After a couple of virtual/hybrid Open Events these last few years, we were able to open our doors for a live Open Evening on 30 September. We welcomed visitors, who attended presentations and took tours of school.
There was great interest from visitors who packed into the hall to hear from the Principal Ms Hughes-Williams, Vice Principal Mr Bennett and head students Tess and Noel. Current students were glad to offer tours of various areas of the school including laboratories, classrooms and performance spaces.
As visitors entered the hall they were entertained by a student performance of a piece called Pompeii performed by Score, one our school choirs and conducted by Mrs Henton, Head of Music.
Ms Hughes-Williams presented first and spoke about our school culture; deeply rooted in our core values of courage, honesty, kindness, humour and determination. She said these values set the very highest expectations for our students. “We are about authenticity and honesty at Heart of England,” she continued, “and post-Covid, it is time to reclaim your entitlement to adventure for your children.”
The Head Students Tess and Noel also addressed the gathering with personal accounts of their experience at Heart of England School. Tess spoke about how unimaginable it was that nearly seven years after being in Year 7 she was now Head Girl. “Heart of England will challenge you, but there is no adventure without a challenge and you too can discover that adventures are here for you,” she said.
Noel said that he hoped the evening would give visitors a good and honest picture of the school. Speaking of his own experience he said: “The teachers know all individuals here. I have made a great many friends at Heart of England; I enjoy school life and I feel supported by the teachers.”
Last to speak was Vice Principal Mr Bennett who spoke about school performance. He invited visitors to take the opportunity to really test us. “This evening is a chance to explore our school. Ask questions, of our students and of the teachers.”
On performance Mr Bennett reminded the audience that 2022 saw the return of ‘traditional exams’ after the disruption of the past two years. “This summer once again saw very good results with 72% of GCSE students getting grades of 4 to 9 in English and maths and 55.8% getting 5 to 9 in English and maths. These results give us a predicted Progress 8 score of 0.03 (the target being 0).”
At Heart of England we also have an active Reading Buddy scheme called Thinking Reading and in our school there is an average to 4.1 years gain for students in the scheme. Further to this, our maths is delivered under the mantra of Practice Makes Permanent which seeks to improve maths within school promoting a positive ‘can-do’ attitude towards maths.
We hope the Open Evening has been helpful for parents at this time of decision-making for the future of their child. Further information can be found on our web site along with our 2023 Prospectus and curriculum offer material.