Page 1 of 20
WHITCHURCH HIGH SCHOOL GOVERNORS’ REPORT 2014-15
Page 2 of 20 Governors’ Report for the Academic Year 2014/2015
Whitchurch High (Foundation) School is a popular, oversubscribed, English-medium secondary school for pupils aged between 11 years and 18 years of age. The aims of the Governors, Headteacher and Staff of the school are to enable all pupils to develop to their full ability and to be made aware of the contribution they can make to the community. This Report is intended to give a brief indication of the work of the school in the 2014/2015 Academic Year. Following parental requests in July 2015 the Governors’ Annual Meeting with Parents was held in September 2015 to update parents and carers on information on examination and other outcomes. At the meeting, and in other correspondence, parents were advised of the forthcoming parent governor elections. The next governor meeting with parents will be held in Summer 2016. The report is broken down into the following sections: 1.0 The Governing Body 2.0 The Management and staffing of the school 3.0 The development of the school 4.0 Additional Learning Needs 5.0 School Uniform 6.0 School prospectus 7.0 Finance 8.0 Curriculum 9.0 Examination results 2015 and target setting 10.0 School activities 11.0 Attendance 12.0 Community Links 13.0 Policies 14.0
Toilets
15.0 16.0
Appetite for Life Governors’ Recognition Governors acknowledgement to all staff
17.0
1.0 1.1 1.2
1.3
2.0 2.1
2.2
The Governing Body The composition of the Governing Body is shown in Appendix 1. The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of Governors are elected annually. The current Chairperson is Joyce Slack and the Vice Chairperson is Sian Hopkins. Clerk to the Governors is Gareth Coombs. The role of the Governors is to set, within the parameters of current legislation, the broad framework of policies under which the school will operate and to support the Headteacher and staff of the school in the discharge of their professional responsibilities. The full Governing Body meets a minimum of four times a year. Meetings are attended by the Deputy Headteachers and also representatives of the pupils, generally the Head Boy and Head Girl. There are subcommittees to deal internally with finance, curriculum and achievement issues, pay, estates and appeals against pupil temporary and permanent exclusions. The Management and Staffing of the School The Headteacher has been supported by a Senior Leadership Team which included two Deputy Headteachers, seven Assistant Headteachers and the School Business Manager. The SLT works closely with the Middle Leadership Team and four Focus Teams (i) Standards (ii) Learning and Teaching (iii) Inclusion and Wellbeing and (iv) Partnership, in ensuring policies are put into practice and effective educational strategies are delivered. There were 105 full-time teaching staff and 23 part-time teaching staff at the commencement of the academic year 2014-2015, full time 120.1 equivalent, compared with 125.7 and 125.3 respectively in the two previous academic years.
Page 3 of 20 2.3
3.0 3.1
There were 21 fulltime non teaching staff, 12 full time term time and 98 part-time term time non teaching staff at the commencement of the academic year 2013-2014. During 2014-2015 there were 19 full time non teaching staff, 10 full time term time and 94 part time term time. The Development of the School The number on roll in September 2014 was 2147, compared with 2178 in 2013 and 2231 in 2012. The school is the largest in Wales and considered to be one of the largest in the United Kingdom. The average class sizes in September 2014 were at Key Stage 3 - 27, Key Stage 4 - 22.9 and KS5 - 14.87.
3.2
Improvement works to the learning environment have been carried out by the school as part of an annual programme supported by the LA. Significant LEA capital investment for 2014 to 2015 has been made to the lower school site for DDA compliance. The governors are grateful for their support which brings considerable benefits to all members of the school community.
4.0 Additional Learning Needs (ALN) 4.1 The school continues to review its Additional Learning Needs provision and works closely with the Authority regarding arrangements for admission and access.
4.2 At present there are 331 pupils’ registered in years 7-13 in total on the ALN register at School Action (SA), School Action plus (SAP) and with a Statement of Special Educational Need.
There are 68 students with Statements of which 49 are taught within the Specialist Resource Base.
