Stanborough New-build

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Mr T Braybrook, Deputy Headteacher, writes:

You may have seen in last week’s Stanborough Times, pictures of the Mayor, Councillor Roger Trigg, opening our new building.  This was a fantastic day for all those involved in the project and the end of a very long journey!

The story starts in 2015 when Hertfordshire County Council approached the school about expanding in size.  Following detailed discussions on the issue, a grant of £4.8 million was awarded to the school in 2018.  This grant covered the following:

  • A new classroom block that now houses our Humanities and Modern Foreign Languages faculties. Also, new students toilets, staff offices and student support services;
  • Extra science laboratories;
  • Extensions to the car parking capacity of the school;
  • Expansion of cycle storage;
  • Conversion of existing facilities to increase the number of art rooms.

As you would expect with a project of this size and complexity, the road is never straight!  A number of issues delayed the building work, so it wasn’t until the Autumn Term of 2019 that we finally saw the diggers moving on site and real signs of progress!

In March 2020, when things were going to plan, the pandemic hit.  This led to a shutdown of the site for a while and then a phased re-opening.  This obviously delayed the planned finish date, but with a lot of hard work from the contractors, T J Evers, they have delivered the building in time for students to use it from the start of this term.  Yes, there are a few ‘bits and pieces’ to finish off, but in the current environment we are happy to be able to have more classrooms to space students out around the school.

The classrooms in the block are bright and large and they each have a state of the art interactive white board.  The block has a controlled ventilation scheme and the new toilet facilities are a welcome addition to the school.

We are also very pleased with our new science laboratories that have not only been fitted out with the latest equipment, but are also a very different design to the others with the separation of classroom and practical zones within the same room.

Looking at the future, the old classrooms that housed Compass will soon be demolished.  They currently house the music department.  We are now looking forward to the next development to improve the school’s already amazing facilities.  The new music and drama block is a separate scheme.  This has been funded via a £1.4 million grant direct from the ESFA Condition Improvement Fund.  Work is progressing well, and we look forward to this block opening in January 2021 (I am sure the music and drama departments would heartily agree with this statement).

Stanborough already has some amazing facilities for its students.  These new additions will make our student accommodation even more incredible and allow teachers and support staff to deliver some amazing learning experiences for our students in the years to come.

Growing Success Continues at Stanborough

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GCSE Results 2019-20

Stanborough’s growing reputation is down to the aspirational and hardworking students supported by passionate and dedicated teachers and support staff. This has been an extremely distressing time for all Year 11 students as the pandemic has created circumstances no one could have ever imagined or wished for but it has been great to see the wonderful outcomes received by the students.

Stanborough’s Headteacher Mrs John who has led the school in the last two years commented “It has been a true pleasure to work with this cohort of Year 11 students. The school has seen several changes in the last two years but in spite of these changes, the students led by their Head of Year, Mrs Ridgeon have been extremely welcoming, receptive and supportive of the initiatives introduced. I am very proud of our students as the school continues to flourish and the aspirational culture of the school supports the learners to achieve these justified results. I have also been so impressed with the resilience demonstrated by our Year 11 students during this extremely difficult, challenging and exceptional period. They have embraced the situation that they were faced with and taken everything in their stride. It cannot be underestimated what they have been through but also the stress and uncertainty that they would have faced leading up to receiving their results today. I would like to congratulate every single student for their hard work, dedication and perseverance in their time with us. Our Year 11 students are indeed a credit to the Stanborough community and they should be very proud of what they have achieved and who they have become.

Today, we also celebrate the fantastic commitment of the teachers and support staff. The staff here at Stanborough have worked tirelessly to support each and every child and this is evident in the results. I would also like to personally acknowledge the support that the Head of Year Mrs Ridgeon has provided to each of the students in her care. She has been an amazing tower of strength to each and every child in the last five years.

I would also like to acknowledge our parents and carers who have nurtured and encouraged their children throughout their school lives. This collaborative effort and strong partnership between school and home has been a major factor in influencing the aspirational culture.

