Stanley Park High is a very successful mixed community school for students of all abilities between the ages of 11 and 19 years. Although we have a long history of schooling in the local area, in 2006 we were designated a ‘One School Pathfinder’ by the London Borough of Sutton. This designation required us to design a new school that not only responded to the outcomes in our vision statement but also had to be innovative and forward-thinking to prepare our students for life in the 21st Century. In addition, it had to be an inspiration to other schools. We feel that we have got this right and our new state-of-the-art school opened in January 2012.
Human Beings are a social species. Learning is a social activity. We understand that life in the 21st Century will be strongly dependent on social interaction. Consequently, we believe that the ability to form excellent relationships will be critical to our student's learning and success in the future. Consequently, everything we do is designed to maximize the chances of such relationships. Our ‘Four Schools within One’ concept is central to this.
We are highly ambitious for the future success of the school, as we are for each student that is entrusted into our care. We believe that our nationally recognized curriculum structure and innovative approaches to learning and teaching, when coupled with our extremely high expectations, will provide the perfect platform for achievement and success.
Our Vision Statement is based on the fact that for children and adults to be inspired to learn it is our fundamental belief that our school provides:
- A curriculum that responds to the needs of every individual irrespective of their age and aptitude.
- Learning experiences that are diverse, flexible, rich, experiential, and active.
- Positive, effective relationships within a collaborative and sustainable community.
- Academic, social, and emotional intelligence.
A number of our students and staff are involved in action research practices to improve learning and inquiry at SPH. These range from EPQ study and guided mentoring for our sixth form students MA study through our partnership with St. Mary’s University, to classroom investigations led by students. We offer internship opportunities for Post-16 students (including a thriving partnership with students from High Tech High) a research base for external MA and Ph.D. students (this year we have Ph.D. colleagues researching our unique practices in one of our autism bases) and the opportunity to link-in with our MA programs run by St. Mary’s (School Leadership and Pedagogy) held on-site here at SPH.
We believe that a gulf has opened up between what schools provide and what our children and young people need. We will ensure that our students are literate, numerate, and gain academic qualifications. However, our emphasis is not solely on testing and passing exams at the expense of other skills and qualities that we believe are just as vital in today’s and tomorrow’s world.
We offer engaging, collaborative, and interactive learning processes that provide an ideal mix of theoretical and practical learning. As a result of this, our curriculum is recognized, both locally and nationally, as transforming the learning experience of all our students. Students study in a variety of contexts, which cater to all abilities, from the point of entry into school. This ensures the effective learning of all students.
We are charged with preparing our students for a future that nobody can predict, but will inevitably involve considerable and fast-paced changes. Key amongst these changes will be globalization and business innovation, with a move to an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world where all human lives will be intertwined, regardless of where they live on the planet. Much of this globalization and business innovation will be the result of developments in the multi-media world.
Given this future, we are delighted to be an exciting, forward-thinking, and innovative school. Housed in a ‘state of the art’ building with facilities and equipment that fully meet the demands of learning, our vision statement is ‘Igniting a Passion for Learning. This shows a strong commitment to our view that education should be exciting and challenging so that it instills a love of learning. Consequently, whilst we fully support the need for our students to have the necessary knowledge and understanding to pass examinations, we strongly believe that the ability for any individual to succeed and be happy in the future will be strongly dependent on them acquiring a wider range of skills and attributes.
