Futures Vision Bus Tours 2008

The Southern tour starts on Monday 29 September

The following schools will be visited:

Sawtry Community Maths & Computing College (Cambridgeshire)
Canterbury Campus
Davison CofE High School for Girls and Technology College (Worthing)
The Arnewood School (New Milton)
Royal Manor Arts College
Brixham Community College

Sawtry “Village” College was built in 1963 (11-16 co-educational 600 students) and founded on the principles of Henry Morris’s Cambridgeshire Village College “cradle to grave” model. He stated “the village college would change the whole face of the problem of rural education. As the community centre of the neighbourhood it would provide for the whole man (citizen), and abolish the duality of education and ordinary life. It would not only be the training ground for the art of living, but the place in which life is lived , the environment of a genuine corporate life. The dismal dispute of vocational and non-vocational education would not arise in it. It would be a visible demonstration in stone of the continuity and never-ceasingness of education. There would be no “leaving school”! - the child would enter at three and leave the college only in extreme old age. It would have the virtue of being local so that it would enhance the quality of actual life as it is lived from day to day – the supreme object of education….It would not be divorced from the normal environment of those who would frequent it from day to day, or from that great educational institution, the family..the village college could lie athwart the daily lives of the community it served; and in it the conditions would be realised under which education would not be an escape from reality, but an enrichment and transformation of it.

Morris Dybeck was the first Warden at Sawtry Village College and he fully embraced the ethos and culture of earlier village colleges. In his publication, The Village College Way he talked about “The Roots, The Fruits, The Future of Community Education” and concluded that “we have a responsibility to continue to graft onto the trunk (school) new shoots and whole growths unknown in Henry Morris’s time.”

The 1980’s saw the heyday of Adult Community Education in Cambridgeshire but non-statutory services were under pressure and Adult education was one of the first services to be sacrificed at a County level. However, creative pioneering work at a local level meant opportunities to access learning and community facilities were created in the 1990’s. At Sawtry, re-modelling focused around developing new partnerships, re-defining roles and responsibilities and being responsive to local community needs.

The past fourteen years as a Specialist School has been central to the survival of “community education” and the development of better facilities on a connected learning campus.

The College became Grant Maintained in 1992 which gave the Governors the opportunity to add the missing link of Post 16 education in 1993. The opportunity to become a Technology College in 1994 enabled the school to invest in new technology and raise the standard of education. There was also the opportunity of creating the capacity to share the new technology, software and the newly emerging internet to all citizens through the creation of our own company Sawtry Multitask.

The 1997 Labour government with the emphasis on a school and community plan for specialist schools and our pioneering work in 1998 of Anytime Anywhere Learning with Microsoft added the new dimension not available to Henry Morris or Morris Dybeck of connected learning technologies in the classroom and wider community, with no digital divide. Sawtry Community College is not just about buildings, but becoming a learning portal facilitating online learning and social networking. Integrated into the work of the College has been the development of the Mathematics and Computing Specialism, Extended School, Training School, Leading Edge innovative teaching & learning and International Community Partnerships. The College remains a high performing secondary school with
every child (the College is now 11-18 with 1400 students) achieving; whilst ensuring that every citizen has access to lifelong learning.

The Canterbury High School and Beauherne Primary School serve an area of some socio-economic deprivation. Both schools have intakes that could be categorised as challenging with low levels of prior attainment and high levels of need. This is further distorted in the secondary phase because The Canterbury High School is a secondary modern operating within Kent’s fully selective educational system.

Specialist status led to increased contact and common working. The two schools moved towards ‘ever closer union’ and, on April 1st 2005, establish an all through 4-19 ‘hard’ federation with one Governing Body and one head teacher.

The Canterbury Campus is an expression which labels the site and the provision which is on it. The federated schools are at its core and attached to Beauherne is a pre-school & nursery; and, attached to the High School is Canterbury Adult Education. Thus, the youngest pupil on site is 2 months and the oldest is 92!

