Abbeydale

GRANGE
MEDIA ARTS
SCHOOL
prospectus
2008/09
How do you know your
child will be challenged
academically? How do you
know your child will feel
safe? How do you know your
child will be supported?
How do you know your child
will be happy? How do you
know the school will keep
you informed? How do you
know your child will be
given extra opportunities?
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09
values & principles
Our role and key outcomes
The role of the school is to provide a first-class
education to a diverse range of pupils that respects
and builds on their own experience and knowledge.
Individual achievement
Every student will:
R be successful and self-confident in school
and when they leave
R develop a positive attitude to learning and
accept being challenged intellectually
R have a highly-personalised curriculum, that
offers choice and diversity in education for all
R experience a curriculum that is broad, balanced
and creative with multiple approaches and R delivering education through a human-scale, caring,
opportunities for enrichment
R learn according to their individual needs
through acceleration or differentiation
R develop thinking, study, life and social skills
as well as literacy and numeracy
R have a confident staff team able to provide
the best possible education for them
ELIZABETH THAW HTOO /
Intermediate 1
At Camp I met new people and made new
friends. I enjoyed helping to make dinner
and sleeping in the tent with my friends.
I loved the pasta!
Resources
Our acclaimed media arts expertise will:
R create strong city-wide links
R extend opportunities for developing the
ICT skills of students and staff
R enhance teaching and learning across
the curriculum
Community
Abbeydale Grange will be recognised as:
R Sheffield’s International School
R being totally comprehensive in intake
individual education of the whole young person
R working in partnership with parents/carers through
a range of effective and innovative strategies
R ensuring the safety and well-being of each student
R contributing an important element in Sheffield’s
city-wide provision
Relationships
We will ensure that the school community:
R respects and values the different attributes
of each student and adult in school
R gives students the self-confidence
to play a full part in society
R gives students the social skills to
relate successfully to others
R supports a house/family structure
with tutor groups across the years
R fosters enterprise skills and economic
awareness at all levels. 18/19
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09

INTRODUCTION

Dear Parent / Carer
Welcome to the second edition of our prospectus
as a Foundation School.
We continue to welcome students and their families
from across the city as well as the local area. We
are very pleased that the number of First Preference
places has increased significantly for 2008/9. The
school remains truly comprehensive in its intake.
On the first page of this prospectus you will have
read some questions that we believe most parents/
carers ask before choosing a school. We hope to
give you enough information to answer some
of these questions. Here are a few more key
events from 2007/8:
R 10% of students achieved 3+ A* and A grades
at GCSE in 2007
R 98% of students went onto further education
or training in 2007
The school emphasises its community feel through
its Summer Fair, International Food Evening, School
Sports Day and charity fundraising. Over £300.00
was quickly collected for the victims of the cyclone
in Burma.
Our aim is that every student will leave school feeling
successful and self-confident. We do not believe
that any student should ever feel he or she has failed.
It is our responsibility to ensure each student finds
his or her particular aptitude and then develops this
in later life through further qualifications or training.
I am proud to be the Headteacher of Abbeydale
Grange and proud of our excellent dedicated staff who
contribute so much to the success of each student.
I hope you enjoy reading the prospectus and will
come and visit the school to see for yourself what
makes us so special. Do get in touch by phone or
email to arrange a visit.

R Three students who left in 2006 have been

offered Oxbridge places

R The school has participated in art projects at CATHERINE BULL /

the Weston Park Museum and the Victoria and Headteacher
Albert Museum in London

R Athletes have run for the county with great success

R A student who left in 2007 has won the 3000m

for England and is representing the country at
the Commonwealth Games in India

R A student has won direct entry to the Italia

Conti drama school in London

R The school choir has performed at the

Royal Albert Hall

R Students took part in a joint project with

Bents Green Special School and the National
Trust to create some amazing public art on the
Longshaw Estate