There are a number of intervention programmes which students access according to their needs and some shared in-class support as dictated by their Statements and the LA recommendations. 4.3 The school has worked with the LA to improve the Upper School SRB facilities. This also includes the opening of a newly built Exhibition Centre. 5.0 School Uniform 5.1 This year’s year seven join their peers who have been wearing the new school uniform for at least a year. The uniform has been phased in over a two year period and the school continue to receive many unsolicited compliments about how smart it is. 6.0 School Prospectus 6.1 This is currently being reprinted due to the change in school uniform, but detailed inserts are available, including summaries for the sixth form and SRB. 7.0 Finance 7.1 Set out below is the 2015-2016 Budget and the 2014-2015 Outturn expenditure for the school. These are based on April –March financial years Outturn-2014-2015 Employee related expenses Premises related expenses Transport related expenses Supplies and Services Service Units Income Amended Budget 2015-2016 Employee related expenses Premises related expenses Transport related expenses Supplies and Services Service Units
8,207,841 1,495,292 7659 767,719 134,565 968,971 9,644,105
8,069,336 956,900 9,100 728,361 141,044
Income Deficit
480,894 9,423,847 300,000
Page 4 of 20
7.2
7.3
The school has in place a Medium Term Plan and is working in partnership with the LA to balance the budget, thereby removing the deficit. However the governors recognise that the factors that have resulted in the deficit situation have been outside the governors’ and school’s control and are due to reduction in national funding levels (post 16 education) and inequalities within Cardiff City Council’s Local Management of schools scheme . The governors are concerned about the sustainability of revenue budgets to develop as well as maintain education provision at such a prolonged period of national and local austerity and are working pro-actively with the Schools budget Forum to ensure a review of the Local Management of Schools scheme.
8.0 Curriculum
8.1 The School continues to operate a 50 period fortnight, delivering 25 hours of contact time per week in line with National Assembly guidelines. The Welsh Baccalaureate was introduced into KS4 from September 2010. 8.2 Post 16 The School is able to offer 35 subjects at AS and A2 level. The results at Advanced Level and this, no doubt, is one of the reasons why the Sixth Form remains so attractive to a large number of students from other schools. 60.3% of pupils achieved A*-B grades, 83.9% A*-C and 9.5% A*-E. There is a continued history of students registering for degree courses at university after following courses at Whitchurch High School. From 2009/10 the Welsh Baccalaureate continues to form part of the core curriculum for all KS 5 students. There were 200 students in Year 12 (September 2014The Sixth Form total was 390 at the start of the 2014-2015 academic year. The School currently has 3 overseas students and 13 students from other secondary schools
From September 2014 most students in Year 12 follow a course consisting of four AS level subjects, together with the Welsh Baccalaureate core. There are also 14 students from the Special Resource Base that returned into the Sixth Form.
Governors are concerned about the future sustainability of school Sixth Forms and are engaged with other local schools and the LEA to ensure the highest outcomes and best value for money. In the 2014-2015 academic year we had 26 pupils who came from Radyr, Cardiff High, Llanishen and Cathays High Schools to study one subject with us. 8.3
Term Dates and Session Times Autumn Term Tuesday 2 September 2014 Half term – Monday 22 October – Friday 31 October Term ends Friday 19 December Spring Term Monday 5 January 2015 Half term – Monday 16 February – Friday 20 February Term ends – Friday 27 March Summer Term Monday 13 April Half term – Monday 25 May – Friday 29 May Term ends – Friday 17 July
Page 5 of 20 Timing of the School Day Pupils to be on site START OF SCHOOL TUTORIAL PERIOD BREAK 1 LESSON 1 BREAK 1 LESSON 2 BREAK 2 LESSON 3 LUNCH LESSON 4 BREAK LESSON 5 END OF SCHOOL 9.0 9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
MONDAY TO THURSDAY 8:25 8:30 8:30 – 8:50 8:50 – 9:05 9:05 – 10:05 - 10:05 – 11:05 11:05 – 11:20 11:20 – 12:15 12:15 – 1:00 1:00 – 2:00 2:00 – 2:15 2:15 – 3:15 3:15
FRIDAY ONLY 8:25 8:30 - - 8:30 – 9:30 9:30 – 9:45 9:45 – 10:45 10:45 – 11:00 11:00 – 12:00 12:00 – 12:45 12:45 – 1:45 1:45 – 2:00 2:00 – 3:00 3:00
Examination Results 2015 and Target Setting A level and A/S level results were the highest in the school’s history, surpassing recent improvements. The pass rate at “A” level was 99.5% and 61.1% of our “A” Level grades were at A*, A or B, maintaining the excellent standards set over recent years. In many subjects ‘A’ level grade profiles were significantly better than national averages. The pass rate at “AS” level dipped slightly from 95% to 94% but is still very encouraging. The GCSE examination results were the best the school has seen. 72.3% of mainstream students achieved 5 A* to C grades including English and Mathematics, a significant increase from the 60% of 2014 and in excess of the revised target set at 69+%. The percentage of mainstream pupils achieving five or more A* - C grades also rose significantly from 67% to 85%. 97% of all mainstream pupils achieved five or more A*-G passes, maintaining the standards set in recent years. Appendix 3 summarises the GCSE examination results for summer 2015 together with data on historical trends and progress against the National Achievement targets. As in previous years all end of Key Stage 3 assessments were based solely on teacher assessment. Results in all subjects compared favourably with national averages, in particular at the higher National Curriculum levels of 6 or above. In English 93.4% of pupils achieved level 5 or better, in Maths 96.0% of pupils achieved a level 5 or better and in Science 95.1% of students achieved level 5 or better. Maths was just above the 95% target set by governors, science was in line with the targets, while English was just below the 95% target. The Core Subject Indicator (percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or better in English, Maths and Science) was 90.5%, below the target set but exceeding the 83% achieved last year. Levels achieved in foundation subjects compared favourably with national averages, again, particularly at the level of 6 or above. See Appendix 2. The Welsh Government produce a web site ‘My Local School’ www.mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk. This site contains a wealth of data from contextual information, such as data on pupil numbers and characteristics, to school performance, attendance and data on staffing and finance. The site is updated by the middle of January each year once verified examination data is available and National Moderation of categorisation has taken place. The Governors have set the following targets for 2016. At KS3, the targets relate to the percentage of pupils who achieve a Level 5 or better in the core subjects, and in 2016 these figures are 95% in English, Maths and Science. The Core Subject Indicator Target at KS3 is 95%. At KS4, the target set for pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Maths (L2+) is 80% and for pupils achieving 5 or more A*- C grades (L2) is 90%. The Core Subject Indicator target at KS4 is 75%. These are again ambitious trend targets but all at the school are determined to achieve them. See Appendix 3, page 15.
