Bottisham Village College

We are a highly-ambitious, highly-innovative and over-subscribed comprehensive school, based in the heart of rural East Cambridgeshire and we take great pride in our vision: to inspire, to care for and to enrich the lives of every student within our community. The pupil admission number is 300 for September 2022 and last year we received 455 applications of which 281 were first preference, meaning we are currently a school of 1410 students.

The college is a focal point for village life and a community ethos: a comprehensive adult education programme, a community sports centre and extensive provision for the arts and physical education as well as a well developed enrichment programme for all. In essence, the facilities, open 364 days a year, are the gateway to connecting all our catchment communities. Henry Morris, the founding father of the Village College ideal, believed that schools should be the pulse of the local community, open to all and offering an attractive stimulating environment. As our college grows, we shall never lose sight of the Henry Morris ideal: community is at the heart of all we do.

We are committed to providing an outstanding education to all of our students, enabling them to develop into mature, independent young people, ready to take their place in society. In addition to our academic rigour, our relationship-driven approach permeates throughout all aspects of college life, from the maths classroom to the sports field, from the music room to the ICT suite and from the library to the auditorium, this is a college where we recognise the transformative power of positive relationships. Students will only succeed if they are happy and we make every effort to achieve this.

Our curriculum implementation matches and supports the overall ethos of our college: inspiring, caring and enriching:

Inspiring: Our curriculum aims to inspire students of all attainment profiles, as they follow an academic curriculum that exposes them to the rich cultural heritage of ages past whilst providing them with the skills and knowledge that they need to thrive in a modern, dynamic global society. Knowledge-rich, the curriculum will enable students to think more deeply, to develop a wide range of skills, to apply knowledge, to problem-solve, to analyse and to be self-disciplined as they reflect on their own learning. Inspired students recognise they are making progress. The careers strategy, which is embedded within our curriculum, gives students an acute awareness of the local and wider world, foster skills of enterprise and creativity and prepare them for life. The curriculum will give them the ability to engage in educated conversations and activities, so they can access a breadth of opportunities in their post-16 choices and later lives.

Caring: Whilst we retain academic rigour, we strive for our curriculum to develop students’ potential to be truly accomplished people, instilling values of compassion, tolerance and care for others. The curriculum aims to promote fundamental British values: tolerance, resilience, respect and good citizenship, coupled with social, moral and spiritual understanding. We recognise that we must support our students to make strong choices to promote a healthy-lifestyle, in order to promote physical and mental wellbeing. Compassionate and empathetic, we want our students to add value to society. Our curriculum cares for all of our students, providing a pathway built for them as individuals and helps them to thrive as part of our healthy, happy community. Reflecting our inclusive creed, our curriculum is ambitious for all, allows access for all and supports those who most need our focus. We are clear: literacy, spoken communication and numeracy must be at the very heart of inclusion.

Enriching: Our curriculum aims to give students the opportunities to enhance and extend their educational experience through a wealth of extra-curricular provision, our Extended Schools Programme. Here, students can study beyond the GCSE specification, explore and be curious about new topics and develop new skills. Additionally, the proportion of excursions and trips enrich the experience for students at the college, developing their world view and resilience in a range of contexts. Trips, visits and excursions will be central to our students experience and we shall actively ensure that all of our students can partake and enjoy the benefits of them.