Ethos, Core Values & Expectations

Introduction to the school

Highams Park School is a mixed 11-18 comprehensive school serving the local area. As an Academy it is run by Highams Park Academy Trust. The Trust is the equivalent of the Governing Body for the school. Unlike sponsored Academies that are part of a chain, Highams Park Academy Trust only exists to support Highams Park School.

The Trustees are also the directors of Highams Park Academy Trust and appoint all the school staff and make all strategic policy decisions for the school. Most of them have a long association with the school; many are parents of current or former students of the school and all share your ambition to see the students reach their potential.

There are over 1,500 students, including approximately 350 in the 6th Form. The school is very popular and heavily oversubscribed. Students regularly achieve excellent exam results both at GCSE and A level. The majority of students continue into the 6th Form and go on to University and higher education, some to the most prestigious institutions in the country.

As an Academy, we are funded directly by the Government and hold true to our core values. These define the principles used to make decisions throughout the school and it is our ambition for all families to adopt them as something that they contribute to, rather than anything that is imposed upon them. The school’s motto of “Success through our Endeavours”, summarises these values and reflects our belief that it is by collective hard work that future success is achieved.

The school seeks to produce good citizens so we expect students to help build a calm but purposeful atmosphere with a clearly defined pattern of behaviour and dress. Considerable emphasis is placed on developing caring and considerate attitudes in our students. The core behaviours of “Respect, Responsibility and Resilience” underpin all school rules and expectations. We recognise the value of the individual and make every effort to provide opportunities for children to succeed, not only in academic work, but also in every aspect of life. We have high expectations and we organise a rigorous curriculum to stretch every student. Children’s progress is carefully monitored and reported regularly to parents. The curriculum is carefully constructed to prepare children for the world, equipped with the relevant attitudes, skills and qualifications.

Homework is organised for all students, which takes account of their age and ability. Tasks are set to do at home which may include assignments and investigative work as well as more traditional homework tasks. Firefly – the school’s digital learning resource, is used extensively to support learning.

The Pastoral System is organised in such a way that, as far as possible, parents have contact throughout the five years with one Tutor who will know their child’s character. Any parent is welcome to discuss a problem with the Tutor or the Head of Year as appropriate.

Many extra-curricular activities are organised by staff. These include participation in sport, dance, drama, music and a variety of clubs. These take place before school, at lunchtime, after school and at weekends. There are also opportunities for the children to participate in residential courses, fieldwork and educational visits.

We are extremely proud of our students’ achievements and the facilities available for them. However, students’ achievements are made possible through their own dedicated hard work alongside the support and guidance of the high calibre teachers, support staff and trustees that we are lucky to have at Highams Park School.

Core Values

The core values expressed below sum up the spirit of the school

We aim to:

Remain a fully comprehensive mixed 11-18 local school providing a broad and balanced curriculum;
Ensure high standards of work, behaviour, dress and achievement for all students;
Develop cheerful, hard working, honest and well behaved, fit and healthy young adults;
Ensure a safe learning environment where all are valued;
Ensure equality of opportunity for all;
Produce people willing and able to play an active and positive role in a rapidly changing world;
Develop students' sense of respect for themselves and others;
Provide opportunities for students to develop their own spiritual and moral capacities;
Promote students’ appreciation of their own and other cultures;
Encourage students to accept their responsibilities to themselves, the school, the local and wider communities;
Continue to develop as an important part of the local community;
Develop continually as an organisation committed to learning for students, staff and the local community.

Mission statement

At Highams Park we all work together to ensure all students and staff have the opportunity to achieve their personal best both educationally and morally. We aim to enable students to have responsibility for taking their place successfully in a diverse and ever changing society. We encourage and promote mutual respect for each other, hard work and personal resilience all set within a stimulating educational environment.

This vision is captured in the school motto:

‘Success through our endeavours’