Page 6 of 20 9.6
Under the Welsh Government’s categorisation the school’s Standards Group was judged as a ‘3’. The Capacity to Improve was judged a ‘D’ and thus the overall categorisation for 2015 to 2015 was ‘3D’ ‘Red Support’. The governors believed the school should have been ‘3C’ ‘Amber Support’. This was moderated by the Central Consortium to the published ‘3D’.
10.0 School Activities 10.1 Art Exhibitions and Exams Excellent exam grades were achieved by pupils at KS5. 100% A-C grades across all three courses and a high percentage of A*/A grades: A’Level Art and design: 41% A*/A; A’Level Applied Art 100% A*/A; A’Level Photography 33% A* At AS level only one pupil achieved a D grade across all three courses. A high percentage of A grades were awarded: AS Photography 37.5% A AS Art 64% A AS Applied Art 87.5 % A At KS4 GCSE Art and Design 89% A-C grades BTEC 100% A-C 60% A*/A Entry Pathways. 100% achieved the full Diploma. Staff were disappointed with the GCSE Art and Design grades, in particular the lack of A* and the higher than usual number of D grades. A re mark was requested but no grades were changed. At KS3 98.3% pupils achieved level 5 and above, placing the department back in Quartile 1. In June, an exhibition of art work by Year 12 and 13 pupils took place in the exhibition centre. On the opening evening there was again an excellent turnout of family and friends alongside staff and governors. In July an exhibition of GCSE/BTEC and Entry Pathways work took place in the exhibition centre displaying the work of over 100 pupils. The opening evening was well attended by family, staff and friends. The gallery has been well used this year with numerous visits from Year 8 and 9 classes and visits from our neighbouring primary schools. The art work on display has been used to trigger literacy activities based on the content of the work. Department staff have devised a generic questionnaire and invested in a set of clip boards for the sole purpose of using the gallery as an educational facility. The gallery was also used to showcase the Entry Pathways artwork alongside the presentation of certificates for the pupils in the SRB unit. Competitions In the autumn term all pupils in Year 8 entered the annual art competition for ‘Race Equality first’. Students were asked to design a poster on the theme ‘Equality, Let’s make it happen’ for next year’s calendar. Rebecca Lewis from Whitchurch was a winner in the competition. The poster and calendar were distributed around all County buildings in Cardiff and the Vale. Rebecca and her parents attended a special prize giving ceremony at County Hall in December where the Lord Mayor of Cardiff launched the calendar and presented her with a £50 voucher and £150 for the school. Visits A residential visit to Paris took place in the autumn term 2014, providing opportunities for pupils to visit some of the most influential and inspiring museums and galleries in the city. 32 pupils studying art and photography were accompanied by 3 staff. A visit to the internationally renowned Paris Photo Exhibition at the Grand Palais was an excellent source of inspiration for the Photography students. The trip acted as a catalyst for individual projects back in the classroom. Numerous local trips have taken place to galleries to visit exhibitions of photography, art and end of year shows at the University. Art workshops have taken place at the beach, Caerphilly Mountain and Cardiff Bay. Community Partnerships Year 13 Applied Art student Ceinwen James worked in Hawthorn Primary school designing and producing a series of illustrated dragons on the walls outside the classrooms. The dragons started small, gradually getting larger to reflect the age of the pupils. The dragons are being used as an integral part of teaching and learning. Pupils following the Applied Art course worked on a real project brief set by the company Mott MacDonald. The brief, which ran as a competition, was supported and monitored by the Director of the company, Mr Paul Maliphant. Mott
Page 7 of 20 MacDonald gave financial support to all of the students at the start of the project and awarded the winner of this year’s competition with a £100 cheque. In July the final stage of an ambitious community project was completed as two large wooden trees, were delivered to Coryton Primary School. The trees had been completed by a group of Year 10 pupils working alongside two classes of primary school pupils. The pupils from Coryton designed and painted over 60 wooden leaves with imaginary characters inspired by their favourite books. The two 8ft trees are to be installed in the reading garden at Coryton. 