The Crossley Heath SchoolSavile Park, Halifax HX3 0HG

Telephone: 01422 360272 • Fax: 01422 349099email: admin@crossleyheath.org.uk

website: www.crossleyheath.calderdale.sch.uk

Providing a World Class Education

The Crossley Heath School2011-2012

Building on Tradition

Looking to the Future

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to you and hope that, on reading this brochure, you begin to feel some of the warmth and friendliness you are bound to experience on a personal visit to our school.

At Crossley Heath we have tremendous ambition for everyone who learns here. With staff, students, parents, governors and the wider community supporting one another, we are confident that the wide range of opportunities on offer encourages the achievement of both individual and collective goals.

The school holds an important place in this community. We are proud of our strong traditions and values, which we strive to maintain. However, do not let the School’s 19th century external façade fool you. We are forward looking, innovative, creative, constantly evolving and provide first class 21st century education. We have the highest aspirations for our students and aim to equip them with the personal skills they will need in order to be successful in a rapidly changing global environment.

The aims of the school may be summed up in the single phrase ‘World Class Education’. Being a selective school, we recruit young people who have already demonstrated success in terms of academic achievement. We strive to maintain an ethos in which every individual is encouraged to develop his or her particular talents in a caring and supportive environment and to enjoy himself or herself at the same time.

The Crossley Heath School continues to go from strength to strength, annually receiving public recognition for the outstanding performance of its students on a range of fronts including academic, sporting, music, debating, enterprise, student voice and so on. Ofsted judged the school to be outstanding in just about every aspect in February 2011. However, we are already focussing on improving provision even further.

Other than outstanding inspection reports, our various successes have included the School’s selection as a High Performing Specialist School (June 2007); the Sports Council’s prestigious ‘Sportsmark’, achieved in 1998, 2001 and 2004; the Artsmark award gained in 2005 and 2009; the Healthy Schools and International Schools awards in 2007; the Gold Cultural Diversity Award in 2009; the Careers Education, Information and Guidance Award in 2010, the Careers Information Standard in 2009 and 2011, Gold Inclusion Award and repeated Investor in People Awards. A second specialism in Leadership Development was awarded to the school in April 2007 and we are one of a small number of schools with a specific focus on leadership development for staff and students at every level. This year we have been invited to become a Leading Edge school.

However, the positive and unique atmosphere of Crossley Heath is best experienced first hand. Visitors to the school are often heard to comment ‘It just feels right’! We do hope you will come and visit us soon.

welcome

Care, guidance and support of students is of paramount importance to us. The school fosters an atmosphere in which staff, students and parents work together to ensure students receive an excellent educational experience. The school’s ethos is one of inclusion. Students feel valued and supported in developing the confidence, talents and skills to reach their full potential and achieve excellence within and beyond the classroom. The Gold Inclusion Quality Mark reflects our commitment to providing for individual needs within a supportive and yet challenging environment.

When students enter our school they are placed in a house tutor group under the care of a tutor who will remain with them as they progress through school. This pastoral system supports excellent relationships between students, staff and parents, providing support, care and guidance to all individuals within the group. All students are members of one of four Houses (Kings, Queens, Porter and Savile). Alongside the Tutor, a House Achievement Leader cares for the welfare of the students as well as monitoring their academic progress, and introducing strategies for intervention where appropriate.

Our safe-guarding procedures are rigorous and effective and we prioritise the safety of your child by monitoring attendance and contacting parents in cases of uninformed absences. All staff are thoroughly trained in safe-guarding and child protection matters.

Within school we foster a culture of respect for each other. Students support one another and, consequently, incidents of bullying are rare. However, we recognise that young people can, and do, face issues which make life tough for them; our level of support is outstanding and we always go the extra mile for all our students.

Supporting

Ofsted 2011“Very positive relationships between staff and students are evident.”

Ofsted 2011“Students show initiative, accept responsibility and understand and respect each other’s differences.”

The Crossley Heath School is a healthy school and we develop student confidence in making healthy lifestyle choices. We promote healthy eating and support this in the dining room by offering a range of healthy options – pasta, jacket potatoes, salads and fruit. All dietary needs are catered for.