04/05
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09
CORE SUBJECTS
ENGLISH
The aim of the English department at Abbeydale
Grange is to mould pupils into inquisitive, thoughtful
students who are able to speak, write and read
independently. These are skills crucial for functionality
and success in life as well as school.
Teachers within the department are enthusiastic
and caring and believe that every student has
valuable contributions to make to the subject
based on the three aspects of
R Reading
R Writing
R Speaking and Listening
We also place great importance on students
being able to work productively with each other
in situations where they clearly understand the
aim of their collaboration.
Richard Shaw
Leader for English and Literacy,
Head of Fire House
IMRAN AHMED /
Higher 2
Discussing work with my classmates
helps me a lot in my education.
MUNIF ZIA / Teacher of Maths
& Head of Earth House
I believe in spending time really getting
to know the students. I regularly give up
lunch times to go and talk to students and
this helps me to engage them when we are
in the classroom.
MATHS
The Mathematics department at AGS is dedicated
to providing mathematical experiences for all students
and showing them that while being an important tool
in other subjects, Mathematics is a subject in its own
right. We hope they will discover the awe and wonder
to behold within its boundaries.
The versatile, inspiring, lively and friendly staff are
committed to offering help and support to all students
in order for them to achieve their full potential.
The Maths department has subscribed to MyMaths.
co.uk, an interactive Maths website that is used for
some classroom lessons as well as being a solid
revision base for our students.
The website provides ready-made lessons which allow
us to take a topic from the beginning right through to
its conclusion. It has been designed to work well on an
Interactive whiteboard as well as a suite of computers.
Its large text, animations, interactivities, and random
question generators help us to bring Maths alive.
This is an Internet resource, so our students can use
it within school and at home for revision and learning.
There are also six Booster packs on MyMaths: each
pack includes lessons and online Worksheets which
our students can do for homework. The packs are
intended to help our students cross a key borderline.
Halima Rachad
Acting Subject Team Leader for Maths
06/07
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09

SPECIALIST MEDIA
ARTS SCHOOL
What does it mean? How does Media Arts status support
the wider curriculum?
We have professional ICT resources for making high
quality multimedia work. We use this expertise to We use these innovative techniques and ICT
enrich students’ experiences in a range of subjects: to support students throughout the curriculum.
R Art & Design For example,
R Performance Arts
R Media Studies Students use us to develop their writing skills, drafting
R Music film scripts, radio programmes or web content. Literacy
R Web Design (DiDA) skills are developed through creating image-based
R Creative & Media 14-19 Diplomas narratives in film, animation and graphic novels.

We have achieved some excellent results in these
subjects, well above national averages, and students
often go on to use these skills to great advantage in
Higher Education and a variety of careers.
Students’ numeracy and ICT skills are enriched by
using professional web authoring, graphics and editing
software. We are able to display students’ work in
new and exciting ways and there are numerous extra-
curricular experiences for all students.

Who do I contact to find out more?

My name is Joe Gradwell, Lead Media Arts Teacher.
Just call or email me and we can meet in school for
an informal chat about what facilities and learning
opportunities we can offer your child.

MARTHA SNOW /
Higher 2
I like Drama but it’s a lot of hard work.
You have to do loads of rehearsals before
a play, but I think it pays off in the end.