10.2 Drama The academic year got off to a flying start with a visit to “The Sherman Theatre” in early October, to see a contemporary production of “Romeo and Juliet”. The energy, music and colourful costumes brought Shakespeare’s tragic love story to life and provided a wealth of devising ideas for Year 12 and 13 students. In November, it was a visit to “Chapter” to see “Oh What A Lovely War” which engaged pupils in Key Stage 4 and 5. St David’s Hall provided the venue for our next theatre visit, “An Audience with Steven Berkoff”. Here the well- known and often controversial theatre practitioner lived up to his reputation, offering candid views on the state of British theatre today and the acting profession in general! However, it was a visit to the WMC in February, which really excited the pupils. An innovative promenade production of “Richard 111 which took the audience on a journey under the eves of the Millennium Centre. As we followed the dynamic performances of the all-female cast we climbed over scaffolding, stood on metal benches and watched in awe as “Richard” manipulated those around him. Another WMC “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” was a huge hit. The fantastic technical production was thoroughly absorbing. With examinations looming a visit to the Dylan Thomas Theatre in Swansea to see a production of the Year 12 set text, “Blue Remember Hills” was a must. During the year we have continued to develop our links with professionals and agencies engaged in theatre in order to broaden the pupils’ experiences. To this end Kevin Lewis, the Artistic Director of Theatr Iolo, popped into the Drama Studio in February half term to run a Performance Workshop for Year 11 GCSE pupils. Year 12 students spent an afternoon in the RWCMD working with Michael Waters and visiting an exhibition of Set Designs/Costumes created by 3rd Year Students at RWCMD. A small group of pupils representing all key stages worked with Duncan Fisher to make a film, “Kids in the Middle”, for a charitable organisation to help young people caught up in the ‘middle’ of their parents’ divorce. December 2014 was the 25th anniversary of “The Young Playwright Festival” and for this special year we were particularly fortunate to have Paul Fisher as our Special Guest. A former Whitchurch pupil Paul is a highly successful barrister now living and working in London. As a keen performer himself (he studied Drama at GCSE) Paul was well placed to offer encouragement and advice to all involved in the Festival. For me, one of the highlights of this year’s “YPF” was that for the first time ever, all aspects of the festival were run by the pupils; from the writing, to the acting, to the directing, to the composition of the technical and backstage crews. The event proved as popular as ever with a staggering amount of entries covering a wide range of topics. The two winning plays from Year 7 were “Heaven’s Reception” by Ben Gasston and Abdal Mahdi of 7J and “Gunpowder, Treason and Plot” by Jessica Bright and Rosa Mayer of 7P. These two comedies were hilarious and engaged the audience immediately. Whilst 8J’s winning entry by Caitlin Williams and Leah Morris, “The Trap, the Traitor and the Triumph” provided an interesting twist to a classic tale of good versus evil. “The Wizard of Whitchurch” by Mia Griffiths of Year 8C, presented a humorous and magical account of our own school!“. Anyone who thought cats were sweet, fluffy creatures would have to think again after seeing 9K, Meredith Crosland’s, “Mission Revolution”. Once again it was the final play by a previous winner, Alex Wall of Year 9M, to bring the 25th“YPF” to a close. His play, “Two Brothers” was a sensitive account of the lives of two brothers torn apart by WW1 and provided not only a pertinent reminder of the horrors of war but also a fitting tribute to the 100th Anniversary of the start of WW1. “Face” was the choice for this year’s school production. Performed in the Drama Studio and involving a cast and crew of approximately 70 pupils (the largest number of pupils involved in any school production to date!!) it proved to be highly successful and every performance was a complete sell-out. Drama Club has continued to expand and develop, with pupils showcasing their skills and talents in “The Summer Festival” pupils once again performed a range of extracts. The lunchtime “Techie Club” has continued to be popular and, supported by Jessica Screen and Jamie Holden of Year 10, Key Stage 3 pupils meet in the Drama Studio to develop their working knowledge of sound and lighting. These pupils are now able to provide technical support for WJEC Practical Examinations, the YPF and Drama Club productions. A highlight of the year for both the Drama and Music Departments was the very successful return trip to New York in half term of October 2014. The sun shone and a thoroughly good time was had by all. Mr O’Rourke is currently planning our next visit, October 2016 and we can’t wait!