We have a school nurse who provides day to day support for our students in addition to a Primary Care Trust nurse offering weekly confidential drop-in sessions for students needing advice.

Students are offered a wide range of sporting activities both in the curriculum and out of school hours. The House System is particularly strong within the school providing challenge throughout the year in a series of competitions for all age groups. These include: Drama, Music, Swimming, Debating, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Cricket, Tennis, Athletics and also effort in the classroom. Students’ contributions are recognised by the award of House points and colours.

Healthy lifestyles are promoted through the PHSCE programme and we deliver an informative and sensitive SRE programme.

The opening of a new sports hall in 2010 has enabled pupils to take part in an even greater range of sporting activities with options such as cheerleading, dodgeball and indoor cricket nets being offered as extra-curricular sports.

As a reflection to our commitment in promoting healthy choices, we are designated as a ‘Healthy School’.

Students are encouraged to make a positive contribution to charitable events of a local, national and international nature. Last year, for example, they include local charities such as the Laura Crane and Forget Me Not Trusts to raising money for LEPRA, Operational Christmas Child and Jeans for Genes Day, along with contributing to the earthquake fund in Japan. The Committee raised over £6000 for charity last year. An East meets West Fashion Show held last year brought many members of the community together to raise money for Haiti.

Our students contribute to the local community in a variety of ways from enrichment activities, volunteering in the local community, to taking part in the Junior Sports Leader Award and helping in the local primary schools. The School Ambassadors represent the school at many events and annually take part in the national Holocaust Memorial event, sharing their experiences from their visit to Auschwitz.

Students contribute actively to the external community including participation in the LA plan for Summer Schools, completion of a high profile Urban Community Leadership Scheme, standing for Youth Parliament, taking part in the Model United Nations event and contributing to the planning of the new library in King Cross.

The school values students’ contribution to school life. Students take an active part in staff interviews, submission of awards and bids, welcome special guests and assist with the smooth running of all school events generally. Student committees help develop the success of our school VLE (now recognised nationally as being one of the best in the country) and The Zone, which is the Work Related Learning/Careers site for students.

Developing Contributing

We aim to prepare our students for adult life in the business and commercial world. Our Careers Co-ordinator works closely with the Connexions Advisor who provides individual careers interviews and guidance. Throughout Key Stages 3 and 4 there is a comprehensive programme of careers guidance. Pupils are encouraged to develop their enterprise skills through the curriculum and the various extra-curricular activities they engage in. There is a dedicated area of the Learning Resources Centre where students can access careers information and students also have access to ‘The Zone’ which is an area of the VLE aimed at providing information on Higher Education, Careers and Work Experience as well as providing very useful links to other valuable resources. All students in Year 11 enjoy work experience for one week in an establishment of their choice, for which help and support is offered. We also have an active programme of guest speakers and employers visiting the school to talk to students in all key stages. The school has gained both the Quality Information and Quality Standards Awards for Careers Education in recognition of the high standard of information, advice and guidance available for our students.

All year 9 students undertake an Entry Level Business Enterprise course which culminates in an Enterprise Day in June. Enterprise Days are also offered to year 10 and 12 students.

Students of Business Studies take part in the Young Enterprise Scheme, running their own companies. The wide range of activities also includes putting on events such as plays or concerts in aid of charity.

Students are encouraged to develop the skills which will contribute to their success in the global world of the 21st century both within the classroom and beyond. The school provides opportunities for international experiences through its rich menu of trips and visits; enables students to reach out into the surrounding community through its school events, to forge links with businesses, other schools and local groups and develop their personal, academic and leadership potential.

Ofsted 2011“The outstanding curriculum makes a significant contribution to students’ attainment and their personal outcomes.”

Discovering

We offer a wealth of opportunities and experiences through local and international partnerships.

Our students, given ownership and responsibility, become leaders.

Respect for the value and worth of each person is at the heart of all that we do.

Learning and personalisation underpin the curriculum, which is designed to optimise individual...

Development and Achievement

C lear vision and effective collaboration...

Leads to high quality leadership and ever increasing levels of...

