Wath Academy

We are a very popular 11-18 Academy within the Maltby Learning Trust with over 2000 students on roll, including over 400 students in the Sixth Form.

We have recently been judged to be outstanding in 4 out of the 5 areas that OFSTED inspect click here. We are very proud of this judgement having previously been deemed inadequate during the schools last inspection, prior to Academisation. However, we recognise this is just the start of our improvement journey. We believe Wath Academy has the potential to be one of the best schools in the country and we genuinely believe it can become a beacon of educational excellence.

OUR VISION

Our vision is clear: ‘Delivering exceptional learning experiences which enable all young people to thrive in a competitive world and lead successful and fulfilling lives’. We are passionate about supporting all our students in their pursuit of success and happiness and we firmly believe that this is achieved through a relentless commitment to demonstrating our 7 key drivers:

• world-class learning
• the highest expectations
• no excuses
• growth mindset
• never give up
• everyone is valued
• integrity

These aspirational and inspirational core principles are central to everything that we do and were jointly created by students and staff to drive the academy forward. At Wath Academy, we live and breathe these key drivers with an unwavering passion and determination to ensure that our students receive the best education; we will not settle for anything but the best, and will not rest until the academy is truly great in all areas.

Wath Academy is an inclusive school within which  everyone is valued. Diversity is celebrated and we warmly welcome everybody into our community. We have a rich 100-year history of academic and sporting achievement. Long-standing traditions - such as the house system, which was formed in 1923, and the school’s newspaper, The Torch - provide a traditional feel in our modern learning environment. Despite our size, we pride ourselves on our supportive and caring community. We work hard to ensure that we create a disciplined environment which is rooted in the highest expectations, providing a platform for our students to showcase their ability, talents, and enthusiasm.

We firmly believe that with the combination of a  growth mindset  and  world-class learning  every lesson, every day, there are no limits on what our students can achieve. The addition of  integrity to our key drivers encapsulates what we want to achieve via our curriculum intent. Here at Wath Academy, we do things for the right reasons. We don’t take shortcuts, and we ensure everything we do is ethically and morally correct. We deliver on promises and walk the talk.

CURRICULUM INTENT

Our ambition to become a beacon of educational excellence sees us providing a holistic educational experience. We believe in providing students with an academic passport that allows them to have a range of choices when leaving the academy, whilst also remaining committed to developing the whole child, ensuring they have good character with which they can positively contribute to society. We aim to instil a never give up, no excuses  culture amongst our students, which we believe will develop resilient and solution focused individuals. Therefore, we place an emphasis on character education, responsible citizenship, and attending events and trips that broaden students’ horizons.

ENRICHMENT WITHIN THE SCHOOL DAY

We firmly believe that enrichment activities can be transformational for our students as we recognise the significant impact that discovering new passions and opportunities can have on a young person. Therefore, in order to remove all barriers to attending enrichment activities after school, we have placed 100 minutes of enrichment within the school day. This session takes place every Wednesday afternoon 13:10 – 14:50. Students select an enrichment club each term and have a choice of over 70 different activities.

WORLD-CLASS TEACHING AND LEARNING

We are truly passionate about Teaching and Learning and this is central to everything that we do. We firmly believe that when every teacher:

• Is passionate about changing life chances of young people
• Is passionate about Teaching and Learning
• Truly loves their subject
• Makes learning interesting, fun and relevant
• Knows the detail and nuances of the exam specifications
• Forges excellent relationships with all students
• Is strict but fair
• Is proven and knows how to deliver top notch results
• Is passionate about delivering outstanding learning (every lesson, every day)
• Has a true growth mind-set

then genuine sustainable school improvement takes place. We are passionate about ensuring every classroom in our academy is filled with this type of teacher.

STAFF CPD

To ensure that all staff can deliver World-Class Learning we provide an extensive CPD programme with four main elements:

CPD Sessions

Staff attend weekly CPD sessions which are meticulously planned based on the needs of our staff and our very own T&L standard. Each session is delivered by an exceptional teacher who forms part of our central teaching and learning group.

Staff Reading

We are passionate about engaging with impactful, evidence-based T&L strategies. Each member of staff is provided with a specific teaching and learning book which has been hand selected to align with our needs and T&L standard. The chosen book will be reviewed in CPD sessions to generate discussion and debate whilst also informing best practice.

IRIS

We use IRIS technology as a self and peer reflection tool. The technology is a fundamental part of our CPD programme, giving us the opportunity to reflect on current practice whilst also widely sharing best practice.

Drop Ins

We have an open-door policy through which staff receive regular high quality, insightful feedback following low stake drop ins. We see great value in facilitating regular conversations around T&L with a view to these conversations being purely developmental.

T&L Bulletin

A T&L Bulletin is produced each half term by the T&L team with contributions from a variety of teaching staff. The bulletin contains articles written by staff, links to useful information and research as well as sharing of good practice.

Teaching and learning standard

The MLT Teaching and Learning Standard is framework for teaching. It outlines what we consider to be the essential nuts and bolts of great teaching and ensures a consistency to all teaching dialogue, discussion and feedback. Within the edges of this framework we expect creativity, flair and individual styles to flourish.

HOUSE SYSTEM

We are very proud of our competition-based house system. The house system was launched when the school opened in 1923. All games and academic endeavours were celebrated as a house, not as individuals. The aim of the house system remains to build teamwork, confidence and community through competition. We see the house system as an ‘activator’, a vehicle to motivate and encourage students to push themselves outside of their comfort zone.

• Troy
• Thebes
• Sparta
• Rome
• Athens
• Carthage

Every student, and every member of staff, is affiliated to one of the houses and they compete to earn points for their house. Students and staff earn points by entering house competitions such as: photography, dance, cookery, poetry, chess, talent shows and sports day to name but a few. We have a wide range of competitions to ensure that everybody can be involved. We want every student to gain the confidence and belief to compete and experience what it feels like to be part of a successful team. The house system also exposes our students to team camaraderie, team spirit and having a united mission/goal.

SPORT AND EXTRA CURRICULAR

We pride ourselves on the extensive enrichment programme we provide for all students. We recognise that school is about generating positive school memories that last a lifetime and activities and experiences beyond the classroom play a large part in this. Please see find our Enrichment brochure by clicking  here.

VISITS

Finally, the best way to see a school is to visit it during a normal school day, to see the school in action. We are so confident that you will be impressed by our day-to-day provision that we would encourage you to just arrive at our reception, at a time and date that suits you, request a tour and I or another member of our senior team will be more than happy to provide you with a comprehensive tour of our academy.

Yours sincerely

L Ransome

Principal