An Astronomical Observatory, built some years ago, is now used by local astronomical societies and by the University of Kent. The site benefits from a £4,500, 000 Sports Centre, Athletics Track and other facilities. There is also a Tennis Dome, with 2 indoor courts, on site.

There are plans to develop the site. This includes the building of a construction Skills Centre and a project to expand the Tennis Centre, including a state of the art business suite and a Hair & Beauty facility. We are awaiting planning permission for The National Beach Volley Ball Centre. And outline planning permission has been granted for 72 residential units to support the post 16 sporting academies and other local need.

The Canterbury High School was awarded Specialist Sports College status in September 2002. The Specialism is at the heart of the work of the federated schools. It also became the platform for the schools to develop their role at the heart of the community.

• The Campus hosted the finish of the English leg of the Tour de France 2007. The school has now been designated an official training centre for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics
• Specialism led to one of the first examples of High – Grammar School collaborations in Kent with joint teaching of AS and A levels. There is now a City wide post 16 partnership including 4 schools, the College of FE, Adult Education and Canterbury Christchurch University
• The School works closely with special schools leading to one of the community highlights of the year – the Special Schools Sports Festival – involving over 150 disabled youngsters from across the area.
• Developmental work and outreach programmes identify and nurtures gifted and talented youngsters.
• Post 16 elite performers, of at least county standard, from across the region join one of the school’s Sports Academies. These students receive generic sports coaching; theoretical aspects which underpin elite performance, delivered by The Sports Science Department of Canterbury Christ Church University, thus providing a link to HEI; and, event specific coaching by top quality coaches. This has led to the development of a new qualification – The Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence.
• In 2008 The Canterbury High School hosted the finals of The Kent School Games
• The School is proud of its grass roots community provision, including a wide range of sports and large number of students, e.g. over 10,000 youngsters have benefitted from Tennis programme
• The specialism has led to a dramatic rise in students’ achievement. The results at 5A*-C have risen from 29% 5A*-Cs in 2002 to 91% in 2008. In terms of contextualised vale added The Canterbury High School has never been outside the top 2% in the country since becoming a specialist school.
• Finally, as a Sports College The Canterbury High School is the hub of The Canterbury School Sports Coordinator Partnership. This includes 6 secondary schools and 27 primary schools.

Davison CE High School for Girls was first designated as a Technology College in 1999. Originally founded in 1812 to serve the poor children of Worthing, the school moved to its present site in East Worthing in 1960 when it reopened as the Davison CE Secondary School for Girls. Recently judged ‘good with many outstanding features’ by Ofsted, the school is recognised in the locality as an innovative and forwardthinking school. In addition to the focus on technology through the curriculum, Davison demonstrates in excellence in a number of other key curriculum areas, acknowledged through the following awards: ArtsMark Gold, SportsMark, Eco-School Green Flag Status, Healthy School and International School. In 2008, the school’s commitment to excellence in staff development was reaffirmed through the achievement of the Investors in People Profile Award.

Always interested in supporting other schools, Davison staff at all levels support locality projects aimed at improving raising achievement for children across Worthing. The school’s status as a RATL mentor School has enabled the school to support schools nationally.

The work of the school is centred on three words which embody our ethos ‘Inspire, Serve, Achieve’. Davison at the heart of the community, as presented in the showcases of the school, is built upon these core strands.

Our Community plan sets out to make learning fun and engaging for children from the age of 5-13 across Worthing. Youth University (YU@Davison) is an established part of the school’s Technology College Community programme. It provides an Out-Of-Hours learning opportunity for children from schools in the Worthing area. YU has run courses since 1999 and children enjoy high quality educational courses with access to Davison’s facilities and resources. Activities, ranging from Art to Science, are held for boys and girls aged 8 - 13 at YU. Young YU is where 5 - 7 year olds can also take part.

