Stretch and Challenge

 

The core values of Villiers High School are summarised into the acronym of HEART. When looking at our students' learning experience, ‘Equity’ and ‘Aspiration’ are the driving forces behind ‘Stretch and Challenge’. At Villiers we strive to provide outstanding support; we want all students to have a positive learning experience and to embrace their capabilities. Through Stretch and Challenge, we are promoting the best outcomes for everyone regardless of their starting point; we personalise learning so that everyone can take ownership of their own aspiration, but also so that we can be ambitious for all of our learners.

For life, not school, we learn

Not all learning happens in the classroom. Our enrichment timetable offers opportunities for all of our students to develop their interests and we are proud to celebrate their success! One of the biggest misconceptions is that enrichment is just for KS3 but that is certainly not the case at Villiers.

Every year the Duke of Edinburgh Award challenges our students to push themselves physically but also stretches our students to consider their contribution to society.

Our 2022/2023 Novice Debate cohort excelled and claimed a well-earned place in the DebateMate Finals.

Engagement with Poetry Live resulted in one of our Y10s being recognised nationally as highly skilled in poetry; she will have the honour of reading her work at a future Poetry Live event.  

What’s more, our KS5 students recently embarked on the trip of a lifetime, working with the Chaddy Mission Kenya to support altruistic causes, as well as enriching themselves personally.

These are just a few examples of the challenging (yet rewarding) opportunities on offer to stretch and challenge all members of our Villiers community.

University Engagement

It is important that all students feel confident when approaching further education.

At Villiers we want to inspire and motivate our students towards achieving their full potential. We have made partnerships with both St John's Oxford Inspire and The Brilliant Club, but we are also building partnerships with local universities such as Royal Holloway so that our students have the opportunity to benefit from university expertise and speak to student ambassadors about university life.

Our Sixth Form students confidently apply (and are accepted) to Russell Group, Oxbridge, and many other top universities around the UK. By providing our KS3 students with university experiences we aim to build on this, helping our students to be ambitious in their short, medium, and long term goals.

 

 

Student and Parental Engagement

Your voice matters! We work closely with young people and utilise student voice to help us to plan for the future. We regularly share updates in the bulletins (so please keep your eyes peeled) when celebrating success and promoting new opportunities.

We work closely with parents and carers to help support academic progress and personal growth. Our recent coffee mornings have proven a great success through tailoring workshops to a variety of different interests, from creativity and architecture, to revision strategies and growth mind-set.  

Each coffee morning is followed by parent and carer feedback so that we can continuously plan for our future development.