach First gradu-ates – selected for their ability to leadand inspire – began working in 18 citysecondary and primary schools.

The effort to bring them here wasspearheaded by Catherine Hughes,head teacher at St Bede’s CatholicCollege in Lawrence Weston, andBristol North West MP CharlotteL e s l i e.

Eligible schools with Teach Firstgraduates include Merchant’sAcademy in Withywood, Bristol Met-

ropolitan Academy in Fish-ponds, City Academy in

Redfield, Orchard Schoolin Horfield, St Nicholasof Tolentine Primaryin Easton, and CabotPrimary in St Paul’s.Ms Hughes hasworked for more than

three years to bringthe programme to Bris-

tol, persuadedby the evidence of its suc-

cess e l s ewh e re.

She said: “It seems a long timesince we first started talking withTeach First and I am delighted now tosee the fruits of those efforts. Greatteachers make great schools.

“The evidence is that some of thebest teachers coming into the pro-fession have signed up to the TeachFirst programme. I am confident thatthese new teachers will now helpBristol schools continue on theirjourney of success.

“Already, eligible schools are put-ting in orders for recruits for 2014,that speaks volumes about the peoplethey have taken on this year and theprog ramme.”

Only graduates with a 2.1 degree orbetter are accepted onto the TeachFirst programme. They also need topass a competency test which as-sesses whether they have some of thetraits required to succeed: empathy,humility, respect and resilience. Inall, only one in eight applicants aresuccessful.

Once they have joined the pro-gramme, the teachers undergo anintensive six-week training courseover the summer. They are thenpartnered with a teaching mentor.

In qualifying schools, half thestudents come from the poorest 30 percent of families in the UnitedKingdom.

The results of research examiningthe impact of Teach First wererevealed at the British EducationalResearch Association annual confer-ence earlier this month.

It analysed the GCSE results of 168schools which introduced Teach Firstrecruits between 2003-4 and 2009-10and compared them with resultsachieved by similar schools in thesame region of England.

THERE is often a weightof expectation onnewly-qualified teach-ers when they take tothe classroom to “flysolo” for the first time.In the weeks leading up

to their first lesson, thoughts nodoubt race through their mind: Will Iget stage fright? Will I struggle toassert control over my class? Arethere gaps in my knowledge that willbe exposed?

Imagine that pressure and raise itseveral notches – then you have anidea of the heavy burden resting onthe shoulders of a new breed of supertrainee teachers starting work inBristol schools this month.

Billed as a higher calibre of teacher,the trainees of Teach First have areputation for single-handedly help-ing schools improve their results.Working in schools with a high in-take of children from disadvantagedbackgrounds, Teach First aims to“find, train and support peopleto become brilliant teach-

The research found that within twoor three years there were improve-ments in the schools’ results of aboutfive per cent or a boost of one grade inone of a pupil’s eight best subjects.

Jenny Sutton, Teach First’s region-al director for the South West, grewup in Barton Hill. She became aTeach First teacher in 2004, workingin London schools.

Ms Sutton, 32, who now lives inKeynsham, said: “The fact that TeachFirst is growing as an organisationsuggests the participants are havinga positive impact. We are hoping togrow from 38 teachers in the SouthWest this year to 47 next year. It’sdemand-led and we are responding towhat the need is from schools.”

Two trainees are working at CityAcademy. The school’s principal GillKelly is already impressed, describ-ing them as “wo n d e r f u l ”. She said:“Their enthusiasm and commitmentis palpable and the students respondvery well to them. It (Teach First) is amorally-driven movement that is tar-geted at communities like mine, andthe Teach First teachers have thatmoral imperative coursing rightthrough their veins.”

Helen Holman, head teacher atOrchard School, said the school’sTeach First teachers were already

thriving. She said: “This term wehave welcomed Jennifer Marsh andCharmaine Richardson to our teamand they are clearly thriving in ourschool. It is so heartening to seegraduates like them choosing theteaching profession. We will nevertire of seeking innovative methodswhich work because ultimately it isall about giving the students the verybest start in life.”

Conservative MP Ms Leslie wasinstrumental in bringing the Teach

First scheme to Bristol. She said:“This scheme works on so manylevels, but first and foremost, it is away of attracting the highest calibregraduates who otherwise would gooff to work in industry or finance,thus lost to teaching, probably foreve r. ”

What did you study at university andw h e re ?Jennifer – BSc Econ Hons Politics atCardiff University and MSc EuropeanGovernance at Bristol University.Charmaine – BA Hons Finance andBusiness at Bournemouth.

What was your original career plan?Jennifer – To go into the civil service.Charmaine – To become an accountant.

Had you ever considered teaching?Jennifer – Yes, both of my parents areteachers and it has always beensomething that appealed to me.Charmaine – I began to considerteaching after completing workexperience in a secondary school while Iwas studying at university, as I realisedmy skills could be better placed therethan in finance.

How did you hear about Teach First?Jennifer and Charmaine – Times Top100 Graduate Employers list.

Why did you decide to go down thispath?

TeachFirst provides a unique opportunityto work with students from a variety ofinteresting backgrounds and allows you togain “hands on” experience from day one.It is an exciting challenge, but one whichhas the potential to be incrediblyre w a rd i n g .

Describe the training you had tocomplete. How much was classroombased?We completed six weeks’ intense trainingat the Teach First Summer Institute.Participants spend four weeks in theirregion where the time is split betweensubject and professional studies based atthe partner university.The final two weeks were held at WarwickUniversity where all of the participantsacross the country come together toconsolidate what they have learnt in theirregional training.

Describe the first “live” teaching day atO rc h a rd .The first day for both of us was a bit of awhirlwind, meeting lots of new studentsand getting acquainted with the day-to-day running of the school. After months ofpreparing, it was great to finally stand infront of our classes and begin our journey.

How much support have you had fromother teachers?All of the staff at Orchard have beenincredibly supportive and welcoming,particularly those in our departments. Youalways feel like you can walk intoanyone’s classroom and ask for help oradvice if you need it.

Jennifer Marsh, who teachesEnglish, and CharmaineR i c h a rd s o n , who teaches maths,are Teach First teachers atOrchard School Bristol inHorfield.

Q&A

� Jennifer Marshand CharmaineRichardson, TeachFirst teachers atOrchard SchoolBristol in HorfieldPhoto: BarbaraEvripidouBRBE20130910C-1

Meet the teachers trained to change lives “ ........................................................................................

First and foremost, it is a way of attractingthe highest calibre graduates whootherwise would go off to work in industryor finance, thus lost to teaching, probablyfor ever

MP Charlotte Leslie.....................................................................................................Marc Rath

Education reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

32� The number of

Teach First graduatesnow working in city

schools

“ ...................................................................................................................................................

I am delighted ... Great teachers make great schoolsCatherine Hughes, head teacher at St Bede’s Catholic College

.................................................................................................................................................................

open morningsfrom 23 sept to 23 octPlease contact us to make an appointment.

Westerleigh road, doWnendsouth gloucestershire Bs16 6XaTEL: 01454 862300 www.downend.com

Best ever GCSE results– one of the mostimproved schools inthe region.

downEndSChooLoPen eveningthursday 19 sePtemBer5.45 – 8.00pm

Leaders inEducation

T. 01454 252000E. info@trfa.org.ukW. www.trfa.org.uk

WinterbourneInternationalAcademyThursday3rd October6.30pm – 8pm

YateInternationalAcademyThursday26th September6pm – 8.30pm

WoodlandsPrimaryPhaseTuesday8th October9am, 2pm, 6pm

The Ridings’Federation Sixth FormWednesday6th November6.30pm – 8pm (WIA)Wednesday13th November6.30pm – 8pm (YIA)

Open days:

“Achieving Success through Motivation, Knowledge and Skills”

www.bridgelearningcampus.org.uk

TH INK L EARN I N G

TH I NK LOCA LTheOpen Events are 9.15am to 10.45amon:Thursday19th&26thSeptemberSaturday21st SeptemberThursdays 3rd&10thOctoberSaturday12thOctober

T. 01173534472E. enquiries@bridgelearningcampus.com

BridgeLearningCampus,WilliamJessopWayHartcliffe, Bristol, BS130RL

T H I NK BR I D G EL EARN ING CAMPU S

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10 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 11Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

ers, inspiring the young people whoneed them the most”.

The organisation’s slogans include“One great teacher can change ach i l d ’s life” and “How much youachieve in life should not be determ-ined by how much your parentsear n”. Graduates of the scheme havealready worked their magic atschools in cities including London,Manchester and Liverpool.

New research has revealed that aGCSE student studying eight subjectsbenefits by an increase of one grade ifTeach First recruits are working intheir school.

Teachers and politicians have beencampaigning for Teach First to bringits trainees to Bristol for many years.And this month, 32 Teach First gradu-ates – selected for their ability to leadand inspire – began working in 18 citysecondary and primary schools.

The effort to bring them here wasspearheaded by Catherine Hughes,head teacher at St Bede’s CatholicCollege in Lawrence Weston, andBristol North West MP CharlotteL e s l i e.

Eligible schools with Teach Firstgraduates include Merchant’sAcademy in Withywood, Bristol Met-

ropolitan Academy in Fish-ponds, City Academy in

Redfield, Orchard Schoolin Horfield, St Nicholasof Tolentine Primaryin Easton, and CabotPrimary in St Paul’s.Ms Hughes hasworked for more than

three years to bringthe programme to Bris-

tol, persuadedby the evidence of its suc-

cess e l s ewh e re.

She said: “It seems a long timesince we first started talking withTeach First and I am delighted now tosee the fruits of those efforts. Greatteachers make great schools.

“The evidence is that some of thebest teachers coming into the pro-fession have signed up to the TeachFirst programme. I am confident thatthese new teachers will now helpBristol schools continue on theirjourney of success.

“Already, eligible schools are put-ting in orders for recruits for 2014,that speaks volumes about the peoplethey have taken on this year and theprog ramme.”

Only graduates with a 2.1 degree orbetter are accepted onto the TeachFirst programme. They also need topass a competency test which as-sesses whether they have some of thetraits required to succeed: empathy,humility, respect and resilience. Inall, only one in eight applicants aresuccessful.

Once they have joined the pro-gramme, the teachers undergo anintensive six-week training courseover the summer. They are thenpartnered with a teaching mentor.

In qualifying schools, half thestudents come from the poorest 30 percent of families in the UnitedKingdom.

The results of research examiningthe impact of Teach First wererevealed at the British EducationalResearch Association annual confer-ence earlier this month.

It analysed the GCSE results of 168schools which introduced Teach Firstrecruits between 2003-4 and 2009-10and compared them with resultsachieved by similar schools in thesame region of England.

THERE is often a weightof expectation onnewly-qualified teach-ers when they take tothe classroom to “flysolo” for the first time.In the weeks leading up

to their first lesson, thoughts nodoubt race through their mind: Will Iget stage fright? Will I struggle toassert control over my class? Arethere gaps in my knowledge that willbe exposed?

Imagine that pressure and raise itseveral notches – then you have anidea of the heavy burden resting onthe shoulders of a new breed of supertrainee teachers starting work inBristol schools this month.

Billed as a higher calibre of teacher,the trainees of Teach First have areputation for single-handedly help-ing schools improve their results.Working in schools with a high in-take of children from disadvantagedbackgrounds, Teach First aims to“find, train and support peopleto become brilliant teach-

The research found that within twoor three years there were improve-ments in the schools’ results of aboutfive per cent or a boost of one grade inone of a pupil’s eight best subjects.

Jenny Sutton, Teach First’s region-al director for the South West, grewup in Barton Hill. She became aTeach First teacher in 2004, workingin London schools.

Ms Sutton, 32, who now lives inKeynsham, said: “The fact that TeachFirst is growing as an organisationsuggests the participants are havinga positive impact. We are hoping togrow from 38 teachers in the SouthWest this year to 47 next year. It’sdemand-led and we are responding towhat the need is from schools.”

Two trainees are working at CityAcademy. The school’s principal GillKelly is already impressed, describ-ing them as “wo n d e r f u l ”. She said:“Their enthusiasm and commitmentis palpable and the students respondvery well to them. It (Teach First) is amorally-driven movement that is tar-geted at communities like mine, andthe Teach First teachers have thatmoral imperative coursing rightthrough their veins.”

Helen Holman, head teacher atOrchard School, said the school’sTeach First teachers were already

thriving. She said: “This term wehave welcomed Jennifer Marsh andCharmaine Richardson to our teamand they are clearly thriving in ourschool. It is so heartening to seegraduates like them choosing theteaching profession. We will nevertire of seeking innovative methodswhich work because ultimately it isall about giving the students the verybest start in life.”

Conservative MP Ms Leslie wasinstrumental in bringing the Teach

First scheme to Bristol. She said:“This scheme works on so manylevels, but first and foremost, it is away of attracting the highest calibregraduates who otherwise would gooff to work in industry or finance,thus lost to teaching, probably foreve r. ”

What did you study at university andw h e re ?Jennifer – BSc Econ Hons Politics atCardiff University and MSc EuropeanGovernance at Bristol University.Charmaine – BA Hons Finance andBusiness at Bournemouth.

What was your original career plan?Jennifer – To go into the civil service.Charmaine – To become an accountant.

Had you ever considered teaching?Jennifer – Yes, both of my parents areteachers and it has always beensomething that appealed to me.Charmaine – I began to considerteaching after completing workexperience in a secondary school while Iwas studying at university, as I realisedmy skills could be better placed therethan in finance.

How did you hear about Teach First?Jennifer and Charmaine – Times Top100 Graduate Employers list.

Why did you decide to go down thispath?

TeachFirst provides a unique opportunityto work with students from a variety ofinteresting backgrounds and allows you togain “hands on” experience from day one.It is an exciting challenge, but one whichhas the potential to be incrediblyre w a rd i n g .

Describe the training you had tocomplete. How much was classroombased?We completed six weeks’ intense trainingat the Teach First Summer Institute.Participants spend four weeks in theirregion where the time is split betweensubject and professional studies based atthe partner university.The final two weeks were held at WarwickUniversity where all of the participantsacross the country come together toconsolidate what they have learnt in theirregional training.

Describe the first “live” teaching day atO rc h a rd .The first day for both of us was a bit of awhirlwind, meeting lots of new studentsand getting acquainted with the day-to-day running of the school. After months ofpreparing, it was great to finally stand infront of our classes and begin our journey.

How much support have you had fromother teachers?All of the staff at Orchard have beenincredibly supportive and welcoming,particularly those in our departments. Youalways feel like you can walk intoanyone’s classroom and ask for help oradvice if you need it.

Jennifer Marsh, who teachesEnglish, and CharmaineR i c h a rd s o n , who teaches maths,are Teach First teachers atOrchard School Bristol inHorfield.

Q&A

� Jennifer Marshand CharmaineRichardson, TeachFirst teachers atOrchard SchoolBristol in HorfieldPhoto: BarbaraEvripidouBRBE20130910C-1

Meet the teachers trained to change lives “ ........................................................................................

First and foremost, it is a way of attractingthe highest calibre graduates whootherwise would go off to work in industryor finance, thus lost to teaching, probablyfor ever

MP Charlotte Leslie.....................................................................................................Marc Rath

Education reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

32� The number of

Teach First graduatesnow working in city

schools

“ ...................................................................................................................................................

I am delighted ... Great teachers make great schoolsCatherine Hughes, head teacher at St Bede’s Catholic College

.................................................................................................................................................................

open morningsfrom 23 sept to 23 octPlease contact us to make an appointment.

Westerleigh road, doWnendsouth gloucestershire Bs16 6XaTEL: 01454 862300 www.downend.com

Best ever GCSE results– one of the mostimproved schools inthe region.

downEndSChooLoPen eveningthursday 19 sePtemBer5.45 – 8.00pm

Leaders inEducation

T. 01454 252000E. info@trfa.org.ukW. www.trfa.org.uk

WinterbourneInternationalAcademyThursday3rd October6.30pm – 8pm

YateInternationalAcademyThursday26th September6pm – 8.30pm

WoodlandsPrimaryPhaseTuesday8th October9am, 2pm, 6pm

The Ridings’Federation Sixth FormWednesday6th November6.30pm – 8pm (WIA)Wednesday13th November6.30pm – 8pm (YIA)

Open days:

“Achieving Success through Motivation, Knowledge and Skills”

www.bridgelearningcampus.org.uk

TH INK L EARN I N G

TH I NK LOCA LTheOpen Events are 9.15am to 10.45amon:Thursday19th&26thSeptemberSaturday21st SeptemberThursdays 3rd&10thOctoberSaturday12thOctober

T. 01173534472E. enquiries@bridgelearningcampus.com

BridgeLearningCampus,WilliamJessopWayHartcliffe, Bristol, BS130RL

T H I NK BR I D G EL EARN ING CAMPU S

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12 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 13Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

THE impact of a child’sbackground on academ-ic performance is evid-ent by the time he or shereaches the age of three,countless studies haves h ow n .

A school structure and support forthe child and family can reduce theachievement gap, which otherwise isonly likely to widen, potentially lead-ing to a range of other problems.

So it seems only common sense toprovide access to early years edu-cation, especially in deprived areasand for families on low incomes orwith other disadvantages, from ayoung age.

Bristol was a pioneer in openingnursery schools in the depressed1930s, offering children a healthy andsuccessful start in life.

Now, in the new age of austerity,those schools continue that legacy,supporting children and families tolearn and aspire in spite of thedifficulties they face.

Underpinning all that they do is aculture of learning, not only for thechildren, but for staff at all levels,parents and carers and people in thesurrounding area.

Sally Jaeckle, who leads on earlyyears at the city council, says the cityhas retained an unusually high pro-portion of maintained nurseryschools because of the strong evid-ence that high quality education and

family support is narrowing the gapfor disadvantaged children.

Now three inner-city nurseryschools, all rated outstanding by thewatchdog Ofsted, have jointly beendesignated by the Department forEducation as a National TeachingSchool. Theirs was one of only threesuccessful bids from nursery schoolsin the first round of applicationssince schools in their sector wereallowed to apply and was the only onefrom a consortium, making itu n i q u e.

The new status will mean theschools – Redcliffe Children’s Centreand Maintained Nursery School, StPa u l ’s Nursery School and Children’sCentre and St Werburgh’s Park Chil-d re n’s Centre – will play a key role intraining new teachers and develop-ing existing teachers and heads aswell as taking part in significant re-search projects.

The three will work in partnershipwith Bath Spa and Gloucestershireuniversities to enable student teach-ers to train on the job in nursery andprimary schools across Bristol underthe guidance of the Teaching Schoolteam, which will deliver many of theprofessional practice teaching ses-sions. Sixty trainees are being re-cruited for September under theSchool Direct scheme.

Each of the three schools will ex-pand its professional developmentprogrammes and is working with

Bristol City Council to develop a teamof specialist leaders in education(SLEs) from other schools to spreadexpertise more widely.

Many of the areas in which nurseryschools are particularly successful,such as assessment and tracking ofch i l d re n’s progress, development oflanguage and communication skills,inclusion of those with particularneeds, transition between schools,and family support, are also applic-able to primary and secondarys ch o o l s.

The head teachers of the threeschools are all strong leaders andadmit that working together is a chal-lenge at times – but one that is prov-ing extremely worthwhile andrew a rd i n g .

Their shared passion for providing

the very best professional early yearseducation far outweighs anydifferences in approach and theybelieve the different strengths oftheir centres complement one anoth-e r.

All have been designated nationalleaders of education (NLEs) and areexcited at being given the chance tobe Teaching School pioneers. I visitedall three schools and each of theheads said separately: “There is noblueprint. We have to be creative andflexible in our response.”

Nursery schools are accustomed tobeing adaptable. Children are usuallyin class for a year, from the age ofthree to four, so the pupil populationhas a complete annual change. Forthese three schools, this can meanalterations to adapt to an influx of

� Liz Jenkins, head teacher, with, back from left,Daniel Stewart, Aden Cilmi, Faizaan Mahumud and,front from left, Aleena Bibi, Sydney Rushton andSadie Horler. Right, teacher Naila Malik

new arrivals with different lan-guages, for example.

In addition, the early years sectorhas probably had more than its shareof changes brought about by the Gov-ernment double whammy of frequentchanges in education policy and offinancial restraints.

Many nursery schools became chil-d re n’s centres, providing a hub forservices for children from birth tofive and their families. Subsequently,Sure Start and early interventionfunding has been reduced, forcingschools to find new ways of continu-ing to work with other agencies toprovide support.

The current emphasis is on offer-ing nursery class places for the mostneedy children aged two to three fromSeptember. There have also been fur-ther changes to the way early yearseducation is funded, threatening thevery existence of nursery schools.

The three head teachers say thisrisks undermining the expertise theyoffer, despite the evidence that theyhave a direct impact on achieve-ment.

That is why they see the TeachingSchool as so important, putting nurs-ery schools back at the centre of theschools agenda, alongside primaries,secondaries and universities.

The status also comes with someGovernment money, which will en-able the three schools to take on morestaff for their new role. This should inturn bring in additional income, ineffect turning the schools into socialenter prises.

It is also hoped that the creation ofa central, inner-city hub for teachertraining in Bristol will help attractmore diverse recruits to the profes-sion so that in time the city’s teachingstaff better reflects the child pop-u l at i o n .

Lucy Driver, head at St Paul’s, said:“The Teaching School is another waywe can commit to and strive for allour children and families in Bristoland beyond, while developing lead-ership capacity to ensure it is sus-t a i n abl e. ”

Nurseries unite to help giveevery child best start in life

FOR Sue Cook, the Teaching Schoolcomes as a logical and welcome nextstep for Redcliffe Children’s Centreand Maintained Nursery School,where she has taught for more than20 years.

Having trained originally to workwith five to 11-year-olds, she enjoysthe constantly evolving nature ofearly years work.

“There have been many new ini-tiatives but they have tended to flowone from another and have beenlinked to the changing context andthe surrounding area. We have al-ways maintained the high qualityand it is nice to have recognitionthat education at this young age isabsolutely critical.” she says.

Sue is looking forward to ment-oring and coaching the new trainee

teachers so they can see how theorytranslates into practice.

Redcliffe has a strong record inresearch and head teacher ElizabethCarruthers, who is working for aPhD, encourages staff to carry outstudies, attend conferences andwrite and present papers.

Sue has recently gained a mastersdegree, which she says has helpedbring her thinking up to date.

The centre has adapted its build-ings, at the foot of a block of flats, tocreate training facilities and a pro-fessional library. It has also overseveral years designed and led mas-ters-level study modules, makingthem accessible to local nurseriesand early years settings.

In the past five years, more than2,500 teachers and other school staff

from Bristol and across the countryhave attended professional develop-ment courses at Redcliffe. Espe-cially popular is the centre’s forestschool work, which promotes ad-venturous outdoor experiences.

The opportunity to take the lead“rather than having research doneto us” is vitally important to MsCarruthers: “The Teaching Schoolmakes us equal partners with thelocal authority and with the uni-versities. Before, they might havebeen seen as having higher statusthan us. It is a huge shift in attitude.The research practitioner is a verypowerful role.

“We are with the children all thetime and so the picture we get ismuch more detailed. It has a markedimpact on what we are providing.”

� Staff: 45� Part-time nursery places: 90� Under-threes: 38� Languages spoken: 17

� Strengths: Internationalreputation for forest school, maths,re s e a rc h

HEAD teacher Lucy Driver de-scribes St Paul’s Nursery Schooland Children’s Centre as a “j ewe l ”in the inner city.

Located in an area ranked themost deprived in Bristol and 40thlowest in the country, it has plentyof which to be proud.

The school’s central belief isthat everyone can develop theskills to become confident lifelonglearners. It has developed inclus-ive partnerships and an “emotion-ally enabling ethos” and it hashuge ambition for all members ofits diverse community.

Experienced teacher and initialteacher training lead Sophie Nich-olls is testament to this. On joiningthe school four years ago, she hit asteep learning curve. She had tolearn new ways to build learningexperiences with children andfamilies from ethnically diverseand multilingual backgrounds.

Sophie values the personalhistories of all learners at thecentre and knows the significanceemotional well-being has ona ch i eve m e n t .

“It is the ethos here – that it’s‘OK to not know’ and that we allbegin our journey in differentplaces that has been most power-ful for me.” she says.

“It has been liberating to focuson the process of learning rather

than theendp ro d u c t ,lear ningfrom our mis-takes and deepreflections. I have taken this philo-sophy into my mentoring role withfuture teachers. It excites me towork from an empowermentmodel, where anything is pos-s i bl e. ”

The school works with 650 fam-ilies in its area. The children makeexceptional progress in theirlearning and many family mem-bers take advantage of NVQ andwork readiness training. All staffare encouraged to develop theirown learning and participate inre s e a rch .

St Paul’s already welcomesvisitors from around the UK andhas developed its own trainingprog rammes.

