The School

Buxton Community School, a voluntary controlled co-educational 11-18 comprehensive school, was established in September 1990 as the result of the amalgamation of two single-sex comprehensive schools, Buxton College and Buxton Girls' School. The school finally came together in January 1993 on an attractive single-site setting in a residential area close both to the town centre and to the surrounding hills.

The current roll is 1400, with 150 in the 6th Form. This is a rise of 200 over a very short period. Pupils are drawn both from the town of Buxton itself and from the surrounding rural area, including the villages of Earl Sterndale, Dove Holes, Peak Forest, Taddington and Peak Dale. The majority of the pupils are delightful young people, and many have considerable ability. Some of our pupils face considerable disadvantage, and we have our share of difficult and demanding pupils. This makes for a truly comprehensive and challenging intake, and we are committed to comprehensive values and approaches.

The teaching staff of 83.2 combine to provide a mixture of experience, energy, wisdom and creativity. The school also has an excellent team of support staff, and care is taken to regard all colleagues, teaching and support, as important members of the school community. A priority is to involve all staff in the school's overall development; through daily staff briefings, regular staff meetings, working groups, and strong communication and consultation generally.

There is a school management team of seven, comprising the Headteacher, a Deputy, three Assistant Headteachers an Administration Manager and an ICT Manager, all of whom have whole school management responsibilities, kept under review and changed from time to time. All staff belong to a departmental team and to a pastoral team. Heads of Department, supported by other curriculum postholders, lead the Departments of English, Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, RE, Modern Languages, Technology, ICT, Expressive Arts, Physical Education, Media, Psychology and Learning Support. Year Co-ordinators, supported by Assistant Year Co-ordinators, lead the six year teams. Great importance is attached to these team structures and the role of every member of staff in both of them.

The school was designated a specialist sports college with effect from 1st September 2003. Although not convinced that some schools should have much more funding than others, we are genuinely excited about what the funding and the status can do for the school, the family of schools and the town. Philosophically, we can subscribe to an emphasis on physical education and sport for these reasons.

√ we are building on a position of strength
√ all pupils have had their full entitlement to PE since 2001
√ we have seen the benefits to pupils of a strong PE experience, including extra-curricular work
√ we can put a strong emphasis on personal development through outdoor pursuits, in particular.

Pupils have access to a rich programme of extra-curricular activities and events, and there is a strong desire to strengthen this aspect of the school's life. Competitive sporting teams, mainly in soccer, rugby, basketball, netball and hockey, run alongside a range of opportunities for a more recreational involvement in sporting and leisure activities, which extend into holiday periods. Our success here and in the main curriculum is reflected in the Sportsmark, which we have been awarded. The Arts provide a similar balance of performance and participation; major events include an annual dramatic production, concerts and evenings of classical music and pupils are increasingly involved in the local arts scene, including an outstanding annual exhibition in the town of pupils' art work and participation in the local well-dressing. We enjoy considerable involvement in the renowned Buxton Festival. Staff regularly organise trips and visits; recent visits have included modern language exchanges and visits to France and Germany and a ski trip, alongside regular short trips to theatres, study visits and other outdoor activities, including separate school camps for Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils. Staff are encouraged, supported and appreciated for the many contributions that they make to this aspect of school life.

Although OFSTED found our pupils to be friendly and willing to learn, there are some pupils who cannot cope with the multiple demands of school life. In September 2001 we opened an Inclusion Centre for pupils who are either at risk of being excluded by the school or of excluding themselves by not attending. There were two permanent exclusions in 2002-03. The Head of the IEC now has an extended role, supporting staff with difficult pupils who are still in mainstream.

We are keen to develop a sense of responsibility and participation amongst our pupils and students. There is a Pupil Council at school level, as well as year group councils. The School Code was developed in collaboration with the pupils and this work contributed to the implementation of the school’s Classroom Behaviour Scheme. We involve pupils directly in our efforts to address bullying.

The Governing Body played a key role in the establishment of the new school and there are strong links between the Governing Body and the school's main structures. Relationships are good and positive and Governors actively contribute to the development and well-being of the school. There is also an active PTA which organises a wide variety of fundraising and social events.

Thanks to its recent establishment, the school benefits from outstanding accommodation. Alongside a new main teaching block and a sports centre, attractive traditional buildings have undergone major refurbishment. Each department now enjoys fully suited accommodation, and specialist teaching areas are equipped to a high level of specification. There is a large, centrally located Learning Resources Centre, connected to the Internet and with a CD-Rom facility, a separate Careers Library, four dedicated IT rooms, two Business Studies rooms, and a purpose-built drama studio. The Sixth Form have teaching, study and common room facilities in the main administration building. The excellent sports facilities include a large sports hall, a refurbished gymnasium, a fitness room, floodlit all-weather pitch, a five-a-side pitch and tennis courts; the main playing fields and sports pavilion are directly across the road from the school. One of our recent priorities has been the massive rejuvenation and extension of our ICT facilities. We currently have 6 ICT suites, each with 30 stations and 15 further workstations in the Learning Resource Centre. The 6th form Study Lounge has 20 machines. We have extended the cabling to all teaching rooms throughout the school and will soon have a computer in most classrooms for electronic registration. All staff bases are connected, to allow teachers easy personal access to the admin. network on which we run SIMS software. We have 5 interactive whiteboards and will shortly have more. Our new website allows the possibility of pupils having access to school work from home.

