The Tiffin Girls' School

The Tiffin Girls’ School, a selective state school and stand-alone Academy, is a vibrant and happy community where the students take centre stage. The school is currently home to 1,235 students, aged between 11 and 18, and is now into its 143rd year. The school is a six form entry selective school, with 180 students in each year group and over 340 in the Sixth Form.

The school prides itself on encouraging students to aspire to do the best in everything they do, whether that be: academic excellence, a passion and enthusiasm for the creative and performing arts, sporting prowess, or student leadership. A broad and challenging curriculum sits alongside a stimulating and rewarding range of extracurricular activities, many of which are student-led, and these elements of school life combine to develop inquisitive, confident, dynamic and successful young people ready for their future lives as global citizens.

The students achieve highly because they are incredibly motivated, hardworking and focused. It is, however, the caring and strong pastoral system, complemented by the development of strong friendship groups in our inclusive community, which makes them feel happy and safe, allowing them to flourish in their time here. The school also benefits greatly from a very positive relationship with parents, working together in our common aim which is to encourage and support the students.

There are spacious yet functional premises, which provide extensive facilities in all areas of the curriculum. Specialist teaching areas include thirteen science laboratories, three art rooms, a drama studio, Learning Resource Centre, music suite and a computer suite of two computer rooms, with PCs in design technology, music and science. There is a large assembly hall, a separate dining hall and drama facility. Sports facilities include a new Sports Centre, opened in September 2022, two gyms, an astro turf, resurfaced netball and tennis courts. Students in Years 7 to 11 bring their own chromebooks to school to ensure a seamless transition between home and school learning, using the Google Drive and Google Classroom learning platform we’ve deployed. Each classroom has a 75” interactive screen.

The school's proximity to London makes it possible for students of all ages to attend concerts, plays, theatre workshops, lectures, exhibitions, one-day conferences etc. The school makes good use of this facility as trips and activities outside of school form an essential part of the students’ educational experience. Students are also encouraged and supported by staff to enter competitions to assist in the application of their knowledge and push them out of their comfort zone.

Parental contributions and fundraising have greatly enhanced the accommodation in the school. In the recent past, a new teaching block and Sports Centre have been added thanks to the support of our parents, which have provided significant funding when submitting successful capital bids.

Ofsted

In October 2021, the school was inspected by Ofsted using the new inspection framework introduced in September 2021 and judged to be ‘Outstanding’ across all categories with an Overall Effectiveness judgement of ‘Outstanding’.  Governors were delighted with this result which reflects the valued contribution made by every member of staff at the school.  The full report is available on the school website.

Staff

The strong team of highly qualified staff has extensive and varied experience. Both teaching and non-teaching staff share a commitment to high standards of learning, discipline and care for the personal wellbeing of each student. Good liaison is cultivated with local feeder schools, community services, employers and with universities.

“Staff receive high quality training, including those who are new to teaching. Staff continually review and refine their practice. For example, staff have used research-led projects to focus on and boost equality and diversity. Staff feel valued. Leaders listen to staff and do their best to make workload manageable.” Ofsted 2022.

Opportunities for professional development are essential and care is taken to ensure all staff have access to training and new experiences through CPD based on needs identified through appraisal or for whole school development, and is focused on evidence based research. Where relevant, non-teaching staff are encouraged to join working parties, recent groups include Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Behaviour for Learning.

Staff wellbeing is a priority within the school. There is an active Wellbeing Working party, supported by the Senior Leadership team, who identify and implements initiatives to support the positive and inclusive working environment. The latest initiative is focused on the refurbishment of the staffroom.

There is an active staff association, which arranges social activities throughout the year.

Admissions

The school operates a two stage testing process for admission to Year 7. The Determined Admissions Arrangements for 2023-24 are available to read on the school’s website.

In recent years, Governors changed the admissions criteria, promoting greater social responsibility by giving a priority to those living in the inner area and designated area who are from a disadvantaged background, both at Year 7 and Sixth Form entry.

We anticipate continuing to be heavily oversubscribed each year, receiving a large number of applications from academically able students.

Curriculum

“Leaders maintain high academic standards and provide a curriculum that extends far beyond academic study. Pupils flourish, both academically and personally”. Ofsted 2022.

The school provides a wide range of subjects that meet the learning and destination choices of our highly able students. Lessons are taught in one-hour periods over a 25 period week.

Our Key Stage 3 curriculum develops students' knowledge, skills and understanding, and lays the foundations for the courses students will then follow at Key Stage 4. All subject areas are enriched with a wide range of creative and stretch and challenge opportunities that are designed to enable students to reach their full potential.

In Years 10 and 11, subjects are taught across two periods per week. The exceptions to this are Maths (three periods per week) and English (four periods per week). The core curriculum includes English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and a language with students then choosing three further options. All students receive a private study lesson and two PE lessons as part of their broader curriculum.

In Years 12 and 13, subjects follow A Level specifications. In Year 12, we offer a Higher Education Programme and a pastoral programme of activities designed to broaden their education as well as compulsory PE lessons across both year groups.

Staff care passionately about the students, and we are acutely aware of the pressures that many high achieving students face. We have therefore developed a comprehensive evidence based pastoral curriculum, one period a week, which has been specifically written for our context and includes many guest speakers.

Sixth Form

Sixth Form students have many opportunities to enrich their educational and social experiences over the two years and many participate in charity and not for profit enterprises. They compete at national level in the Young Enterprise Company Programme (UK finalists 2020), enrol on the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Gold award, and take part in Chemistry and Biology Olympiads, Engineering Education Scheme, UKMT, debating, university challenge, Model United Nations and a wide range of other clubs and societies. Sixth Form students support and/or are extensively involved in contributing to Black History Month, our Time to Talk activities, LGBT+ week, Eco conference and cultural celebration weeks, and lead on the extensive range of charity work the students are involved in. Alongside this, the students are encouraged to conduct work experience to support their personal development and UCAS applications.

Student leadership is actively encouraged and many Sixth Form students are school officers, prefects, subject associates and mentors for younger students in the school. Sixth Form students, for example, mentor and coach a large number of students in debating clubs covering all three key stages; all year groups compete in local and national competitions such as ESU and University Schools events.

While many of our students go on to Oxbridge (25 in 2022) and other Russell Group universities, a small number are choosing to study abroad or to take up degree level apprenticeships.

Location

The school is located in spacious and attractive grounds in a pleasant residential area which is bordered by the River Thames and Richmond Park. It is situated on the northernmost edge of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames with easy access to road and rail networks. The nearest railway stations are at Kingston upon Thames (Zone 6), a fifteen minute walk away, or Richmond upon Thames.

Equality and Diversity

The school celebrates the diversity of its students and staff, and is fully committed to an ongoing programme of review of our equality and diversity practices to ensure all members of the school community are fully accepted and equally valued. We have a Stonewall award and as part of our commitment to an anti-racist strategy, the school is currently working towards an anti-racist school accreditation through the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality at Leeds Beckett University.

Safeguarding at The Tiffin Girls’ School

In support of our safeguarding commitment, we undertake rigorous pre-employment, online searches and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (with Barred List) checks on appointment. The school complies with the DBS Code of Practice and with the statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, as updated from time to time. We provide regular safeguarding training and expect staff to be aware of, understand and act in accordance with school policies. On appointment, staff will be asked to sign up to our E-Safety, Health & Safety, Data Protection and Secure Data Handling policies and to our various Safeguarding documents. In addition, on appointment, all staff are required to sign their agreement to complying with the school’s Code of Conduct. If any of the above raises any queries when you are considering your application, please do not hesitate to contact Claire Russam, HR Director on recruitment@tiffingirls.org.

Our safeguarding policy is available for you to read on our website at www.tiffingirls.org