� Staff: 52 (including 19 BME)� Part-time nursery schoolplaces: 120� Under-threes: 55-60� Languages spoken: 12� Particular strengths:Emotionally enablingenvironments, coaching andsupervision, tracking children’sprogress and engagingmulti-ethnic learners

The quality of Bristol’s schools was called intoquestion when Ofsted sent in a team of inspectorsearlier this year. But there is one area of educationwhere the watchdog is in no doubt. All 12 of thecity’s nursery schools are rated at least good andhalf are judged to be outstanding. Now threecentres are among the first nursery schools inEngland to be awarded National Teaching Schoolstatus, enabling them to spread their expertiseacross the wider school system in the city andbeyond. LINDA TANNER re p o r t s .

NAILA Malik is definite: “Even ifyou get married, you can still study.Even though you are a girl, you canstill study.” she declares.

And she should know. At 26, Nailahas worked her way up from being aclassroom support worker at StWe r bu r g h ’s Park Nursery Schooland Children’s Centre to gain adegree and become a class teacher,already singled out by inspectors asoutstanding. She is now on a doublemasters level course in maths forearly years, designed and deliveredat Redcliffe nursery school.

British-born Naila comes from afamily of Pakistani origin and hasbecome a role model for her com-munity, encouraging others to as-pire and achieve.

The first female in her family tograduate, she had an ambition tobecome a teacher after attendingBannerman Road Primary and thethen St George Community second-ary school but did not think shecould get on a training course be-cause she had not passed GCSEs c i e n c e.

But St Werburgh’s Park nurseryschool supported her through levelthree qualifications and a found-ation degree at City of BristolCollege, topped up to a full degreewith a year at the University of theWest of England on the GraduateTeacher Programme, under whichNaila did most of her training

while working at St Werburgh’sPark. She said: “It is hard doing thepractice simultaneously with thetheoretical knowledge – having afull-time job and completing a fulltime course – but it is a very be-neficial way of doing it. There are somany people you can learn from.”

Liz Jenkins, head of St Wer-bu r g h ’s Park, is determined to in-crease the proportion of staffmembers and governors from blackand minority ethnic (BME) com-munities at the school. She wouldalso like to increase the percentageof male workers, although there are

some cultural sensitivities in thisa re a .

“What makes us unique is that wehave a thoroughly comprehensiveintake and we provide a safe, neut-ral environment where people canmeet others from different back-grounds. That is such a privilege.”

� Staff: 56 (including 10 BME)� Part-time nursery places: 160� Under-twos: 45� Languages spoken: 26� Particular strengths: Very widesocial and cultural mix,governance, emotional support.

St Werburgh’s Park Nursery School and Children’s Centre

Redcliffe Children’s Centre and Maintained Nursery School

St Paul’s Nursery School and Children’s Centre

� Jemma Wring, Early Years Practitioner, with thechildren, above; right, head teacher Lucy Driver

� Ggiven Kiba and Isaac Daykin play outside; topright, head teacher Elizabeth Carruthers and teacherSue Cook, below

� Ranheem Osman and Amira Osman at St Paul’s Nursery and Children’sCentre Photos: Barbara Evripidou

“ ................

TheTe a c h i n gSchool isanother waywe cancommit toand strivefor all ourchildren andfamilies inBristol andbeyond,whiledevelopingleadershipcapacity toensure it issustainableLucy Driver,

headteacher at

St Paul’sNursery

School andC h i l d re n ’s

C e n t re..............................

Openevening26 September 2013, 6–8.30pm

Come andsee what wehave to offerfor students

joining Year 7in 2014 and

beyond...

The Castle SchoolPark Road, Thornbury,Bristol, BS35 1HT.

for more information call 01454 862100or visitwww.thecastleschool.org.uk

270 student places inYear 7, normally joiningfrom approximately 40different Primary Schoolsin South Gloucestershire,Gloucestershireand Bristol.

Personal toursWe also encourage you to visitour school during the workingday, when we will be happyto give you a personal tour byappointment. You will be shownaround the school by students,and will have the opportunity tospeak personally with a memberof the school Leadership Team.Please call for more information.

TheCastleSchool

EPB-E01-S5

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S5

12 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 13Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

THE impact of a child’sbackground on academ-ic performance is evid-ent by the time he or shereaches the age of three,countless studies haves h ow n .

A school structure and support forthe child and family can reduce theachievement gap, which otherwise isonly likely to widen, potentially lead-ing to a range of other problems.

So it seems only common sense toprovide access to early years edu-cation, especially in deprived areasand for families on low incomes orwith other disadvantages, from ayoung age.

Bristol was a pioneer in openingnursery schools in the depressed1930s, offering children a healthy andsuccessful start in life.

Now, in the new age of austerity,those schools continue that legacy,supporting children and families tolearn and aspire in spite of thedifficulties they face.

Underpinning all that they do is aculture of learning, not only for thechildren, but for staff at all levels,parents and carers and people in thesurrounding area.

Sally Jaeckle, who leads on earlyyears at the city council, says the cityhas retained an unusually high pro-portion of maintained nurseryschools because of the strong evid-ence that high quality education and

family support is narrowing the gapfor disadvantaged children.

Now three inner-city nurseryschools, all rated outstanding by thewatchdog Ofsted, have jointly beendesignated by the Department forEducation as a National TeachingSchool. Theirs was one of only threesuccessful bids from nursery schoolsin the first round of applicationssince schools in their sector wereallowed to apply and was the only onefrom a consortium, making itu n i q u e.

The new status will mean theschools – Redcliffe Children’s Centreand Maintained Nursery School, StPa u l ’s Nursery School and Children’sCentre and St Werburgh’s Park Chil-d re n’s Centre – will play a key role intraining new teachers and develop-ing existing teachers and heads aswell as taking part in significant re-search projects.

The three will work in partnershipwith Bath Spa and Gloucestershireuniversities to enable student teach-ers to train on the job in nursery andprimary schools across Bristol underthe guidance of the Teaching Schoolteam, which will deliver many of theprofessional practice teaching ses-sions. Sixty trainees are being re-cruited for September under theSchool Direct scheme.

Each of the three schools will ex-pand its professional developmentprogrammes and is working with

Bristol City Council to develop a teamof specialist leaders in education(SLEs) from other schools to spreadexpertise more widely.

Many of the areas in which nurseryschools are particularly successful,such as assessment and tracking ofch i l d re n’s progress, development oflanguage and communication skills,inclusion of those with particularneeds, transition between schools,and family support, are also applic-able to primary and secondarys ch o o l s.

The head teachers of the threeschools are all strong leaders andadmit that working together is a chal-lenge at times – but one that is prov-ing extremely worthwhile andrew a rd i n g .

Their shared passion for providing

the very best professional early yearseducation far outweighs anydifferences in approach and theybelieve the different strengths oftheir centres complement one anoth-e r.

All have been designated nationalleaders of education (NLEs) and areexcited at being given the chance tobe Teaching School pioneers. I visitedall three schools and each of theheads said separately: “There is noblueprint. We have to be creative andflexible in our response.”

Nursery schools are accustomed tobeing adaptable. Children are usuallyin class for a year, from the age ofthree to four, so the pupil populationhas a complete annual change. Forthese three schools, this can meanalterations to adapt to an influx of

� Liz Jenkins, head teacher, with, back from left,Daniel Stewart, Aden Cilmi, Faizaan Mahumud and,front from left, Aleena Bibi, Sydney Rushton andSadie Horler. Right, teacher Naila Malik

new arrivals with different lan-guages, for example.

In addition, the early years sectorhas probably had more than its shareof changes brought about by the Gov-ernment double whammy of frequentchanges in education policy and offinancial restraints.

Many nursery schools became chil-d re n’s centres, providing a hub forservices for children from birth tofive and their families. Subsequently,Sure Start and early interventionfunding has been reduced, forcingschools to find new ways of continu-ing to work with other agencies toprovide support.

The current emphasis is on offer-ing nursery class places for the mostneedy children aged two to three fromSeptember. There have also been fur-ther changes to the way early yearseducation is funded, threatening thevery existence of nursery schools.

The three head teachers say thisrisks undermining the expertise theyoffer, despite the evidence that theyhave a direct impact on achieve-ment.

That is why they see the TeachingSchool as so important, putting nurs-ery schools back at the centre of theschools agenda, alongside primaries,secondaries and universities.

The status also comes with someGovernment money, which will en-able the three schools to take on morestaff for their new role. This should inturn bring in additional income, ineffect turning the schools into socialenter prises.

It is also hoped that the creation ofa central, inner-city hub for teachertraining in Bristol will help attractmore diverse recruits to the profes-sion so that in time the city’s teachingstaff better reflects the child pop-u l at i o n .

Lucy Driver, head at St Paul’s, said:“The Teaching School is another waywe can commit to and strive for allour children and families in Bristoland beyond, while developing lead-ership capacity to ensure it is sus-t a i n abl e. ”

Nurseries unite to help giveevery child best start in life

FOR Sue Cook, the Teaching Schoolcomes as a logical and welcome nextstep for Redcliffe Children’s Centreand Maintained Nursery School,where she has taught for more than20 years.

Having trained originally to workwith five to 11-year-olds, she enjoysthe constantly evolving nature ofearly years work.

“There have been many new ini-tiatives but they have tended to flowone from another and have beenlinked to the changing context andthe surrounding area. We have al-ways maintained the high qualityand it is nice to have recognitionthat education at this young age isabsolutely critical.” she says.

Sue is looking forward to ment-oring and coaching the new trainee

teachers so they can see how theorytranslates into practice.

Redcliffe has a strong record inresearch and head teacher ElizabethCarruthers, who is working for aPhD, encourages staff to carry outstudies, attend conferences andwrite and present papers.

Sue has recently gained a mastersdegree, which she says has helpedbring her thinking up to date.

The centre has adapted its build-ings, at the foot of a block of flats, tocreate training facilities and a pro-fessional library. It has also overseveral years designed and led mas-ters-level study modules, makingthem accessible to local nurseriesand early years settings.

In the past five years, more than2,500 teachers and other school staff

from Bristol and across the countryhave attended professional develop-ment courses at Redcliffe. Espe-cially popular is the centre’s forestschool work, which promotes ad-venturous outdoor experiences.

The opportunity to take the lead“rather than having research doneto us” is vitally important to MsCarruthers: “The Teaching Schoolmakes us equal partners with thelocal authority and with the uni-versities. Before, they might havebeen seen as having higher statusthan us. It is a huge shift in attitude.The research practitioner is a verypowerful role.

“We are with the children all thetime and so the picture we get ismuch more detailed. It has a markedimpact on what we are providing.”

� Staff: 45� Part-time nursery places: 90� Under-threes: 38� Languages spoken: 17

� Strengths: Internationalreputation for forest school, maths,re s e a rc h

HEAD teacher Lucy Driver de-scribes St Paul’s Nursery Schooland Children’s Centre as a “j ewe l ”in the inner city.

Located in an area ranked themost deprived in Bristol and 40thlowest in the country, it has plentyof which to be proud.

The school’s central belief isthat everyone can develop theskills to become confident lifelonglearners. It has developed inclus-ive partnerships and an “emotion-ally enabling ethos” and it hashuge ambition for all members ofits diverse community.

Experienced teacher and initialteacher training lead Sophie Nich-olls is testament to this. On joiningthe school four years ago, she hit asteep learning curve. She had tolearn new ways to build learningexperiences with children andfamilies from ethnically diverseand multilingual backgrounds.

Sophie values the personalhistories of all learners at thecentre and knows the significanceemotional well-being has ona ch i eve m e n t .

“It is the ethos here – that it’s‘OK to not know’ and that we allbegin our journey in differentplaces that has been most power-ful for me.” she says.

“It has been liberating to focuson the process of learning rather

than theendp ro d u c t ,lear ningfrom our mis-takes and deepreflections. I have taken this philo-sophy into my mentoring role withfuture teachers. It excites me towork from an empowermentmodel, where anything is pos-s i bl e. ”

The school works with 650 fam-ilies in its area. The children makeexceptional progress in theirlearning and many family mem-bers take advantage of NVQ andwork readiness training. All staffare encouraged to develop theirown learning and participate inre s e a rch .

St Paul’s already welcomesvisitors from around the UK andhas developed its own trainingprog rammes.

� Staff: 52 (including 19 BME)� Part-time nursery schoolplaces: 120� Under-threes: 55-60� Languages spoken: 12� Particular strengths:Emotionally enablingenvironments, coaching andsupervision, tracking children’sprogress and engagingmulti-ethnic learners

The quality of Bristol’s schools was called intoquestion when Ofsted sent in a team of inspectorsearlier this year. But there is one area of educationwhere the watchdog is in no doubt. All 12 of thecity’s nursery schools are rated at least good andhalf are judged to be outstanding. Now threecentres are among the first nursery schools inEngland to be awarded National Teaching Schoolstatus, enabling them to spread their expertiseacross the wider school system in the city andbeyond. LINDA TANNER re p o r t s .

NAILA Malik is definite: “Even ifyou get married, you can still study.Even though you are a girl, you canstill study.” she declares.

And she should know. At 26, Nailahas worked her way up from being aclassroom support worker at StWe r bu r g h ’s Park Nursery Schooland Children’s Centre to gain adegree and become a class teacher,already singled out by inspectors asoutstanding. She is now on a doublemasters level course in maths forearly years, designed and deliveredat Redcliffe nursery school.

British-born Naila comes from afamily of Pakistani origin and hasbecome a role model for her com-munity, encouraging others to as-pire and achieve.

The first female in her family tograduate, she had an ambition tobecome a teacher after attendingBannerman Road Primary and thethen St George Community second-ary school but did not think shecould get on a training course be-cause she had not passed GCSEs c i e n c e.

But St Werburgh’s Park nurseryschool supported her through levelthree qualifications and a found-ation degree at City of BristolCollege, topped up to a full degreewith a year at the University of theWest of England on the GraduateTeacher Programme, under whichNaila did most of her training

while working at St Werburgh’sPark. She said: “It is hard doing thepractice simultaneously with thetheoretical knowledge – having afull-time job and completing a fulltime course – but it is a very be-neficial way of doing it. There are somany people you can learn from.”

Liz Jenkins, head of St Wer-bu r g h ’s Park, is determined to in-crease the proportion of staffmembers and governors from blackand minority ethnic (BME) com-munities at the school. She wouldalso like to increase the percentageof male workers, although there are

some cultural sensitivities in thisa re a .

“What makes us unique is that wehave a thoroughly comprehensiveintake and we provide a safe, neut-ral environment where people canmeet others from different back-grounds. That is such a privilege.”

� Staff: 56 (including 10 BME)� Part-time nursery places: 160� Under-twos: 45� Languages spoken: 26� Particular strengths: Very widesocial and cultural mix,governance, emotional support.

St Werburgh’s Park Nursery School and Children’s Centre

Redcliffe Children’s Centre and Maintained Nursery School

St Paul’s Nursery School and Children’s Centre

� Jemma Wring, Early Years Practitioner, with thechildren, above; right, head teacher Lucy Driver

� Ggiven Kiba and Isaac Daykin play outside; topright, head teacher Elizabeth Carruthers and teacherSue Cook, below

� Ranheem Osman and Amira Osman at St Paul’s Nursery and Children’sCentre Photos: Barbara Evripidou

“ ................

TheTe a c h i n gSchool isanother waywe cancommit toand strivefor all ourchildren andfamilies inBristol andbeyond,whiledevelopingleadershipcapacity toensure it issustainableLucy Driver,

headteacher at

St Paul’sNursery

School andC h i l d re n ’s

C e n t re..............................

Openevening26 September 2013, 6–8.30pm

Come andsee what wehave to offerfor students

joining Year 7in 2014 and

beyond...

The Castle SchoolPark Road, Thornbury,Bristol, BS35 1HT.

for more information call 01454 862100or visitwww.thecastleschool.org.uk

270 student places inYear 7, normally joiningfrom approximately 40different Primary Schoolsin South Gloucestershire,Gloucestershireand Bristol.

Personal toursWe also encourage you to visitour school during the workingday, when we will be happyto give you a personal tour byappointment. You will be shownaround the school by students,and will have the opportunity tospeak personally with a memberof the school Leadership Team.Please call for more information.

TheCastleSchool

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

14 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 15Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

WITH the deadlinefor deciding onyour preferenceson secondaryschool just a fewweeks away I’dlike to outline how

to get the most from the process andhow our local schools have improveddramatically over the last five years.

As I joined Bristol City Council inAugust one of the first opportunities Ihad to get to see some of our sec-ondary schools was on GCSE resultsday. Touring Oasis John Williams andBristol Metropolitan Academy Igained a real sense of the pride in theachievements from these particularschools. I can see that they have comea long way in the last couple of yearswith brand new buildings,strengthened leadership and a com-mitted school community.

For the city as a whole, while na-tionally results have gone down, Bris-tol has managed to maintain itsresults from the previous year with 52per cent of students in the city achiev-ing five or more GCSEs at grade A* toC (including English and maths).

After a long career in education Ifirmly believe that you can only get atrue picture of a school by visitingand talking to other parents, childrenand staff at the school. If you can’t

make one of the publicised open daysschools will be very happy to ac-commodate a visit at another time.

Bristol has 21 secondary schools, 14of which are academies and one a freeschool. Although application num-bers were up by 10 per cent last yearthe majority of families were offereda place at one of their preferredchoices (94 per cent).

With such a mix of types of schoolsin Bristol it is really important that

Choosing a secondary school in Bristol

desires, needs and interests;� D o n’t forget practicalities as part ofthe decision process – how will yourchild get to school?� Use all three preferences;� Take time to read the allocationsfrom last year – for over-subscribed

schools these will tell you how faraway the furthest applicant lived toget a place. This will change fromyear to year depending on numbersap p ly i n g ;� Apply online to help manage yourapplication and get the quickest an-

swer on National Offer Day – M o n d ay,March 3, 2014.

To get in touch with the admissionsteam email s ch o o l . a d m i s s i o n s @ b r i s -t o l . go v. u k or call 0117 903 7694. Allinformation can be found at w w w.b r i s t o l . go v. u k / s ch o o l a d m i s s i o n s .

“ ...............................................................

After a long career in educationI firmly believe that you can onlyget a true picture of a school byvisiting and talking to otherparents, children and staff

Isobel Cattermole............................................................................

you leave enough time to fill in anysupplementary forms for schools thatmight have tests or faith criteria aspart of their admissions policy.

Information will be going home toall year six pupils over the comingweeks but my top tips for makingschool choices are:� Discuss with your child their

Bristol City Council

� Isobel Cattermole, Strategic Director for Children, Young People and Skills at Bristol City Council

ASHTON PARK

Open eveningThursday, September 26, 6-8.30pm; headteacher’s talk, 8pmOpen morningsMonday, September 30; Tuesday, October 1.Both 11.15am to 12.30pm.

BEDMINSTER DOWN SECONDARYSCHOOL

Open eveningThursday, September 19, 6-8pm.Open morningsThursday, September 26, 9.30-10.30am;Thursday, October 3, 9.30-10.30am; Thursday,October 10, 9.30-10.30am; Saturday, October12, 10am-noon.

BRIDGE LEARNING CAMPUS

Open morningsThursday, September 19; Saturday, September21; Thursday, September 26; Thursday, October3; Thursday, October 10; Saturday, October 12.All from 9.15am to 10.45am.

BRISLINGTON ENTERPRISE COLLEGE

Open eveningTuesday, September 24, 6-8.30pm. Principal'spresentations at 6pm and 7pm.Open morningsThursday, September 26, 9.15-10.15am; Friday,

September 27, 9.15-10.15am, Saturday,September 28, 10.30-11.30am.

BRISTOL BRUNEL ACADEMY

Open eveningThursday, September 26, 6-8.30pm.Open morningsMonday, September 30, 9-10.30am; Tuesday,October 1, 9-10.30am; Wednesday, October 2 ,9-10.30am.

BRISTOL CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL

Open morningsSaturday, September 21, 9am-noon(Presentations from the Principal at 9am, 10am,11am)

BRISTOL FREE SCHOOL

Open daysTuesday, September 17; Wednesday, September25; Thursday, October 3. Registration requiredat www.bristolfreeschool.org.uk

BRISTOL METROPOLITAN ACADEMY

Open morningSaturday, September 21, 9am-noonOpen EveningMonday, September 23, 6-8pmAcademy ToursTuesday, September 24, to Friday, September27, 9.30am

COLSTON’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL

Open eveningsWednesday, September 18; Tuesday, September24. Both 6-8pm. Please arrive by 7.30pm toensure you have ample time to tour the school.

COTHAM SCHOOL

Open morningsWednesday, September 25; Thursday, October3; Tuesday, October 8; and Wednesday, October16. All at 9.15am, prior booking is essential.Open eveningThursday, September 19, 6.30-9pm

FAIRFIELD HIGH SCHOOL

Open eveningThursday, September 26, 6-9pm.Open morningsThursday, October 3, and Friday, October 4,9.15-10.30am.

HENBURY SCHOOL

Open eveningWednesday, September 25, 7-9pm.Open morningsMonday, September 30, to Thursday, October 3inclusive, all at 9.15-11am.

MERCHANT’S ACADEMY

Open evening

Thursday, September 26, 5-8pm; Wednesday,October 2, 9-11am; Thursday, October 10,9-11am.

OASIS ACADEMY JOHN WILLIAMS

Open morningsSeptember 24 and 25, 9.30-11am; September28, 10am-noon; September 30, 9.30–11am.Open eveningMonday, September 23, 6-8.30pm.

OASIS ACADEMY BRIGHTSTOWE

Open eveningWednesday, October 2, 5.30-8.30pm. We willalso be holding ‘Brightstowe Live’ byappointment.

ORCHARD SCHOOL

Open EveningsThursday, October 3, 6.30-8.30pm.Open MorningsTuesday, September 17, 9.15-10.45am;Tuesday, September 24, 9.15-10.45am,Tuesday, October 1, 9.15-10.45 am; Tuesday,October 8, 9.15-10.45 am. Orchard SchoolBristol has an ‘open door policy’ regarding toursof the school and families can ring outside ofthese times to make an appointment.

REDLAND GREEN SCHOOL

Open Mornings

Wednesday, September 18; Monday, September23; Thursday, September 26; Monday, October7. All at 9.15-10.15am (prompt start)Open EveningTuesday, October 1, 6.30-8.30pm. Byappointment only – telephone the school first.

ST BEDE’S CATHOLIC COLLEGE

Open eveningThursday, September 26, 6.30-8.30pm.

ST BERNADETTE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Open EveningThursday, September 26, 5-8.30pm. Head’s talk5pm, tour of school 5.30pm, head’s talk6.45pm, tour of school 7.15pm.Open DaysWednesday, October 2, 9.15-10.45am.Thursday, October 10, 9.15-10.45am.

ST MARY REDCLIFFE AND TEMPLE CESCHOOL

Open MorningsMonday, September 23 to Wednesday,September 25, at 9.30am.

THE CITY ACADEMY (BRISTOL)

Open EveningSeptember 18Open MorningsSeptember 17-19, October 7-8.

When to visit

OPEN EVENING: Tuesday 24th September 6-8.30pm(Principal’s presentation 6 & 7pm)

OPEN MORNINGS:Thursday 26th & Friday 27th September 9.15-10.15am& Saturday 28th September 10.30-11.30am

Ring 0117 377 2055 to book an Open Morning appointment

because you neverknow until you look

Brislington Enterprise College, Hungerford Road,Brislington, Bristol BS4 5EY - www.because.org.uk

Apply for a secondary schoolplace for the school year 2014–2015If your child was born between 1st September 2002and 31st August 2003 you need to applyfor a school place by 31st October 2013.

Applying online is easy andavailable 24 hours a day.You’ll receive immediate confirmation that yourapplication has been received and there’s no riskof your application getting lost in the post. You’llalso know by email as soon as the results are out.

To complete a paperapplication contactSchool Admissions:School admissions, PO Box 57,Bristol BS99 7EBe school.admissions@bristol.gov.ukt 0117 903 7694

REMEM

BER THEDEADLINEAPPLY ONLINE

31October2013

www.bristol.gov.uk/schooladmissions

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14 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 15Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

WITH the deadlinefor deciding onyour preferenceson secondaryschool just a fewweeks away I’dlike to outline how

to get the most from the process andhow our local schools have improveddramatically over the last five years.

As I joined Bristol City Council inAugust one of the first opportunities Ihad to get to see some of our sec-ondary schools was on GCSE resultsday. Touring Oasis John Williams andBristol Metropolitan Academy Igained a real sense of the pride in theachievements from these particularschools. I can see that they have comea long way in the last couple of yearswith brand new buildings,strengthened leadership and a com-mitted school community.

For the city as a whole, while na-tionally results have gone down, Bris-tol has managed to maintain itsresults from the previous year with 52per cent of students in the city achiev-ing five or more GCSEs at grade A* toC (including English and maths).

After a long career in education Ifirmly believe that you can only get atrue picture of a school by visitingand talking to other parents, childrenand staff at the school. If you can’t

make one of the publicised open daysschools will be very happy to ac-commodate a visit at another time.

Bristol has 21 secondary schools, 14of which are academies and one a freeschool. Although application num-bers were up by 10 per cent last yearthe majority of families were offereda place at one of their preferredchoices (94 per cent).

