Saddleworth School A Specialist Language College

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1 Saddleworth School A Specialist Language College

2 saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE WELCOME TO SADDLEWORTH SCHOOL A warm welcome to the prospectus of Saddleworth School, a Specialist Language College and community school. The exciting, high-achieving, popular school we have today has 100 years of proud academic tradition behind it. Whether it is in academic areas, sport, music, the arts, outdoor pursuits or community service, Saddleworth School students excel. Aim High is our motto for students, parents and everyone else connected with our school. We are in the challenging and thrilling business of shaping the citizens of the 21st century and our expectations are high indeed. We want our students to leave school as excellent learners and achievers, grounded in values and the ability to make their own wise decisions, ready to work hard for a living, contribute to their community and lead a fulfilled, happy life. Every child enters school with the potential to succeed. It is our job to make this happen. As a Specialist Language College, we place particular emphasis on promoting internationalism. Our students have outstanding opportunities to excel in a range of languages and to participate in international experiences. Reading this prospectus is the first step, but please come to see us in action either on one of our Open Morning tours or on our Open Evening. We are a happy and confident school community and look forward to meeting you. Patricia C Cornish Headteacher

3 Who we are Saddleworth School is an 11-16, co-educational, comprehensive secondary school and Specialist Languages College which draws its students primarily from the Saddleworth area itself. Learning takes place in classrooms and a variety of environments including our science laboratories, our technologically advanced modern languages suite, a music recording studio, dance studio, drama studio, 10 ICT suites, MMRC (multi-media resource centre), gymnasium, fitness room, sports hall, grass and astro-turf all weather pitches, MUGA (multi-use games area) and dedicated use of Saddleworth Pool. The school s closeness to delightful open countryside provides excellent opportunities for sports and leisure activities such as Duke of Edinburgh s Award. Our individual students, teams and groups perform outstandingly in local, regional and national sporting and musical competitions. At age 16 our students normally transfer to Oldham Sixth Form College, The Oldham College or other local further education establishments, whilst others successfully enter employment, training schemes and modern apprenticeships. saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE

4 saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE Our Ethos, Values and Ambitions We believe that every student has the right to be secure, happy and successful. We are committed to A caring and well-ordered environment where teachers and students respect each other Identifying each child s individual talents and needs to maximise personal development Developing each child s ability to make balanced judgements, to evaluate, reject and decide for themselves. Encouraging each child s personal, moral, social and cultural development Encouraging parents interest and support for their child s progress Recognising the needs of the community at large and establishing links with local industry and employers Creating a pleasant, satisfying and productive working environment Providing a broad and balanced curriculum preparing students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. Joining Saddleworth School We hope the visits made by many Saddleworth staff to our local primary schools help all new pupils to settle and start learning as soon as they arrive. The taster days, held in June and July, help new students learn their way around and feel confident about joining the school at the start of Year 7. A number of our teachers regularly work in the primary schools in Modern Languages and Sports, for example, and many of our older students who are junior sports leaders or prefects have met and helped younger pupils to gain an early flavour of the school. Saddleworth School is a really great school to come to. Teachers are really kind and helpful (Year 7)

5 Organisation of Learning Our curriculum is broad and balanced and meets National Curriculum requirements, but above all, it is personalised to ensure each student is supported and stretched from Year 7 to Year 11. Throughout Key Stages 3 and 4 students are taught by innovative and creative methods and their progress is continuously monitored by both teachers and students themselves. In addition to core subjects such as English and Mathematics, Key Stage 4 students have a broad opportunity to study subjects which follow their interests, which may range from academic to vocational. All Year 10 students also undertake a period of work experience with a local employer to experience the real world of work. All students are encouraged to develop good study habits to become independent learners and responsible adults. From Year 7 on, they have contact with our careers advice service which is committed to assisting them to progress to the appropriate post-16 destination. saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE

