Getting the ‘Edgefactor’ – how we help you settle into life at Edgecliff
Moving up to Year 7 does not have to be a daunting time for students and their parents/carers. At Edgecliff we go to great lengths to ensure that this transition runs smoothly. The strong pastoral system at the school greatly supports this process by ensuring that each student has two personal tutors in their form groups, as well as the support of Heads of Year, Heads of Key Stage, an Inclusion Manager and a number of other Senior Staff.
The size and personable ethos of Edgecliff, combined with the aforementioned network ensures a wealth of expertise is on hand to assist students in realising their full potential. At Edgecliff we pride ourselves on the fact that each student is valued for who they are and as a school community we readily celebrate our many successes.
“Our mission statement at Edgecliff is to maximise the personalisation of learning.”
Along with the network of academic and pastoral staff, Year 7 students are supported by their peers. Years 8 and 9 have undertaken training in order to operate a ‘Listen Up’ service for the new intake, whereby they assist with day to day routines and offer friendly, supportive advice. A significant number of our Year 11 students are Prefects - their job role, along with assisting with key aspects of the school day is to help our Year 7s settle in to life at Edgecliff. Both of these peer support systems are monitored by the Inclusion Manager and Assistant Headteacher responsible for Key Stage 4.
The support network is underpinned by the fact that students see their form tutors twice a day. This time is dedicated to discussing pastoral matters, academic progress and undertaking a daily act of worship. The inclusion of a second form tutor, as already stated, means that any matters arising from these discussions can be quickly rectified.
Personal Social Health and Economic Education (PSHEE) is delivered through a dedicated lesson, collapsed timetable days and is linked across the curriculum. At Edgecliff, PSHEE is focussed on developing students’ understanding of the world around them and the central tenants of the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL), Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) programmes and how to act as a responsible citizen. This work is fundamental to building resilient, life-long learners who possess strong moral conviction as well as assisting in the actualisation of a number of school policies e.g. Edgecliff’s anti-bullying policy and the students’ charter.
Together with the support derived from form groupings, regular whole-school and year group assemblies help to build a strong sense of community and common purpose in our students. The themes of these assemblies are varied and again, focus on developing the characteristics highlighted above.
Every subject faculty at Edgecliff undertakes a robust program of academic assessment and monitoring of students, which is securely fed into a state of the art online data tracking package. This is an important component of student development as we can quickly identify where a student is - in terms of their learning and what they need to do next in order to maximise their potential.
In Years 8 – 11, at the start of the school year, parents and all students meet with tutors to discuss progress and areas of development. To compliment this system, regular review and guidance (AIG) sessions between tutor, student and parent are now fixed into the aforementioned years’ timetable. These run in addition to tutor and subject parents’ evenings and formal school reports, which operate for each year group. The system of AIG currently in place will shortly be reviewed – it is under proposal to extend this to Year 7 pupils. Further information on these and other systems of advice and guidance in operation within the school can be located on the ‘Information and Guidance’ section on the main page of the school website.
Along with academic success there is a great sporting tradition at Edgecliff with teams in all major sports. The level of participation in sporting activity is outstanding with all students, new or existing encouraged to take part. The school operates a house system, which sees the new intake assigned into one of the four houses, Lee, Whittington, Somery and Grey. Inter-house competitions in a variety of sports take place throughout the year, the culmination of these competitions is Cavalcade (sports day), a hugely popular event in which every student takes part.
Participation in the above and a wide range of extra curricular activities gives further opportunity for students to achieve and make new friends. Members of our popular Science and Technology Club enjoy a variety of activities from visits to such venues as the National Space Centre to building motorised models. The exciting work of this club typifies the high quality work in the field of technology at Edgecliff.
The educational experience on offer at Edgecliff High School is holistic, providing students with the attributes of life-long learners who are fully prepared for their future lives in an increasingly competitive world. If you have any questions about joining Edgecliff, please do not hesitate to contact the Headteacher’s PA Melanie Howell or me on (01384) 551000.