Dear Parents,

Choosing the right school for your daughter is a difficult but crucial decision. I am very pleased to commend to you Hillview School for Girls, which is proven as a school that offers a quality education. It provides maximum opportunities for children to develop academically and socially in an environment that is stimulating, caring and supportive. The school seeks explicitly to instill core values, which are vital to maintaining high standards of behaviour and enabling the girls to develop into confident and responsible young adults.

We are regularly oversubscribed, an indication of the success and popularity of Hillview. As a wide-ability Foundation school, we aim to provide opportunities for pupils of all aptitudes to achieve high standards. An excellent range of courses is available and the school's academic success is widely recognised. The value added by the school to the attainment of all students as they progress through the key stages is very high, and outstanding in the Sixth Form, according to annual assessments by the DfES.

Hillview is an ambitious and forward-thinking school, as witnessed by our £5m building programme, which was completed in October 2005. It provides 21 additional classrooms (including a Music suite and Art studios), administration area and new entrance to the school, and we have planning permission for a second phase, to include new science laboratories, a media centre, 350 seat theatre, additional dance studio, library/resource centre and a dining hall. We already have a fully equipped studio theatre.

Hillview School is successful because it has a team of well qualified and committed people, both teachers and support staff, who are prepared to take an interest in each child within the school community. I am proud to lead that team, as I am equally proud of the pupils.

With such enthusiastic and committed pupils, I believe the school has a most exciting future and it is my firm intention to continue to provide a stimulating environment in which all the girls will be encouraged to develop their talents to the full.

I warmly invite all prospective parents to visit Hillview School and meet the pupils and staff. I will be happy to outline my own philosophy on education and share with you our future plans, of which I very much hope you will want to become a part.

Yours Sincerley      

Stephen Bovey

Head Teacher

Curriculum introduction

At Hillview we aim to deliver a quality curriculum that provides a stimulating and challenging education for all pupils.

The curriculum is timetabled for a week of 24 lessons; each lasts for one hour. Copies of the school's Curriculum Policy and schemes of work are available from the school.

An outline of the curricular arrangements is given in the following sections. Setting arrangements are introduced gradually. It is our belief that in certain subjects, setting according to specific subject criteria enables children to learn more effectively. As the pupils progress through the school more curriculum areas use setting arrangements so that the level and pace of work is made as appropriate as possible to the pupils' needs.

Within each subject detailed schemes of work have been developed and a wide variety of teaching styles is employed to deliver the curriculum effectively and to generate interest and enthusiasm amongst the pupils. Additional support is given to pupils by the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, classroom assistants and support teachers.

We believe that the smooth transfer of pupils from Year 6 to Year 7 is key to success. Using the wealth of information gathered from primaries in English, Mathematics and Science we place pupils in sets from September. Setting arrangements in Modern Foreign Languages are introduced gradually.

These are constantly monitored through continuous assessment, regular testing and end-of-year examinations. There is, therefore, nothing pre-ordained about allocation to, or  membership of, a particular set, nor indeed about the level of academic success enjoyed by particular groups. This fact is demonstrated vividly by the GCSE successes of pupils in lower teaching sets.

Specialist School Status information

In September 2006 Hillview School for Girls was identified as a High Performing Specialist School, won re-designation as a Performing Arts College and was invited to take on a second specialism.

We chose to add a Vocational specialism. This will not in any way deflect us from the pursuit of academic excellence for our students nor diminish our provision of traditional GCSE and A Level courses.

What it will do is further diversify the pathways we offer to meet our students' aptitudes and interests, extend partnerships with the business community and enrich the wider educational experience for all.

Hillview School for Girls gained the status of Performing Arts College in September 2001 in recognition of its particular strengths in Dance, Drama and Music. The extent and quality of the school's Arts provision was also reflected in the award of one of the first Gold Arts Marks in July 2001 from the Arts Council of England.

This very special award was re-conferred for 2004. The school had its Investors in People status renewed in 2005 and is seeking to update its Healthy Schools Award in 2006. We gained the Sports Mark in 2003.