With such a mix of types of schoolsin Bristol it is really important that

Choosing a secondary school in Bristol

desires, needs and interests;� D o n’t forget practicalities as part ofthe decision process – how will yourchild get to school?� Use all three preferences;� Take time to read the allocationsfrom last year – for over-subscribed

schools these will tell you how faraway the furthest applicant lived toget a place. This will change fromyear to year depending on numbersap p ly i n g ;� Apply online to help manage yourapplication and get the quickest an-

swer on National Offer Day – M o n d ay,March 3, 2014.

To get in touch with the admissionsteam email s ch o o l . a d m i s s i o n s @ b r i s -t o l . go v. u k or call 0117 903 7694. Allinformation can be found at w w w.b r i s t o l . go v. u k / s ch o o l a d m i s s i o n s .

“ ...............................................................

After a long career in educationI firmly believe that you can onlyget a true picture of a school byvisiting and talking to otherparents, children and staff

Isobel Cattermole............................................................................

you leave enough time to fill in anysupplementary forms for schools thatmight have tests or faith criteria aspart of their admissions policy.

Information will be going home toall year six pupils over the comingweeks but my top tips for makingschool choices are:� Discuss with your child their

Bristol City Council

� Isobel Cattermole, Strategic Director for Children, Young People and Skills at Bristol City Council

ASHTON PARK

Open eveningThursday, September 26, 6-8.30pm; headteacher’s talk, 8pmOpen morningsMonday, September 30; Tuesday, October 1.Both 11.15am to 12.30pm.

BEDMINSTER DOWN SECONDARYSCHOOL

Open eveningThursday, September 19, 6-8pm.Open morningsThursday, September 26, 9.30-10.30am;Thursday, October 3, 9.30-10.30am; Thursday,October 10, 9.30-10.30am; Saturday, October12, 10am-noon.

BRIDGE LEARNING CAMPUS

Open morningsThursday, September 19; Saturday, September21; Thursday, September 26; Thursday, October3; Thursday, October 10; Saturday, October 12.All from 9.15am to 10.45am.

BRISLINGTON ENTERPRISE COLLEGE

Open eveningTuesday, September 24, 6-8.30pm. Principal'spresentations at 6pm and 7pm.Open morningsThursday, September 26, 9.15-10.15am; Friday,

September 27, 9.15-10.15am, Saturday,September 28, 10.30-11.30am.

BRISTOL BRUNEL ACADEMY

Open eveningThursday, September 26, 6-8.30pm.Open morningsMonday, September 30, 9-10.30am; Tuesday,October 1, 9-10.30am; Wednesday, October 2 ,9-10.30am.

BRISTOL CATHEDRAL CHOIR SCHOOL

Open morningsSaturday, September 21, 9am-noon(Presentations from the Principal at 9am, 10am,11am)

BRISTOL FREE SCHOOL

Open daysTuesday, September 17; Wednesday, September25; Thursday, October 3. Registration requiredat www.bristolfreeschool.org.uk

BRISTOL METROPOLITAN ACADEMY

Open morningSaturday, September 21, 9am-noonOpen EveningMonday, September 23, 6-8pmAcademy ToursTuesday, September 24, to Friday, September27, 9.30am

COLSTON’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL

Open eveningsWednesday, September 18; Tuesday, September24. Both 6-8pm. Please arrive by 7.30pm toensure you have ample time to tour the school.

COTHAM SCHOOL

Open morningsWednesday, September 25; Thursday, October3; Tuesday, October 8; and Wednesday, October16. All at 9.15am, prior booking is essential.Open eveningThursday, September 19, 6.30-9pm

FAIRFIELD HIGH SCHOOL

Open eveningThursday, September 26, 6-9pm.Open morningsThursday, October 3, and Friday, October 4,9.15-10.30am.

HENBURY SCHOOL

Open eveningWednesday, September 25, 7-9pm.Open morningsMonday, September 30, to Thursday, October 3inclusive, all at 9.15-11am.

MERCHANT’S ACADEMY

Open evening

Thursday, September 26, 5-8pm; Wednesday,October 2, 9-11am; Thursday, October 10,9-11am.

OASIS ACADEMY JOHN WILLIAMS

Open morningsSeptember 24 and 25, 9.30-11am; September28, 10am-noon; September 30, 9.30–11am.Open eveningMonday, September 23, 6-8.30pm.

OASIS ACADEMY BRIGHTSTOWE

Open eveningWednesday, October 2, 5.30-8.30pm. We willalso be holding ‘Brightstowe Live’ byappointment.

ORCHARD SCHOOL

Open EveningsThursday, October 3, 6.30-8.30pm.Open MorningsTuesday, September 17, 9.15-10.45am;Tuesday, September 24, 9.15-10.45am,Tuesday, October 1, 9.15-10.45 am; Tuesday,October 8, 9.15-10.45 am. Orchard SchoolBristol has an ‘open door policy’ regarding toursof the school and families can ring outside ofthese times to make an appointment.

REDLAND GREEN SCHOOL

Open Mornings

Wednesday, September 18; Monday, September23; Thursday, September 26; Monday, October7. All at 9.15-10.15am (prompt start)Open EveningTuesday, October 1, 6.30-8.30pm. Byappointment only – telephone the school first.

ST BEDE’S CATHOLIC COLLEGE

Open eveningThursday, September 26, 6.30-8.30pm.

ST BERNADETTE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Open EveningThursday, September 26, 5-8.30pm. Head’s talk5pm, tour of school 5.30pm, head’s talk6.45pm, tour of school 7.15pm.Open DaysWednesday, October 2, 9.15-10.45am.Thursday, October 10, 9.15-10.45am.

ST MARY REDCLIFFE AND TEMPLE CESCHOOL

Open MorningsMonday, September 23 to Wednesday,September 25, at 9.30am.

THE CITY ACADEMY (BRISTOL)

Open EveningSeptember 18Open MorningsSeptember 17-19, October 7-8.

When to visit

OPEN EVENING: Tuesday 24th September 6-8.30pm(Principal’s presentation 6 & 7pm)

OPEN MORNINGS:Thursday 26th & Friday 27th September 9.15-10.15am& Saturday 28th September 10.30-11.30am

Ring 0117 377 2055 to book an Open Morning appointment

because you neverknow until you look

Brislington Enterprise College, Hungerford Road,Brislington, Bristol BS4 5EY - www.because.org.uk

Apply for a secondary schoolplace for the school year 2014–2015If your child was born between 1st September 2002and 31st August 2003 you need to applyfor a school place by 31st October 2013.

Applying online is easy andavailable 24 hours a day.You’ll receive immediate confirmation that yourapplication has been received and there’s no riskof your application getting lost in the post. You’llalso know by email as soon as the results are out.

To complete a paperapplication contactSchool Admissions:School admissions, PO Box 57,Bristol BS99 7EBe school.admissions@bristol.gov.ukt 0117 903 7694

REMEM

BER THEDEADLINEAPPLY ONLINE

31October2013

www.bristol.gov.uk/schooladmissions

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16 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 17Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

TEACHERS from acrossBristol are being askedfor their views on shap-ing a royal college fortheir profession whichwould help elevate thestatus of teaching.

Bristol North West MP CharlotteLeslie, who has worked together withteachers and educationalists tospearhead moves to set up the royalcollege, will be visiting schoolsacross Bristol this autumn to gaugethe views of teachers in the city.

Proposals for the Royal College ofTeachers were first put forward lastyear by Ms Leslie.

Since then, she has been workingwith like-minded teachers, unionleaders and educationalists to pro-duce a book on the idea.

She said a royal college could bevital if teachers were to have the kindof aspirational career path enjoyed inother professions.

But she also said that it was crucialthe detail of such a college was de-veloped by the teachers themselves –not politicians.

She said: “Royal colleges and otherprofessional bodies have promotedand protected the status of profes-sions like medicine for, in some cases,hundreds of years.

“And the more you look at issueslike the encroachment of the stateinto the classroom, the lack of a clearpractice-based career progression forteachers, or the linking of academiceducation studies and evidence withthe realities of the classroom, themore a ‘royal college’-shaped holeseems to emerge.

“This hole has become so evidentthat the Education Select Committee,on which I sit, has recommended thatthe teaching profession look toestablish a Royal College of Teach-ing.

“The Select Committee is not alone;the Academies Commission recentlycame to the same conclusion.

“An idea that has been hanging inthe air until now has perhaps foundits time.”

At the launch of the consultationin April, the idea was backed byteacher Emma Norman, from OasisAcademy Brightstowe in Shirehamp-ton.

She said: “A Royal College of Teach-ing would be able to shine a light onteachers. They would promote apositive awareness of our achieve-m e n t s.

“It could help those of us with apassion for teaching in the classroomto have an opportunity to rise up thecareer path without having to leavethe classroom into management.

“Other valuable organisationsfocus on pay and conditions, we needto focus on teaching and learning.

“This organisation would also takea long-term view of education whichwould help protect us from govern-ment and unions’ short-term plans.We need consistency and stability toensure progress occurs and allownew initiatives a chance to beembedded. A royal college would helpto develop a long-term view of edu-c at i o n . ”

In a booklet edited by Ms Leslie,teachers, union leaders, education-alists, and members of other pro-fessions have outlined why therecould be huge benefits for teacherswith a royal college.

John ‘Louis’ Armstrong, chairmanof Professions for Good, said that inthe clamour to raise the status ofother professions in Victorian times,teachers missed out.

He said: “The beauty of an inde-pendent professional body, workingin the public interest as prescribed byRoyal Charter, is that it can combinesetting professional standards,awarding qualifications, creatingand enforcing a rigorous code of con-duct and set of values, having aneffective regulatory framework,providing thought leadership, formu-lating research and policy, and shar-ing international best practice. Whilenot perfect, many other countries arekeen to emulate this ‘royal collegemodel’.

“Why not one for teaching in thiscountry?”

David Weston, chief executive ofthe Teacher Development Trust, saidthat until teachers take the initiativethey will continue to be “lectured to”by politicians.

He said: “We will only stoppoliticians and the media lecturingus with their solutions to problemswhen we grasp the nettle and showthat we can make the hard changeso u r s e l ve s.

“Others will stop trying to forcechange on us when we are seen astrustworthy leaders of change. Weare, at present, a long way from thisvision.”

Mr Weston said that a new bodywould have a role in ensuring thatteachers did not always opt for the“shiny and new” but instead wouldencourage innovation with morediscipline, along with properevaluation of existing practices andh ab i t s.

Dame Joan McVittie, immediatepast president of the Association ofSchool and College Lecturers, and ahead teacher in London, said a royalcollege would “re-position teachingas a profession with its own stand-ards and responsibilities”.

She added that teachers needed totake responsibility for their own pro-fession and destiny.

Christine Blower, general secret-ary of the National Union of Teachershas said that the union was keen toparticipate in “exploratory steps” to-wards a college.

She called for a college to have twomain objectives: first, it should em-phasise the professionalism of teach-ers and it “should advocate the abilityof teachers to exercise their profes-sional judgement in teaching andlearning activities and the need forassessment and school accountabil-ity mechanisms to be based on trustin the profession”.

Second, she said it should give“c a re e r- l o n g ” entitlement to qualityprofessional learning opportunitiesfor all teachers.

Copies of the report can be down-loaded from h t t p : / / t d t ru s t . o rg / rc o t

‘A royal collegecould shine lighton profession’

� CharlotteLeslie, BristolNorth WestMP, right, whois working withteachers andothers tospearhead acampaign tocreate a RoyalCollege ofTe a c h i n g .Ms Leslie ispictured herein 2011 atBristol FreeSchool inBrentry withpupils, headteacherR i c h a rdClutterbuck,left, and thenSchoolsMinister NickGibb, centre

FOCUSAMBITION

GROWTH AND VITALITY

IN THE HEARTOF BRI

STOL

Open Evening: 5.30pm - 8pmOpen Mornings: 9.30am start10th Anniversary Celebration: 12-4pmOpen Mornings: 9.30am start

www.cityacademy.bristol.sch.uk

18 September17, 18, 19 September5 October7,8 October

0117 941 3800

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

SGS COLLEGE -OPEN TO ALL!Join us at one of our upcoming Open Events and find out about SouthGloucestershire & Stroud College’s wide range of study programmes,including those starting September 2014.

The events include the opportunity to:

- Speak with course specialists- Meet with current learners studying at SGS College and discuss

how they are finding their time at the College- Try out activities relating to your subject of interest- Partake in a campus tour, plus much more.

Upcoming Open Event dates are:- Saturday 28th September: 10am-1pm- Saturday 19th October: 10am-1pm- Saturday 16th November: 10am-2pm

*All events listed above are running at theSGS Filton, SGS WISE, SGS Stroud &

SGS Bristol School of Art Campuses

For further details visitwww.sgscol.ac.uk or call 0800 0567 253.

www.facebook.com/filtoncollege

www.twitter.com/sgs_college

STOP PRESS: Places are still available to enrol this September on the followingUniversity Level courses: Business, Creative Practices, Education & Learning,Performing Arts, Sport or Wildlife Conservation. Please call 0117 915 2412or drop into the Enrolment Centre at SGS Filton for more details.

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16 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 17Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

State education State education

TEACHERS from acrossBristol are being askedfor their views on shap-ing a royal college fortheir profession whichwould help elevate thestatus of teaching.

Bristol North West MP CharlotteLeslie, who has worked together withteachers and educationalists tospearhead moves to set up the royalcollege, will be visiting schoolsacross Bristol this autumn to gaugethe views of teachers in the city.

Proposals for the Royal College ofTeachers were first put forward lastyear by Ms Leslie.

Since then, she has been workingwith like-minded teachers, unionleaders and educationalists to pro-duce a book on the idea.

She said a royal college could bevital if teachers were to have the kindof aspirational career path enjoyed inother professions.

But she also said that it was crucialthe detail of such a college was de-veloped by the teachers themselves –not politicians.

She said: “Royal colleges and otherprofessional bodies have promotedand protected the status of profes-sions like medicine for, in some cases,hundreds of years.

“And the more you look at issueslike the encroachment of the stateinto the classroom, the lack of a clearpractice-based career progression forteachers, or the linking of academiceducation studies and evidence withthe realities of the classroom, themore a ‘royal college’-shaped holeseems to emerge.

“This hole has become so evidentthat the Education Select Committee,on which I sit, has recommended thatthe teaching profession look toestablish a Royal College of Teach-ing.

“The Select Committee is not alone;the Academies Commission recentlycame to the same conclusion.

“An idea that has been hanging inthe air until now has perhaps foundits time.”

At the launch of the consultationin April, the idea was backed byteacher Emma Norman, from OasisAcademy Brightstowe in Shirehamp-ton.

She said: “A Royal College of Teach-ing would be able to shine a light onteachers. They would promote apositive awareness of our achieve-m e n t s.

“It could help those of us with apassion for teaching in the classroomto have an opportunity to rise up thecareer path without having to leavethe classroom into management.

“Other valuable organisationsfocus on pay and conditions, we needto focus on teaching and learning.

“This organisation would also takea long-term view of education whichwould help protect us from govern-ment and unions’ short-term plans.We need consistency and stability toensure progress occurs and allownew initiatives a chance to beembedded. A royal college would helpto develop a long-term view of edu-c at i o n . ”

In a booklet edited by Ms Leslie,teachers, union leaders, education-alists, and members of other pro-fessions have outlined why therecould be huge benefits for teacherswith a royal college.

John ‘Louis’ Armstrong, chairmanof Professions for Good, said that inthe clamour to raise the status ofother professions in Victorian times,teachers missed out.

He said: “The beauty of an inde-pendent professional body, workingin the public interest as prescribed byRoyal Charter, is that it can combinesetting professional standards,awarding qualifications, creatingand enforcing a rigorous code of con-duct and set of values, having aneffective regulatory framework,providing thought leadership, formu-lating research and policy, and shar-ing international best practice. Whilenot perfect, many other countries arekeen to emulate this ‘royal collegemodel’.

“Why not one for teaching in thiscountry?”

David Weston, chief executive ofthe Teacher Development Trust, saidthat until teachers take the initiativethey will continue to be “lectured to”by politicians.

He said: “We will only stoppoliticians and the media lecturingus with their solutions to problemswhen we grasp the nettle and showthat we can make the hard changeso u r s e l ve s.

“Others will stop trying to forcechange on us when we are seen astrustworthy leaders of change. Weare, at present, a long way from thisvision.”

Mr Weston said that a new bodywould have a role in ensuring thatteachers did not always opt for the“shiny and new” but instead wouldencourage innovation with morediscipline, along with properevaluation of existing practices andh ab i t s.

Dame Joan McVittie, immediatepast president of the Association ofSchool and College Lecturers, and ahead teacher in London, said a royalcollege would “re-position teachingas a profession with its own stand-ards and responsibilities”.

She added that teachers needed totake responsibility for their own pro-fession and destiny.

Christine Blower, general secret-ary of the National Union of Teachershas said that the union was keen toparticipate in “exploratory steps” to-wards a college.

She called for a college to have twomain objectives: first, it should em-phasise the professionalism of teach-ers and it “should advocate the abilityof teachers to exercise their profes-sional judgement in teaching andlearning activities and the need forassessment and school accountabil-ity mechanisms to be based on trustin the profession”.

Second, she said it should give“c a re e r- l o n g ” entitlement to qualityprofessional learning opportunitiesfor all teachers.

Copies of the report can be down-loaded from h t t p : / / t d t ru s t . o rg / rc o t

‘A royal collegecould shine lighton profession’

� CharlotteLeslie, BristolNorth WestMP, right, whois working withteachers andothers tospearhead acampaign tocreate a RoyalCollege ofTe a c h i n g .Ms Leslie ispictured herein 2011 atBristol FreeSchool inBrentry withpupils, headteacherR i c h a rdClutterbuck,left, and thenSchoolsMinister NickGibb, centre

FOCUSAMBITION

GROWTH AND VITALITY

IN THE HEARTOF BRI

STOL

Open Evening: 5.30pm - 8pmOpen Mornings: 9.30am start10th Anniversary Celebration: 12-4pmOpen Mornings: 9.30am start

www.cityacademy.bristol.sch.uk

18 September17, 18, 19 September5 October7,8 October

0117 941 3800

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

SGS COLLEGE -OPEN TO ALL!Join us at one of our upcoming Open Events and find out about SouthGloucestershire & Stroud College’s wide range of study programmes,including those starting September 2014.

The events include the opportunity to:

- Speak with course specialists- Meet with current learners studying at SGS College and discuss

how they are finding their time at the College- Try out activities relating to your subject of interest- Partake in a campus tour, plus much more.

Upcoming Open Event dates are:- Saturday 28th September: 10am-1pm- Saturday 19th October: 10am-1pm- Saturday 16th November: 10am-2pm

*All events listed above are running at theSGS Filton, SGS WISE, SGS Stroud &

SGS Bristol School of Art Campuses

For further details visitwww.sgscol.ac.uk or call 0800 0567 253.

www.facebook.com/filtoncollege

www.twitter.com/sgs_college

STOP PRESS: Places are still available to enrol this September on the followingUniversity Level courses: Business, Creative Practices, Education & Learning,Performing Arts, Sport or Wildlife Conservation. Please call 0117 915 2412or drop into the Enrolment Centre at SGS Filton for more details.

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18 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 19Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Independent education Independent education

JULIA Skinner felt a bit lost aftershe retired as a primary schoolhead teacher – until she dis-covered blogging. Now she is ona mission to encourage childrento discover the joys of publish-ing their writing online.

A lifetime’s experience in schools in Bris-tol had shown Julia that some pupils couldnot see the point of writing and did not knowwhere to start.

So she devised the 100 Word Challenge. Aweekly prompt in words and pictures getschildren started and the length limit makesthe task manageable.

But the most important feature of Julia’sinitiative is that every writer receives feed-back on his or her efforts – and teachers saythis is leading to rapid improvements inachievement for some children.

“I made a promise at the beginning that Iwould leave a comment on any piece that wasposted.” she said.

“That was fine while there were about 150entries a week but now it has risen to anaverage of 450 a week, with some weeks up to700, I have had to get some help.”

Julia formed Team 100, a group of vo-lunteers who undertake to read and com-ment on a number of postings each week.This numbers 62, but she is keen to recruitm o re.

Volunteers don’t have to be teachers –sixth-formers, students, parents, grandpar-ents and anyone interested is welcome.

It takes about an hour a week to read andcomment on ten blog entries. Team membersare given guidelines and allocated the post-ings by numbers, so that they comment ondifferent children’s work each time.

“This brings a wonderful freshness andvariety, “ said Julia. “There is no doubt aboutit. It is the comments that have made thedif ference.”

Children who enter the 100 Word Chal-lenge are also encouraged to visit otherpeople’s entries and post comments.

“Peer comments are incredibly powerful.Children are much more direct thang rown-ups.

“This also trains them in how to behave onthe internet and how to comment construct-ively on a blog. I have never had to take downanything that has been written by a child.”

The best entries each week are showcasedin a special section on the blog.

Julia is clear that the aim of 100 WordChallenge is to encourage creative writingrather than to teach grammar or punctu-at i o n .

“I am not hung up on full stops or capitalletters. That is for teachers, and I ask thosewho use the challenge with their classes toexplain that to parents.

“Some schools publish children’s work asit is written but some get nervous and edit itfirst.”

Schools can use the pieces on the blog toteach children editing skills and show themhow to improve their writing. Some also useit for guided reading or as a homework task.

Julia adds: “The main thing is that it givesthe children a purpose for writing beyondsimply pleasing Miss or Sir.”

The challenge is mainly used in the UK byKey Stage 2 pupils, aged seven to 11. Someschools in Australia and the US use it witholder children and it is also used by specialneeds teachers.

In response to requests from teachers,Julia has started a new blog for Key StageOne (five to seven-year-olds) called 5 Sen-tence Challenge. This has a fortnightlytheme, usually visual. Some nursery andreception classes are using it, too, for groupcomposition work led by a teacher or supportassistant.

“Scripting a piece of writing in just fivesentences can bring valuable lessons indemocracy and citizenship for very youngchildren. Some schools are also using 5Sentence Challenge as an intervention forolder children with special needs.”

More than 100 teachers responded toJu l i a ’s first survey on the impact of the

A Bristol head teacher's initiative is helping toencourage hundreds of children across the countryand overseas to become writers – on the web.LINDA TANNER re p o r t s

Former head’smission to buildchildren’s lovefor writing 100words at a time

project. They spoke of how it had improvedmotivation and confidence. Some also said ithad raised standards and achievement.

“It has amazed me. I want to find out moreabout how they know this,” she said.

100 Word Challenge was shortlisted in 2012as one of the most influential education blogsof the year and this year it was a finalist inthe NAACE awards for its global impact.

In the first 18 weeks after it launched lastSeptember, 9,500 pieces were posted on theblog and created 55,000 clicks back to classblogs, Visitors to the site came from 86c o u n t r i e s.

“The numbers are huge and the inter-national side is wonderful,” said Julia.

“It has given me a whole different outlookon life. I have learned so much. It has led to asecond career for me. I have got to know somany people through Twitter and the blogsand am now asked to speak at conferencesand TeachMeet events across the country.”

But Julia, who was head of three schools insouth Bristol over 13 years and is still aschool governor in the city, has reassurancefor parents who worry at the emphasis onusing computers.

“This will never replace writing in a book.It is just another tool to use,” she said.

Facts and figures

62� The number of volunteers helpingJulia comment on each child’s poston the 100 Word Challenge blog

9,500

� The number of posts the blogreceived in the first 18 weeks

“ ..............................................................................

I made a promise at the beginningthat I would leave a comment on anypiece that was posted. That was finewhile there were about 150 entries aweek but now it has risen to anaverage of 450 a week, with someweeks up to 700. I have had to getsome help

Julia Skinner...........................................................................................

45 086

� The average number of postsfrom young people each week

� The number of countries fromwhich people visited the blog in itsfirst 18 weeks

� Julia Skinner,founder of 100Word Challenge, ablogging projectfor school children,with pupils fromHillcrest School, asthey work on theweekly project.Julia is picturedwith Hamza Shabir,Emily Plowden,William Eaves,Maya Rose,Bronnie Baker,Teddy Glew andTed Wilks

Photo: Jon KentBRJK20130905C-001_C

0117 933 9087www.cliftonhigh.bristol.sch.uk

realising individual brilliance...

Find out for yourself:Open Evening: Thursday 19th SeptemberOpen Morning: Saturday 12th October

Right from meeting staff at the

open dayat Clifton High School,

and ever since, our son and daughter havedeveloped in confidence and become

motivated & inspiredin their learning.