Page 8 of 20
10.3 Music The Music Centre continues to have a huge impact on the music education of pupils of all ages. Our schemes of work enable key stage 3 pupils to take full advantage of the excellent facilities available in our music IT room. Examination results continue to be high. At GCSE level in 2015, 65% of pupils achieved A*/A, an increase of 10% on the already excellent results of 2014. The three pupils at A level all achieved B grades. We are pleased to report that whenever parents of prospective pupils at year 6 open evenings and on other occasions visit the Music Centre all are impressed by such an amazing facility. As always, this has been a busy year for our school ensembles. Before Christmas, we held a concert in the Dutch Barn which featured, in particular, singers and guitarists and the 2014 award in memory of Chris Sharp was presented to Leila Navabi, a pupil in the year 11 GCSE group. Following another successful Carol Service at Llandaff Cathedral, the Lower School concert was held in the Dutch Barn in the Easter term, followed closely by the Richard Fice concert. The Richard Fice Memorial Award was presented to two talented singers, Aemilia Claydon and Emma Twomlow, both of Year 13, who have made a huge contribution to Music and musical theatre throughout their time in school. The academic year ended with the annual two day orchestra course and concert for instrumentalists from all our Primary Partner schools. It was wonderful to see the Dutch Barn once again full of young musicians and their appreciative families and friends. This long-established partnership between WHS and our local Junior Schools will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2016. A large number of pupils continue to represent the school at county and national level. Many thanks for all the hard work and support of an extremely talented group of staff, not forgetting our dedicated team of peripatetic teachers, and to every single pupil for their loyalty and commitment. I should also like to take this opportunity to thank the Head, Governors and all senior members of staff for all their support throughout another busy academic year. 10.4 Physical Education This year has again been another fantastic year in the PE department with great successes including the senior rugby team winning the Welsh Vase at Stradey Park and the awarding of WRU academy status for the school due to all the work done by Mr Steve Williams and Mr Dai Williams. Again many of our students represented wales at international level in several sports and the participation levels and the clubs have been great successes again with the some additional clubs run by the 5x60 scheme this enables the school to facilitate a variety of sporting activities. A ‘Sports Leaders’ Level 1 course was completed and passed by x20 Yr 9 pupils. These pupils were not just the sports performers but a cross section of the cohort including FSM students. The Inter house and inter form championships in Cross country, athletics, rugby, football, netball and hockey were again supported by staff and pupils alike ensuring that the sport for all ethos is maintained and pupils have the opportunity to play competitive sport. During the inter house week over a 1100 pupils will take part again raising money for sport relief and this year helping to purchase medals for the top three athletes in every event in sports day. The Cross country event this September 2015 took on extra importance with the event becoming a Charity cross country event in the memory of Peter Baldwin. The event was a fantastic success and seemed to take on a new level of interest and determination by all the pupils. The charity selected this year was Diabetes UK and the pupils raised almost £2500 during the event. Special thanks must go to Rachel Thomas for coming up with the idea and to Mr and Mrs Baldwin for the strength and courage they showed coming to the event and Mr Baldwin participating in what I am sure was a very difficult day. In addition to the sports mentioned above Whitchurch High School’s name was associated with the highest standard of school sport with the rowing teams run by Mr Mike Williams who again achieved a fantastic level of participation and success. Fantastic individual athletics successes were gained in the Welsh inter counties championship by Kate Seary – 800, Tom Nesham steeplechase, Kieran Grimwade Hammer, James Vincent 800m and Ryan Grimwade Pole Vault all winning gold. Tom, Kieran and James were the athletes that went on to represent Wales in the athletics all three in year 10. Other Internationals include Alex Smith - Football, Addie Brennan- cricket, Liv Banazak – Football, Rhodri Beynnon Weight
Page 9 of 20 lifting, Nia Sanders – water polo, Olivia Evans – Athletics, Tina Gilsepy – Volleyball. Special mention must also go to Bethan Nesham on her outstanding award of being a Platinum Ambassador for the Welsh Youth Sports Trust. Prem Sisodya and Kiran Carlson were also selected for the Glamorgan Elite Cricket academy and we have high hopes for them in the future and wish them well on their tour later this year and it was fantastic when Naomi Davies presented the school with her full international cricket shirt for the Elite Hall of Fame. In addition to this many of our teams did well in county championships in several sports, and many of our students were selected to represent the county at regional level in a variety of sporting disciplines. The school were county champions in the year 8 football and Rugby, the year 9 rugby also won and we were finalists in the senior Football. The department would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them all and with hard work help them progress to further honours in the future. As always the ‘Senior Sports Dinner’ is the end of year highlight and this again was an outstanding evening with our guest speakers being home grown with Ben Warburton (Cardiff blues Physio) and Sam his brother coming along to do a question and answer session. The evening was very special to say the least and I am sure will inspire many of our athletes to achieve their potential not just in sport but in life. During the evening speeches were made by all the captains: Netball: Zoe Peckham-Smith; Hockey: Izzy Robertson; Rugby: Harry Lang; Football: Evan Oliver The main awards for the evening nominated by the players were awarded to the following