At Stanborough, we are committed to providing the structure and support our students need to meet and surpass national academic targets. We are committed to working closely with our parents to ensure that all students internalize values, such as tolerance, accountability, and personal responsibility, that will empower them to become successful, honorable citizens of our global community. Are you looking for a school with a tradition of excellence, small class sizes, highly qualified teachers, and effective pastoral care?
At Stanborough, we provide the structure and support each student needs to achieve academic success. As a result of this, our students consistently meet and surpass national averages at the GCSE level. We also provide numerous opportunities for students to cultivate the social skills that will empower them to interact well with members of the wider society.
As a Christian school, Stanborough seeks to sensitize all students of the need to live a life that is pleasing in the eyes of God. British values such as honesty, tolerance, dedication, and respect are actively taught. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to internalize the values and attitudes that will empower them to achieve personal and academic success in our global community.
When it was first founded in 1919, Stanborough School catered primarily to the children of overseas missionaries. This changed when the decision was made to offer a wider range of students access to the quality education provided at Stanborough.
Since opening our doors in 1919, Stanborough has grown so much, that in 1974 the Primary School moved to a new facility. In 1990, the Primary School added an Early Learning Unit and in 1991, the construction of a new complex for the secondary and boarding school students was completed.
Stanborough School is situated on the serene Stanborough Park in Watford. From its inception in 1919, the school administration has held firm to the principle that education is the harmonious development of the physical, mental, and spiritual powers. Stanborough still seeks to prepare its pupils for the joy of service in this world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come.
Our curriculum is designed to provide young people with the core knowledge and cultural capital needed both for further academic study while enabling them to develop as citizens and engage effectively in the world beyond school.
Our curriculum is designed to be balanced and rigorous, to maximize students’ knowledge, as well as their cognitive and personal development. We continually work to provide coherence within and across subjects, while also mapping the curriculum vertically from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4.
Everything students learn in school, alongside the taught curriculum, is seen as part of the whole curriculum. This includes the approach to spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development, as well as the extra-curricular provision, which provides a significant ‘hidden curriculum’.
Our pupils will learn to use the language of art. They will draw and paint in familiar and unfamiliar situations exploring new processes as well as the traditional materials and techniques. They will also enter fine art competitions.
We offer the AQA GCSE Biology syllabus and new specifications which provide a range of lessons from Human biology, Plant biology, and environmental studies.
In Business, students will learn the importance of Business and People, Marketing, Production and Finance, and the impact of the external environment on a business. They will develop their technical, numeracy, and literacy skills. They will learn subject terminology and be able to identify different types of business organizations.
The topics taught for paper 1 include Atomic structure and the periodic table Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter Quantitative chemistry, Chemical changes and Energy changes, the rate and extent of chemical change Organic chemistry Chemical analysis, Chemistry of the atmosphere, and Using resources.
Computer science is more than just gaming and working with computers. It is developing skills to solve problems it is allowing you to exploit your creativity it is helping you strengthen your analytical thinking skills it is preparing for the future.
In EAL, it’s all about enabling learners to become proficient communicators in English, both in the everyday and academic spheres. Interactive activities are used to hone speaking, writing, reading, and listening skills empowering learners to deal with real situations and meaningful tasks. Our learners are inspired to become life-long lovers of the English language and language learning in general.
The main goal of this curriculum is to guide students in the acquisition of solid technical accuracy in the English language, emphasizing the good use of grammar, coherence, and creativity.
The English language focuses on developing core literacy skills: reading and writing for both fiction and non-fiction. Students will develop the ability to use and explore language in different contexts and for different purposes and audiences. It also includes some analysis of literary and media texts. Students will have opportunities to write creatively and demonstrate their ability to discuss different topics and make formal presentations.
The curriculum, in English Literature, aims to create, build and sustain a love of books: novels, plays, and poetry, in students. Students will develop the ability to analyze plot, characters, themes, language, and structural devices, and context. They will study old and modern texts, learn subject terminology, make comparisons between literary works and develop their ability to identify literary terms and state their effects on the reader.
“Master French through Learning”. Our vision is to develop strong, lifelong linguistic skills in our students which will enhance their vocational abilities and employability skills. All the learners will regard themselves as world citizens as they become proficient in the French language.
We strive to develop an understanding of patterns and responses in the physical and human environments, climate change, and the sustainability of our planet, appreciate the fragility of our planet, and recognize their individual and collective roles as stewards.
Pupils are trained in the skills needed in the study of history, learning to analyze effects from causes as they investigate periods, characters, and events from the past.
The subject is packed with fascinating themes, ideas, and concepts, from William the Conqueror’s audacious assault on England, culminating in the epic Battle Hastings the philandering and murderous instincts of Henry VIII the Gunpowder Plot, directly leading to the Popish Recusants Act in 1605 to the Night of Long Knives under the Nazi dictatorship.
At Stanborough, we have four operational greenhouses and we also do open field cultivation of crops such as tomatoes, beans, spinach, beetroot, and radishes. The school garden has helped students to develop a greater respect for food by showing them what it takes to grow and harvest even one vegetable. It encourages parent and community involvement as many parents and people around the community buy fresh organic produce from the school garden.
We seek to support English learning for our Full Immersion Experience (FIE) students. In this class, we explore British History, Culture, and Values. This promotes an understanding of the British people, our cultural diversity, and how we relate with the rest of the world.
We pride ourselves in providing our students with a curriculum that is designed to ensure the progress and development of mathematical skills they’ll need in life and their further education. We have collaboratively developed a skill-based scheme of work that promotes problem solving, resilience and ensure full curriculum coverage.
Our educational philosophy aims for greater understanding and awareness of the functioning of our Human Body and the physiological basis of it, learning how to use it effectively, laying the foundations for improving our quality of life in the most holistic sense of the word, referring to the well-known axiom of "Mens Sana in corpore sana".
The Physics topics we teach are Forces, Energy, Waves, Electricity, Magnetism and Electromagnetism, Particle Model of Matter, Radioactivity, and Space Physics.
KS4 Religious Studies covers the OCR national curriculum. Our two study focuses are Christianity and Islam. We look in detail at their ethics, moral and philosophical points of view.
Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world, therefore in Stanborough Secondary School, we believe that learning Spanish will not only be useful to enhance communication with speakers of other languages, but it will also grant our students a valuable skill and it will help them in their future career-enhancing their employability.