Over the past 2-3 years our school roll has grown from 1220 to 1400. To cope with the increase we have a building programme which will give us a new Drama workshop, a re-furbished Technology block with increased accommodation and (if a bid is successful) an extension to the 6th Form Study Lounge. A number of ordinary classrooms will be made available in this process. Thanks to our Sports College status, we have a new disabled exercise room and we are building a new dance studio.

Our approach to staff development is designed both to support the school's Development Plan and to provide for the professional development and fulfillment of individual staff. We maintain a programme of professional interviews and reviews and we have achieved the Investor in People Award. This work, alongside our established classroom monitoring procedures, stands us in good stead for introducing the new national changes to performance management. We aim to support new colleagues, be they experienced or new to teaching, with an induction programme and a mentoring scheme, which attaches new colleagues to a member of the senior management team and to another colleague, who will both provide support, advice, guidance and information. The school is a partner in Initial Teacher Training with Sheffield Hallam University and we regularly have trainees on the Graduate Training Programme.

We have a strong sense of our place in the wider community and attach great importance to our links with partner primary schools, local business and industry and other local groups, organisations and institutions. There is a full programme of primary liaison activity, including Primary Activity Days and other initiatives throughout the year. Our unique position in a relatively small town makes for particular opportunities in the range of contacts that we can forge. From the outset, the school has been determined to develop as a community resource with a strong community programme. Alongside evening classes and activities organised by the local Community Education Council, we have developed our own programme of evening and holiday time activities which make best use of our facilities and provide for the local community and our own pupils and parents.

Although we are pleased with our overall progress as a school, we continuously search for further improvement. Central to that is the quality of our teaching and of our and the pupils’ learning. All our of staff, our governors, parents and pupils are part of our processes of review and improvement. We are committed to turning this school from “a good and improving school” (OFSTED) into an excellent one.

Alan Kelly
Headteacher
May 2004

Newsletter September 2007

Dear Parents/Carers

I am delighted to welcome all of our students back to a new school year at Buxton Community School. The standard of school uniform, students’ positive attitudes and the friendly atmosphere have all provided an excellent start. We will all appreciate your ongoing support as we help our students to maintain these high standards.

You may already be aware of Mrs Hunter’s comments in the local press about our exam results that have been the best ever achieved by the school. All staff at the school are committed to help all our young people to succeed and we continue to be proud that we are a true comprehensive school where many achieve the highest grades and some students have tremendous personal success as they overcome a number of personal challenges to achieve their own ‘best possible’. We take great pride in all our students who try their best.

We also continue to value the contributions our students make to the wider community in Buxton. I have just received a letter from Sue Howard who sent her thanks to all our young volunteers who helped with the Buxton and District Summer Club for local young people with disabilities. It is good to know our students are gaining such a positive image. It is important that all our students see themselves as representatives of both our school and Buxton as a whole. With this in mind, I would remind all students that their behaviour in our community – especially on their way to and from school – is just as important to us as their good manners and respect in the classroom!

This term, we welcome new members of staff including, Miss L Clamp (Geography), Mr P Cooper (Head of Technology), Mr I Cottrill (Head of Business Studies), Mr I Francis (ICT), Miss T McLaughlin (Science), Mrs J Elgey (Science Technician), Ms D Richardson (Partnership Development Manager) and Mrs C Sumner (Information Assistant). We wish them well during their time at Buxton Community School.

I would be very grateful if you would continue to check on the homework your child is completing. If you have any concerns at all about his or her progress, please contact their form tutor, Progress Leader or any other member of staff who you feel may be able to help (although please bear in mind that appointments often have to be made if you want to come into school, purely to avoid times when staff are teaching).

One other way in which families can support our students is to ensure their regular attendance. Please send your child to school if s/he is just feeling sick or has a cold or other minor illness. We can always contact you if they feel too ill to remain in school as the day progresses. In addition to this, we would ask that all families avoid taking holidays during term time. It is absolutely clear that those young people who attend regularly achieve the best results in exams and we genuinely want the best for your child.

I look forward to meeting as many parents/carers as possible over the coming year.