Independent – Co-educational – All age

Lower School 3-11 Upper School 11-18

Choosing your next schoolOpen MorningSaturday September 28(10am-1pm)

Sixth FormOpen EveningThursday October 10(7pm)

Taster DaysOpen Day Every Day during Autumn Term(8.15am-4pm)

A school forthe family

Scholarshipsand bursariesavailable

For further information contactDenise Sollis (Tel 0117 965 5207)

denisesollis@colstons.bristol.sch.uk

Colston’s School, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1BJ

www.colstons.bristol.sch.uk

Registered Charity 1079552

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

18 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 19Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Independent education Independent education

JULIA Skinner felt a bit lost aftershe retired as a primary schoolhead teacher – until she dis-covered blogging. Now she is ona mission to encourage childrento discover the joys of publish-ing their writing online.

A lifetime’s experience in schools in Bris-tol had shown Julia that some pupils couldnot see the point of writing and did not knowwhere to start.

So she devised the 100 Word Challenge. Aweekly prompt in words and pictures getschildren started and the length limit makesthe task manageable.

But the most important feature of Julia’sinitiative is that every writer receives feed-back on his or her efforts – and teachers saythis is leading to rapid improvements inachievement for some children.

“I made a promise at the beginning that Iwould leave a comment on any piece that wasposted.” she said.

“That was fine while there were about 150entries a week but now it has risen to anaverage of 450 a week, with some weeks up to700, I have had to get some help.”

Julia formed Team 100, a group of vo-lunteers who undertake to read and com-ment on a number of postings each week.This numbers 62, but she is keen to recruitm o re.

Volunteers don’t have to be teachers –sixth-formers, students, parents, grandpar-ents and anyone interested is welcome.

It takes about an hour a week to read andcomment on ten blog entries. Team membersare given guidelines and allocated the post-ings by numbers, so that they comment ondifferent children’s work each time.

“This brings a wonderful freshness andvariety, “ said Julia. “There is no doubt aboutit. It is the comments that have made thedif ference.”

Children who enter the 100 Word Chal-lenge are also encouraged to visit otherpeople’s entries and post comments.

“Peer comments are incredibly powerful.Children are much more direct thang rown-ups.

“This also trains them in how to behave onthe internet and how to comment construct-ively on a blog. I have never had to take downanything that has been written by a child.”

The best entries each week are showcasedin a special section on the blog.

Julia is clear that the aim of 100 WordChallenge is to encourage creative writingrather than to teach grammar or punctu-at i o n .

“I am not hung up on full stops or capitalletters. That is for teachers, and I ask thosewho use the challenge with their classes toexplain that to parents.

“Some schools publish children’s work asit is written but some get nervous and edit itfirst.”

Schools can use the pieces on the blog toteach children editing skills and show themhow to improve their writing. Some also useit for guided reading or as a homework task.

Julia adds: “The main thing is that it givesthe children a purpose for writing beyondsimply pleasing Miss or Sir.”

The challenge is mainly used in the UK byKey Stage 2 pupils, aged seven to 11. Someschools in Australia and the US use it witholder children and it is also used by specialneeds teachers.

In response to requests from teachers,Julia has started a new blog for Key StageOne (five to seven-year-olds) called 5 Sen-tence Challenge. This has a fortnightlytheme, usually visual. Some nursery andreception classes are using it, too, for groupcomposition work led by a teacher or supportassistant.

“Scripting a piece of writing in just fivesentences can bring valuable lessons indemocracy and citizenship for very youngchildren. Some schools are also using 5Sentence Challenge as an intervention forolder children with special needs.”

More than 100 teachers responded toJu l i a ’s first survey on the impact of the

A Bristol head teacher's initiative is helping toencourage hundreds of children across the countryand overseas to become writers – on the web.LINDA TANNER re p o r t s

Former head’smission to buildchildren’s lovefor writing 100words at a time

project. They spoke of how it had improvedmotivation and confidence. Some also said ithad raised standards and achievement.

“It has amazed me. I want to find out moreabout how they know this,” she said.

100 Word Challenge was shortlisted in 2012as one of the most influential education blogsof the year and this year it was a finalist inthe NAACE awards for its global impact.

In the first 18 weeks after it launched lastSeptember, 9,500 pieces were posted on theblog and created 55,000 clicks back to classblogs, Visitors to the site came from 86c o u n t r i e s.

“The numbers are huge and the inter-national side is wonderful,” said Julia.

“It has given me a whole different outlookon life. I have learned so much. It has led to asecond career for me. I have got to know somany people through Twitter and the blogsand am now asked to speak at conferencesand TeachMeet events across the country.”

But Julia, who was head of three schools insouth Bristol over 13 years and is still aschool governor in the city, has reassurancefor parents who worry at the emphasis onusing computers.

“This will never replace writing in a book.It is just another tool to use,” she said.

Facts and figures

62� The number of volunteers helpingJulia comment on each child’s poston the 100 Word Challenge blog

9,500

� The number of posts the blogreceived in the first 18 weeks

“ ..............................................................................

I made a promise at the beginningthat I would leave a comment on anypiece that was posted. That was finewhile there were about 150 entries aweek but now it has risen to anaverage of 450 a week, with someweeks up to 700. I have had to getsome help

Julia Skinner...........................................................................................

45 086

� The average number of postsfrom young people each week

� The number of countries fromwhich people visited the blog in itsfirst 18 weeks

� Julia Skinner,founder of 100Word Challenge, ablogging projectfor school children,with pupils fromHillcrest School, asthey work on theweekly project.Julia is picturedwith Hamza Shabir,Emily Plowden,William Eaves,Maya Rose,Bronnie Baker,Teddy Glew andTed Wilks

Photo: Jon KentBRJK20130905C-001_C

0117 933 9087www.cliftonhigh.bristol.sch.uk

realising individual brilliance...

Find out for yourself:Open Evening: Thursday 19th SeptemberOpen Morning: Saturday 12th October

Right from meeting staff at the

open dayat Clifton High School,

and ever since, our son and daughter havedeveloped in confidence and become

motivated & inspiredin their learning.

Independent – Co-educational – All age

Lower School 3-11 Upper School 11-18

Choosing your next schoolOpen MorningSaturday September 28(10am-1pm)

Sixth FormOpen EveningThursday October 10(7pm)

Taster DaysOpen Day Every Day during Autumn Term(8.15am-4pm)

A school forthe family

Scholarshipsand bursariesavailable

For further information contactDenise Sollis (Tel 0117 965 5207)

denisesollis@colstons.bristol.sch.uk

Colston’s School, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1BJ

www.colstons.bristol.sch.uk

Registered Charity 1079552

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

20 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 21Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Independent education Independent education

have been on visits to both universit-ies in the city and engineering com-panies including Rolls-Royce.

Another piece of engineering in-spiration on the doorsteps of Bristolschools and colleges is the Blood-hound, a project which aims to in-spire the next generation of scientistsand engineers through breaking theworld land speed record.

Ye s t e rd ay, television and radiopresenter Kate Bellingham, ambas-sador for the Bloodhound project,presented prizes to the girls of Red-land High School during their annualprize-giving ceremony at Bristol Uni-versity. Jennie Han, who completedher A levels at the school earlier thisyear received three prizes, includingthe Peter Breach Award for achieve-ment in science.

At Red Maids’ School in West-bury-on-Trym, five sixth form stu-dents took part in an engineeringeducation scheme run by GKNAerospace earlier this year. It wasalso the first school in the South Westto take part in an international phys-ics investigation known as HiSparc.Working with Bristol University, thes ch o o l ’s students have built a particledetector to capture data on the originof millions of cosmic rays that fall

into Earth’s atmosphere. In Novem-ber, the school is taking a group ofsixth form students to the CernParticle Physics Facilities in Geneva,Switz erland.

Chris Watson, the school’s head ofscience, said: “In general, we adopt apractical-based approach to sciencethroughout the school, firmly believ-ing that this is the way to engage,inspire and retain the interest of thes t u d e n t s, ”

At St Brendan’s College and SixthForm in Brislington, students takinga physics A level will enter a nationalrobotics competition this year.

Teams from Southampton, Bristol,Oxford and Munich are competing,with expensive equipment for thecompetition being provided by Mo-torola. Sixth formers at the collegewill also get the chance to developrobots entirely from componentparts, giving them the chance to learnadvanced robotics skills, includingsoldering, circuit board design, in-tegrated circuit power management,and software development.

spiring and exciting. But in an areaknown for its rich engineering his-tory (Brunel and aerospace indus-tries in Filton) Bristol offers a wealthof opportunities to bring the subjectmatter to life and bridge the gapbetween text books and the world ofwo rk .

And the ties between Bristol andengineering have grown evenstronger over the past few years, withthe creation of the Bristol & BathScience Park in Emersons Green andthe opening of the region’s first Uni-versity Technical College (UTC)earlier this month in Stoke Gifford.

The Bristol Technology and En-gineering Academy caters for stu-dents aged 14 to 19 hoping to land acareer in engineering.

Over the last 12 months, schoolsand colleges in Bristol have helpedtheir students learn about STEM sub-jects in a huge variety of ways, mak-ing lessons fun while forging linkswith other educational establish-ments and businesses along the way.

Earlier this year at BlackhorsePrimary in Emersons Green, Aard-man Animations’ character Gromitwas sent into the stratosphere in aproject which made the school thefirst primary in the country toembark on space exploration.

The experiment, which coincidedwith Engineering Week in June, waspart of the school’s drive to encouragemore youngsters to develop a love ofengineering, physics and maths.

Pupils sent a 10cm model of Gromitto the edge of space in a balloon whilea camera filmed the epic journey.

When the model reached the edgeof space, the balloon burst, leavingbrave Gromit to parachute back downto earth.

The recording of Gromit’s amazingadventure was emailed back to theschool where pupils were eagerlyawaiting news.

The school’s head teacher SimonBotten told the Bristol Post at thetime: “Blackhorse Primary recog-nises that it is essential for Bristoland the UK to maintain its position asa world leader in engineering and webelieve that this starts by igniting aspark of interest at a young age.

“The school concluded that itwould need to do something dramaticto inspire a new generation of en-gineers, physicists and mathem-aticians and decided that spaceexploration was something whichwould exceed all expectations.

“We want to teach the children thatengineering, maths and science canquite literally take you anywhere.How better to prove this than byshowing our children that with anunderstanding of science and tech-nology and a bit of ingenuity, it ispossible to send something intos p a c e. ”

Getting older pupils interested inSTEM subjects has been expertlyhandled by Fairfield High School inHorfield. The secondary was handedthe title of “best STEM school in theBristol and Bath region” in 2012.

It is one of the only schools to offeran exclusive maths week featuringpuzzles, competitions, prizes andgames which is run throughout thecurriculum, ensuring links withother subjects are strengthenedwhile encouraging pupils to identifythe underlying role maths plays in awider context.

To keep the subject matter enga-ging to pupils, the school even inviteda theatre company into school. Theproduction from Living Learning onnumber patterns and “ma gic” nu m -bers was so successful it will be re-peated next summer.

Abbeywood and Bradley StokeCommunity Schools are hoping tomake the most of their links with thenew UTC nearby.

Dave Baker, executive head of theschools, said: “Both schools arealready working in partnership withthe UTC through the Concorde Part-nership (a collaboration betweenBradley Stoke, Abbeywood andPatchway schools along with SouthGloucestershire and Stroud College),to ensure that students from all in-stitutions have access to the broadestpossible range of specialist teachingand learning.

“We hope that by working in part-nership, students studyingSTEM-based curriculum at the UTCwill be able to access other subjects inone of the other centres to ensureindividual students can play to theirstrengths and, the other way around,that students based in one of theschools or SGS College can pick up aspecialist STEM-based subject not onoffer in their institution to add totheir other subjects.”

Sam Kent, assistant head at Ab-beywood, said the school had noticeda growing interest in sciences andmaths at A-level, with physics be-coming more popular than it was inthe past. To enrich subjects, students

IT’S widely known that there isa dearth of skilled scientists,engineers, technologists andmathematicians in the UK.People with talent in thosefields are in high demand butthere is a shortage of students

leaving schools, colleges and uni-versities with the relevant knowledgeand skills.

Gearing students up with the ex-perience and competencies is a majorchallenge for education chiefs, whohave been warned that the buoyancyof the nation’s economy could evenhinge on the next generation ofSTEM-skilled staff.

Schools and colleges across theBristol area are placing a far largeremphasis on teaching the STEM sub-jects of science, technology, engin-eering and maths than they did 10years ago.

The biggest task facing them intheir attempt to prepare youngstersfor a career in a technical field isensuring what can be considered dryor dull subjects are engaging, in-

Projects to prove ‘STEM can take you anywhere’

� Insideone of theengineeringrooms atthe BristolTe c h n o l o g yandEngineeringAcademyBRDB20130909D- 006

� PrincipalRhian Priestwith staff on thefirst day at thenew BristolTechnology andEngineeringAcademy atStoke GiffordPhoto: Dave BettsBRDB20130909D-004_C

� The Future Brunels project aims to inspire the engineers of tomorrow – pictured are Ella MayJoseph, Charlie Hall and Tom Lear from Bedminster Down School, Ella Chamberlain, MatthewGalliford and Maia Angel from Cotham School, Kyle Gaffney, Emily Roberts and Hollie Malin fromMerchants Academy, and Charlotte Gale, Ewan Shelley and Fergus Pick from Redland GreenSchool Photo: Jon Kent BRJK20110623B-006_C

� Chancellor George Osborne visits the Bloodhound project at AvonmouthPhoto: Simon Galloway BRSG20130912A-28_C

Marc RathEducation reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

Education for LifeEncouraged to see life as an adventure, our students place great value on their practicaland interpersonal skills, as well as taking pride in their academic success. They grow intoyoung people who are equipped to approach life with optimism and intelligence, happy tomove beyond their comfort zone and excited by challenge.

To find out more about how we combine academic success and personal development,come and visit our school. A wide range of scholarships are available for September 2014 -arts, equestrian, sports and academic.

Open morning - Friday 27 September, 9.30am to noonYear 7 taster evening - Thursday 21 November at 5.30pm

To attend call 01934 845236 or emailrachael.coates@sidcot.co.ukwww.sidcot.org.uk

An independent day and boarding school forboys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Somerset

Visit usWhole School visiting eventsThursday 10 OctoberSaturday 9 Novemberwww.redmaids.co.uk

Red Maids’ trip to Nepal −

trekking through the Himalayas

For more information contact:Junior School 0117 962 9451Senior School 0117 989 8252Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9

Our students leavewith much more thanthe best exam results

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

20 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 21Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Independent education Independent education

have been on visits to both universit-ies in the city and engineering com-panies including Rolls-Royce.

Another piece of engineering in-spiration on the doorsteps of Bristolschools and colleges is the Blood-hound, a project which aims to in-spire the next generation of scientistsand engineers through breaking theworld land speed record.

Ye s t e rd ay, television and radiopresenter Kate Bellingham, ambas-sador for the Bloodhound project,presented prizes to the girls of Red-land High School during their annualprize-giving ceremony at Bristol Uni-versity. Jennie Han, who completedher A levels at the school earlier thisyear received three prizes, includingthe Peter Breach Award for achieve-ment in science.

At Red Maids’ School in West-bury-on-Trym, five sixth form stu-dents took part in an engineeringeducation scheme run by GKNAerospace earlier this year. It wasalso the first school in the South Westto take part in an international phys-ics investigation known as HiSparc.Working with Bristol University, thes ch o o l ’s students have built a particledetector to capture data on the originof millions of cosmic rays that fall

into Earth’s atmosphere. In Novem-ber, the school is taking a group ofsixth form students to the CernParticle Physics Facilities in Geneva,Switz erland.

Chris Watson, the school’s head ofscience, said: “In general, we adopt apractical-based approach to sciencethroughout the school, firmly believ-ing that this is the way to engage,inspire and retain the interest of thes t u d e n t s, ”

At St Brendan’s College and SixthForm in Brislington, students takinga physics A level will enter a nationalrobotics competition this year.

Teams from Southampton, Bristol,Oxford and Munich are competing,with expensive equipment for thecompetition being provided by Mo-torola. Sixth formers at the collegewill also get the chance to developrobots entirely from componentparts, giving them the chance to learnadvanced robotics skills, includingsoldering, circuit board design, in-tegrated circuit power management,and software development.

spiring and exciting. But in an areaknown for its rich engineering his-tory (Brunel and aerospace indus-tries in Filton) Bristol offers a wealthof opportunities to bring the subjectmatter to life and bridge the gapbetween text books and the world ofwo rk .

And the ties between Bristol andengineering have grown evenstronger over the past few years, withthe creation of the Bristol & BathScience Park in Emersons Green andthe opening of the region’s first Uni-versity Technical College (UTC)earlier this month in Stoke Gifford.

The Bristol Technology and En-gineering Academy caters for stu-dents aged 14 to 19 hoping to land acareer in engineering.

Over the last 12 months, schoolsand colleges in Bristol have helpedtheir students learn about STEM sub-jects in a huge variety of ways, mak-ing lessons fun while forging linkswith other educational establish-ments and businesses along the way.

Earlier this year at BlackhorsePrimary in Emersons Green, Aard-man Animations’ character Gromitwas sent into the stratosphere in aproject which made the school thefirst primary in the country toembark on space exploration.

The experiment, which coincidedwith Engineering Week in June, waspart of the school’s drive to encouragemore youngsters to develop a love ofengineering, physics and maths.

Pupils sent a 10cm model of Gromitto the edge of space in a balloon whilea camera filmed the epic journey.

When the model reached the edgeof space, the balloon burst, leavingbrave Gromit to parachute back downto earth.

The recording of Gromit’s amazingadventure was emailed back to theschool where pupils were eagerlyawaiting news.

The school’s head teacher SimonBotten told the Bristol Post at thetime: “Blackhorse Primary recog-nises that it is essential for Bristoland the UK to maintain its position asa world leader in engineering and webelieve that this starts by igniting aspark of interest at a young age.

“The school concluded that itwould need to do something dramaticto inspire a new generation of en-gineers, physicists and mathem-aticians and decided that spaceexploration was something whichwould exceed all expectations.

“We want to teach the children thatengineering, maths and science canquite literally take you anywhere.How better to prove this than byshowing our children that with anunderstanding of science and tech-nology and a bit of ingenuity, it ispossible to send something intos p a c e. ”

Getting older pupils interested inSTEM subjects has been expertlyhandled by Fairfield High School inHorfield. The secondary was handedthe title of “best STEM school in theBristol and Bath region” in 2012.

It is one of the only schools to offeran exclusive maths week featuringpuzzles, competitions, prizes andgames which is run throughout thecurriculum, ensuring links withother subjects are strengthenedwhile encouraging pupils to identifythe underlying role maths plays in awider context.

To keep the subject matter enga-ging to pupils, the school even inviteda theatre company into school. Theproduction from Living Learning onnumber patterns and “ma gic” nu m -bers was so successful it will be re-peated next summer.

Abbeywood and Bradley StokeCommunity Schools are hoping tomake the most of their links with thenew UTC nearby.

Dave Baker, executive head of theschools, said: “Both schools arealready working in partnership withthe UTC through the Concorde Part-nership (a collaboration betweenBradley Stoke, Abbeywood andPatchway schools along with SouthGloucestershire and Stroud College),to ensure that students from all in-stitutions have access to the broadestpossible range of specialist teachingand learning.

“We hope that by working in part-nership, students studyingSTEM-based curriculum at the UTCwill be able to access other subjects inone of the other centres to ensureindividual students can play to theirstrengths and, the other way around,that students based in one of theschools or SGS College can pick up aspecialist STEM-based subject not onoffer in their institution to add totheir other subjects.”

Sam Kent, assistant head at Ab-beywood, said the school had noticeda growing interest in sciences andmaths at A-level, with physics be-coming more popular than it was inthe past. To enrich subjects, students

IT’S widely known that there isa dearth of skilled scientists,engineers, technologists andmathematicians in the UK.People with talent in thosefields are in high demand butthere is a shortage of students

leaving schools, colleges and uni-versities with the relevant knowledgeand skills.

Gearing students up with the ex-perience and competencies is a majorchallenge for education chiefs, whohave been warned that the buoyancyof the nation’s economy could evenhinge on the next generation ofSTEM-skilled staff.

Schools and colleges across theBristol area are placing a far largeremphasis on teaching the STEM sub-jects of science, technology, engin-eering and maths than they did 10years ago.

The biggest task facing them intheir attempt to prepare youngstersfor a career in a technical field isensuring what can be considered dryor dull subjects are engaging, in-

Projects to prove ‘STEM can take you anywhere’

� Insideone of theengineeringrooms atthe BristolTe c h n o l o g yandEngineeringAcademyBRDB20130909D- 006

� PrincipalRhian Priestwith staff on thefirst day at thenew BristolTechnology andEngineeringAcademy atStoke GiffordPhoto: Dave BettsBRDB20130909D-004_C

� The Future Brunels project aims to inspire the engineers of tomorrow – pictured are Ella MayJoseph, Charlie Hall and Tom Lear from Bedminster Down School, Ella Chamberlain, MatthewGalliford and Maia Angel from Cotham School, Kyle Gaffney, Emily Roberts and Hollie Malin fromMerchants Academy, and Charlotte Gale, Ewan Shelley and Fergus Pick from Redland GreenSchool Photo: Jon Kent BRJK20110623B-006_C

� Chancellor George Osborne visits the Bloodhound project at AvonmouthPhoto: Simon Galloway BRSG20130912A-28_C

Marc RathEducation reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

Education for LifeEncouraged to see life as an adventure, our students place great value on their practicaland interpersonal skills, as well as taking pride in their academic success. They grow intoyoung people who are equipped to approach life with optimism and intelligence, happy tomove beyond their comfort zone and excited by challenge.

To find out more about how we combine academic success and personal development,come and visit our school. A wide range of scholarships are available for September 2014 -arts, equestrian, sports and academic.

Open morning - Friday 27 September, 9.30am to noonYear 7 taster evening - Thursday 21 November at 5.30pm

To attend call 01934 845236 or emailrachael.coates@sidcot.co.ukwww.sidcot.org.uk

An independent day and boarding school forboys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Somerset

Visit usWhole School visiting eventsThursday 10 OctoberSaturday 9 Novemberwww.redmaids.co.uk

Red Maids’ trip to Nepal −

trekking through the Himalayas

For more information contact:Junior School 0117 962 9451Senior School 0117 989 8252Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9

Our students leavewith much more thanthe best exam results

EPB-E01-S5

EPB-

E01-

S5

22 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 23Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

BRISTOL University’s GraduateSchool of Education (GSoE) cel-ebrated a century of being top ofthe class this year. The schoolhas come a long way since theu n ive r s i t y ’s senate instigatedthe creation of a single Teachers

Training Board in 1913.Bristol has consistently been in the top 10

English universities for providing teachertraining in recent years and is currentlyranked sixth out of 74 universities.

Some 5,000 teachers have been trained at theGSoE in the past 20 years alone.

Earlier this year, a free festival was held tomark the school’s 100th birthday.

The centenary festival in June brought to-gether some of the country’s leading nationalpolicy figures and gave visitors a chance todebate with the leading minds in the field ofe d u c at i o n .

A specially-commissioned film reflecting onthe history of education at Bristol usingnever-been-shown material from its archiveswas premiered. There were sessions coveringtopics including the brain and education,league tables, education reforms, and the fu-ture of teacher education.

So how does the GSoE plan to continue tostay ahead of the pack in the coming years?

Paul Howard-Jones, GSoE’s director of pub-lic engagement, said the university’s inter-nationally-renowned centre for educationalresearch and closer ties with schools wouldhelp keep it at the forefront of teacher edu-cation. New approaches being used at GoSE –which employs 18 tutors – are giving schoolsgreater control over the training process.

Dr Howard-Jones said: “The research ex-pertise has helped us to consolidate our part-nership with more than 50 local schools whichare part of our long-established University ofBristol PGCE Partnership. The partnershiptrains 200 graduates a year as secondaryschool teachers. But we are also now pilotingnew and innovative pathways for teachertraining. We believe our long-standing com-mitment to the highest standards of teachertraining, combined with our role in cut-ting-edge research, have placed us in auniquely strong position to do this.

“Generally, these new approaches involveschools having increasingly greater controlover the training process.

“For example, we are currently workingwith secondary schools who have been of-ficially designated with a special role in train-ing teachers (referred to as teaching schools) tocombine their experience of classroom-basedpractice with our research-based specialistinput. Our aim here is to offer outstandingbespoke training and experience withinschools for our new trainees, combining thebest of both worlds – in terms of excellentclassroom-based practice and excellent re-search-based understanding.”

The graduate school has also collaboratedwith Teach First, a national teacher trainingcharity which places highly-qualified gradu-ates into schools serving areas of relativelyhigh deprivation.

The organisation began operating in Bristolfor the first time this month, with 32 TeachFirst graduates working in 18 secondary andprimary schools in the city.

Dr Howard-Jones said: “This is an excitingnew initiative for the region and for us, andwill enable us to remain at the forefront ofteacher training in this area.”

On the challenges for the future, the neur-oscience and education masters course co-or-dinator said: “It is really important that wefind ways of informing schools about the newand exciting opportunities that may exist forcollaboration. Also, we have to ensure thosewho may be considering a teaching career areaware of the range of different pathways totheir new profession that are opening up.

