TES Schools Awards shortlist 2011
Now in their third year, the TES Schools Awards - or Tessas - aim to celebrate this work. This year’s awards attracted a record number of entries, extolling the achievements of teachers, school leaders, support staff and pupils alike. If there is one principle underlying the awards it is that success is a team effort. It is rarely the product of one person acting alone. Having said that, one individual will receive the Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of a career devoted to education.
This year, one of the categories, Outstanding Community Partnership, attracted such a large number of high-calibre entries that we decided to split it in two. One award will recognise a community partnership; the other will acknowledge community partnerships with a business link. Another innovation this year is that the judges will choose a School of Schools from the winners of the three school categories, for primary, secondary and special needs.
On these pages, some of the schools are singled out in the introductions, but do not read anything into this: the final judging has yet to take place. The winners will be announced at a gala lunch at the Park Lane Hilton in London on 8 July. We hope to see many of you there.
Nick Morrison, Deputy Features Editor Drove Primary Swindon, Wiltshire Gosberton Primary Boston, Lincolnshire King Solomon Academy Primary St John’s Wood, London Old Park Primary Telford, Shropshire The Pilgrim CofE Primary Rochester, Kent Ysgol Glan Gele Infants Abergele, Conwy Drove Primary set up a youth club for disaffected pupils and has supported neighbouring schools, while Gosberton has introduced pupils to other cultures through its global links. At King Solomon Academy, university aspirations are promoted from day one, and at Old Park pupils are inspired through creativity. The Pilgrim Primary has been named the most improved in the country, while Ysgol Glan Gele has set up a boys’ reading scheme that has had impressive results. Baxter College Kidderminster, Worcestershire Burlington Danes Academy Hammersmith, London Highcrest Community School High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire Perry Beeches School Birmingham Pool Business and Enterprise College Redruth, Cornwall Woodside High Haringey, London Baxter College’s improvements have seen its roll double, while Burlington Danes’ results have risen since it replaced a failing school. The number of students at Highcrest leaving with nothing to go on to has fallen from 25 per cent to 2 per cent. Perry Beeches was named most improved school in the country this year, while Pool Business and Enterprise College has been recognised for supporting other schools. Finally, Woodside High’s GCSE results have improved sevenfold in five years. The Bridge School Telford, Shropshire Frank Wise School Banbury, Oxfordshire James Brindley School Birmingham Newman School Rotherham The New School Butterstone Dunkeld, Perthshire The New School at West Heath Sevenoaks, Kent Among the finalists in this category is the Bridge School, where pupils are heavily involved in enterprise projects. At Frank Wise, the focus on inclusion means students spend at least half a day a week in mainstream schools. James Brindley gives pupils with severe medical conditions the opportunity to take part in activities outside school, while students at Newman run a commercial cyber cafe and prepare meals for the elderly. The New School at Butterstone helps its pupils, many of whom have autistic spectrum disorders, live independent lives, and the New School at West Heath has set up a therapeutic unit for pupils who have been severely traumatised and often out of school for several years. Castlehead High Paisley, Renfrewshire Chenderit School Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire Felsted Primary Felsted, Essex Kings Farm Primary Gravesend, Kent Oriel Primary Hanworth, Middlesex Rodbourne Cheney Primary Swindon, Wiltshire A card game that incorporates characters from the local community is among the shortlisted initiatives in this category. The cards, developed by Kings Farm Primary, have been designed to get pupils interested in maths and give parents a game to play with their children. Students at Castlehead High have set up a reading base for younger pupils which promotes literacy at the same time as easing transition. This has helped reading ages increase by as much as three years. Hamble Community Sports College Southampton Hamstead Hall Community Learning Centre Birmingham Jack Hunt School Peterborough William de Ferrers School South Woodham Ferrers, Essex Redwood School Rochdale Westminster Academy Westminster, London This shortlist includes a sports leaders’ scheme at Jack Hunt School, in which students run clubs in primaries, with a route to voluntary and paid work. Last year, four students gained work as assistant coaches. The gymnastics club at Hamble College has provided coaching opportunities for pupils and boosted participation in two hours of PE from 57 per cent to 93 per cent. Hamstead Hall has set up a scheme for dwarf athletes that has produced a world champion and helped introduce power-lifting to the Dwarf World Games. Avonbourne School Bournemouth Conyers School Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees Costello Technology College Basingstoke, Hampshire Essa Academy Bolton Northants BLT (Better Learning using Technology network) Northamptonshire Saltash.net Community School Saltash, Cornwall Among the finalists for Outstanding ICT Learning Initiative is Avonbourne’s cross-generational project, in which students provide one-to- one training for silver surfers. Also shortlisted is a game developed by Saltash.net to help ease transition from its feeder primary schools, and Costello Technology College, which has created an online bank of lessons that pupils can access at any time. Birchensale Middle School Redditch, Worcestershire Coed Eva Primary Cwmbran, Torfaen De La Salle Humanities College (now the De La Salle Academy) Liverpool The Purcell School Bushey, Hertfordshire Shimna Integrated College Newcastle, Co Down St John’s Catholic School for the Deaf Boston Spa, West Yorkshire Initiatives in this category range from a partnership between St John’s and a local prison, which has seen pupils working with prison staff, who undertook deaf-awareness training in return, to a pupil-led music outreach scheme which has seen students at the Purcell School touring the country to perform in schools, churches and care homes. A languages project run by Shimna College has helped bring Protestant and Catholic pupils together, while a parents’ group run by De La Salle aims to bridge divisions in an area riven with gang conflict. The Isle of Sheppey Academy Sheerness, Kent Manchester Academy Manchester Moor End Technology College Huddersfield, West Yorkshire Pool Business and Enterprise College Redruth, Cornwall Portree High School Portree, Skye Rokeby School Newham, London Portree High’s project to repair and reuse bicycles is one of the finalists for this award. Also shortlisted are the links forged by Rokeby School with businesses in Canary Wharf, neighbours but worlds apart in terms of experience, as well as a partnership between Moor End and a local engineering firm which has led to the creation of an apprenticeship scheme. Baxter College Kidderminster, Worcestershire The Compton School Finchley, London Holte Visual and Performing Arts College Birmingham Lent Rise Primary Burnham, Slough Pensans Community Primary Penzance, Cornwall St Mary’s CofE Primary Kidderminster, Worcestershire The leadership team at Pensans bounced back from receiving a notice to improve from Ofsted to being graded outstanding in just 16 months. The Compton School has worked with more than 40 schools in the past year and the team at St Mary’s developed a new curriculum to take the school out of special measures. All have been willing to put their heads above the parapet in the search for improvement. Corpus Christi Catholic Sports College Preston, Lancashire Haydon Wick Primary Swindon, Wiltshire Monteney Primary Sheffield Neston Primary Neston, Wiltshire The Phoenix Federation Boston, Lincolnshire St John Bosco Arts College Liverpool Finance and business management may be the less glamorous side of education, but in times of cutbacks it takes on an added importance. Among the nominees in this category are the business management team at the Phoenix Federation, who have taken it from an overspend to a healthy surplus and through to foundation status, and the finance team at Neston Primary, who have driven down procurement costs and are proactive in sharing their expertise with other schools. Alcester Grammar Alcester, Warwickshire Royal Russell School Croydon, Surrey St Joseph’s Primary Antrim Sir John Lawes School Harpenden, Hertfordshire West Lea School Edmonton, London Ysgol Bryn Hedydd Rhyl, Denbighshire Among the shortlisted websites is that at Royal Russell, which includes a virtual tour of the school for parents who live abroad, and interactive maps for away sports fixtures. The website at Sir John Lawes includes a Year 6 forum, where prospective pupils can post questions before they arrive at the school. At Ysgol Bryn Hedydd the site provides a showcase for the school, despite being less than a year old. Astronomy masterclass - Uploaded by Andrew Jackson 50 ideas for meeting your new class - Uploaded by tafkam Good listening visual aids - Uploaded by bluecrayon Introduction to sustainable packaging - Uploaded by zaikamaria Pora Ora - Uploaded by jameslane The solar system workbook - Uploaded by StChristophersschool Nominees in the resources category include Pora Ora, a virtual world of games and puzzles for primary pupils, and two sets of space-based activities: an interactive astronomy masterclass and a booklet on the solar system, the latter aimed at pupils with special needs. All of the shortlisted resources, plus thousands more online materials, can be found on the TES resources bank Dairsie Primary Cupar, Fife Edwalton Primary NottinghamPRIMARY SCHOOL OF THE YEAR
SECONDARY SCHOOL OF THE YEAR
SPECIAL SCHOOL OF THE YEAR
OUTSTANDING LITERACY AND NUMERACY INITIATIVE
OUTSTANDING SPORTING ACHIEVEMENT OR PARTNERSHIP
OUTSTANDING ICT LEARNING INITIATIVE OR PARTNERSHIP
OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP
OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP TEAM
OUTSTANDING BUSINESS MANAGEMENT OR FINANCIAL TEAM
OUTSTANDING SCHOOL WEBSITE
OUTSTANDING TEACHING RESOURCES
OUTSTANDING SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL OR PARTNERSHIP