Welcome from the headteacher

I am so proud to be the Headteacher of Altwood Church of England School; it really is a special place to learn and to work.

From the moment you arrive, you will feel the positive energy and quickly come to understand that our values of Truth, Forgiveness, Kindness and Service live and breath in everything we do. We celebrate differences at Altwood, which creates a welcoming and inclusive environment. We are committed to nurturing and challenging everyone in the school, and it is our goal to deliver academic outcomes, as well as rounded, confident young people, regardless of background or special education need.

This can be seen through the opportunities we provide to get involved in Performing Arts, Sports, charity fund-raising and a wide range of leadership opportunities, both inside and outside the school day. There are plenty of ways for you to get to know us better before making such an important decision as to whether to join our community. In addition to our Open Evening, there are a number of dedicated ‘Open Mornings’ that you can book to attend. However, if these aren’t convenient for you, please contact us to arrange a better time to look around.

When you visit us, I am confident you will encounter the genuine passion for success which exists in our school. Our students are excited by learning opportunities which challenge them on a daily basis and inspire them to develop their understanding and progress their learning. Our staff are highly experienced, committed and set on achieving the best for every student. As a result, we are a very successful and popular school and one that is fully committed to further improvement.

As a church school, our Christian values are very important to us. This is demonstrated most clearly in our vision of ‘I am known, I am valued, I will succeed’. We want all our young people to feel a real sense of belonging and as part of our vibrant school community. Your child will follow a broad and balanced curriculum during their school journey and we will encourage them to make the most of every opportunity to develop academically, spiritually, morally, socially and culturally. We have very high expectations in terms of behaviour and attitudes and highly value the support of our parent body in creating a partnership built around trust and support. Everyone at Altwood is expected to aim for excellence in all that they do. We do however, understand that young people will make mistakes and this is where our values of Truth and Forgiveness ensure that we can acknowledge what has gone wrong and then move forwards, together, in a positive way.

I am really excited to lead Altwood into the future. We are a dynamic, ambitious and forward-looking school who is embarking on a new journey as a founding member of the Agape Trust. We welcome the new opportunities for collaboration and support across Altwood, The Piggott School and our new primary partners. I really hope that you and your child want to become a part of our future success at Altwood and very much look forward to meeting and working with you in the future.

Mrs C. Harden