“Through collaboration with schools, weaim to apply the highest standards we haveachieved in teacher education and training todevelop new training pathways for teacherswhich are increasingly school-centred but alsof u l ly - informed by the expertise of aresearch-intensive university.

“In short, our target is to work with schoolsto produce excellent teachers.”

Independent education Independent education

Timeline

� Senate instigated the creation ofa single Teachers Training Board atthe university

� Wodehouse pioneers the use ofcontinuous assessment on theDiploma of Education

� Bristol supports throughresearch and teaching thedevelopment of comprehensiveeducation

19 1 3

192 0� Professor Helen Wodehouse,pictured right, becomes the firstfemale professor in the university

192 1

19 4 7� Bristol Institute of Education isformed at the University – c re a t i n ga hub for teacher educationproviders in the West of England

1950 s� High quality initial teachereducation, further professionalstudies, higher degrees andresearch attracts international andregional students

1960 s

1970 s� Bristol pioneers analyses ofprofessionalism and schoolo rg a n i s a t i o n

1980 s� Bristol develops comparativeeducation and internationalpartnerships

1990 s� The first doctorate in Educationin the UK is established at theGraduate School of Education

2000 s� Initial teacher education atBristol is consistently rated byOfsted as “excellent”

Marc RathEducation reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

Celebrating a century at the forefront of training

� Left, traineeteachers at theschool in 1921

� Tutors Ruth Bailey,Helen Aberdeen, DavidKent and Jayne Priorat Bristol University’sGraduate School ofEducation, which iscelebrating itscentenary as well aslooking to the futurePhotos: Dave BettsBRDB20130911C-006_C

� Below, tutorJayne Priorhelps somestudents – theschool trains200 graduatesas secondaryteachers eachyear BRDB20130911C-006_C

“ ...........................................................................................

Our aim is to offer outstanding bespoketraining and experience in schools for newtrainees, combining the best of both worlds– excellent classroom-based practice andexcellent research-based understanding

Dr Paul Howard-Jones.........................................................................................................

“ ............................................................................................

Through collaboration with schools, we aimto apply the highest standards ... In short,our target is to work with schools toproduce excellent teachers

Dr Paul Howard-Jones..........................................................................................................

Open Morning

A co-educational Day and Boarding School with Nurserieswelcoming children from 3months to 13+ years

Saturday 9th November9.30am - 12noon

ALL WELCOME

Please contact the Registrar, St. John’s-on-the-Hill School, Tutshill, Chepstow NP16 7LEt: 01291 622045 email: registrar@stjohnsonthehill.co.uk www.stjohnsonthehill.co.ukRegistered Charity No. 312953

‘Excellent across all areas of school life’ISI Inspection 2012

Chepstow

Photography by Anthony Ball PhotographySchool transport

only £3.00 per day

Friendsh

ips

Advent

ure

Learning

Life changing

www.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk

Open EveningFriday 4 October 20134.00pm–8.00pm

Whole School

To book your place or torequest a prospectus, pleasecall Hollie Skerritt on0117 933 9885.

Infant and Junior School

Open MorningWednesday 18 September 20139.45am–12.00pm

No-one in our Sixth Form College is ever just a face in the crowd. Choosing theInternational Baccalaureate or A levels, you have the freedom to paint your ownpicture and blaze your own trail. Creativity isn’t what you do, it’s how you do it.In the sciences, humanities, classics, mathematics, languages, sport and music as

well as in the arts, young women seize rich opportunities to excel and tobecome extraordinary individuals who can face the world with total confidence.

www.facebook.com/TheRoyalHighSchoolBath @royalhighbath

Lansdown Road, Bath BA1 5SZ Tel: 01225 313877Email: royalhigh@bat.gdst.net www.royalhighbath.gdst.net

Nursery • Junior School • Senior School • Sixth Form College

SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING: TUESDAY 1ST OCTOBER 7PM-9PM

SHARE OUR SUCCESS

OpenMornings

SENIOR Saturday 5 OctoberJUNIOR Saturday 12 October

Headmasters’ talksstart at 10am

No appointment necessary

0117 930 3068 www.qehbristol.co.uk

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22 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 23Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

BRISTOL University’s GraduateSchool of Education (GSoE) cel-ebrated a century of being top ofthe class this year. The schoolhas come a long way since theu n ive r s i t y ’s senate instigatedthe creation of a single Teachers

Training Board in 1913.Bristol has consistently been in the top 10

English universities for providing teachertraining in recent years and is currentlyranked sixth out of 74 universities.

Some 5,000 teachers have been trained at theGSoE in the past 20 years alone.

Earlier this year, a free festival was held tomark the school’s 100th birthday.

The centenary festival in June brought to-gether some of the country’s leading nationalpolicy figures and gave visitors a chance todebate with the leading minds in the field ofe d u c at i o n .

A specially-commissioned film reflecting onthe history of education at Bristol usingnever-been-shown material from its archiveswas premiered. There were sessions coveringtopics including the brain and education,league tables, education reforms, and the fu-ture of teacher education.

So how does the GSoE plan to continue tostay ahead of the pack in the coming years?

Paul Howard-Jones, GSoE’s director of pub-lic engagement, said the university’s inter-nationally-renowned centre for educationalresearch and closer ties with schools wouldhelp keep it at the forefront of teacher edu-cation. New approaches being used at GoSE –which employs 18 tutors – are giving schoolsgreater control over the training process.

Dr Howard-Jones said: “The research ex-pertise has helped us to consolidate our part-nership with more than 50 local schools whichare part of our long-established University ofBristol PGCE Partnership. The partnershiptrains 200 graduates a year as secondaryschool teachers. But we are also now pilotingnew and innovative pathways for teachertraining. We believe our long-standing com-mitment to the highest standards of teachertraining, combined with our role in cut-ting-edge research, have placed us in auniquely strong position to do this.

“Generally, these new approaches involveschools having increasingly greater controlover the training process.

“For example, we are currently workingwith secondary schools who have been of-ficially designated with a special role in train-ing teachers (referred to as teaching schools) tocombine their experience of classroom-basedpractice with our research-based specialistinput. Our aim here is to offer outstandingbespoke training and experience withinschools for our new trainees, combining thebest of both worlds – in terms of excellentclassroom-based practice and excellent re-search-based understanding.”

The graduate school has also collaboratedwith Teach First, a national teacher trainingcharity which places highly-qualified gradu-ates into schools serving areas of relativelyhigh deprivation.

The organisation began operating in Bristolfor the first time this month, with 32 TeachFirst graduates working in 18 secondary andprimary schools in the city.

Dr Howard-Jones said: “This is an excitingnew initiative for the region and for us, andwill enable us to remain at the forefront ofteacher training in this area.”

On the challenges for the future, the neur-oscience and education masters course co-or-dinator said: “It is really important that wefind ways of informing schools about the newand exciting opportunities that may exist forcollaboration. Also, we have to ensure thosewho may be considering a teaching career areaware of the range of different pathways totheir new profession that are opening up.

“Through collaboration with schools, weaim to apply the highest standards we haveachieved in teacher education and training todevelop new training pathways for teacherswhich are increasingly school-centred but alsof u l ly - informed by the expertise of aresearch-intensive university.

“In short, our target is to work with schoolsto produce excellent teachers.”

Independent education Independent education

Timeline

� Senate instigated the creation ofa single Teachers Training Board atthe university

� Wodehouse pioneers the use ofcontinuous assessment on theDiploma of Education

� Bristol supports throughresearch and teaching thedevelopment of comprehensiveeducation

19 1 3

192 0� Professor Helen Wodehouse,pictured right, becomes the firstfemale professor in the university

192 1

19 4 7� Bristol Institute of Education isformed at the University – c re a t i n ga hub for teacher educationproviders in the West of England

1950 s� High quality initial teachereducation, further professionalstudies, higher degrees andresearch attracts international andregional students

1960 s

1970 s� Bristol pioneers analyses ofprofessionalism and schoolo rg a n i s a t i o n

1980 s� Bristol develops comparativeeducation and internationalpartnerships

1990 s� The first doctorate in Educationin the UK is established at theGraduate School of Education

2000 s� Initial teacher education atBristol is consistently rated byOfsted as “excellent”

Marc RathEducation reportermarc.rath@b-nm.co.uk

Read Marc’s stories byfollowing MarcRath atw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k

Celebrating a century at the forefront of training

� Left, traineeteachers at theschool in 1921

� Tutors Ruth Bailey,Helen Aberdeen, DavidKent and Jayne Priorat Bristol University’sGraduate School ofEducation, which iscelebrating itscentenary as well aslooking to the futurePhotos: Dave BettsBRDB20130911C-006_C

� Below, tutorJayne Priorhelps somestudents – theschool trains200 graduatesas secondaryteachers eachyear BRDB20130911C-006_C

“ ...........................................................................................

Our aim is to offer outstanding bespoketraining and experience in schools for newtrainees, combining the best of both worlds– excellent classroom-based practice andexcellent research-based understanding

Dr Paul Howard-Jones.........................................................................................................

“ ............................................................................................

Through collaboration with schools, we aimto apply the highest standards ... In short,our target is to work with schools toproduce excellent teachers

Dr Paul Howard-Jones..........................................................................................................

Open Morning

A co-educational Day and Boarding School with Nurserieswelcoming children from 3months to 13+ years

Saturday 9th November9.30am - 12noon

ALL WELCOME

Please contact the Registrar, St. John’s-on-the-Hill School, Tutshill, Chepstow NP16 7LEt: 01291 622045 email: registrar@stjohnsonthehill.co.uk www.stjohnsonthehill.co.ukRegistered Charity No. 312953

‘Excellent across all areas of school life’ISI Inspection 2012

Chepstow

Photography by Anthony Ball PhotographySchool transport

only £3.00 per day

Friendsh

ips

Advent

ure

Learning

Life changing

www.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk

Open EveningFriday 4 October 20134.00pm–8.00pm

Whole School

To book your place or torequest a prospectus, pleasecall Hollie Skerritt on0117 933 9885.

Infant and Junior School

Open MorningWednesday 18 September 20139.45am–12.00pm

No-one in our Sixth Form College is ever just a face in the crowd. Choosing theInternational Baccalaureate or A levels, you have the freedom to paint your ownpicture and blaze your own trail. Creativity isn’t what you do, it’s how you do it.In the sciences, humanities, classics, mathematics, languages, sport and music as

well as in the arts, young women seize rich opportunities to excel and tobecome extraordinary individuals who can face the world with total confidence.

www.facebook.com/TheRoyalHighSchoolBath @royalhighbath

Lansdown Road, Bath BA1 5SZ Tel: 01225 313877Email: royalhigh@bat.gdst.net www.royalhighbath.gdst.net

Nursery • Junior School • Senior School • Sixth Form College

SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING: TUESDAY 1ST OCTOBER 7PM-9PM

SHARE OUR SUCCESS

OpenMornings

SENIOR Saturday 5 OctoberJUNIOR Saturday 12 October

Headmasters’ talksstart at 10am

No appointment necessary

0117 930 3068 www.qehbristol.co.uk

EPB-E01-S5

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24 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 25Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

ABBEYWOOD Com-munity School andBradley Stoke Com-munity School havebeen working togeth-er within The Olym-pus Academy Trust

(OAT) since January 2013, buildingon a partnership which was in placeduring 2012.

The exam results this summerdemonstrated that OAT’s aim to cre-ate consistency and share best prac-tice between its schools through ashared leadership structure is start-ing to pay dividends.

A-level resultswere the bestever in bothschools, withsome amazingindividual per-formances and aclear benefitfrom workingwithin the Con-corde Partner-ship, withPatchway Community College andSouth Gloucestershire and StroudCollege for shared timetable andcourses at Key Stage 4 and post-16.

However, the real progress wasevident at GCSE, where results inboth schools showed the greatest im-provement within the whole of SouthGloucestershire and bucked a nation-al downward trend.

Abbeywood recorded by far its bestever results, with 60 per cent of stu-dents achieving the gold standard ofat least five GCSEs, including Englishand maths, at grades A*-C, and 83 percent achieving at least five A*-Cgrades (compared with 47 per centand 78 per cent in 2012).

Bradley Stoke bounced back aftersuffering from a maths problem in2012 to record creditable scores of 66per cent achieving at least fiveGCSEs, including English and maths,at grades A*-C, and 91 per centachieving at least five A*-C grades(compared with 58 per cent and 92 percent in 2012).

These results place both schoolsamong the highest performers inSouth Gloucestershire and pave theway for further increases next yearand beyond.

We are fortunate to have stronggovernance at both school andacademy trust level, which was com-mented on by Ofsted earlier this year,and there is a clear sense of purposeand ambition in both schools to im-prove the educational experiencesand outcomes for young people in thelocal area.

Bradley Stoke Community School– Associate Head Teacher JennySutton KirbyAT BradleyStoke Com-munity Schoolwe are proud ofthe way inwhich we con-stantly updateour teachingmethods andcurriculum inorder to meetthe needs and

Meet the heads Meet the heads

reflect the aspirations of our stu-d e n t s.

The recent Ofsted report (April2013) highlights the positive ap-proach to learning that we foster inour young people.

The report said: “Students are mo-tivated by enthusiastic teachers, whohave strong subject knowledge anduse a variety of teaching methods andresources to help the students tolearn and achieve well.”

We are constantly challengingourselves to ensure we know anddevelop each student as an individu-al, and the Ofsted inspectors added:“Teachers know how well each stu-dent is doing and provide additionalchallenge when they think studentscould do better.”

Behaviour in school is outstandingand this clearly contributes to boththe academic and social learning thattakes place in and out of theclassroom. The report said: “Stu-dents’ behaviour is outstanding andthey feel very safe. They have anexcellent understanding of thes ch o o l ’s high expectations of beha-viour and students’ attitudes to oth-ers are first rate.”

We actively engage with par-ents/carers and endeavour to achieveeffective, supportive relationships

learners and active members of theirc o m m u n i t y.

We strive to always make learningfun and challenging and are ded-icated to developing students who arethe embodiment of our vision andvalues; independent, well-rounded,compassionate, tolerant, creative andconfident young people.

For further information, call 01454868840, or see www.bradle ystokec s. o rg. u k .

Abbeywood Community School –Associate Head TeacherJudith MeeA B B E Y WO O DCommunitySchool is thriv-ing under itsmembership ofthe OlympusAcademy Trust.It is a vibrant,exciting andsafe learninge nv i ro n m e n t .Staff, studentsand governors are confident that theimprovement, validated by Ofstedmonitoring visits, is sustainable.

Ofsted commented on “the drive,vision and effective support” of theleadership as “central to the improve-ments before and after academy con-ve r s i o n ”.

We have “raised the bar,” with con-sistently high expectations about be-haviour, appearance and thedevelopment of successful learners.

Ofsted said: “Staff and studentsconfirm that the school is a calm andpurposeful community.”

This has been fundamental to theremarkable 2013 GCSE and A-levelresults. In June, Ofsted said: “Im-provements in students’ at t a i n m e n tand progress are the result of bettert e a ch i n g . ”

I am very proud of the school’sgrowing reputation for enabling stu-dents of all abilities to reach theirpotential. Our talented and motivatedstaff provide high quality learningexperiences and a wide range ofextra-curricular activities.

More than £7,000 was raised forcharity during the last academicyear, a testimony to the considerationfor others and generosity of ourschool community. We have a veryproactive Friends of AbbeywoodCommunity School (a rarity for asecondary school), termly ParentForum meetings and an Alumni As-sociation, all making valuable con-tributions to the development of thes ch o o l .

Outstanding teaching and learningwill take the school to the next level,ensuring our students developlife-long learning skills and havehigh aspirations for university ande m p l oy m e n t .

We are determined to improve ourlinks with local businesses and pre-pare our students for life in a com-petitive, global economy. Ofsted notedthe progress: “The culture of aspir-ation, greater expectation and par-ticipation by staff and students isfirmly established.”

For further information, call 0117307 5660, or see www.abbe ywoods ch o o l . c o m .

SINCE her time at Patch-way Community Col-lege, Jane Millicent hasmoved the school tofurther and furthersuccess, as recognisedby last year’s “good”

Ofsted grading. She says: “Pat ch w ayCommunity College is a fantasticplace to be part of, and I am veryproud to be the head teacher of aschool which is so successful andcaring and which provides such goodopportunities for students.”

Ofsted inspectors in October 2012said: “The passion of the head teach-er, supported by leaders and staff, isensuring that there is a continuousdrive for improvement,” and that“regardless of their starting points,ability or special educational needs,all groups of students make betterprogress than their peers nation-a l ly ”.

Jane Millicent adds: “I am espe-cially proud of the progress of stu-dents during their time at Patchway,whatever their ability. Staff person-alise their lessons to the needs of eachstudent so that all can achieve theirbest and help to secure their bestpossible future.”

Pat ch w ay ’s Ofsted report alsopraised the learning environment.

It said: “Students behave well, feelsafe and are happy to learn,” and that“students have a very positive at-titude towards their learning andwant to achieve”.

Mrs Millicent further reflected on

the Ofsted visit, commenting that thereport highlighted that “ef fectiveteamwork fosters good relationshipswithin the school and is a feature ofits success”.

She said: “Teamwork is such a cent-ral part of our ethos. Our success isachieved through genuine partner-ship between enthusiastic students,dedicated and inspirational teachers

Exam success paves wayfor even more progress

The Olympus Academy Trust – Executive Head Teacher, Dave Baker

Patchway Community College – Jane Millicent

Staff and pupils’teamwork is thekey to success

Students encouragedto strive for excellence

St Bede’s Catholic College – Catherine Hughes

IF you are looking for a greateducation for your child withina Christian environment, youneed look no further than StBede’s Catholic College. It ismy privilege to be principal ofthis wonderful place of

lear ning.The secondary school a child

attends is likely to leave a lastingimpression, so choosing the right oneis probably one of the most importantdecisions parents will make.

There is much information avail-able about schools which can be help-ful, but there is no substitute forvisiting and absorbing the cultureand climate of a particular place oflear ning.

St Bede’s has much to offer parentswho seek for their child an excellenteducation based on Christian values,within a thriving community.

The climate for learning isoutstanding. Visitors comment on acalm and industrious environment,where it is evident that all youngpeople are valued, stimulated andchallenged to develop their talents tothe full, whatever their ability.

They are encouraged to strive forexcellence in all that they do so thatthey reach the highest academic,spiritual and personal standards ofwhich they are capable. Achievementand effort are valued and celebrated.There are numerous co-curricular

opportunities which further enableour young people to develop theirself-worth, esteem, confidence andinde pendence.

The reputation of the collegelocally and nationally is excellent.Ofsted judged the college to be“outstanding” and this can be evid-enced throughout.

Standards achieved over the yearshave resulted in us being awarded“high-performing specialist school”and “leading edge” status and re-cognition as a national supportschool for the National College forTeaching and Leadership. We startthis year having been nominated as aYouth Sport Trust gold partner andBeacon School for holocaust educa-tion.

Our sixth form, offering a range ofAS and A-levels, opened in September

and, when fully established, has thecapacity for 200 students. Although anumber of these will come from StBede’s, an admission number of 20has been set for young people fromother institutions. Students in thesixth form benefit from thewell-structured learning environ-ment and are inspired to developtheir gifts and talents so that theybecome well-rounded and well-groun-ded adults, who will ultimately makea difference within society and walktall.

Staff are committed to developingthemselves professionally for the be-nefit of the children. Imaginativeteaching combined with opportun-ities for independent learning enableall to make excellent progress. Lead-ership within the classroom andbeyond inspires pupils to achievechallenging targets.

Examination results place thecollege among the top-performingschools in the country and clearlythis will be an important aspect ofp a re n t s ’ decision-making whenlooking at secondary level education.As important as exams are, educationat St Bede’s is about much more thanresults, which you will find when youvisit this vibrant community andmeet our children and staff.

For further information, call 0117377 2200, or see w w w. s t b e d e s c a t h o l i ccolle ge.org.

“ ...............................................................

The passion of the headteacher, supported by leadersand staff, is ensuring that thereis a continuous drive forimprovement... regardless oftheir starting points, ability orspecial educational needs, allgroups of students make betterprogress than their peersnationally

Ofsted............................................................................

and supportive parents, with goodrelationships at the heart of all wed o. ”

Patchway Community Collegeopen evening is on September 24,with talks from the head teacher at6.15pm and 7.15pm. For further in-formation, call 01454 862020, or seewww.patchw ay cc.com.

Providing soundfoundation forfuture learning

QEH Juniors – Martin Morris

QEH Junior Schoolheadmaster MartinMorris is very proudof its growing pop-ularity. He explains:“Such is the popular-ity of QEH Juniors

that last year we expanded it from ouroriginal 75 pupils to more than 100.

“Although QEH only opened thejunior school in 2007, it has remainedsmall enough to guarantee a happy,enriched educational experience forthe boys. We share the strong ethosand values of the senior school, whileretaining our own individual iden-t i t y.

“A key aim is to develop each boy’spersonal qualities, provide a soundfoundation for his future, and ensurethat every boy leaves recognisinghimself as a lifelong learner. We areparticularly keen to break out fromthe traditional idea of the four-walledclassroom, and make our classroomthe wider world.”

Mr Morris believes that QEH Ju-nior School is unique, with BrandonHill and the outstanding attributes ofBristol’s culture and education righton the doorstep. This helps foster adeep love of learning, while nurtur-ing the interests and talents of boys.

He continues: “In Years 4, 5 and 6,our teaching is subject-based, whichprepares our 40 Year 6 boys to moveon to QEH Seniors, secure in know-ledge and understanding of the com-plexities of the world around them.”

Pastoral care and standards of aca-demic excellence are strong, andequally high standards in drama,

sport and music mean a top-quality,well-rounded education for the boys.

In recent years, the swimming,rugby and football teams havereached the national finals, and thiswinter the school will be performingat the Tobacco Factory as part of theShakespeare Festival.

The school has developed theunique QE Award – a junior versionof the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.Boys engage in extra-curricularactivities, including public perform-ance, community work and physicalrecreation, as well as taking part in

“ ...............................................................

We are particularly keen tobreak out from the traditionalidea of the four-walledclassroom, and make ourclassroom the wider world

Martin Morris............................................................................

expeditions and camps. A furtherpopular feature of QEH Juniors isthat it offers pre-and after-school careuntil 6pm. Mr Morris says: “Pa re n t stell me they really welcome avalue-for-money approach to fees anda service that recognises and accom-modates their own busy schedulesand careers.”

Prospective parents can visit dur-ing an open morning on Saturday,October 12. For more details, call 0117930 3068, or see w w w. q e h b r i s t o l . c o. u k .

“ ...............................................................

We are fortunate to havestrong governance at bothschool and academy trust level,which was commented on byOfsted earlier this year, andthere is a clear sense ofpurpose and ambition in bothschools to improve theeducational experiences andoutcomes for young people inthe local areaDave Baker, Olympus Academy

Trust Executive Head Teacher............................................................................

which can be built on through ouropen, frequent and honest commu-n i c at i o n .

We work hard to provide oppor-tunities for our students to be in-volved in community work, such ascharity fundraising and an enviablerange of enrichment activities, in-cluding sports, cultural and artsa c t iv i t i e s.

We are keen that they are fullyengaged and equipped to think aboutand shape their own opinions aboutissues affecting local, national andglobal communities.

Ofsted noted that: “Provision forstudents’ spiritual, moral, social andcultural development is outstandingand ensures that students developinto highly informed and reflectiveyoung people.”

We also encourage our students tomake sure their voice is heard, notonly in lessons but in respect of widerschool matters; all this serves to helpus promote their leadership skillsand to help them all achieve a clearunderstanding of themselves as

THE North Bristol Post-16Centre, which is madeup of two learning com-munities, one at CothamSchool and the other atRedland Green, is proudto offer opportunity and

achievement to all students that cometo the centre, be it through tradi-tional A level-based courses, morevocational BTEC courses or throughthe academic Cambridge Pre-U, oreven a combination of all.

In addition to outstanding results(99 per cent pass rate), our studentsget the outcomes they need in order toachieve their future aspirations.Over half of our students will begoing on to study at Russell Groupuniversities this year and allachieved grades that have enabledthem to take up places at their firstchoice higher education destination.

Fourteen students this year will betaking up their offers of places atOxford and Cambridge and nine willbegin courses in medicine anddentistry. Students were also highlysuccessful in their BTEC courses,securing a 100 per cent pass rate.

This year we have also seen a risein the number of students gaining

places on competitive and highlyprestigious apprentice schemes.

These results demonstrate that thecentre is continuously providinghigh quality education to all studentsin Bristol and the wider Bristol areaand, more importantly, that students

Centre offers opportunityand achievement to all

The North Bristol Post-16 Centre – Director, Marian Curran

feel challenged and supported toachieve their very best.

The team at the North BristolPost-16 Centre is led by MarianCurran, director of the centre, whojoined at the beginning of 2010, hav-ing previously worked at WoottonBasset School in Wiltshire for morethan seven years.