students: Players Player of the year: Rugby – Richard Evans; Football- Alex Smith; Netball- Zoe Peckham-Smith; Hockey – Vicky Smith During the evening it was also appropriate to celebrate our senior elite athletes who have gained representative honours during the season the following students have represented Wales or GB. Academically the GCSE results were the best since 2005 with a pass rate of 87.5% going up from 74% A-C which was achieved last year. The A*-A Grades were again only bettered in 2005 and this year 42% of the pupils gained this result. AS results were the best the department has achieved since 2005 with 28.2% of the pupils gaining an A grade in comparison to 14% getting an A grade last year. The A-C grade was 71.2% again the best result since 2005 and 92.9% gaining a pass at this level. The A2 results were the best results the department have every achieved with 22.2% of the students gaining the top grade of A*. The A* to C grade was also the best we have ever achieved with 77.8% gaining this grade. 100% of the pupils achieved a grade in the subject at ‘A’ level standard. The key stage 3 level 5+ were again the best the department have achieved with 96% gaining a level 5 the department is now in the 2nd quartile in our family of schools. The department at this time would like to thank the senior management and yourselves as governors for your support of the department which allows us to offer our pupils these fantastic opportunities be it on our southern hemisphere tours or participating in the world largest rugby 7s tournament in London or simply competing at county, regional or national level for the school. Without your continued support and understanding of the importance of sport none of this would be possible. 11.0 Attendance 11.1 Attendance continues to improve for all year groups in the school. Authorised absences in 2014/2015 across the school totalled 3.96% (-0.34%) and 1.2% (-0.2%) were unauthorised. This meant that for the fourth year in a row the school's overall attendance percentage increased again this year by 0.54% to 94.84%. Something that the school is extremely proud of. The governors are grateful for the support of parents and staff in improving pupil attendance. 11.2 The governors were delighted that four of our students were selected to be photographed for the Central South Consortium’s attendance campaign for the five local authorities representing the 420 schools. This campaign has been equally successful in raising the profile of attendance in other schools as well as Whitchurch High School.
Page 10 of 20 11.3
It is the policy of the school to rigorously monitor attendance and when necessary to prosecute parents if no cooperation is forthcoming. A number of initiatives have been implemented to improve the early identification of unauthorised absences and a computerised attendance system is in operation, complemented by a Truancy Call system. This has provided us with added information in order to deal with unauthorised absences. The two dedicated school attendance officers continue to work within Whitchurch High cluster of schools to help raise attendance still further, liaising at all times with the Educational Welfare Service.
12.0 Community Links 12.1 Sadly the funding for the Community Focused Schools initiative has been discontinued by the Welsh Government, curtailing many potential activities that could have gone ahead with the correct financial support. This has affected both Whitchurch High and our primary partners. It is difficult to make up for this shortfall in funding at a time when financial constraints are severe.
Governors and staff are keen that the school should have good links with the local community. There is a close working relationship with the Youth Club and Community Service and the school is the site for a very large number of community education classes and several community groups, together with a number of playschools during the school holidays. The school plays a major role in, and hosts, meetings of the Whitchurch Action for Youth initiative (WAY) and the Partnerships and Communities Together (PACT) group. The Astroturf is being fully used at all times by a number of local sporting clubs and associations. PowerLeague has provided further opportunities for the community to have access to quality sporting facilities. These are outstanding facilities valued by our pupils. As part of the work experience programme in Year 11, many local businesses offer regular quality placements. Local entrepreneurs also contribute to the curriculum through the Dynamo Project and the Learning Conference in Year 9. The governors are grateful to all businesses for continuing to support the school during such economically challenging times. A professionally published school newsletter is sent out annually to all parents, primary partner schools and to local businesses. A number of senior staff are represented on the Governing Bodies of partner primary schools. A highly acclaimed transitional PPA scheme for Year 6 pupils in our partner primary schools, who are due to join Whitchurch High School in the next academic year, enables them to experience weekly visits and lessons at Whitchurch High. Members of the local community continue to provide literacy support in the Key Stage 3 reading scheme. The Welsh Baccalaureate in KS4 requires pupils to be involved in community work and this builds on the same qualification at a higher level in KS5. The vast range of out of hours activities available at Whitchurch High, apart from providing valuable learning experiences, help support families in developing their children’s positive outlook on school life. In addition, more of the community facilities available beyond the school are being utilised for these activities. The school provides a venue on a regular basis for a range of activities that are county wide, both sporting and otherwise. These are evidenced on the school website. The school website provides a direct link to the ‘outside world’ and is updated on a regular basis. This is complemented by ‘In Touch’ a parent email distribution system. These allow immediate communication with a large sector of the Whitchurch High School community. Considerable coverage of the school in the national media has helped raise the profile of Whitchurch in the community as an establishment that sets high standards and raises ambitions.
