Head of Maths

About Moor Park School

Situated two miles out of Ludlow in South Shropshire, in 85 stunning acres, Moor Park is a thriving co-educational school of 220 children from 2-13 years.  It also has Tick Tock, which the Independent Schools Inspectorate deemed an ‘Outstanding’ day care provider in 2016, where children can go from as young as 3 months.

Founded in 1964 by Derek Henderson and Hugh Watts, it retains its strong Christian values.  The ethos is that children feel valued and cared for, so as to develop as individuals, as well as stimulated and inspired.  The result is happy, rounded and grounded children.  Family values abound and each child is treated as an individual.

Full and flexi boarding is offered, as well as day school. The Boarding team has been nominated for several Awards at the annual Independent School Awards in recent years. One such nomination was for our so-called Big Weekends; themed weekends designed to be huge fun and give children a flavour of boarding life. 

Themes have included Bollywood, Nerf, World Records, Master Chef, Making Movies, Wild West and an ‘Armed Forces’ themed weekend complete with helicopter. Children from 8-13 spend Saturday afternoons and evenings ‘in theme’ and the experience is topped off by a big full English Breakfast on Sunday morning prior to departure. The boarding house is normally completely full for these events.

Academic

In the last seven years, every child that has left Moor Park has successfully passed into their chosen senior school. Destinations vary but really are nationwide and have included Eton, Harrow, Radley, Winchester, Oundle Uppingham, Shrewsbury, Malvern College, Downe House, Marlborough College, Christ College Brecon and Hereford Cathedral School in the last few years.  Many leave with an Award to their senior school, be it academic, or music, art, sport, drama or DT.  In the last two academic years, 59 Year 8 leavers have won a total of 53 awards, an enviable record.

Moor Park Mindsets

The world is a fast-changing place and we have challenged ourselves to look at the education we provide at Moor Park to ensure that children are given an advantage at secondary school and beyond. Having discussed this as a staff, we decided that children will need to be able to think in particular ways in order to be successful – passing exams, although important, would not be enough. As a result of this we identified six habits of thinking, Moor Park Mindsets: critical thought, curiosity, confidence, creativity, independence and resilience. We then reviewed our entire curriculum and teaching methods through the lens of these Mindsets to ensure that what we teach and how we teach it encourages the right thinking from Nursery to Year 8. This was launched in September 2018. A system is in place to monitor all of this and this enables feedback to be given to children and parents.

Sport

Children start playing team sports from Year 1 and competitive matches from Year 3.  Pupils regularly represent the county in various sports, including rugby, cricket, hockey, netball and football and in recent years, the girls Under 13 hockey team have twice been national finalists. Our equestrian team has also already found success in both local and national events.

Music

Music is an integral part of life at Moor Park. A new Performing Arts Centre was opened in September 2018 incorporating an ensemble room, cutting edge music technology in the classroom and a recording studio. Most of the children have music lessons and the school boasts an Orchestra, Jazz Band and Brass Ensemble and a myriad of other groups.  There are four choirs, ensuring the every child can take part whilst the more able are pushed on. 

Drama

Benefitting from the addition of a dedicated drama studio in the new Performing Arts Centre, drama became a taught subject in the curriculum for Year3 and above from September 2018. There are six school plays every year, including the jaw dropping Year 8 production in the summer.  

Art and DT

The inspirational ART and DT departments produce work of the highest quality every year and Moor Park wins more than its fair share of scholarships, particularly in art. The DT facility is larger than many secondary schools.

Facilities

The facilities at the school complement the superb work and commitment of the staff. The astro-turf, purpose built junior boarding house, new Performing Arts Centre, new swimming pool changing rooms and a new library opening in April 2019 are all examples of investment in recent years.

The spectacular setting gives ample opportunity for playing outdoors, be it in the woods, on the assault course or the 9 hole golf course. 

An oasis of peace and calm, a little land locked island, it is a school of high achievement. Children leave Moor Park but Moor Park never leaves them.