The North Bristol Post-16 Centre isan extremely successful place, with agood reputation. Marian said: I amkeen to build on that, especially withour parents and students. I want allour students, who join us from part-ner schools and the wider Bristolarea, to think of their time here withus as the best two years of their life.

“Our curriculum is inclusive andoffers a variety of GCSE equivalents,BTECs, and a range of AS and A2qualifications. We believe that edu-cation is about the whole person, sowe offer wider experiences andopportunities, which help all ourstudents become successful 21st-cen-tury citizens ready and equipped fortheir future.”

For further information, call0117 919 8100 (Cotham) or 0117 353 3433(Redland), or see our websitew w w. n b p 1 6 c . o rg. u k .

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24 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 25Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

ABBEYWOOD Com-munity School andBradley Stoke Com-munity School havebeen working togeth-er within The Olym-pus Academy Trust

(OAT) since January 2013, buildingon a partnership which was in placeduring 2012.

The exam results this summerdemonstrated that OAT’s aim to cre-ate consistency and share best prac-tice between its schools through ashared leadership structure is start-ing to pay dividends.

A-level resultswere the bestever in bothschools, withsome amazingindividual per-formances and aclear benefitfrom workingwithin the Con-corde Partner-ship, withPatchway Community College andSouth Gloucestershire and StroudCollege for shared timetable andcourses at Key Stage 4 and post-16.

However, the real progress wasevident at GCSE, where results inboth schools showed the greatest im-provement within the whole of SouthGloucestershire and bucked a nation-al downward trend.

Abbeywood recorded by far its bestever results, with 60 per cent of stu-dents achieving the gold standard ofat least five GCSEs, including Englishand maths, at grades A*-C, and 83 percent achieving at least five A*-Cgrades (compared with 47 per centand 78 per cent in 2012).

Bradley Stoke bounced back aftersuffering from a maths problem in2012 to record creditable scores of 66per cent achieving at least fiveGCSEs, including English and maths,at grades A*-C, and 91 per centachieving at least five A*-C grades(compared with 58 per cent and 92 percent in 2012).

These results place both schoolsamong the highest performers inSouth Gloucestershire and pave theway for further increases next yearand beyond.

We are fortunate to have stronggovernance at both school andacademy trust level, which was com-mented on by Ofsted earlier this year,and there is a clear sense of purposeand ambition in both schools to im-prove the educational experiencesand outcomes for young people in thelocal area.

Bradley Stoke Community School– Associate Head Teacher JennySutton KirbyAT BradleyStoke Com-munity Schoolwe are proud ofthe way inwhich we con-stantly updateour teachingmethods andcurriculum inorder to meetthe needs and

Meet the heads Meet the heads

reflect the aspirations of our stu-d e n t s.

The recent Ofsted report (April2013) highlights the positive ap-proach to learning that we foster inour young people.

The report said: “Students are mo-tivated by enthusiastic teachers, whohave strong subject knowledge anduse a variety of teaching methods andresources to help the students tolearn and achieve well.”

We are constantly challengingourselves to ensure we know anddevelop each student as an individu-al, and the Ofsted inspectors added:“Teachers know how well each stu-dent is doing and provide additionalchallenge when they think studentscould do better.”

Behaviour in school is outstandingand this clearly contributes to boththe academic and social learning thattakes place in and out of theclassroom. The report said: “Stu-dents’ behaviour is outstanding andthey feel very safe. They have anexcellent understanding of thes ch o o l ’s high expectations of beha-viour and students’ attitudes to oth-ers are first rate.”

We actively engage with par-ents/carers and endeavour to achieveeffective, supportive relationships

learners and active members of theirc o m m u n i t y.

We strive to always make learningfun and challenging and are ded-icated to developing students who arethe embodiment of our vision andvalues; independent, well-rounded,compassionate, tolerant, creative andconfident young people.

For further information, call 01454868840, or see www.bradle ystokec s. o rg. u k .

Abbeywood Community School –Associate Head TeacherJudith MeeA B B E Y WO O DCommunitySchool is thriv-ing under itsmembership ofthe OlympusAcademy Trust.It is a vibrant,exciting andsafe learninge nv i ro n m e n t .Staff, studentsand governors are confident that theimprovement, validated by Ofstedmonitoring visits, is sustainable.

Ofsted commented on “the drive,vision and effective support” of theleadership as “central to the improve-ments before and after academy con-ve r s i o n ”.

We have “raised the bar,” with con-sistently high expectations about be-haviour, appearance and thedevelopment of successful learners.

Ofsted said: “Staff and studentsconfirm that the school is a calm andpurposeful community.”

This has been fundamental to theremarkable 2013 GCSE and A-levelresults. In June, Ofsted said: “Im-provements in students’ at t a i n m e n tand progress are the result of bettert e a ch i n g . ”

I am very proud of the school’sgrowing reputation for enabling stu-dents of all abilities to reach theirpotential. Our talented and motivatedstaff provide high quality learningexperiences and a wide range ofextra-curricular activities.

More than £7,000 was raised forcharity during the last academicyear, a testimony to the considerationfor others and generosity of ourschool community. We have a veryproactive Friends of AbbeywoodCommunity School (a rarity for asecondary school), termly ParentForum meetings and an Alumni As-sociation, all making valuable con-tributions to the development of thes ch o o l .

Outstanding teaching and learningwill take the school to the next level,ensuring our students developlife-long learning skills and havehigh aspirations for university ande m p l oy m e n t .

We are determined to improve ourlinks with local businesses and pre-pare our students for life in a com-petitive, global economy. Ofsted notedthe progress: “The culture of aspir-ation, greater expectation and par-ticipation by staff and students isfirmly established.”

For further information, call 0117307 5660, or see www.abbe ywoods ch o o l . c o m .

SINCE her time at Patch-way Community Col-lege, Jane Millicent hasmoved the school tofurther and furthersuccess, as recognisedby last year’s “good”

Ofsted grading. She says: “Pat ch w ayCommunity College is a fantasticplace to be part of, and I am veryproud to be the head teacher of aschool which is so successful andcaring and which provides such goodopportunities for students.”

Ofsted inspectors in October 2012said: “The passion of the head teach-er, supported by leaders and staff, isensuring that there is a continuousdrive for improvement,” and that“regardless of their starting points,ability or special educational needs,all groups of students make betterprogress than their peers nation-a l ly ”.

Jane Millicent adds: “I am espe-cially proud of the progress of stu-dents during their time at Patchway,whatever their ability. Staff person-alise their lessons to the needs of eachstudent so that all can achieve theirbest and help to secure their bestpossible future.”

Pat ch w ay ’s Ofsted report alsopraised the learning environment.

It said: “Students behave well, feelsafe and are happy to learn,” and that“students have a very positive at-titude towards their learning andwant to achieve”.

Mrs Millicent further reflected on

the Ofsted visit, commenting that thereport highlighted that “ef fectiveteamwork fosters good relationshipswithin the school and is a feature ofits success”.

She said: “Teamwork is such a cent-ral part of our ethos. Our success isachieved through genuine partner-ship between enthusiastic students,dedicated and inspirational teachers

Exam success paves wayfor even more progress

The Olympus Academy Trust – Executive Head Teacher, Dave Baker

Patchway Community College – Jane Millicent

Staff and pupils’teamwork is thekey to success

Students encouragedto strive for excellence

St Bede’s Catholic College – Catherine Hughes

IF you are looking for a greateducation for your child withina Christian environment, youneed look no further than StBede’s Catholic College. It ismy privilege to be principal ofthis wonderful place of

lear ning.The secondary school a child

attends is likely to leave a lastingimpression, so choosing the right oneis probably one of the most importantdecisions parents will make.

There is much information avail-able about schools which can be help-ful, but there is no substitute forvisiting and absorbing the cultureand climate of a particular place oflear ning.

St Bede’s has much to offer parentswho seek for their child an excellenteducation based on Christian values,within a thriving community.

The climate for learning isoutstanding. Visitors comment on acalm and industrious environment,where it is evident that all youngpeople are valued, stimulated andchallenged to develop their talents tothe full, whatever their ability.

They are encouraged to strive forexcellence in all that they do so thatthey reach the highest academic,spiritual and personal standards ofwhich they are capable. Achievementand effort are valued and celebrated.There are numerous co-curricular

opportunities which further enableour young people to develop theirself-worth, esteem, confidence andinde pendence.

The reputation of the collegelocally and nationally is excellent.Ofsted judged the college to be“outstanding” and this can be evid-enced throughout.

Standards achieved over the yearshave resulted in us being awarded“high-performing specialist school”and “leading edge” status and re-cognition as a national supportschool for the National College forTeaching and Leadership. We startthis year having been nominated as aYouth Sport Trust gold partner andBeacon School for holocaust educa-tion.

Our sixth form, offering a range ofAS and A-levels, opened in September

and, when fully established, has thecapacity for 200 students. Although anumber of these will come from StBede’s, an admission number of 20has been set for young people fromother institutions. Students in thesixth form benefit from thewell-structured learning environ-ment and are inspired to developtheir gifts and talents so that theybecome well-rounded and well-groun-ded adults, who will ultimately makea difference within society and walktall.

Staff are committed to developingthemselves professionally for the be-nefit of the children. Imaginativeteaching combined with opportun-ities for independent learning enableall to make excellent progress. Lead-ership within the classroom andbeyond inspires pupils to achievechallenging targets.

Examination results place thecollege among the top-performingschools in the country and clearlythis will be an important aspect ofp a re n t s ’ decision-making whenlooking at secondary level education.As important as exams are, educationat St Bede’s is about much more thanresults, which you will find when youvisit this vibrant community andmeet our children and staff.

For further information, call 0117377 2200, or see w w w. s t b e d e s c a t h o l i ccolle ge.org.

“ ...............................................................

The passion of the headteacher, supported by leadersand staff, is ensuring that thereis a continuous drive forimprovement... regardless oftheir starting points, ability orspecial educational needs, allgroups of students make betterprogress than their peersnationally

Ofsted............................................................................

and supportive parents, with goodrelationships at the heart of all wed o. ”

Patchway Community Collegeopen evening is on September 24,with talks from the head teacher at6.15pm and 7.15pm. For further in-formation, call 01454 862020, or seewww.patchw ay cc.com.

Providing soundfoundation forfuture learning

QEH Juniors – Martin Morris

QEH Junior Schoolheadmaster MartinMorris is very proudof its growing pop-ularity. He explains:“Such is the popular-ity of QEH Juniors

that last year we expanded it from ouroriginal 75 pupils to more than 100.

“Although QEH only opened thejunior school in 2007, it has remainedsmall enough to guarantee a happy,enriched educational experience forthe boys. We share the strong ethosand values of the senior school, whileretaining our own individual iden-t i t y.

“A key aim is to develop each boy’spersonal qualities, provide a soundfoundation for his future, and ensurethat every boy leaves recognisinghimself as a lifelong learner. We areparticularly keen to break out fromthe traditional idea of the four-walledclassroom, and make our classroomthe wider world.”

Mr Morris believes that QEH Ju-nior School is unique, with BrandonHill and the outstanding attributes ofBristol’s culture and education righton the doorstep. This helps foster adeep love of learning, while nurtur-ing the interests and talents of boys.

He continues: “In Years 4, 5 and 6,our teaching is subject-based, whichprepares our 40 Year 6 boys to moveon to QEH Seniors, secure in know-ledge and understanding of the com-plexities of the world around them.”

Pastoral care and standards of aca-demic excellence are strong, andequally high standards in drama,

sport and music mean a top-quality,well-rounded education for the boys.

In recent years, the swimming,rugby and football teams havereached the national finals, and thiswinter the school will be performingat the Tobacco Factory as part of theShakespeare Festival.

The school has developed theunique QE Award – a junior versionof the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.Boys engage in extra-curricularactivities, including public perform-ance, community work and physicalrecreation, as well as taking part in

“ ...............................................................

We are particularly keen tobreak out from the traditionalidea of the four-walledclassroom, and make ourclassroom the wider world

Martin Morris............................................................................

expeditions and camps. A furtherpopular feature of QEH Juniors isthat it offers pre-and after-school careuntil 6pm. Mr Morris says: “Pa re n t stell me they really welcome avalue-for-money approach to fees anda service that recognises and accom-modates their own busy schedulesand careers.”

Prospective parents can visit dur-ing an open morning on Saturday,October 12. For more details, call 0117930 3068, or see w w w. q e h b r i s t o l . c o. u k .

“ ...............................................................

We are fortunate to havestrong governance at bothschool and academy trust level,which was commented on byOfsted earlier this year, andthere is a clear sense ofpurpose and ambition in bothschools to improve theeducational experiences andoutcomes for young people inthe local areaDave Baker, Olympus Academy

Trust Executive Head Teacher............................................................................

which can be built on through ouropen, frequent and honest commu-n i c at i o n .

We work hard to provide oppor-tunities for our students to be in-volved in community work, such ascharity fundraising and an enviablerange of enrichment activities, in-cluding sports, cultural and artsa c t iv i t i e s.

We are keen that they are fullyengaged and equipped to think aboutand shape their own opinions aboutissues affecting local, national andglobal communities.

Ofsted noted that: “Provision forstudents’ spiritual, moral, social andcultural development is outstandingand ensures that students developinto highly informed and reflectiveyoung people.”

We also encourage our students tomake sure their voice is heard, notonly in lessons but in respect of widerschool matters; all this serves to helpus promote their leadership skillsand to help them all achieve a clearunderstanding of themselves as

THE North Bristol Post-16Centre, which is madeup of two learning com-munities, one at CothamSchool and the other atRedland Green, is proudto offer opportunity and

achievement to all students that cometo the centre, be it through tradi-tional A level-based courses, morevocational BTEC courses or throughthe academic Cambridge Pre-U, oreven a combination of all.

In addition to outstanding results(99 per cent pass rate), our studentsget the outcomes they need in order toachieve their future aspirations.Over half of our students will begoing on to study at Russell Groupuniversities this year and allachieved grades that have enabledthem to take up places at their firstchoice higher education destination.

Fourteen students this year will betaking up their offers of places atOxford and Cambridge and nine willbegin courses in medicine anddentistry. Students were also highlysuccessful in their BTEC courses,securing a 100 per cent pass rate.

This year we have also seen a risein the number of students gaining

places on competitive and highlyprestigious apprentice schemes.

These results demonstrate that thecentre is continuously providinghigh quality education to all studentsin Bristol and the wider Bristol areaand, more importantly, that students

Centre offers opportunityand achievement to all

The North Bristol Post-16 Centre – Director, Marian Curran

feel challenged and supported toachieve their very best.

The team at the North BristolPost-16 Centre is led by MarianCurran, director of the centre, whojoined at the beginning of 2010, hav-ing previously worked at WoottonBasset School in Wiltshire for morethan seven years.

The North Bristol Post-16 Centre isan extremely successful place, with agood reputation. Marian said: I amkeen to build on that, especially withour parents and students. I want allour students, who join us from part-ner schools and the wider Bristolarea, to think of their time here withus as the best two years of their life.

“Our curriculum is inclusive andoffers a variety of GCSE equivalents,BTECs, and a range of AS and A2qualifications. We believe that edu-cation is about the whole person, sowe offer wider experiences andopportunities, which help all ourstudents become successful 21st-cen-tury citizens ready and equipped fortheir future.”

For further information, call0117 919 8100 (Cotham) or 0117 353 3433(Redland), or see our websitew w w. n b p 1 6 c . o rg. u k .

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26 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 27Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Meet the heads Meet the heads

Happy children creatinga real buzz about school

We want everyyoung person toreach their best

IT is an incredible privilege tobe the principal of OasisAcademy John Williams inHengrove. Our passion is forlearning and our aim is simple;we want every young person toachieve their personal best,

whatever their talents or ambitions.Set in the belief that everyone is

capable of remarkable success, westrive to deliver an outstanding, en-joyable and relevant education forall.

Since opening in 2008, our resultshave improved year on year. From 18per cent in 2008, this year 52 per centof our Year 11 students achieved fiveA*-C grades, including English andmaths, and 97 per cent achieved fiveA*-C GCSE grades.

In Year 13, we secured a 100 per centpass rate, with 78 per cent achievingA-B grades at A level. Both our GCSEand A-level results are testimony tothe hard work, commitment and de-termination of our entire community– students, parents and staff.

When Ofsted visited in January2013, inspectors recognised the pro-gress we had made, judging us to be a“good” school with “outstanding”leadership and management. The re-port specifically noted the acceler-ated improvement in results, the highstandards of teaching and learning,the high expectation for students’work and behaviour and our determ-

ination and capacity to continue toi m p rove.

Inspectors described our academyas a calm and purposeful school,which is a friendly and welcomingplace for staff, students and visitorsalike. The team also praised the waythat students get on well together andare courteous and polite.

This September we welcomedmore than 160 students into Year 7and we are full in both the currentYear 7 and 8.

Proud to be in state-of-the-art build-ings, we work hard to capitalise onthe opportunities presented. Fromour fully equipped theatre to the pro-fessional dance studios, in-dustry-standard TV and radiostudios and fitness centre, weencourage all of our students toaccess the widest range of exper-i e n c e s.

We also create opportunitiesoutside the formal education setting,which during this year include a skitrip to France, an art and languagestrip to Barcelona and an Auschwitzvisit, in addition to our more localand national experiences.

I understand that, as a parent,choosing a school for your child isone of the most difficult andimportant decisions you will make.

For information about open events,call 01275 832883, or see w w w. o a s -isacadem yjohnwilliams.org.

AS I show parentsaround our school, thecomment I hear mostoften is that theysense a buzz about theplace. Because I’mprivileged to work

among our young students on a dailybasis, I know that the buzz thesevisitors experience is generated bytalented, able, interested children,who are excited about, and engagedwith, what’s going on both in theirclassrooms and in the wide variety ofother co-curricular activities whichare on offer to them.

During this past year, the buzz wasparticularly evident when we wereawarded a platinum “Sing-Up” aw a rdin recognition of the way that singingpermeates every aspect of our schoollife: the judge referred to it as the“glue” that binds together a happys ch o o l .

There was a similar buzz when theLord Mayor of Bristol came to visitand the children were so demon-strably proud to share what they weredoing with someone they recognisedas a special visitor and an importantfigure in the life of their city.

Finally, there was not just a meta-phorical, but a real buzz about theschool during our special wildlife

week, when our students were able togain first-hand experience of bugsand beasties of all types.

Exciting, surprising, risky, challen-ging: learning at Bristol GrammarInfants and Juniors is all of thesethings. Put quite simply, though, we

believe the best learning of all is thesort of learning you don’t want to stop– and that’s what really creates abu z z .

For further information, call 0117973 6006, or see www.bristolg rammars ch o o l . c o. u k .

Bristol Grammar Infants and Juniors – Peter Huckle

Oasis Academy John Williams – Victoria Boomer

Pushing our students to want to succeedOasis Academy Brightstowe – Matt Butler

No limits on the possibilities in educationCity Academy – Gill Kelly

BEING the principal ofBristol’s first academyis a privilege and anhonour. In this year, thetenth anniversary ofour establishment, weare celebrating contin-

ued improvements in educational ex-periences and outcomes for ours t u d e n t s.

Some of the highlights this summerinclude Adam Smith securing hisplace at Wadham College, Oxford Uni-versity, to study physics and SunchiChen achieving six A*s, four As andAS mathematics, as well as manyother students who are going on totheir chosen pathway to further suc-c e s s.

The reward I get from seeing chil-dren flourish is the reason I came intoeducation. I left my job as an artgallery manager to join the teachingprofession, as my values are firmlyrooted in my sense of responsibilityto others.

I am fortunate to have been giventhe opportunity to work in a rich,diverse community, which exempli-fies focus, ambition, growth and vi-tality every day. Students achievehere, and this is not strictly in therealm of academic achievement.Young people are given opportunitiesto grow and doors are opened to newbe ginnings.

It is a distinct advantage to beworking in the locality of Easton andLawrence Hill as aspirations tosucceed are very high. Students wantto learn and we make sure that we

capture that thirst for learning andextend their horizons.

We only have three rules at the CityAcademy; take care of yourself, takecare of each other and take care ofthis place. We use them to drive ourexpectations both within the schooland outside, and they are the values

ON the back of ouroutstanding resultsin 2012 and 2013,which saw us as themost improved schoolin the country 2012,we are building a

reputation which is richly deservedas being one of the leading academicinstitutions in Bristol.

Our vision is “students with theconfidence and range of skills tostand as equals in any circle and forany opportunity”. The students’ aca-demic results are fundamental tothis, but we work just as hard toensure that our students arewell-rounded, confident and carry aset of values which will help themsucceed in any situation.

We have excellent teachers, sup-ported by a fantastic team at Bright-stowe and I am proud of every one ofthem. They work as a team to ensurethat we maximise the students’ timein lessons.

However, we achieve success be-cause we push our students to wantsuccess for themselves and to havepersonal drive, ambition, focus anddiligence. These life skills are as im-portant in school as they are after-w a rd s.

We have a vibrant and successfulextra-curricular scene with oursports academies boasting impress-

ive wins, especially in rowing andrugby. The music at Brightstowe is afeature of life and the concerts andmusicals we put on are enjoyed byall.

Most of all, Brightstowe is anacademy where every child is knownand understood. Our pioneering and

We have commitment toguide our students wisely

Redland High School For Girls – Caroline Bateson

CAROLINE Bateson BAMA, has a commitmentto academic excellenceas well as involvementin every aspect ofschool life, includingpastoral care,

extra-curricular activities, liaisingwith parents and strategic planning.

She is an independent schools in-spector and an enthusiastic teacherwho is passionate about motivatinggirls in their learning; she teaches anA-level class each year.

The senior school caters for girlsaged 11–18. There are scholarshipentrance examinations for Years 7and 9 and means-tested bursariesavailable for entry into all years.

Redland High School caters for avery wide range of academic ability,from the gifted to those needing extrahelp. Caroline Bateson thinks thatthe school’s undoubted proficiency insupporting all its pupils comes fromoutstanding teaching and having aschool which is large enough to makea considerable subject choice viable,but small enough for each individualpupil to be developed.

This summer, A-level and GCSEresults were outstanding across thecurriculum, with girls excelling in awide mix of subjects. Sixth form pro-

vision is very strong: students gainplaces at their chosen university tostudy a wide range of subjects, in-cluding medicine, law and modernlanguages. In these times of unpre-cedented competition for good uni-versity places, Redland High Schoolhas the experience and commitment toguide students wisely and effectively.

Caroline Bateson is a strong be-liever in the importance of keepingpupils busy and active, so that theylearn to balance their time. Girls areencouraged to participate in the ex-tensive extra-curricular programmethrough clubs and activities, throughthe house system, through supportfor charity work and by participatingin the many school trips on offer, orby contributing to the school’s music,drama and sport.

Caroline Bateson explains: “Itmakes them more interesting peopleand, by taking pupils outside theircomfort zone in a supported way, weencourage them to grow into matureand responsible adults, ready to go offto university with the confidence thatthey will thrive.”

Visiting morning is on Tuesday,September 24, with an open morningon Saturday, October 19. For furtherinformation, call 0117 924 5796, or seew w w. re d l a n d h i g h . c o m .

“ ...............................................................

The passion of the headteacher, supported by leadersand staff, is ensuring that thereis a continuous drive forimprovement... regardless oftheir starting points, ability orspecial educational needs, allgroups of students make betterprogress than their peersnationally

Ofsted............................................................................

we return to when a decision is to bem a d e.

This is a single-minded communityof staff and students which puts nolimits on possibilities when it comesto education.

I am proud to be the principal andlook forward to the next ten years ofs u c c e s s.

For further information, call 0117941 3800, or see www.city academ yb r i s t o l . o rg .

“ ...............................................................

We have high aspirations for allour students and we areproving that the future is brightat Brightstowe

Matt Butler............................................................................

outstanding “Base” for Year 7 beginsthat journey and then our house sys-tem, with a highly qualified pastoralteam, ensures that no child is for-gotten and our inclusion team, led bya qualified educational psychologistensures we have world-class inter-ventions and support for those thatneed it.

We have high aspirations for all ourstudents and we are proving that thefuture is bright at Brightstowe.

For further information, call 0117316 7330, or see www.oasisacadem yb r i g h t s t o w e . o rg.

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26 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 27Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Meet the heads Meet the heads

Happy children creatinga real buzz about school

We want everyyoung person toreach their best

IT is an incredible privilege tobe the principal of OasisAcademy John Williams inHengrove. Our passion is forlearning and our aim is simple;we want every young person toachieve their personal best,

whatever their talents or ambitions.Set in the belief that everyone is

capable of remarkable success, westrive to deliver an outstanding, en-joyable and relevant education forall.

Since opening in 2008, our resultshave improved year on year. From 18per cent in 2008, this year 52 per centof our Year 11 students achieved fiveA*-C grades, including English andmaths, and 97 per cent achieved fiveA*-C GCSE grades.

In Year 13, we secured a 100 per centpass rate, with 78 per cent achievingA-B grades at A level. Both our GCSEand A-level results are testimony tothe hard work, commitment and de-termination of our entire community– students, parents and staff.