RAGDAH ABDULLAH /
Intermediate 1
I love being in choir because we get to
go to amazing places like the Albert Hall.
Being in choir helped me to meet lots
of new people.
08/09
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09
INNOVATIONS IN LEARNING
STUDY SUPPORT SESSIONS
Higher 1 (Year 10) students have approximately three
and a half hours of study support sessions per week.
In these sessions, they are able to work individually
in small groups with the help of a teacher to do
homework, coursework and revision.
These sessions will help students to be:
R Able to plan time effectively
R Increasingly independent, self-motivated learners
R Better equipped to manage their GCSE workload
R Prepared for the next step into sixth form,
college and university
ASTRONOMY
GCSE Astronomy is a new course for Abbeydale
Grange. The course is available to students in
Intermediate 2, Higher 1 and Higher 2 and is run
as a Lesson 7 option (3pm).
The course includes:
R Visits to the National Space Centre in Leicester
R Night-time visits to the Peak District
R Use of binoculars and high-powered telescopes
The course involves the following units of study:
R Planet Earth
R The Moon and Sun
R The Solar System
R Stars and Galaxies
R Observing techniques and space exploration
Any students (or parents) interested in Astronomy
as a hobby or studying for the GCSE, please
contact Mr Dave Askew.
EXPLORATION
The Opening Minds curriculum was developed by
Royal Society for the Arts to give young people an
education that helps them learn practical life skills
in a challenging world. It is now being used in over
200 schools across the country; schools involved
in a three-year pilot study experienced significant
improvements in both student and teacher motivation
and showed solid gains in student performance.
The RSA, and Abbeydale Grange, believe that a
curriculum which focuses only on subject content
cannot provide students with the skills and abilities
that they will need if they are to make a success of
their future lives. Young people face environmental,
technical, social and economic challenges and an
ever-increasing volume of information.
The RSA Opening Minds curriculum is the result of
eight years of research and is based on teaching
specific ‘competences’. These include: skills for
learning, the ability to manage relationships and
situations well, and good citizenship.
From September 2008, all Access (Y7) students will
follow the Opening Minds curriculum in lessons called
Exploration for 8 periods a week. Using science,
technology and geography, all taught by specialist
teachers, it will give students the chance to learn in
depth and apply knowledge in a very “hands-on” way.
STELLA DILLOP / Higher 2
In my opinion, I think netball is a good
sport, because the more you do the
sport, you learn and get better at it, and
you develop a better social skill with your
team members. It’s a great way to keep
fit and healthy!
10/11
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09

PASTORAL CARe
& THE HOUSE SYSTEM
We pride ourselves on the care we offer each student. Each house has a colour
There is a mentor for each year-group and a senior
learning mentor takes responsibility for Child Protection Earth – Jade Green, Air – Sky Blue,
and Looked-After Children. These colleagues liaise Water – Royal Blue, Fire – Maroon.
with families closely and look after the well-being of
students. During the year there are inter-house competitions
of many kinds, culminating in our Sports Day at
There are also three Key Stage Managers, who ensure Woodbourn Road Stadium.
that each student is able to meet his or her academic
targets.
UNIFORM
Our House system offers a unique support structure
with staff and students building relationships on a daily Our uniform consists of:
basis. At Abbeydale Grange we have four houses –
1. Black trousers, black skirt or shalwar kameez
Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Everyone, staff and students
(not jeans, not tracksuit bottoms)
alike, belongs to one of these houses. Within each
house there are 8 tutor groups which involve no more 2. Polo shirt in house colours or white
than 20 students of all ages. Having a small tutor
group with students of all ages develops teamwork 3. Black zip-up school sweatshirt
and leadership, and links with our Human Scale
Education focus. 4. Flat black shoes (not trainers)

The tutor group meets every day after break for 5. Team colours (e.g. trampolining sweatshirt
15 minutes. Two staff members are attached to or choir teeshirt) may also be worn.
each tutor group and get to know the students well,
and these tutors meet with parents on Learning
Conference Days.

MARTA BAYON /
Teacher of Spanish
The school has given me new opportunities,
such as on Wednesdays I give Spanish
language lessons to local primary school
children, so that there is continuity from
primary to secondary school.
HSER NAY BLUT DOH /
Intermediate 1
I was afraid of abseiling, but when I did it
I felt very happy and I even did it twice!

12/13
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09

alternative learning

BREAKFAST CLUB GARDENING

The start of a day sets the tone. Breakfast Club offers
the chance for the young people of Abbeydale Grange
School to unite in a relaxed manner, take on some
provisions and head into a day of learning.
R Students are involved in setting the “fit for purpose” can help us become good parents – we tenderly
breakfast menu in line with National Standards for nurture seedlings with love and care.
Food in Schools.
R Students use some of their cooking lessons to
make items to be sold at Breakfast Club.
R Students are involved in money transactions and
accounting, learning Maths and Enterprise skills.
R Students are involved in the day-to-day running
of the breakfast provision including:
Preparation / Delivery / Concluding service
(cleaning, packing away and organising for
next time)
Q. Why teach gardening on our school allotment?
A. Growing organic vegetables is fun and healthy.
The same qualities and skills learnt as a gardener
Our allotment puts us into the heart of the community
where we help out our neighbours, share tips and
enter the Annual Show. We also make connections
in school with Art, Science and ASDAN.
Tony Tigwell
Head Gardener (and Teacher)
LINKS SCHOOL SPORTS PARTNERSHIP
Abbeydale Grange has a School Sports Co-ordinator
(Mrs Sandra Whitfield) who works with our partner
primaries, Holt House Infants, Carter Knowle Junior,
Sharrow Primary and Abbeydale Primary School.