With very best wishes.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Deb Hill

Headteacher

Curriculum

At Key Stage 3 pupils follow a broad and balanced curriculum which includes all core and foundation subjects together with ICT, Drama and RE. All pupils in Year 7 take either French or German and continue their chosen language throughout Key Stage 3. Pupils are taught initially in their balanced, mixed-ability tutor groups, although from Year 7 Maths is setted. There is some limited setting in Science, Modern Languages and Humanities in Years 8 and 9 - an approach that is being developed and kept under review.

At Key Stage 4 we have developed a significantly differentiated curriculum. The current starting point is a curriculum of English, Mathematics, Science, RE and PE for all, with further options from Technology, Modern Languages, Geography, History, IT, Art, Music, Drama, Media Studies, PE, Psychology, and Child Development. However, the pathways and outcomes vary for individual students. All pupils are entered for GCSE English at the end of Year 10, with AS, GCSE Literature and Key Skills on offer in Year 11. In Science, pupils can choose from single, double award or triple science or applied GCSE. We offer GNVQ in Health & Social Care and applied GCSE in Leisure & Tourism at the moment and are working with High Peak College to teach Engineering and to plan further applied GCSEs. Construction is taught at Stockport College. September 2004 will see the introduction of GCSE Dance and BTec 1st in Outdoor Pursuits.

For post-16 students, 'A' level courses are available in English Language, English Literature, Media Studies, ICT, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, History, Economics/Business Studies, Philosophy, Psychology, French, German, Design Technology, Art, Music, Theatre Studies and PE, together with GCSE resit Maths and English. The school usually offers at least one Intermediate Level GNVQ course in either Leisure and Tourism, Health and Social Care, or Science. In addition, all students follow an enhancement programme which includes General Studies and careers guidance, together with access to a range of additional study, work experience, community service, life skills, sporting and outdoor opportunities. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, the Community Sports Leader Award Scheme and the Hanson Award Scheme are well established. A school priority is to develop the size of the Sixth Form and the range of courses on offer. From September 2000 we have been offering a choice of up to five AS subjects in Year 12 (with most students expected to study four AS levels and three A levels). In September 2001 we introduced “on-line learning” where sixth formers can choose to follow one of four distance learning A levels. That work is now carried out with the aid of video conferencing facilities.

From September 2004 we are planning for the possibility of pupils taking a one-year course in the 6th form, some elements of which will be taught with Derby University.

Our aim is to provide, for young people in the town, opportunities to study courses which they see as relevant, at a variety of levels of accreditation and which enhance employability. We also aim to ensure that there are possibilities for progression to Derby University, and to other HE establishments.

We are determined to maintain a curriculum that is appropriate and stimulating for our pupils, whilst meeting the requirements of the National Curriculum. We are also committed to the view that the curriculum is more than the sum of the main subject courses; importance is attached to cross-curricular themes and dimensions and to many other special timetabled experiences and activities, ranging from a two-week work experience for all Year 10 pupils to days dedicated to particular themes for particular year groups. We adopted a 5 period day, 2 week timetable from September 2001. We are placing particular emphasis on strengthening our tracking and target setting procedures to help raise levels of achievement.

PSHE is the principal vehicle for delivering the school's Personal & Social Education programme, including a highly developed Careers Education and Guidance programme, and it also provides for wider pastoral and tutoring approaches. A Record of Achievement is established at Key Stage 4 and post-16 and is underpinned by a Success Folder at Key Stage 3. Particular efforts are made to strengthen the role of the form tutor. PSHE is taught in “whole day” blocks of time rather than a weekly lesson, which only Year 7 now have.

Buxton Community School became a Specialist Sports College in September 2003. This has had a major impact on local primary and secondary students as well as the wider community. The School has been able to increase the diversity of the Curriculum and Extra Curricular PE, along with working with other local schools across the area and improve the quality and diversity of PE & Sport. Please follow the links below to find information from the four Sports College departments - Physical Education, Outdoor Education, Community Sport & the High Peak Sports Partnership.

IT Services

IT Services is responsible for the implementation, maintenance and support of systems and applications across the whole of the school We have three members: IT Manager IT Engineer (Curriculum) IT Engineer (Networks)		We look after a wide range of applications and support a large user population. Here are some examples which give you an idea of the areas we cover: 1500 users 450 PCs Video conferencing Interactive Whiteboards Management Information
IT Upgrades Finance permitting, we have a programme to replace the equipment in our computer suites as it gets too old. This year we replaced the computers in our D28 and C07 computer suites and moved the ones that were in D28 together with some new PCs into Classrooms for Electronic Registration. We've provided additional IT resources to the Special Needs Department and setup a Staff Work Room. We have also installed a further 29 fixed projectors.
We are responsible for a range of documents. To view click on the link below. Note: the documentation can only be viewed by pupils, their parents and school staff

SIXTH FORM

Sixth Form Study Centre