6 saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE Students cultural development is outstanding (Ofsted) Being a Specialist Languages College We want our students to know they are citizens of the world and Internationalism is high profile at Saddleworth School. In addition to many initiatives with an international flavour across the curriculum, students have access to both European and global foreign languages (e.g. French, German, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese.) Foreign visits and exchanges for cultural and sporting purposes are immensely popular and rewarding. Caring for our students Every one of our students matters. We want them to be happy and secure in their work and play at school, and this means that we keep an eye on their progress and provide care and support throughout each child s career at Saddleworth School. We expect every adult in school to play a part in promoting our students welfare in school, particularly the child s form tutor, Learning Coordinator (Head of Year) and Assistant Learning Coordinator. In addition, our Learning Base and mentors provide a highly respected environment for any student in need of support for social, emotional, behavioural or personal reasons. My son has been nurtured, challenged and stretched at all times he is ready to take on the world!

7 Student Voice What our pupils think is important and we listen to what they say. We have an active School Student Council which is led by our Head Boy and Girl. They help to decide how to make the school better and are involved in decisionmaking including the selection of new staff. Other ways for students to take on responsibility may be found in the School s Year Councils, Anti-Bullying Peer Mentors, the Environmental Council, being a Junior Sports Leader, as school visitor guide and as prefects. Saddleworth School Code We have a Code of Conduct which summarises what we expect of our students and which is promoted by our staff. We ask that students always try to understand other people s point of view and to make it as easy as possible for everyone to learn and for teachers to teach. Pupils are asked to move responsibly around School and to keep it clean and tidy. Pupils are expected to take pride in their personal appearance and standard of uniform, and are made aware that standards expected at school will carry forward to working life. saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE

8 saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE The Wider Opportunities at Saddleworth School Saddleworth School is proud to offer many extra-curricular activities at lunchtime and after school hours to help students develop their skills and personalities and have fun. These can include, for example, Music ensembles (brass band, concert band, guitar, woodwind, choir) Sports (football, rugby, netball, basketball, gymnastics, trampolining, cross-country, athletics, swimming, rounders, cricket, tennis) Life Drawing Drama Dance Talent performances Computer activities Maths club Science club Latin club Fit club Teachers give generously of their time and provide students with an extensive and varied range of extra-curricular and enrichment activities. This is a significant strength of the school (Ofsted)

9 Partnership with Parents Our parents support for Saddleworth School is the key to our children s success. We aim to work in close partnership with parents and appreciate the encouragement and support we receive from them. We have plenty of ways of keeping parents informed of school life, including Student diaries Informal and formal phone calls and letters Student reports Parents evenings Our school website Surveys of parent views Insight termly newsletter Exceptional teachers who have gone the extra mile. As a parent I have always considered it a privilege for my children to attend Saddleworth School saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE

10 saddleworth school - a specialist language COLLEGE Saddleworth School Website We are proud of our School website which never stands still. An important 24 hour point of reference for our students, their families, teachers and the public, it includes exam timetables, the school prospectus, letters to parents, calendars of events, contact details, news, job vacancies and closure warnings. All of these are now available as RSS feeds, which deliver updates to any device compatible with the technology, including ipods and mobile phones. The site also has subject information and links to e-learning opportunities, such as revision aids, Oldham MBC, careers advice and Oldham Sixth Form College. Our website reflects our status as a Specialist Language College with many pages being available in several different languages, including a Virtual Tour of the school, narrated in English, French, Spanish and German by our students. A unique languages portal on the site offers a huge amount of multi-lingual learning material for our students, our partner primary schools and the local and global community. As well as our website, we have an online Virtual Learning Environment which allows our students to access electronic assignments and resources and also submit work to their teachers from home, or any other computer with Internet access. The school helps students to develop into confident young people, with the appropriate range of academic, workrelated and social skills to ensure they are well-prepared for the future. (Ofsted)

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12 HIGH STREET To Oldham A669 To Delph The Farrar's Arms Police Station Village Station To Mossley & Ashton A670 Bus Terminus Square Museum A635 GREENFIELD Saddleworth School UPPERMILL To Holmfirth N Created by (ref /09), an ISO9001 Quality and ISO14001 Environmental accredited company. Saddleworth School A Specialist Language College Head Teacher: Mrs Patricia C Cornish MA (Hons), LTCL High Street, Uppermill, Oldham, OL3 6BU Tel: Fax: web: