Aylesbury High School

Aylesbury High School is a friendly community with a real sense of purpose, preparing students for life in a fast-moving world which they will play a major role in shaping and leading.  We serve the towns and villages of Aylesbury Vale and the neighbouring counties.

AHS is modern and forward-looking with a curriculum and philosophy to suit the twenty-first century needs of our diverse community.  We are not a stereotypical grammar school and visitors often remark that they have their preconceptions overthrown within a short time of being here.

Our learning environment is very good, with a range of new buildings and facilities made possible through successful development campaigns and a planned programme of further refurbishment.

Students are able, motivated and rewarding to teach but they also bring exactly the same challenges and demands as any group of 11-18 year olds so we have a strong support systems starting even before students join us.  Whilst high attainment should be expected in a selective school, our value added/progress scores, both overall and for different groups, confirm that students really do flourish here.

We believe in providing a broad and balanced curriculum for all of our students, which we term our ‘STEAM’ agenda (Science Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths).  We have a strong reputation for valuing all areas of the curriculum but we also appreciate that not everyone has to be good at everything, and provide a supportive framework that recognises that each of our students is unique in their abilities, achievements, ambitions and aspirations.

Teaching is best when it actively involves our students and stretches their imaginations.  We encourage our students to look outwards and to develop the confidence to live, work and make friends anywhere in the world. They get involved in a wide range of extra-curricular activities, as well as a full programme of educational visits in Britain and abroad.

We have a strong emphasis on community links both locally and further afield.  With over 60 feeder primary schools, we have well-defined strategies for liaison and outreach activities, many with a focus on providing our students, in all year groups, with leadership opportunities. A very large number of students each year take up volunteering opportunities and we are a Champion School for the National Citizen Service.

Our students have an amazing capacity for hard work in the classroom, but also participate in a range of inter-house competitions run by Sixth Form students, fund raise and campaign for their chosen charities, take part in a very popular Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme (we have the highest participation and completion rates in the region), link with partner schools in Europe and Asia, joint music and drama productions with Aylesbury Grammar School, and much, much more.

Our school ethos produces students who are grounded and altruistic but we also encourage them to be exceptional in their chosen fields.  Our students have enjoyed considerable success in recent years, with sports teams, chefs, musicians, Young Enterprise teams, technologists, writers and mathematicians all performing at the highest levels; we have National, Regional and County Champions in a variety of team and individual pursuits.

None of this success happens by chance.  Staff would describe their jobs at AHS as demanding but recognise that whatever they invest in their job tends to reap real rewards.  The school has a strong induction programme for all new staff, a commitment to continuing professional development and an excellent system for supporting newly qualified teachers.  There is an expectation that our staff will want to develop their careers and we offer plenty of support and encouragement for them to do so.  All teachers are provided with a laptop that is linked to our wireless network and can be used off-site. There is encouragement for innovation and experimentation in teaching and there has been considerable investment in the ICT infrastructure and teaching facilities. Our 1:1 scheme means every student in the school has their own computer in lessons and staff have embraced the change in learning style enthusiastically and creatively.  This has been recognised by us becoming a Google Reference School through our ‘exemplary’ work with these devices.

We have strong links with the Astra Teaching School Hub, which leads to significant professional development opportunities - in terms of supporting ITTs and ECTs, both in school and throughout the partnership.

Non-Teaching staff make an invaluable contribution to the smooth and effective running of the school and provide administrative, technical and pastoral support to students and staff.

The enthusiastic and committed Governing Body works alongside the Leadership Team and other members of staff to create, deliver and evaluate the annual School Improvement Plan and develop the strategic direction of the school.  In July 2011 we became an academy and are therefore independent of the local authority, although we continue to work closely with them where appropriate, and with local primary and secondary schools. We see our autonomy as a definite advantage to help us tackle the challenges ahead.

Aylesbury High School is a very busy school, we are a friendly, outward-looking school, we are a girls’ school where students can take risks, and we are a high-achieving school.  We believe in preparing our students for the tests of life, rather than a life of tests and above all, we are a happy school with a terrific future ahead of us.