Page 11 of 20
The Head Boy and Head Girl participate in the local Remembrance Day service at the war memorial in Whitchurch. The further development of links with Macassar High School in South Africa and SMPN229 school in Jakarta provide a community focus on an international scale, as do the links with a number of our European partners. 12.2 The school has links with G E Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, Costain, BT, Halcrow, British Gas, Dow Corning, Gas Care and many other local and national companies who offer a range of activities from work experience to direct subject support. 12.3 The local community run activities at the following venues:
Lower School – Dutch Barn, Swimming Pool, Astro Turf Pitch, Drama Studio, Gymnasium, Recreation Barn and Adult Centre.
13.0 13.1
Upper School – Fields, Gymnasium, School Hall and Sports Hall. The Welsh Chess Championships are held at Whitchurch High School during the Easter Holidays. Policies All school policies are reviewed on an ongoing basis and implementation strategies are regularly adapted to meet the school’s needs. School policies are available to parents on request with statutory and commonly referenced ones posted on the school website
14.0 Toilets 14.1 Following the investigation into the e,coli outbreak in South Wales in 2005 the recommendations of the Pennington report included hygiene matters including school toilets. The governors are pleased to report that toilets are cleaned thoroughly and checked to ensure that there is hot water and handwash facilities each day. The school operates a rolling programme of toilet refurbishments and there are three toilet blocks awaiting refurbishment at the current time. 15.0 Appetite for Life 15.1 The school complies with the Appetite for Life agenda and the healthy eating requirements as directed by the Welsh Government. 16.0 Governors’ Recognition 16.1 The governors thank Gareth Daniel, Assistant Headteacher following his retirement after thirty seven years at the school. 16.2 The governors thank Stephen Clark, Assistant Headteacher following his retirement after seventeen years at the school. 16.3 The governors thank all those staff leaving during the course of 2014 to 2015. These include eight long serving teachers who retired at the end of the year – Julia Robinson (26 years), Pauline Wlodarczyk (25 years), Mary Slade (22 years). Chris Harris (21 years), Anthea Thomas (20 years), Julia Kingdon (18 years) and Frank Bramhill (17 years). Other teachers leaving were Abbie Roberts, Martyn Lewis and Eleni Kostariga. Long serving non-teaching staff who retired were – Sue Carey (22 years), Hilary Bryon (18 years) and Jackie Allen (14 years). We also said goodbye to Demelza Nesbitt-Rees, Angela Honey, Sarah Simpson, Beth Woods, Nia Gale, Harleigh Hobbs, Jennifer Ross and Sarah Hendry. 16.4 The governors welcome the new staff joining us this year as well as all the new pupils. 17.0 Governors acknowledgement to all staff 17.1 The governors place on record their gratitude to all the staff at the school, both teaching and non-teaching, for their work on a record breaking year at every key stage and the opportunities provided to all students inside and outside the classroom.
Page 12 of 20
APPENDIX 1 Members of the Governing Body of Whitchurch High School as of September 2014-2015
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Type of governor
Name
Community Community Community Foundation Foundation Foundation Foundation Parent Parent Parent Parent Parent Parent Parent LA LA Head teacher Teacher Teacher Non-Teaching Observer Observer Observer Observer Observer Observer Associate Pupil Associate Pupil Clerk
Dr P Bulpin Mrs D Kelland Mr D Roylance Mrs J Slack (Chair) Mrs S Hopkins (Vice chair) Mr I McIlquham Mr M Vine Mrs V Best Mrs T Clarke Mr D Greaves Mr R Haigh Ms J Packham Mrs J Palmer Mrs L Pearce Cllr J Evans Dr M Newman Mr H Jones-Williams Mr N John Mr A Rooke Mr R Burge Mrs G Bell (Deputy Head) Mrs J Ford (Deputy Head) Mr D Collins Mr P Fisher Mrs M Lewis (Business Manager) Mr S Williams (Estates) Mr Fraser Mackie (Head boy) Miss Talia Keskin (Head girl) Mr G Coombs
Appointed until 20.1.19 31.8.15 17.11.17 16.9.16 01.9.15 20.9.16 6.2.17 26.11.15 31.10.15 25.10.16 3.2.18 31.10.15 25.10.16 25.10.16 10.9.16 17.4.18 15.10.18 15.10.17 18.10.15 -
Page 13 of 20
APPENDIX 2:
Summary of National Curriculum Assessment results of pupils in the school (2015) and nationally (2014) at the end of Key Stage 3 as a percentage of those eligible for assessment.