The CAD/CAM project was launched in 2007 in response to a national initiative: The scheme consists of six teaching sessions held in each of the participating schools, where up to 15 year 7 pupils are introduced to computer applications that enable their own designs to be produced as real products.

The key to being a Davison Girl is involving herself in serving others. There are many opportunities for girls, indeed so many that as part of the workforce reform Davison established the full time post of Community Manager to coordinate the numerous community and fundraising activities in which girls and staff participate.

Student Leadership is encouraged through the Community Prefect team who embody active citizenship and inspire others to serve their community. It is not all about raising money, though in the last six years Davison has raised over £20K per year for local, national and international causes.

In 2008 71% of girls achieved the all important benchmark of 5 good GCSEs at A*-C. Strikingly 32% of girls achieved the new target of 3 or more GCSEs at A*-A.

The Arnewood School is an 11-18 mixed comprehensive school and Technology College serving a demographically diverse, urban and rural catchment.

Through local and national networking, the school has willingly shared its differentiated, personalised ‘guided choice’ curriculum that has been proven to be effective in increasing student attainment, engagement and participation. Numerous applied courses (Construction, Engineering, Health & Social Care, Performing Arts, Leisure and ICT) are taught in conjunction with community and industry partners. NVQ Childcare courses are taught through the onsite nursery. NVQ Food based courses are taught to both full time 14-19 students, through the main school kitchen, as well as to catering staff in other institutions. The school has been awarded enhanced IIP status and Skills Pledge in recognition of its commitment to training within and beyond the school.

Arnewood is an inclusive school that is clearly at the heart of the local community. Imaginative staff and curriculum development have enabled students, at risk of exclusion, to be positively engaged in learning. For example, CoPE (Certificate of Personal Effectiveness) students have proved the outcomes required by their course through community projects such as development of an educational garden; maintenance and improvement of the local cemetery (bordering the school); and constructing and the planting out of planters for the neighbouring Davis Field housing estate.

As a second phase Technology College, The Arnewood School constantly evaluates how innovative use of ICT can enhance both teaching and learning. Visitors to the school will witness students learning through individual laptop computers, that are also used to enhance family learning beyond the school through ‘STAR’, the Arnewood VLE, and potentially also by grandparents through a ‘Silver Surfer’ programme - student led ICT mentoring for senior citizens.

Specialist College outreach work supports primary school colleagues in the delivery of the KS2 curriculum enhancing pupils’ experience and raising attainment. Visitors to the school will frequently see primary aged students participating from their junior schools for extension classes at Arnewood or entire year groups, across our family of schools, participating in themed Science & Technology Days.

Healthy School (enhanced) status accredits the comprehensive, high quality pastoral support of students at and beyond the school site. A full time Community Leader, Extended Services Coordinator, Pastoral Support Manager, qualified school based Student Counsellor and School: Home link worker complement a team of experienced Year Leaders and a specialist Behaviour Team in promoting student welfare, inclusion, and removing potential barriers to our learning community.
Royal Manor Arts College (RMAC) is the only secondary school on the Isle of Portland; the other schools on the island consist of two primaries, one junior and two infant schools. All the schools have worked very closely in cooperation with each other for a number of years and are in agreement that the biggest issue facing all of us is the low level of literacy displayed by many pupils, from reception through to secondary school. Over the past few years we have been working to strengthen the Portland Pyramid of schools, with a view to raising literacy levels in all pupils so that they can enter RMAC, and secondary education, with better language skills. This has taken many forms, including joint research projects with Exeter University and the local authority. Key Stage Two results in 2007 and 2008 have reached national average levels for the first time. Other issues we are addressing include high levels of teenage pregnancies and young adults in their late teens and early twenties who are not
in education, employment or training.