When Ofsted visited in January2013, inspectors recognised the pro-gress we had made, judging us to be a“good” school with “outstanding”leadership and management. The re-port specifically noted the acceler-ated improvement in results, the highstandards of teaching and learning,the high expectation for students’work and behaviour and our determ-

ination and capacity to continue toi m p rove.

Inspectors described our academyas a calm and purposeful school,which is a friendly and welcomingplace for staff, students and visitorsalike. The team also praised the waythat students get on well together andare courteous and polite.

This September we welcomedmore than 160 students into Year 7and we are full in both the currentYear 7 and 8.

Proud to be in state-of-the-art build-ings, we work hard to capitalise onthe opportunities presented. Fromour fully equipped theatre to the pro-fessional dance studios, in-dustry-standard TV and radiostudios and fitness centre, weencourage all of our students toaccess the widest range of exper-i e n c e s.

We also create opportunitiesoutside the formal education setting,which during this year include a skitrip to France, an art and languagestrip to Barcelona and an Auschwitzvisit, in addition to our more localand national experiences.

I understand that, as a parent,choosing a school for your child isone of the most difficult andimportant decisions you will make.

For information about open events,call 01275 832883, or see w w w. o a s -isacadem yjohnwilliams.org.

AS I show parentsaround our school, thecomment I hear mostoften is that theysense a buzz about theplace. Because I’mprivileged to work

among our young students on a dailybasis, I know that the buzz thesevisitors experience is generated bytalented, able, interested children,who are excited about, and engagedwith, what’s going on both in theirclassrooms and in the wide variety ofother co-curricular activities whichare on offer to them.

During this past year, the buzz wasparticularly evident when we wereawarded a platinum “Sing-Up” aw a rdin recognition of the way that singingpermeates every aspect of our schoollife: the judge referred to it as the“glue” that binds together a happys ch o o l .

There was a similar buzz when theLord Mayor of Bristol came to visitand the children were so demon-strably proud to share what they weredoing with someone they recognisedas a special visitor and an importantfigure in the life of their city.

Finally, there was not just a meta-phorical, but a real buzz about theschool during our special wildlife

week, when our students were able togain first-hand experience of bugsand beasties of all types.

Exciting, surprising, risky, challen-ging: learning at Bristol GrammarInfants and Juniors is all of thesethings. Put quite simply, though, we

believe the best learning of all is thesort of learning you don’t want to stop– and that’s what really creates abu z z .

For further information, call 0117973 6006, or see www.bristolg rammars ch o o l . c o. u k .

Bristol Grammar Infants and Juniors – Peter Huckle

Oasis Academy John Williams – Victoria Boomer

Pushing our students to want to succeedOasis Academy Brightstowe – Matt Butler

No limits on the possibilities in educationCity Academy – Gill Kelly

BEING the principal ofBristol’s first academyis a privilege and anhonour. In this year, thetenth anniversary ofour establishment, weare celebrating contin-

ued improvements in educational ex-periences and outcomes for ours t u d e n t s.

Some of the highlights this summerinclude Adam Smith securing hisplace at Wadham College, Oxford Uni-versity, to study physics and SunchiChen achieving six A*s, four As andAS mathematics, as well as manyother students who are going on totheir chosen pathway to further suc-c e s s.

The reward I get from seeing chil-dren flourish is the reason I came intoeducation. I left my job as an artgallery manager to join the teachingprofession, as my values are firmlyrooted in my sense of responsibilityto others.

I am fortunate to have been giventhe opportunity to work in a rich,diverse community, which exempli-fies focus, ambition, growth and vi-tality every day. Students achievehere, and this is not strictly in therealm of academic achievement.Young people are given opportunitiesto grow and doors are opened to newbe ginnings.

It is a distinct advantage to beworking in the locality of Easton andLawrence Hill as aspirations tosucceed are very high. Students wantto learn and we make sure that we

capture that thirst for learning andextend their horizons.

We only have three rules at the CityAcademy; take care of yourself, takecare of each other and take care ofthis place. We use them to drive ourexpectations both within the schooland outside, and they are the values

ON the back of ouroutstanding resultsin 2012 and 2013,which saw us as themost improved schoolin the country 2012,we are building a

reputation which is richly deservedas being one of the leading academicinstitutions in Bristol.

Our vision is “students with theconfidence and range of skills tostand as equals in any circle and forany opportunity”. The students’ aca-demic results are fundamental tothis, but we work just as hard toensure that our students arewell-rounded, confident and carry aset of values which will help themsucceed in any situation.

We have excellent teachers, sup-ported by a fantastic team at Bright-stowe and I am proud of every one ofthem. They work as a team to ensurethat we maximise the students’ timein lessons.

However, we achieve success be-cause we push our students to wantsuccess for themselves and to havepersonal drive, ambition, focus anddiligence. These life skills are as im-portant in school as they are after-w a rd s.

We have a vibrant and successfulextra-curricular scene with oursports academies boasting impress-

ive wins, especially in rowing andrugby. The music at Brightstowe is afeature of life and the concerts andmusicals we put on are enjoyed byall.

Most of all, Brightstowe is anacademy where every child is knownand understood. Our pioneering and

We have commitment toguide our students wisely

Redland High School For Girls – Caroline Bateson

CAROLINE Bateson BAMA, has a commitmentto academic excellenceas well as involvementin every aspect ofschool life, includingpastoral care,

extra-curricular activities, liaisingwith parents and strategic planning.

She is an independent schools in-spector and an enthusiastic teacherwho is passionate about motivatinggirls in their learning; she teaches anA-level class each year.

The senior school caters for girlsaged 11–18. There are scholarshipentrance examinations for Years 7and 9 and means-tested bursariesavailable for entry into all years.

Redland High School caters for avery wide range of academic ability,from the gifted to those needing extrahelp. Caroline Bateson thinks thatthe school’s undoubted proficiency insupporting all its pupils comes fromoutstanding teaching and having aschool which is large enough to makea considerable subject choice viable,but small enough for each individualpupil to be developed.

This summer, A-level and GCSEresults were outstanding across thecurriculum, with girls excelling in awide mix of subjects. Sixth form pro-

vision is very strong: students gainplaces at their chosen university tostudy a wide range of subjects, in-cluding medicine, law and modernlanguages. In these times of unpre-cedented competition for good uni-versity places, Redland High Schoolhas the experience and commitment toguide students wisely and effectively.

Caroline Bateson is a strong be-liever in the importance of keepingpupils busy and active, so that theylearn to balance their time. Girls areencouraged to participate in the ex-tensive extra-curricular programmethrough clubs and activities, throughthe house system, through supportfor charity work and by participatingin the many school trips on offer, orby contributing to the school’s music,drama and sport.

Caroline Bateson explains: “Itmakes them more interesting peopleand, by taking pupils outside theircomfort zone in a supported way, weencourage them to grow into matureand responsible adults, ready to go offto university with the confidence thatthey will thrive.”

Visiting morning is on Tuesday,September 24, with an open morningon Saturday, October 19. For furtherinformation, call 0117 924 5796, or seew w w. re d l a n d h i g h . c o m .

“ ...............................................................

The passion of the headteacher, supported by leadersand staff, is ensuring that thereis a continuous drive forimprovement... regardless oftheir starting points, ability orspecial educational needs, allgroups of students make betterprogress than their peersnationally

Ofsted............................................................................

we return to when a decision is to bem a d e.

This is a single-minded communityof staff and students which puts nolimits on possibilities when it comesto education.

I am proud to be the principal andlook forward to the next ten years ofs u c c e s s.

For further information, call 0117941 3800, or see www.city academ yb r i s t o l . o rg .

“ ...............................................................

We have high aspirations for allour students and we areproving that the future is brightat Brightstowe

Matt Butler............................................................................

outstanding “Base” for Year 7 beginsthat journey and then our house sys-tem, with a highly qualified pastoralteam, ensures that no child is for-gotten and our inclusion team, led bya qualified educational psychologistensures we have world-class inter-ventions and support for those thatneed it.

We have high aspirations for all ourstudents and we are proving that thefuture is bright at Brightstowe.

For further information, call 0117316 7330, or see www.oasisacadem yb r i g h t s t o w e . o rg.

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28 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 29Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Meet the heads Meet the heads

School builds characterfrom the very beginning

All the support studentsneed to make next step

Skills to achievein education andthe world beyond

STEPHEN Holliday, head-master of QEH for morethan 13 years, has aclear understanding ofhis school. He says:“QEH was founded in1590 and today thrives,

with 670 boys aged seven to 18. It is thetop-performing day school in Bristoland firmly among leading academicschools nationally. Most boys go on totop universities or medical schools,including 10 per cent to Oxford andCambridg e.

He continues: “If we measuredachievement only in terms of leaguetables, QEH would have much to cel-ebrate. Fortunately, most people un-derstand that league tables are bluntinstruments and assessing whatmakes a good school is far more com-plicated than counting exam passes.

“Good schools build character.That is easy to say, tricky to defineand even more difficult to achieve.Character is formed through adven-ture and fortitude, through integrityand values, and is rooted in a sense ofself-worth. Exam success: that is aby-product of a school where buildingcharacter comes first.

“At QEH, staff nurture characterand go on to prepare boys for lifebeyond the school. I like to think we

build character from the very be-ginning, whether that starts in Year3, or Year 7, or Year 9. We promote theimportance of good values, we pro-duce the young men who know them-selves, who respect and help othersand who have opinions. Incidentally,

our exam results are also spectac-ularly good.”

QEH offers scholarships in sportand music. An open morning is onSaturday, October 5. For more in-formation, call 0117 930 3068, or seew w w. q e h b r i s t o l . c o. u k .

RED Maids’ is an inde-pendent school thatprovides excellence inall areas – a fact thathas been officiallyendorsed by the Inde-pendent Schools’ In-

s p e c t o r at e.The students’ results in this sum-

mer’s public examinations are fur-ther proof of our long and consistenttrack record in steering girls to thehighest levels of academic and othera ch i eve m e n t .

In fact, our GCSE, A-level and In-ternational Baccalaureate diplomastudents excelled, firmly positioningRed Maids’ in the top 100 schoolsnationally in respect of examinationoutcomes and as the best-performingday school for girls in Bristol.

The girls who come to Red Maids’leave having achieved their learninggoals and being able to move con-fidently on to the next stage of theireducation and lives. The very largemajority of our students convertoffers into acceptances at their firstchoice university, most of themRussell Group institutions.

Achieving the best exam resultsyou might think is a given fact if youare paying for education, but allschools are different and the key isfinding the one in which your daugh-ter can happily attain success and gobeyond what she might otherwisehave achieved.

At Red Maids’ our ambition isclear: to help able girls gain excellentqualifications. We create an atmo-sphere where everyone feels valuedand respected and we teach theessential skills of independent think-ing and study, which help themachieve their best at school and pre-pare them for life beyond.

A key feature of a Red Maids’ edu-cation is the exceptional range ofextra-curricular clubs and activities,which give students different outletsfor their energy, stretch their talentsand help broaden their horizons.

We cherish our status as an in-dependent school, which bringsmany benefits, not least the freedomto select the courses that we feel arebest for our students’ education. Thisled us to introduce IGCSEs and the IBdiploma and we have seen the girlsrise successfully to the challenge.

At Red Maids’ you will find a familyfriendly atmosphere. We value therelationship with our parents andfriends and, while our tremendoushistory is remembered, we adoptmodern practices that enable parentsto stay close to their daughters asthey grow and learn.

The autumn admissions pro-gramme includes a number of vis-iting events for entry in Years 7, 9 andthe sixth form.

For details, contact Liz Bamber on0117 989 8252, or e _ b a m b e r @ re d m a i d s.b r i s t o l . s ch . u k .

QEH Seniors– Stephen Holliday

AT City of Bristol Col-lege, we have one goal,which is to help ourstudents succeed.With more than 30,000learners on morethan 1,000 different

courses, students are at the centre ofeverything we do. Our core values ofintegrity, respect for each other andpride in teamworking underpin allactivities to make sure that studentscan reach their full potential andachieve their career goals.

With five main centres in Bristoland partnerships with a number ofcommunity venues, courses areoffered at 29 locations across the cityto ensure that people can accesslearning wherever they live.

There are nearly 2,000 studentsstudying on apprenticeship pro-grammes, making the college one ofthe largest further education pro-viders of apprenticeships in Eng-land.

We offer some of the best teachingand training facilities in the region,with fully-equipped learning re-source centres, excellent IT facilitiesand specialist training workshopsand classrooms. We also offer adviceand guidance to help students decidetheir next step, whether that’s em-

ployment, university or further edu-c at i o n .

Whichever path they choose, ourstudents benefit from excellent per-sonal support while gaining the skillsand qualifications for their futurec a re e r.

I have been the principal at thecollege for just over a year now, andit’s an exciting time for the college aswe undergo a period of transform-ation to refocus on our teaching,

City of Bristol College – Lynn Merilion

The Red Maids’ Senior School – Isabel Tobias

Students flourish thanksto our love for learning

St Katherine’s School – Chris Sammons

IAM now starting my second

year as head teacher at StK at h e r i n e ’s. It’s been anexcellent 12 months, ending ona high during the summerbreak, with our excellent res-ults for both GCSE and

A - l eve l s.I have been extremely impressed by

the quality of the teaching, the ex-cellent pastoral care and especiallythe positive atmosphere in thes ch o o l .

The range of extra-curricular activ-ities is outstanding, with the ma-jority of students taking part in a clubor activity on most days. A choice ofsports, classics, IT or internationalprojects adds tremendous value toch i l d re n’s learning and personald eve l o p m e n t .

My focus has been to develop allareas of the curriculum, workingwith our hugely committed teachingstaff to ensure that as a lead school forthe gifted and talented we offer aninspirational curriculum for allstudents, across all subjects.Excellent progress has been madeand all year groups are nowbenefiting from these innovativeand challenging learning pro-g rammes.

Students flourish at St Katherine’sbecause of our approach, our com-

mitment and love of learning. We areleading a European Comenius project– “Culinary Travels Across Europe” –and I have been particularly excitedabout the partnerships with schoolsin Poland, Spain, Greece and Italy, aswell as our links with Africa, led bythe English faculty.

For me personally, it is importantthat our students continue to achieveexcellent results and also continue tolearn the values and social skills that

THE Free School pro-gramme has offered thepromise of greaterchoice for parents, andBristol will soon see anew school that offers agenuinely alternative

approach to education.Steiner Academy Bristol was ap-

proved by DfE in April this year, andwill open in September 2014. It will bean all-through school for ages 4-16and will grow to 624 pupils in 2022,from an opening intake of just 78pupils in 2014.

The school will be the fourthstate-funded Steiner school in the UK,following on the success of schools inHereford, Frome and Exeter. It willalso be a highly creative school withan emphasis on the arts, music anddrama, without losing focus on moreacademic subjects.

There will also be a strongenvironmental ethos with anemphasis on outdoor play andlearning, environmental science,healthy eating and cooking – a green,creative school for a green, creativecity!

The academy’s directors say thatbeing a Steiner school does not meanthat they are tied to the past. “Steinereducation has always developed and

changed to meet the needs of its timeand place”, says Joe Evans, who willbe the chair of governors.

“Our school is rooted in the valuesof Steiner education but we want tobe open and forward-looking, sharingpractice with other schools andlearning from them too.”

The school is now taking admis-sions applications and full inform-

learning and student experience. I’mlooking forward to continuing mywork with staff and students to takethe college from strength tos t re n g t h .

Open events are held throughoutthe year. For details and for moreinformation, call 0117 312 5000, or seewww.city ofbristol.ac.uk.

“ ...............................................................

With more than 30,000 learnerson more than 1,000 differentcourses, students are at thecentre of everything we do

Lynn Merilion............................................................................

“ ...............................................................

St Katherine’s is the best placeto learn and grow up

St Katherine’s pupil............................................................................

will sustain them for the rest of theirl ive s.

As a father of three children, Iknow how important it is to create aschool which is safe, engaging andchallenging. In the words of one stu-dent: “St Katherine’s is the best placeto learn and grow up”.

An open evening is on Thursday,September 19.

For further information, call01275 372787, or see w w w. s t -k a t h e r i n e s. n - s o m e rs e t . s ch . u k .

Developing students withthe drive to achieve goals

Nailsea School – Chris Wade

AS I sit down to writethis with only a fewdays remaining of thesummer holidays, Ic a n’t help but start tofeel very excited, and abit nervous, too.

As the newly-appointed head teach-er, the excitement comes from know-ing that every day of the new schoolyear will bring new challenges andopportunities for every member ofour school community, includingm e.

The nerves come from wanting todeliver the very best education pos-sible for the young people who comethrough the doors.

But I am sure the nerves will soonevaporate as I will be in good com-pany. Nailsea School is a specialplace; it is such a thriving and stim-ulating community where all staffcare deeply about the success of thestudents and always go the extram i l e.

The goal at Nailsea School is clear;to develop young adults who not onlyhave the necessary academic qual-ifications and employment skills butalso the resilience, determinationand drive to set and achieve chal-lenging goals.

It is perhaps timely to quote Martin

Luther King, Jr, who said: “Intel-ligence plus character – that is thegoal of true education.” I couldn’tagree more and that is certainly whatwe will strive for every day of theschool year.

Nailsea School achieved verygood exam results this summer(75.9 per cent A*-C at A-level and66.9 per cent A*-C at GCSE) but we arenot content with this and will alwayslook to do better and ensureour students achieve their absolutebest.

Part of what makes Nailsea such anincredible place is the vibrant andexciting House Championship, whichallows all members of the school tocontribute in a wide variety of com-petitions and develops a healthy com-petition between students from thedifferent houses. This culminates inthe trophy presentation at the end ofthe year.

The students, parents, staff andgovernors are immensely proud ofthe school and I am looking forwardto joining them and the new Year 7s asa new starter and sharing some firstday nerves. I just need to remembermy pencil case.

For further information, call 01275852251, or see w w w. n a i l s e as ch o o l . c o m .

Creative schoolthat will keep itsacademic focus

Bristol Steiner School

“ ...............................................................

Steiner education has alwaysdeveloped and changed tomeet the needs of its time andplace. Our school is rooted inthe values of Steiner educationbut we want to be open andf o r w a rd - l o o k i n g

Joe Evans............................................................................

ation can be found on the website,www.steineracadem ybristol.org.uk.The group are working with the Edu-cation Funding Agency to secure asite, and have been recruiting a prin-cipal. Announcements on both areexpected soon.

� JoeEvans, leadp ro p o s e rfor theSteinerAcademyBristolp ro j e c t

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28 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 29Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Meet the heads Meet the heads

School builds characterfrom the very beginning

All the support studentsneed to make next step

Skills to achievein education andthe world beyond

STEPHEN Holliday, head-master of QEH for morethan 13 years, has aclear understanding ofhis school. He says:“QEH was founded in1590 and today thrives,

with 670 boys aged seven to 18. It is thetop-performing day school in Bristoland firmly among leading academicschools nationally. Most boys go on totop universities or medical schools,including 10 per cent to Oxford andCambridg e.

He continues: “If we measuredachievement only in terms of leaguetables, QEH would have much to cel-ebrate. Fortunately, most people un-derstand that league tables are bluntinstruments and assessing whatmakes a good school is far more com-plicated than counting exam passes.

“Good schools build character.That is easy to say, tricky to defineand even more difficult to achieve.Character is formed through adven-ture and fortitude, through integrityand values, and is rooted in a sense ofself-worth. Exam success: that is aby-product of a school where buildingcharacter comes first.

“At QEH, staff nurture characterand go on to prepare boys for lifebeyond the school. I like to think we

build character from the very be-ginning, whether that starts in Year3, or Year 7, or Year 9. We promote theimportance of good values, we pro-duce the young men who know them-selves, who respect and help othersand who have opinions. Incidentally,

our exam results are also spectac-ularly good.”

QEH offers scholarships in sportand music. An open morning is onSaturday, October 5. For more in-formation, call 0117 930 3068, or seew w w. q e h b r i s t o l . c o. u k .

RED Maids’ is an inde-pendent school thatprovides excellence inall areas – a fact thathas been officiallyendorsed by the Inde-pendent Schools’ In-

s p e c t o r at e.The students’ results in this sum-

mer’s public examinations are fur-ther proof of our long and consistenttrack record in steering girls to thehighest levels of academic and othera ch i eve m e n t .

In fact, our GCSE, A-level and In-ternational Baccalaureate diplomastudents excelled, firmly positioningRed Maids’ in the top 100 schoolsnationally in respect of examinationoutcomes and as the best-performingday school for girls in Bristol.

The girls who come to Red Maids’leave having achieved their learninggoals and being able to move con-fidently on to the next stage of theireducation and lives. The very largemajority of our students convertoffers into acceptances at their firstchoice university, most of themRussell Group institutions.

Achieving the best exam resultsyou might think is a given fact if youare paying for education, but allschools are different and the key isfinding the one in which your daugh-ter can happily attain success and gobeyond what she might otherwisehave achieved.

At Red Maids’ our ambition isclear: to help able girls gain excellentqualifications. We create an atmo-sphere where everyone feels valuedand respected and we teach theessential skills of independent think-ing and study, which help themachieve their best at school and pre-pare them for life beyond.

A key feature of a Red Maids’ edu-cation is the exceptional range ofextra-curricular clubs and activities,which give students different outletsfor their energy, stretch their talentsand help broaden their horizons.

We cherish our status as an in-dependent school, which bringsmany benefits, not least the freedomto select the courses that we feel arebest for our students’ education. Thisled us to introduce IGCSEs and the IBdiploma and we have seen the girlsrise successfully to the challenge.

At Red Maids’ you will find a familyfriendly atmosphere. We value therelationship with our parents andfriends and, while our tremendoushistory is remembered, we adoptmodern practices that enable parentsto stay close to their daughters asthey grow and learn.

The autumn admissions pro-gramme includes a number of vis-iting events for entry in Years 7, 9 andthe sixth form.

For details, contact Liz Bamber on0117 989 8252, or e _ b a m b e r @ re d m a i d s.b r i s t o l . s ch . u k .

QEH Seniors– Stephen Holliday

AT City of Bristol Col-lege, we have one goal,which is to help ourstudents succeed.With more than 30,000learners on morethan 1,000 different

courses, students are at the centre ofeverything we do. Our core values ofintegrity, respect for each other andpride in teamworking underpin allactivities to make sure that studentscan reach their full potential andachieve their career goals.

With five main centres in Bristoland partnerships with a number ofcommunity venues, courses areoffered at 29 locations across the cityto ensure that people can accesslearning wherever they live.

There are nearly 2,000 studentsstudying on apprenticeship pro-grammes, making the college one ofthe largest further education pro-viders of apprenticeships in Eng-land.

We offer some of the best teachingand training facilities in the region,with fully-equipped learning re-source centres, excellent IT facilitiesand specialist training workshopsand classrooms. We also offer adviceand guidance to help students decidetheir next step, whether that’s em-

ployment, university or further edu-c at i o n .

Whichever path they choose, ourstudents benefit from excellent per-sonal support while gaining the skillsand qualifications for their futurec a re e r.

I have been the principal at thecollege for just over a year now, andit’s an exciting time for the college aswe undergo a period of transform-ation to refocus on our teaching,

City of Bristol College – Lynn Merilion

The Red Maids’ Senior School – Isabel Tobias

Students flourish thanksto our love for learning

St Katherine’s School – Chris Sammons

IAM now starting my second

year as head teacher at StK at h e r i n e ’s. It’s been anexcellent 12 months, ending ona high during the summerbreak, with our excellent res-ults for both GCSE and

A - l eve l s.I have been extremely impressed by

the quality of the teaching, the ex-cellent pastoral care and especiallythe positive atmosphere in thes ch o o l .

The range of extra-curricular activ-ities is outstanding, with the ma-jority of students taking part in a clubor activity on most days. A choice ofsports, classics, IT or internationalprojects adds tremendous value toch i l d re n’s learning and personald eve l o p m e n t .

My focus has been to develop allareas of the curriculum, workingwith our hugely committed teachingstaff to ensure that as a lead school forthe gifted and talented we offer aninspirational curriculum for allstudents, across all subjects.Excellent progress has been madeand all year groups are nowbenefiting from these innovativeand challenging learning pro-g rammes.

Students flourish at St Katherine’sbecause of our approach, our com-

mitment and love of learning. We areleading a European Comenius project– “Culinary Travels Across Europe” –and I have been particularly excitedabout the partnerships with schoolsin Poland, Spain, Greece and Italy, aswell as our links with Africa, led bythe English faculty.

For me personally, it is importantthat our students continue to achieveexcellent results and also continue tolearn the values and social skills that

THE Free School pro-gramme has offered thepromise of greaterchoice for parents, andBristol will soon see anew school that offers agenuinely alternative

approach to education.Steiner Academy Bristol was ap-

proved by DfE in April this year, andwill open in September 2014. It will bean all-through school for ages 4-16and will grow to 624 pupils in 2022,from an opening intake of just 78pupils in 2014.

