Heartlands High School

At Heartlands High School we want to create a real commitment to learning. In the short life of the school our students have made a big impact.

Our ethos in the school places our young people at the centre. We have high expectations of our students and expect them to do well. However, we also want them to enjoy their time at school. We very proud to lead such an amazing community with brilliant students.

Our system of houses ensures a healthy spirit of competition within the school as well as providing a first class support system for our students. We ensure students work hard in class but also offer a wealth of opportunities outside the classroom through trips and engaging enrichment activities in a varied after school and weekend programme.

This ethos is captured in the word SEARCH. By reinforcing in our students the belief that school matters we encourage them to succeed through effort, responsibility, citizenship and high aspirations. We ask our students to SEARCH for SUCCESS and we take great pride in their achievements.

Our school develops partnerships that work. We know that our students find it much harder to succeed without the support of parents and carers. At Heartlands our aim is to create solid partnerships that build on success.

Heartlands High School has at its foundations a strong set of shared values that we act upon. Our school will benefit our students and all of those partners that work with us.

• A school that is passionate about creating a commitment to learning in its students and in expanding their development beyond that which can be achieved through tests.
• A school with a strong moral purpose; committed to equality and diversity. We will ensure that all students can achieve their potential.
• An outward facing school that actively seeks partnerships with those looking to enhance the life chances of young people.
• A school that embraces innovation in learning, in curriculum design and in all areas that seek to ensure the life chances of our young people are improved.
• A school that helps its students to act responsibly within its walls and beyond to ensure they understand their role as citizens in a larger community and act accordingly.
• A school that nurtures leadership in its students, a clear vision, transparency and fairness.
• A school that is committed to the study and practice of the arts to develop its students as creative thinkers and to enrich their lives through an understanding and appreciation of our common cultural heritage.

Teaching and learning is the heart of what we do at Heartlands. This year we launched The Heart of the Heartlands lesson which is what you will see in great lessons in our school – our principles of learning in practice.

In the Foundation Stage curriculum, Year 7 and 8 students study a broad and balanced range of subjects. As well as the traditionally academic subjects of English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Languages, students also study Art, Drama, Music, Design Technology, Catering, Computing and PE. We aim for students to have a wide range of experiences in the Foundation Stage so that they develop an understanding of their talents and interests and are ready to choose their GCSE options in Year 8. We teach PSHCE through a series of SEARCH days; these days allow students to immerse themselves in important topics for a day. We also use SEARCH days to provide opportunities for students to go on trips and to bring experts into school. These experiences enrich students’ cultural, educational and social awareness and enhance their learning in the classroom.

Students at Heartlands specialise in their GCSE subjects from Year 9. This allows them the time to develop the depth of knowledge and mastery needed for them to be successful in their GCSE Examinations.

We use Year 9 as a ‘Preparation Year’ to ensure that students are GCSE ready by the time they embark on the ‘Examination Stage’ in Year 10. The vast majority of our students (approximately 75%) study for the English Baccalaureate which involves achieving a good pass in English, Maths, Science, Humanities and a Language. This ensures that students have a broad, academic curriculum with high status subjects which will enable them to progress to the best university or an equivalent alternative, such as Apprenticeship. In addition to these subjects, students can select two other options from a wide range including Art, Music, Drama, Design Technology, Physical Education, Computing and Engineering. A small proportion of our students follow the Extended Pathway, which means they study a tenth GCSE after school on two days of the week. Extended options include: Economics, Further Maths and Classics.