Prendergast Ladywell School

A great deal has happened to transform this community school in the heart of Lewisham. The commitment and talents of its staff have been fully focussed on ensuring students reach their full potential.

A relentless focus on improving standard of Teaching and Learning is at the heart of school improvement. With this in mind the leadership team in the school have developed whole-school systems for monitoring and evaluating the performance of staff and the effectiveness of their teaching.

We have revised the assessment and reporting structure in the school. There are now 4 modules over the school year, each of which ends with a revision week and then formal assessment in all subjects. We collect this tracking information and a summary of students’ achievements is reported to parents and carers in October, December, March and July. This provides information about the progress their child is making toward their aspirational target grade in every subject, and an indication of their engagement in learning. This report is used to stretch our most able students, and support and challenge those who are not making good progress.

We revised the curriculum offer in Year 10 and 11. Our pathway curriculum demands that our most able students take the most challenging EBacc GCSE’s, ensuring they are well prepared for A Level qualifications and application to Russell Group Universities. The appointment of a Most Able co-ordinator in the school ensures that students predicted A and A* grades at GCSE are given the challenge and support they need to succeed.

High expectations for all academically is mirrored in the work we are doing to ensure a firm but fair approach to standards and discipline, with a clear emphasis that children feel safe to learn. A strong stance is taken with students who disrupt the learning of others. High standards of courtesy and politeness are expected of students at all times, students are expected to wear the school uniform with pride and work hard at school and at home.

Parents are very positive about the school. We are proud of our community of parents, students, staff and Governors, who make our school a great place to learn, work and share with our neighbours and community.