In 2006 we introduced a literacy project that involved more than 50% of the island’s Year 6 pupils. They attended RMAC for an hour a week after school to take part in drama, dance, information and communications technology (ICT) and media lessons, focusing on literacy activities that complement Key Stage 2 lessons. Literacy teachers from the feeder schools met with RMAC teachers to devise a scheme of work that could be taught at RMAC, in curriculum time, as well as after hours, using specialist performing arts teachers. For the autumn term, they settled on a scheme based on The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. A timetable for teaching the book in primary schools was agreed, and this could then be extended at secondary school in dance and drama. The focus at all times was improving the literacy levels of the pupils, leading to a presentation of the book in drama and dance to parents just before Christmas. In the spring term, we changed the focus to media and ICT. Year six pupils became reporters, editors and designers, with a view to producing a news paper on Portland past, present and future (we are the venue for the 2012 Olympic sailing events).

In 2007 Portland headteachers produced a 20/20 vision document which we gave to the local authority, setting out our case for working even more closely together in the future. It is staged in a medium and long-term vision, with 2012, the date of Olympic sailing events, being the first test of progress. Since then a core team of headteachers has developed a plan to grow a 0-19 academy on the island, which will be explained on the tour. This vision for 0-19 education is embedded at the heart of island life.

Education will be two-tiered from 3-19, including integrated and purpose-built foundation stage units at one end and both academic courses and vocational training technology workshops at the other. The reorganisation into primary education implies a coordinated and coherent building programme to provide premises that are truly fit for purpose in the 21st century. Highly skilled and committed teachers will be attracted to the island to take part in the innovation revolution taking place in the public sector mimicking and improving on the private sector. The schools will represent the hub of social, cultural and educational life on Portland. The premises will be available 24/7 for local community groups, to raise work place skills levels and to provide healthy lifestyle options for Portland. There will be children’s centres, with all schools developing full service extended provision. The five outcomes of Every Child Matters will be addressed by a holistic, multi-agency approach, with the child at the heart of the process.

Brixham College, for many years, has been central to learning in its community. It has built on this foundation in the past 20 years having the vision to expand and transform in response to need and opportunity.

It is now a college of 1000+ students, aged 11-17, has a specialism in visual arts and has built on its designation as a full service extended school. Comprehensive in status, and very inclusive by nature, it is nevertheless affected by selective policies of 4 of the eight secondary schools in the local authority. Brixham College, however, remains highly popular and oversubscribed taking the vast majority of pupils from Brixham primary schools and progressively a significant number more from schools across Torbay.

But, the nature and diversity of the intake means that the College has to work very hard to maintain improvements in conventional measures of examination success. In a significant number of students this relates to low self esteem, poor self confidence, low educational aspirations and chaotic family life. Our strategies are designed to rectify these barriers to success. In contrast, we also attract a significant number of motivated, gifted and talented children in a variety of disciplines and it is imperative that these strengths are recognised and built upon.

Life at Brixham College is exciting, vibrant and friendly. To meet the challenges we have developed the concept of ‘learning campus’ and, in part, addressing these local needs through international and global partnerships. We want to stretch and challenge all children and young people through a range of creative solutions and to have high expectations of their responses.

The infrastructure of the College is therefore developing to support these aims. A senior leadership team consisting of the Principal and four Directors lead the College through the Directorates and the Houses. The newly formed house system is designed to develop further the positive learning ethos through fostering leadership, co-operation and by rewarding success.

The buildings of the campus are variable in quality but support learning for the students and wider community through their specialist and distinctive nature. Although the original 1960’s building is in need of overhaul it has been remodeled regularly and the use of art work and display enhances its quality. New buildings and extensions have allowed for diversification and a range of access to the site according to need. The Lighthouse Gallery, Sports Centre, Adult Leaning Centre, Performing Arts Centre and Learning Resource Centre are all in strategic positions. The enhanced provision for autistic students has its own separate entrance, and the multi-agency cluster team is co-located in separate rooms.

The most recent innovation is joint working with the adjacent primary school, currently undergoing expansion and redevelopment. The two schools now intend to explore symbiotic arrangements to develop a Trust with other educational and business partners.