English
Oracy
Reading
Writing
Mathematics
Science
Core Subject Indicator
N
D
NCO 1,2,&3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
>= 8
5+
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
5
27
33
26
8
93
National
0
0
0
0
1
2
10
37
34
14
1
86
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
5
28
37
26
3
94
National
0
0
0
0
1
2
10
36
34
15
1
86
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
6
25
33
27
8
93
National
0
0
0
0
1
3
11
37
33
13
1
84
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
8
30
31
22
7
91
National
0
0
0
1
1
3
16
38
29
11
1
79
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
14
34
43
5
96
National
0
0
0
0
1
3
9
30
32
21
3
87
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
3
24
45
26
1
95
National
0
0
0
0
1
1
7
36
37
17
1
90
School
Welsh Second Language
Modern Foreign Language
Design & Technology
ICT
History
Geography
Art & Design
Music
PE
90.43
National
81
N
D
NCO 1,2&3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
>= 8
5+
School
1
2
0
0
0
2
11
31
41
12
0
85
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
School
0
2
0
0
1
1
5
31
42
18
0
91
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
28
46
23
0
97
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
19
43
35
0
97
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
4
20
44
26
6
95
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
18
33
33
12
96
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
19
42
31
7
98
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
32
40
21
4
97
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
School
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
29
49
15
4
97
National
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
D represents pupils who have been disapplied under sections 113 - 116 of the 2002 Education Act, or pupils for whom teachers were unable to provide an assessment. N represents pupils not awarded a level for reasons other than disapplication. National Curriculum Outcomes 1, 2 and 3 describe achievements below level 1. The general expectation is that the majority of 14 year olds will attain level 5. The Core Subject Indicator represents the percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above in English or Welsh (first language), mathematics and science in combination.
Page 14 of 20
Appendix 3
Page 15 of 20
Appendix 4
Page 16 of 20
Page 17 of 20
Page 18 of 20
Page 19 of 20
APPENDIX 6 Governors’ Key Stage 4 Targets 2014-15
Performance Indicator
2015 Targets
2015 Results Mainstream All students
2016 Targets
2017 Provisional Targets
5 A*-C
80%
87.9%
85.4%
90%
93%
5 A*-G
96%
97.9%
95.1%
96%
98%
% Achieving no qualification
0%
0.6%
0.3%
0%
0%
KS4 Trends over time (All students including SRB)
Performance Indicator
2015
2014
2013
2012
Achieved 5 A*-C including English and Maths
72.9%
59.6%
59.6%
56.3%
Achieved 5 A*-C
85.4%
67.3%
66.2%
72.1%
Achieved 5 A*-G
95.1%
94.7%
93.6%
91.3%
Achieved C+ in English Language
73.2%
66.9%
64.8%
68.5%
Achieved C+ in English Literature
78.2%
60.8%
66.0%
70.2%
Achieved C+ in Maths
78.3%
68.4%
67.6%
62.0%
Achieved C+ in Science
91.7%
72.2%
69.3%
73.5%
0.3% (1)
1.5% (5)
1% (4)
1% (2)
Pupils not achieving a qualification
Whole School Attendance and Exclusions
Attendance Permanent Exclusions Fixed Term Exclusions
2015 94.9% 0 42
2014 94.3% 0 43
2013 93.3% 0 116
2012 91.9% 2 206
2011 92.2% 2 131
Page 20 of 20
APPENDIX 7 Attendance and Destinations
Attendance Years 7 to 11
% Attendance
=
94.83%
% Authorised Absence
=
3.96%
% Unauthorised Absence
=
1.21%
There are many students at Whitchurch who have outstanding attendance. We always celebrate the commitment of these students and the supportive role of their parents. We also recognise and encourage improved attendance levels.
Destinations Year 11 Student destinations 2014 to 2015
Year 11 (number)
Whitchurch Sixth Form
65.9% (230)
FE College /Another School
25.8% (90)
Employment/Training
6.0 % (21)
Not in education, employment or training
0.6% (2)
Left the area/unknown
1.7% (6)
Total
100% (349)
Year 13 Student destinations 2014 to 2015
Year 13 (number)
Higher – Further Education
84 % (165)
Employment/Further Training
3% (5)
Higher Education Deferred
5% (10)
Gap Year Projects
6% (12)
Unknown
2% (4)
Total
100% (196)