A ttainment and rates of progress resulting...

Success for ALL in a...

School which is OUTSTANDING (Ofsted: February 2011)Ofsted 2011“Students have very positive attitudes to school and to their work and their excellent behaviour is a key factor in their successful learning.”

LeadingCrossley Heath is a Leadership Partner School and a National Support School. We are firmly committed to raising student achievement through development of high quality leadership in staff and students.

Students are encouraged to develop their leadership skills by taking on one of the many positions of responsibility within school – these include School Officials, Charity Representatives, Ambassadors, Student Voice Co-ordinators and Zone Committee members to name a few.

Student Voice is strong within the school. Students observe lessons and give feedback to teachers, lead in assemblies and participate in Governor meetings, committees and working groups. Students are also learning partners for departments, working closely with the department leader to offer feedback on lessons from a student perspective.

There is a very active Student Council within school comprising of student representatives from all year groups. We also organize an annual Student Voice Conference hosted by Huddersfield University which provides a showcase of excellent student voice work in Crossley Heath and our partner school.

Raising achievement is at the heart of everything we do. Every one of our students is unique and has individual needs and talents. We actively encourage them to have the highest aspirations and develop self-confidence in order to be successful and realise their hopes, dreams and ambitions.

Our curriculum enables all students to develop academic, aesthetic, cultural and sporting interests, an appreciation of global issues and the capacity to contribute to the development of society.

We provide a learning environment and opportunities for personal and professional development, which allow and encourage all staff to make a full contribution to the school.

‘Our overall aim is to provide a WORLD CLASS education’

We believe that students who are happy at school will be successful in the widest sense of the term.

At Crossley Heath we aim to provide our students with a broad curriculum which will stimulate and challenge all students to achieve to their full potential. With the introduction of more personal pathways through the curriculum from Year 8, all students will follow a programme tailored to their needs. For some this will mean early entry to examination courses.

Academic standards are high. In 2010 the proportion of Year 11 students achieving five or more GCSE grades A*-C was 98% with 62% of all grades being A or A*. Results at A level are amongst the best in the country. Further data can be found in the inserts in this prospectus.

Nearly every area of curriculum activity is reflected in the school’s range of extra-curricular opportunities. The school operates teams at all age levels in Rugby Union, Cross Country, Cricket, Athletics, Hockey and Netball. Rugby tours to Wales are an annual event and trips are arranged further afield such as Canada and Australia and for Netball as far as Gibraltar. There is also the opportunity for students to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Bronze, Silver and Gold level.

Musical activities include choirs, an orchestra, a wind band and smaller ensembles, all of which perform in and outside of school. A range of individual instrumental tuition is also available. Other opportunities for creative and expressive arts permeate the curriculum and the annual Arts Evening is a perfect showcase for the range of talent and skill within school.

The school provides ample opportunity for all students to participate in a very active programme of trips, visits and exchanges. More information can be found in the inserts in this prospectus. The fostering of international awareness supported by the extensive range of tours abroad is recognised within the International Schools Award.

Achieving

Ofsted 2011“The Crossley Heath School is an outstanding school. Achievement is excellent and students are provided with outstanding care, guidance and support which gives a very secure foundation for their academic and personal development.”

Our Language specialism enables us to work extensively with the local community. The Languages Centre provides language learning opportunities for students, adults and families from the local community outside of normal school hours. Furthermore, the Modern Foreign Languages Department has taken a leading role in implementing the National Strategy for Languages with its extensive work with primary partner schools. Crossley Heath teachers (and students) work alongside colleagues and pupils in primary schools to support language learning at Key Stage 2. Alongside this Crossley Heath has delivered school-based training sessions and produced a

DVD to share practice across Calderdale. In addition the school regularly opens its doors to budding linguists through its Year 5 Fun with Languages Day and Languages Summer School.

With regard to our own students, they have access to a wider choice of languages to study. Spanish, French and German are all embedded on the timetable. Chinese, Italian and Urdu are also available as enrichment subjects. We have established new international links and there are now many opportunities to visit different countries and experience different cultures. Students also have the benefit of native-speaking assistants from France, Germany, Spain and China.

Language College