Particularly successful Stanborough students were:

  • Annabel Dunstan with all 10 GCSEs at Grade 9
  • Jack Moylan with 12 GCSEs at grade 9 and 8
  • Louis Ross with 9 GCSEs at grade 9
  • Chloe Fisher with 9 GCSEs at 9 and 8
  • Ellie-Anne Hart with 9 GCSEs at 9 and 8
  • Zhe Gao with 6 GCSEs at grade 9 and 8
  • Phoebe Gordon with 6 GCSEs at 9 and 8
  • Katie Jeffrey with 5 GCSEs at 9 and 8
  • Dominik Orzel-Walker with 5 GCSEs at 9 and 8
  • Thomas Farran with 5 GCSEs at 9 and 8
  • George McAleese with 7 GCSEs at 9, 8 and 7
  • Hannah Davis with 6 GCSEs at 9, 8 and 7
  • Chloe O’Connor with 6 GCSEs at 8 and 7
  • Samuel Holmes with 6 GCSEs at 9 and 7
  • Oliver Warner with 7 GCSEs at 8 and 7
  • Ptolemy Carnell with 6 GCSEs at grade 8 and 7.

A humble Annabel Dunstan, who achieved the highest grades in the year, said, “I am very proud of myself and my results and I want to thank all my teachers for teaching me, supporting me and believing in me.”

An emotional Louis Ross was delighted when he received his impressive results and said,

“I am really pleased with my results and relieved considering what’s happened over the past few months. I’m looking forward to starting sixth form at Stanborough in September.”

Mrs John also added, ‘We are also very pleased that a high proportion of students will continue their studies into the Sixth Form at Stanborough and will continue to perform at the highest level as demonstrated by our very good A Level results achieved last week. We also have a number of students who have been successful in their GCSE qualifications and will now follow college or Level 2 Apprenticeship courses.’

On behalf of the staff and governors, we would like to wish all our Year 11 students the very best as they embark on the next exciting chapter in their educational journey.

 

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A Level/BTEC Results 2019-20

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The students at Stanborough School are celebrating a record set of Year 13 results.  It has been pleasing to see a second year of increase in the results and this is a reflection of the hard work and dedication from the students and staff.

I would like to acknowledge the resilience demonstrated by our Year 13 students during this extremely difficult, challenging and exceptional period. They have embraced the situation that they were faced with and taken everything in their stride. It cannot be underestimated what they have been through but also the stress and uncertainty that they would have faced leading up to receiving their results today. I would like to congratulate every single student for their hard work, dedication and perseverance in their time with us. Our students are indeed a credit to the Stanborough community and they should be very proud of what they have achieved and who they have become in the last thirteen years of schooling. They have truly been wonderful role models to the rest of the school.

I would like to thank all staff for their unstinting support of the year group but also for the dedication and professionalism with which they approached the huge task of submitting the calculated grades for their students. I would also like to thank the Head of Sixth Form, Mr Wayne Maidment for the excellent guidance and care he has provided over the last two years.

This year’s grading system has been extremely stressful for the entire team but I am very proud that significantly fewer of the Centre Assessed Grades that we submitted were changed compared to the national figure. The Centre Assessed Grades were based on robust data including current levels of performance, previous exams taken and coursework that had already been completed and assessed. A special mention has to go to the team of leaders and support staff who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes, working with examination boards to ensure that all the guidelines were followed meticulously. I would also like to acknowledge our parents who have nurtured and encouraged their children throughout their school lives. These results show that the combination of excellent teaching, the commitment of students and the support of parents is paramount to success.

At Stanborough, we are particularly pleased for the following students who have secured an impressive set of grades and in some cases made outstanding progress in the last two years.

  • Andreas Andreous
  • Charlotte Ball
  • Mitchell Burrows
  • Priya Desai
  • Pia Joyce
  • Lily McDonald
  • Behram Printer
  • Luke Sakaguchi-Mawer
  • Mattia Salsi
  • Lucy Thompson
  • Kono Washio
  • Alice Wells

Students will be off to study in a range of universities, including the Russell Group. Students will be studying a broad range of courses and degrees including Economics, Physics with Astrophysics, Psychology, Music, Computer Science, Marketing, English Literature. International Business Management, Finance and Investment Banking, Philosophy, Journalism, Law and Criminology.

We are delighted that the majority of students have secured their first choice of university or apprenticeships. We are so proud of them all. They leave us with the confidence of knowing that they can overcome unexpected obstacles and achieve whatever they aim for. On behalf of the staff and governors, we would like to wish all our Year 13 students the very best as they embark on the next chapter in their lives.

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COMING SOON! Virtual Heads of School Hustings

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VE Day Competition

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Mrs Z Armitage, Deputy Headteacher, writes:

VE Day Comp Image Full wFriday 8th May saw the UK commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory In Europe Day.  Many of us celebrated in a socially distanced way and it was lovely to have a positive focal point.  Many of you sent in photos of your celebrations, including contributions that were sent in for the VE 75 time capsule.  The videos and photos are here for you to enjoy!

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