What makes Priory a great school?
A Message from the Principal
As the Principal of Penwortham Priory Academy, I am proud and privileged to be able to tell you what makes our school great. What makes Priory, Priory.
Of course, whilst there are a multitude of worthy considerations when choosing a school for your child; GCSE results, percentages of pupils achieving Grade 5, Ofsted reports , etc. we at Priory realise that it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that these are only part of the picture, and there are other key elements that are equally as important to a school, if not more so. Other things matter, too – health, happiness, a rounded education, the ability to work with others, the arts – an environment where pupils feel that they belong to a school community - these need equal recognition as well.
As a parent or guardian of a Priory pupil, we know you’ll be bothered about whether your son or daughter has been challenged and achieved their potential over their 5 years with us.
Whether they, as an individual, have the necessary skills and qualifications to go on to do what they want to do...college, university, job, or apprenticeship.
But just as importantly, you’ll be bothered, throughout the 5 years they’re at secondary school, whether your son or daughter has been happy and has felt safe and supported at school.
As parents, I’ve no doubt like me, that you want all these things for your daughter or son.
We cater for all of this at Priory, and that's where I feel Priory is unique and why I feel Priory is a great school.
A school where we do our utmost, every day, to make Priory an even greater school than it already is so that all our pupils can learn to succeed.
A school where the best things happen for our pupils.
Priory is a school for the pupils
Our aim for pupils therefore is simple. To have:
‘The highest expectations of all, from all, so that all pupils ‘Learn to Succeed’ and leave Priory, equipped with the right skills and attitudes to help them succeed in life, contribute positively to society, and go on to further education, employment or training’.
What makes Priory GREAT?
The best pastoral care - to overcome individual pupils’ barriers to success
First and foremost, pupils at Priory behave well, they feel safe, happy and feel that they belong to our school community. So, we focus on having the best pastoral care for each and every one of our pupils, regardless of ability or background, where all our staff strive, every day, to overcome each individual pupils’ barriers to success.
So, to make sure this is the case, we have a strong, effective and responsive pastoral team comprising heads of year, heads of house, form tutors, pastoral managers and student services, as well as a great Learning Support Department, comprising of our SENCO and educational support staff, all of whom work collaboratively to ensure your child’s personal needs are met and you and your child have consistent ports of call as and when needed.
All this because, in our view, it’s only when we have pupils who feel safe and happy in school, that we can then focus effectively on their academic care, providing each with a varied and rich curriculum that enables them to build a broad knowledge bank and gain good individual results that act as a stepping-stone to their future.
The best academic care – a curriculum that best supports the academic progress, learning progress and pastoral progress of our pupils
And this academic care is grounded in having the best curriculum.
We’ve harnessed the best research on curriculum design and implementation so that every pupil can access an ambitious and varied curriculum that clearly articulates and sequences acquisition of knowledge, skills and the attributes they need to be educated citizens of modern Britain and beyond.
So, our curriculum, quite rightly, supports the core academic subjects of English, Maths, Science, Computing, the Humanities and Languages, but also incorporates and celebrates the opportunities that subjects like Art, Music, Drama, PE, the range of Technologies, Engineering and Childcare bring with them. and these subjects enrich our curriculum. Our curriculum is varied, supplemented by a huge variety of trips and visits, clubs and practices, which meets the individual interests and aspirations of those in our care because we have shaped it around them.
We live by traditional values and expectations of pupils so our curriculum can be delivered in the best learning environments. So, our pupils:
- Behave excellently
- Expect to be academically challenged
- Present their work neatly, responding to feedback and checking for mistakes before handing it in
- Do their homework
- Be polite, courteous, responsible and respectful
- Dress smartly and wear our uniform with pride
We also ensure that pupils receive the best teaching and teaching support leading to excellent learning in lessons delivered by the best teachers and teaching assistants. Lessons are planned to be engaging, but challenging, designed to make our pupils think hard.
We expect too parents and guardians to support good learning by engaging with their sons and daughters about their learning once they’re home, checking homework, ensuring standards are maintained and discussing any issues of behaviour, etc.
So, in choosing Priory, our pupils and our parents & guardians, agree to uphold, what we call, our Priory Standard. The highest expectations of all, from all achieved through our 3 pillars of everyday learning. Not only through our expectations of pupils' behaviour both in and outside of lesson time, but how they can become great ambassadors, great ambassadors not only for Priory, but for themselves, and their families.
So great learning, teaching, assessment and standards.
If you visit the school, take the time to look at our wall of inspiration in the corridor outside reception and along our dining room corridor...sports people, pop stars, the youngest qualified pilot in the country, Jordan North, Radio 1 DJ, Jamie Edwards, the youngest fusioneer in the world…all past pupils of this school...all individuals with their own unique skills and talents who have been supported here at Priory and done exceptionally well, allowing them to go on from Priory, into our local community and beyond, and do what they want to do. And that’s another thing that makes Priory great, we make decisions based on the individual. Priory is a school where individuals matter and so we nurture our pupils as individuals.
Of course, there will always be a great deal of interest in pupils who have achieved the very top grades of 7 - 9s on GCSE results day. These young people have done exceptionally well. And yes, here at Priory, we are always very pleased for those pupils of ours that achieve such grades…barristers, solicitors, doctors, scientists, PHD graduates…all past pupils of our school.
Proof alone that if your daughter or son is academic, they will achieve here at Priory. They will fulfil their potential. Priory is an academic school.
Character, LORIC and Skills for Life
Finally, at Priory we run, ‘The Edge’ programme with all our pupils, a nationally recognised accreditation, that allows us to credit our pupils not only with their academic success, but for those personal skills and qualities that are essential to evidence for employability and life beyond Priory - Leadership, Communication, Resilience, Organisation and Initiative. Our pupils leave having worked towards an Edge award at Apprentice, Graduate or Masters levels in these key areas and will have something to show for it.
We believe it’s our job, to excite, engage, challenge and support our pupils so that once they leave Priory, we have shaped young people that are resilient, independent and successful learners who can move on from Priory and go on to do what they want to do. We focus attention on preparing our pupils for the next stage of their lives and giving them impartial information, advice and guidance to shape their career paths. We prepare them for the world of work and adult responsibility. We instil in them the strength of character to withstand life’s adversities and treat other humans with courtesy and dignity.
So, it’s this combined, equal focus on the development of our pupils’ Pastoral Care, their Academic Progress, their Personal Development and on their Character and Culture development, that I believe makes Priory unique and what I believe makes Priory pupils unique.
This is why Priory continues to be a great school, where every pupil learns to succeed.
My vision has always been for sustainable change. None of us at Priory therefore are here for short term goals; we’re here to influence for the better, the lives of our young people and to have a sustained, positive impact on the local community we serve.