The school will be the fourthstate-funded Steiner school in the UK,following on the success of schools inHereford, Frome and Exeter. It willalso be a highly creative school withan emphasis on the arts, music anddrama, without losing focus on moreacademic subjects.

There will also be a strongenvironmental ethos with anemphasis on outdoor play andlearning, environmental science,healthy eating and cooking – a green,creative school for a green, creativecity!

The academy’s directors say thatbeing a Steiner school does not meanthat they are tied to the past. “Steinereducation has always developed and

changed to meet the needs of its timeand place”, says Joe Evans, who willbe the chair of governors.

“Our school is rooted in the valuesof Steiner education but we want tobe open and forward-looking, sharingpractice with other schools andlearning from them too.”

The school is now taking admis-sions applications and full inform-

learning and student experience. I’mlooking forward to continuing mywork with staff and students to takethe college from strength tos t re n g t h .

Open events are held throughoutthe year. For details and for moreinformation, call 0117 312 5000, or seewww.city ofbristol.ac.uk.

“ ...............................................................

With more than 30,000 learnerson more than 1,000 differentcourses, students are at thecentre of everything we do

Lynn Merilion............................................................................

“ ...............................................................

St Katherine’s is the best placeto learn and grow up

St Katherine’s pupil............................................................................

will sustain them for the rest of theirl ive s.

As a father of three children, Iknow how important it is to create aschool which is safe, engaging andchallenging. In the words of one stu-dent: “St Katherine’s is the best placeto learn and grow up”.

An open evening is on Thursday,September 19.

For further information, call01275 372787, or see w w w. s t -k a t h e r i n e s. n - s o m e rs e t . s ch . u k .

Developing students withthe drive to achieve goals

Nailsea School – Chris Wade

AS I sit down to writethis with only a fewdays remaining of thesummer holidays, Ic a n’t help but start tofeel very excited, and abit nervous, too.

As the newly-appointed head teach-er, the excitement comes from know-ing that every day of the new schoolyear will bring new challenges andopportunities for every member ofour school community, includingm e.

The nerves come from wanting todeliver the very best education pos-sible for the young people who comethrough the doors.

But I am sure the nerves will soonevaporate as I will be in good com-pany. Nailsea School is a specialplace; it is such a thriving and stim-ulating community where all staffcare deeply about the success of thestudents and always go the extram i l e.

The goal at Nailsea School is clear;to develop young adults who not onlyhave the necessary academic qual-ifications and employment skills butalso the resilience, determinationand drive to set and achieve chal-lenging goals.

It is perhaps timely to quote Martin

Luther King, Jr, who said: “Intel-ligence plus character – that is thegoal of true education.” I couldn’tagree more and that is certainly whatwe will strive for every day of theschool year.

Nailsea School achieved verygood exam results this summer(75.9 per cent A*-C at A-level and66.9 per cent A*-C at GCSE) but we arenot content with this and will alwayslook to do better and ensureour students achieve their absolutebest.

Part of what makes Nailsea such anincredible place is the vibrant andexciting House Championship, whichallows all members of the school tocontribute in a wide variety of com-petitions and develops a healthy com-petition between students from thedifferent houses. This culminates inthe trophy presentation at the end ofthe year.

The students, parents, staff andgovernors are immensely proud ofthe school and I am looking forwardto joining them and the new Year 7s asa new starter and sharing some firstday nerves. I just need to remembermy pencil case.

For further information, call 01275852251, or see w w w. n a i l s e as ch o o l . c o m .

Creative schoolthat will keep itsacademic focus

Bristol Steiner School

“ ...............................................................

Steiner education has alwaysdeveloped and changed tomeet the needs of its time andplace. Our school is rooted inthe values of Steiner educationbut we want to be open andf o r w a rd - l o o k i n g

Joe Evans............................................................................

ation can be found on the website,www.steineracadem ybristol.org.uk.The group are working with the Edu-cation Funding Agency to secure asite, and have been recruiting a prin-cipal. Announcements on both areexpected soon.

� JoeEvans, leadp ro p o s e rfor theSteinerAcademyBristolp ro j e c t

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30 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 31Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Meet the heads Meet the heads

Helping youngsters discover joy of learningRedland High Junior School – Jonathan Eyles

JONATHAN Eyles BEdhas an energetic and mo-tivational approach toleading Redland HighJunior School, havingtaught children acrossthe age range and with

specialist knowledge of many differ-ent aspects of junior education, in-cluding pastoral care, numeracy,literacy, IT and physical education.

As an independent schools teaminspector, Mr Eyles also has in-depthexperience of best practice fromother schools.

Above all, Jonathan Eyles has es-tablished a strong reputation as adynamic and exciting classroomteacher and his commitment to en-suring that children in his charge areencouraged to express their naturalcuriosity and supported to feel con-fident in their growing skills is evid-ent.

There is a myriad of extra-cur-ricular activity on offer in the juniorschool and Mr Eyles firmly encour-ages each pupil to try at least one ofthem each term.

He believes that: “A good school is ahappy, caring and purposeful placewhere individuals gain theconfidence to express themselves toreach their full potential in astructured and disciplined environ-ment.”

The size of Redland High JuniorSchool, with 150 pupils, means thatwe know each child extremely well.From the start of Lower Foundationthrough to Year 6, girls here have theadvantage of being in an environ-ment where there is a strong sense ofc o m m u n i t y.

Mr Eyles explains: “Some of ourgirls join at age three and continue atRedland High until they are 18. Oth-ers join the junior school for just oneor two years in readiness to move intoour senior school.

“We are committed to our pupils’successful progress, right through toour senior school; understandingtheir individual personalities,stretching them to achieve their verybest, helping them to discover thejoys of learning and instilling goodhabits of self-discipline, integrity,courtesy and honesty.

“Through happiness and security,the girls gain high self-esteem, en-abling them to become independentlear ners.”

Means-tested bursaries areavailable for girls to enter RedlandHigh Junior School in Years 5and 6.

Visiting morning is on Tuesday,September 24, and open morning onSaturday, October 19.

For further details, call 0117 9245796, or see w w w. re d l a n d h i g h . c o m .

Aiming to provide best start to educationThe Red Maids’ Junior School - Gillian Rowcliffe

RED Maids’ Ju n i o rS ch o o l ’s aim is simple:to provide the very beststart to your daugh-ter’s education. Weprovide a warm andcaring environment,

where personalities and friendshipsblossom and the girls’ academic andother achievements are celebrated.

The school’s many excellent qual-ities were fully endorsed when theIndependent Schools’ I n s p e c t o r at evisited recently. This is a wonderfulaccolade from fellow teaching pro-fessionals, but the feedback we reg-ularly receive from our parents andthe girls themselves must surely bethe most meaningful.

A constant theme comes through intheir observations and compliments– the school’s ability to nurture anddevelop the girls’ confidence; energyand teaching commitment are alwaysrecognised, as are the extensiverange of extra-curricular activities,which help to broaden the girls’ in-t e re s t s.

Our school has space for up to 120pupils starting from Year 3, who areorganised into six classes. There is anassessment for entrance to the schoolwhen your daughter spends a dayhere so that we can get to know eacho t h e r.

On joining, new girls are looked

after by “big girls” and the import-ance of kindness towards others,good manners, respecting people’sproperty and the environment arehighlighted each week during awhole-school discussion.

We follow national curriculumguidelines for the core of our aca-demic coursework and our Key Stage2 SAT results are consistently high,last year ranking us the best per-forming prep school in the West (ac-cording to the Sunday Times). Weenhance our timetable, however, withthe teaching of other subjects, such asMandarin.

Taking part in outdoor activitiessuch as climbing, caving, and kayak-ing is a key feature of our extra-cur-ricular programme. Our trips toKilve Court and the Mendip OutdoorPursuits Centre are almost legendaryand the girls visibly grow in con-fidence from the effort and exper-ience of applying themselves in thesealternative settings.

Coupled with lots of musical funand competitive sports built intotheir everyday lives, our girls turnout to be well-rounded, poised andabove all happy.

The usual entry points into RedMaids’ Junior School are in Years 3and 5. To arrange a visit, contactLynn McCabe on 0117 962 9451 orl _ m c c ab e @ re d m a i d s. b r i s t o l . s ch . u k .

Building on ourstrengths to getthe best from all

WILLIAM Robertsjoined Downendas head teachertwo years ago, andis building on thes ch o o l ’s strengthsto develop a learn-

ing community where every youngperson is supported to achieve theirvery best.

This summer, the school again cel-ebrated its best ever GCSE results,with a further improvement inthe proportion of students achievingfive or more GCSEs at grades A*-Cincluding English and maths.

A total of 57 per cent of studentsachieved the national benchmarkthis summer, representing a dramat-ic increase of 14 per cent over the lasttwo years.

Results from Downend’s post-16centre were also very strong, withmore than half of students beatingtheir personal targets, enablingthem to progress to prestigiousuniversity courses and apprentice-s h i p s.

According to Ofsted inspectors whovisited the school in 2012, DownendSchool “has made rapid improve-ments”.

Inspectors went on: “Since his ap-

pointment, the head teacher has suc-cessfully built on the strengths of theschool, with an unrelenting focus onraising achievement and providingimproved provision for all stu-d e n t s. ”

Students were also said to “e n j oyschool and feel safe” and inspectorspraised “the guidance and assistancewhich helps students to improve

Downend School – William Roberts

“ ...............................................................

Since his appointment, thehead teacher has successfullybuilt on the strengths of theschool, with an unrelentingfocus on raising achievementand providing improvedprovision for all students

Ofsted............................................................................

their performance and their learn-ing”.

Over the last two years, DownendSchool has undergone substantial re-furbishment, with the opening of a

new IT hub, inclusion centre, innov-ation centre and library.

The school has launched a newhouse system, and students now weara smart new uniform, including a

blazer and house tie. DownendS ch o o l ’s open evening is on Thursday,September 19. The school is also hold-ing open mornings daily fromSeptember 23 October 23, when the

head teacher will show parents andstudents around andanswer questions.

For an appointment, call LouiseWilliams on 01454 862300.

Encouraging pupils to fulfil their potentialColston’s Girls’ School – Alistair Perry

IAM proud to be the head ofC o l s t o n’s Girls’ School, wherewe know that choosing theright school for your daughteris one of the most importantdecisions you will ever make.We ensure that your daughter

flourishes under our care and we takeevery opportunity to help her developher individuality. We have a verystrong academic record, supportedby excellent pastoral care, with asupportive, happy environment,which nurtures talent and encour-

self-motivated, independent learn-ing. It is a time of transition anddiscovery and it marks a move intoadulthood that we support, respectand encourage. Along with discus-sions about university and other pos-sible career paths, girls learnconfidence and the value of self-belief

in the pursuit of success and ful-filment. The school has an enviablereputation for its caring communityethos, which is evident to those whovisit. Strong social and moral codesalong with high expectations are partof school life, with respect, politeness,tolerance and hard work the norm.

The school’s high standards ofteaching, learning and discipline aresupplemented with an extensiveextra-curricular programme. Withour language specialism, a girl join-ing in Year 7 could experience sevendifferent languages by the time sheleaves school in Year 13. We aim to

broaden the horizons of our studentsso that they can look beyond schoollife to the rest of the world.� The new principal, Mrs EricaDraisey, will be in post soon.

For further information, and datesfor open days, call 0117 942 4328, or seew w w. c o l s t o n s g i rl s. b r i s t o l . s ch . u k .

“ ...............................................................

The school has an enviablereputation for its caringcommunity ethos, which isevident to those who visit.Strong social and moral codesalong with high expectationsare part of school life, withrespect, politeness, toleranceand hard work the norm

Alistair Perry............................................................................

ages girls to fulfil their potential.The school cherishes its history,

while looking to the future – con-tinuing to maintain its strong aca-demic record and reputation acrossthe city. This has been validated bythe school’s “outstanding” g radingby Ofsted.

The sixth form is the time for

EPB-E01-S5

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30 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 31Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013 w w w. bristolpost.co.ukw w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Meet the heads Meet the heads

Helping youngsters discover joy of learningRedland High Junior School – Jonathan Eyles

JONATHAN Eyles BEdhas an energetic and mo-tivational approach toleading Redland HighJunior School, havingtaught children acrossthe age range and with

specialist knowledge of many differ-ent aspects of junior education, in-cluding pastoral care, numeracy,literacy, IT and physical education.

As an independent schools teaminspector, Mr Eyles also has in-depthexperience of best practice fromother schools.

Above all, Jonathan Eyles has es-tablished a strong reputation as adynamic and exciting classroomteacher and his commitment to en-suring that children in his charge areencouraged to express their naturalcuriosity and supported to feel con-fident in their growing skills is evid-ent.

There is a myriad of extra-cur-ricular activity on offer in the juniorschool and Mr Eyles firmly encour-ages each pupil to try at least one ofthem each term.

He believes that: “A good school is ahappy, caring and purposeful placewhere individuals gain theconfidence to express themselves toreach their full potential in astructured and disciplined environ-ment.”

The size of Redland High JuniorSchool, with 150 pupils, means thatwe know each child extremely well.From the start of Lower Foundationthrough to Year 6, girls here have theadvantage of being in an environ-ment where there is a strong sense ofc o m m u n i t y.

Mr Eyles explains: “Some of ourgirls join at age three and continue atRedland High until they are 18. Oth-ers join the junior school for just oneor two years in readiness to move intoour senior school.

“We are committed to our pupils’successful progress, right through toour senior school; understandingtheir individual personalities,stretching them to achieve their verybest, helping them to discover thejoys of learning and instilling goodhabits of self-discipline, integrity,courtesy and honesty.

“Through happiness and security,the girls gain high self-esteem, en-abling them to become independentlear ners.”

Means-tested bursaries areavailable for girls to enter RedlandHigh Junior School in Years 5and 6.

Visiting morning is on Tuesday,September 24, and open morning onSaturday, October 19.

For further details, call 0117 9245796, or see w w w. re d l a n d h i g h . c o m .

Aiming to provide best start to educationThe Red Maids’ Junior School - Gillian Rowcliffe

RED Maids’ Ju n i o rS ch o o l ’s aim is simple:to provide the very beststart to your daugh-ter’s education. Weprovide a warm andcaring environment,

where personalities and friendshipsblossom and the girls’ academic andother achievements are celebrated.

The school’s many excellent qual-ities were fully endorsed when theIndependent Schools’ I n s p e c t o r at evisited recently. This is a wonderfulaccolade from fellow teaching pro-fessionals, but the feedback we reg-ularly receive from our parents andthe girls themselves must surely bethe most meaningful.

A constant theme comes through intheir observations and compliments– the school’s ability to nurture anddevelop the girls’ confidence; energyand teaching commitment are alwaysrecognised, as are the extensiverange of extra-curricular activities,which help to broaden the girls’ in-t e re s t s.

Our school has space for up to 120pupils starting from Year 3, who areorganised into six classes. There is anassessment for entrance to the schoolwhen your daughter spends a dayhere so that we can get to know eacho t h e r.

On joining, new girls are looked

after by “big girls” and the import-ance of kindness towards others,good manners, respecting people’sproperty and the environment arehighlighted each week during awhole-school discussion.

We follow national curriculumguidelines for the core of our aca-demic coursework and our Key Stage2 SAT results are consistently high,last year ranking us the best per-forming prep school in the West (ac-cording to the Sunday Times). Weenhance our timetable, however, withthe teaching of other subjects, such asMandarin.

Taking part in outdoor activitiessuch as climbing, caving, and kayak-ing is a key feature of our extra-cur-ricular programme. Our trips toKilve Court and the Mendip OutdoorPursuits Centre are almost legendaryand the girls visibly grow in con-fidence from the effort and exper-ience of applying themselves in thesealternative settings.

Coupled with lots of musical funand competitive sports built intotheir everyday lives, our girls turnout to be well-rounded, poised andabove all happy.

The usual entry points into RedMaids’ Junior School are in Years 3and 5. To arrange a visit, contactLynn McCabe on 0117 962 9451 orl _ m c c ab e @ re d m a i d s. b r i s t o l . s ch . u k .

Building on ourstrengths to getthe best from all

WILLIAM Robertsjoined Downendas head teachertwo years ago, andis building on thes ch o o l ’s strengthsto develop a learn-

ing community where every youngperson is supported to achieve theirvery best.

This summer, the school again cel-ebrated its best ever GCSE results,with a further improvement inthe proportion of students achievingfive or more GCSEs at grades A*-Cincluding English and maths.

A total of 57 per cent of studentsachieved the national benchmarkthis summer, representing a dramat-ic increase of 14 per cent over the lasttwo years.

Results from Downend’s post-16centre were also very strong, withmore than half of students beatingtheir personal targets, enablingthem to progress to prestigiousuniversity courses and apprentice-s h i p s.

According to Ofsted inspectors whovisited the school in 2012, DownendSchool “has made rapid improve-ments”.

Inspectors went on: “Since his ap-

pointment, the head teacher has suc-cessfully built on the strengths of theschool, with an unrelenting focus onraising achievement and providingimproved provision for all stu-d e n t s. ”

Students were also said to “e n j oyschool and feel safe” and inspectorspraised “the guidance and assistancewhich helps students to improve

Downend School – William Roberts

“ ...............................................................

Since his appointment, thehead teacher has successfullybuilt on the strengths of theschool, with an unrelentingfocus on raising achievementand providing improvedprovision for all students

Ofsted............................................................................

their performance and their learn-ing”.

Over the last two years, DownendSchool has undergone substantial re-furbishment, with the opening of a

new IT hub, inclusion centre, innov-ation centre and library.

The school has launched a newhouse system, and students now weara smart new uniform, including a

blazer and house tie. DownendS ch o o l ’s open evening is on Thursday,September 19. The school is also hold-ing open mornings daily fromSeptember 23 October 23, when the

head teacher will show parents andstudents around andanswer questions.

For an appointment, call LouiseWilliams on 01454 862300.

Encouraging pupils to fulfil their potentialColston’s Girls’ School – Alistair Perry

IAM proud to be the head ofC o l s t o n’s Girls’ School, wherewe know that choosing theright school for your daughteris one of the most importantdecisions you will ever make.We ensure that your daughter

flourishes under our care and we takeevery opportunity to help her developher individuality. We have a verystrong academic record, supportedby excellent pastoral care, with asupportive, happy environment,which nurtures talent and encour-

self-motivated, independent learn-ing. It is a time of transition anddiscovery and it marks a move intoadulthood that we support, respectand encourage. Along with discus-sions about university and other pos-sible career paths, girls learnconfidence and the value of self-belief

in the pursuit of success and ful-filment. The school has an enviablereputation for its caring communityethos, which is evident to those whovisit. Strong social and moral codesalong with high expectations are partof school life, with respect, politeness,tolerance and hard work the norm.

The school’s high standards ofteaching, learning and discipline aresupplemented with an extensiveextra-curricular programme. Withour language specialism, a girl join-ing in Year 7 could experience sevendifferent languages by the time sheleaves school in Year 13. We aim to

broaden the horizons of our studentsso that they can look beyond schoollife to the rest of the world.� The new principal, Mrs EricaDraisey, will be in post soon.

For further information, and datesfor open days, call 0117 942 4328, or seew w w. c o l s t o n s g i rl s. b r i s t o l . s ch . u k .

“ ...............................................................

The school has an enviablereputation for its caringcommunity ethos, which isevident to those who visit.Strong social and moral codesalong with high expectationsare part of school life, withrespect, politeness, toleranceand hard work the norm

Alistair Perry............................................................................

ages girls to fulfil their potential.The school cherishes its history,

while looking to the future – con-tinuing to maintain its strong aca-demic record and reputation acrossthe city. This has been validated bythe school’s “outstanding” g radingby Ofsted.

The sixth form is the time for

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32 Tu e s d a y, September 17, 2013w w w. bristolpost.co.uk

Meet the heads Meet the heads

Students leave us withthe confidence to thrive

One of our strengths isalways striving for more

Celebrating ourdifferences andour successes

THERE are three wordswhich sum up the ap-proach that I and mycolleagues take to theeducation of the chil-dren who join BristolGrammar School –

friendship, learning and adventure.By friendship, we mean far more

than simply having good “m at e s ”’;rather, it’s about helping our studentsdevelop the sort of networks whichmean that they feel comfortable andvalued within a supportive com-m u n i t y.

Our definition of learning issomething that is life-long andfocused on understanding, not justknowledge. We are always delightedwith examination success, but it iscapturing the imagination of our stu-dents that really drives our teachersand which secures the long-termprospects of our students after theyleave us.

And finally, adventure: the sugges-tion that we cannot always know theoutcome of projects on which we em-bark. Whether it’s in the science lab,the theatre, on the sports field or themountain-top, we believe there ishuge excitement in a degree ofuncertainty and great educationalvalue in learning to deal with it

rather than being daunted, or limitedby it.

Working with this ethos, we seehappy and fulfilled young adults leav-ing our gates who, to be sure, havesome of the best examination resultsin the city. But more than this baremarker of success – and, I would B

RIMSHAM GreenSchool is a vibrant anddynamic 11-19 co-edu-cational school, on alarge, b e a u t i f u l ly -landscaped site in asemi-rural location in

Yate, South Gloucestershire.We aim to develop in our students a

life-long passion for learning, andequip them with the ambition, per-sonal skills and academic qualific-ations to be successful in whateverfuture pathways they choose beyondsixth form.

All students are supported andchallenged to succeed, and we de-velop in them a work-ethic that en-ables students to lead fulfilling,successful lives, contributing posit-ively to the lives of others aroundthem in the local, national and in-ternational communities to whichthey belong.

We have high expectations of allour young people and we encourageevery student to achieve more thanthey thought possible. The cur-riculum at all key stages is excitingand caters for the full range oflear ners.

We are proud to celebrate our dif-ferences and we recognise students’individual successes. Our ResourceBase provides exceptional supportfor students with physical disabil-ities, enabling access to a broad andstimulating curriculum.

Brimsham Green has a highly re-garded and sustained reputation for

academic success. Our innovativeand challenging curriculum providesopportunities for students to go on tostudy in the sixth form.

The quality and range of oppor-tunities on offer rivals other localproviders. Links with other schools,employers, colleges and universitiesensure students benefit from a widerange of opportunities and experi-ences. Our students thrive on successand are inspired to continue theirlearning at a range of prestigiousuniversities and institutions.

Brimsham Green School’s commit-ment to students goes beyond theclassroom, and high student parti-cipation in the school band, Duke ofEdinburgh Award scheme, dramaproductions and sports clubs andteams mean these all thrive. In ad-dition, we offer a variety of excitingschool trips to local, national andinternational destinations.

We foster excellent relationshipswith parents/carers, and we valuethese highly. We know that this strongpartnership contributes to all of oursuccesses. Staff-student relation-ships are equally supportive and theclassroom climate is harmonious,enabling creative and stimulatinglearning to take place.

I am proud to lead BrimshamGreen School and I am confident thatwe deliver the right balance ofsupport, inspiration, challenge andsuccess for all our students.

For further information, call 01454868888 or see w w w. b r i m s h a m . c o m .

Bristol Grammar – Roderick MacKinnon

FOLLOWING OldfieldS ch o o l ’s grading of“outstanding” by Ofstedin 2007, Kim Sparling wasinvited to become one ofthe first National Lead-ers of Education.

This role means that she (andteachers at Oldfield) help otherschools to improve; although initiallyit was expected that this would beother secondary schools, much of theexternal support now relates toprimary schools.

Outstanding schools are no longerroutinely inspected, but in Septem-ber 2012 the Ofsted team did a fullinspection and the school retained itsoutstanding grading, somethingwhich many other local schools havelost.

Ofsted stated: “The head teachersets very high standards for theschool. Systems for checking, main-taining and improving the quality ofprovision are exceptionally well de-ve l o p e d . ”

The report went on: “The headteacher has been very successful indeveloping a system of leadershipand management, which has sus-tained the performance of the schoolat a high level.”

Kim believes that one of the reas-

ons the school is so successful isthat there is never an air of com-placency; there are always thingswhich the school can strive to dob e t t e r.

She thinks it is essential that

Oldfield School, Bath – Kim Sparling

Brimsham Green School – Kim Garland

“ ...............................................................

We are always delighted withexamination success, but it iscapturing the imagination of ourstudents that really drives ourteachers and which secures thelong-term prospects of ourstudents

Roderick MacKinnon............................................................................

argue, the reason for it – we alsoobserve the confidence, self-know-ledge and positive attitude which willensure they continue to thrive inwhatever careers they choose top u r s u e.

For further information, call 0117973 6006, or see www.bristolg rammars ch o o l . c o. u k .

“ ...............................................................

The head teacher has beenvery successful in developing asystem of leadership andmanagement, which hassustained the performance ofthe school at a high level

Ofsted............................................................................

all students know that the schoolexpects them to achieve highly – andthey do.

For example, while nationallyGCSE grades dropped in 2013, Old-field’s grades were the best ever, with88 per cent of GCSE grades at A* – C,which is no small feat in a fullycomprehensive school.

For further details, call 01225423582, or see w w w. o l d f i e l d s ch o o l .com.