Fortismere School

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Fortismere is a high achieving, dynamic, mixed foundation secondary school, and is highly regarded by the local Muswell Hill community that it serves. We have a strong focus on outstanding progress and attainment for all of our students, as well as cultural enrichment.

Each year, more than 1500 students compete for a place at our sixth form, which has 450 places. There is an impressive range of subjects to study, including traditional A levels, and subjects like Further Mathematics and Economics. We also have an excellent further education program, where students are mentored to apply for Oxbridge, Russell Group, and Ivy League universities. In the last three years over 50 Fortismere students have taken up places at Oxbridge and medical school.

Our examination results are outstanding but we are never complacent and each year we seek to raise attainment and ensure outstanding progress for every student from the time they join us to the time they leave. At GCSE, results over the last two years have been consistently above 85% in terms of students gaining five or more A* to C grades. Maths and English have been consistently high in the 80+% range. At A level, 65 to 72% of students' grades are A* to B grades.

We believe that outstanding progress and attainment will be achieved by constantly challenging and raising aspirations, insisting on the highest standards in terms of attendance, punctuality, and behavior, providing the right support and teaching strategies, and timely, well-planned interventions.

We place great importance on traditional values in terms of courtesy towards and consideration for others, respect, and acceptance of others’ differences. We are also passionate about our learning and seek to instill the importance of each day as another opportunity to learn and develop at Fortismere we intend to make the saying ‘Scarpe Diem a reality.

Fortismere will continue to be an outstanding, popular and successful school. It will win hearts and minds through adding value to its students and staff, playing a key role in its wider community, and leading innovative practice that impacts nationally and internationally. We will share this vision and be committed to contributing to a dynamic learning environment that results in a significant and measurable year-on-year improvement in all key stages. Fortismere will have an active mind, a finger on the pulse, and a big heart.

Aims of the school:

• That all students are of equal concern.
• That the curriculum should provide all students with insights into those attitudes, concepts, skills, and bodies of knowledge compatible with the above aims of education.
• That all will be able to reach their full potential through the curricular and extracurricular activities of the school and that this process should be carefully monitored.
• That the school will promote self-discipline and empathy for others, both within the school and the wider community.
• That the school will welcome the involvement of parents/carers and the local community in the life of the school.
• That these aims will be achieved by a free and open dialogue between the constituent groups associated with the school.

Our intention at Fortismere is to provide a curriculum that is broad, balanced, and coherent. Our ambition is to develop young people that are well educated, well qualified, and who are capable of benefiting from and contributing to society when they leave Fortismere.

Modern lives require people who can think and act independently. We endeavor to provide a curriculum that will provide pupils with the skills, knowledge, experience, and imaginative understanding for a lifetime of learning and enjoyment, as well as an awareness and respect for moral values and the community.

Our history began in 1879 when William Brown founded Tollington School. Tollington School went through several changes, before becoming a mixed grammar school in 1958. In 1983 we became Fortismere School. More recently, in 2007, we became a foundation school, as well as taking on joint specialist status in maths/computing with music, and a second specialism in modern languages.

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