The SSCO helps the primary schools develop high

quality PE and increased opportunities, such as
sessions to introduce children to cricket, rounders,
trampolining and even belly-dancing.

The SSCO can also tap into PE, health and sport
KELLY GITHINJI / professionals who work supporting schools, and
Intermediate 2 make links with local community sports clubs and
other school partnerships.
I like going to Breakfast Club because
it helps a lot, especially when I wake up late.
I know I can have breakfast in school.

RYAN SUGDEN / Higher 1

I’ve learnt lots about planting and growing
vegetables from Mr Tigwell. I’ve learnt new
skills such as double digging.

14/15
ABBEYDALE GRANGE SPECIALIST PROSPECTUS
MEDIA ARTS SCHOOL 2008/09
ACCESS CAMP
The annual Camp is an opportunity to promote a
strong sense of group cohesion amongst our Access
students. Students have the opportunity to work with
a variety of people in a different and often unfamiliar
environment. Thornbridge Outdoors Centre is an
ideal location for the camp and provides additional
opportunities for outdoor and adventurous activities
such as abseiling, nature work and team building.
Students regularly return from camp with new-found
confidence, as well as new friendships and the
memory of exhilarating experiences that remain
with them for years to come.
Kate Grapes
PE Teacher & Camp Leader
NEXT STEPS
Our staying-on rate into post-16 education exceeds
by far the city’s average. All students are encouraged
to consider college or sixth-form education. We have
active links with Sheffield Hallam University and the
Gifted and Talented Academy at Warwick University.
A representative from the Connexions service is in
school every week.
Claudine Thomas, from Connexions:
“Our role in school is to provide information, advice
and guidance, as well as an integrated youth support
service. There are lunch time drop-in sessions,
one-to-one support, group work and we always
attend parents’ evenings.”
LAY EH HTOO /
Intermediate 1
I liked everything about camp, especially
abseiling. I made lots of new friends.
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
At Abbeydale Grange we believe that equal opportunity
does not necessarily mean treating every student in the
same way, but rather providing each student with the
appropriate opportunity to achieve their true potential.
Some students will need additional help, support and
challenge to fulfil this philosophy.
For every individual, the school strives to create a
learning environment in which a student is able to
progress as far and as fast as they can.
We have two Special Needs Co-ordinators, one
who co-ordinates outside agencies and support for
individuals, while the other concentrates on student
achievement, ensuring everyone is set appropriate
and challenging targets.
Some of our staff - the Esteem Team staff, for instance
- have a role which is primarily to work with students
with special needs. However, everyone who works at
Abbeydale Grange has skills in this area and works to
make the curriculum accessible to everyone.
There is an Integrated Resource Unit with 20 places
for students with moderate learning difficulties. These
students divide their time between mainstream lessons
and the Esteem Team, which offers targeted support
and practical learning activities.
Our full Special Educational Needs policy is available
on request from the school or on the website at
www.abbeydalegrange.co.uk
DISABLED ACCESS
The majority of our teaching rooms are on the first
and second floors; there is ramped access to the
ground floor and a disabled toilets. September 2008
sees our new community classroom on the first floor
with disabled access from the car park.
We are limited by fifty-year-old buildings but the school
will always make every effort to meet the needs of
disabled students or staff. Please let us know if we can
do anything to make it easier for you to contribute to
the life of the school.
16/17
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Photography
© Carl Rose
carlrosephoto.com

Abbeydale Grange School

Hastings Road, Sheffield,
South Yorkshire, S7 2GU

Tel. 0114 2557301

Fax. 0114 2508540
Email. enquires@abbeydalegrange.
sheffield.sch.uk
www.abbeydalegrange.co.uk