Assistant Headteacher

Crofton School is a purpose built 11-16 comprehensive school which opened in September 1974, and achieved Foundation status in 2000.

Ethos

We believe that there is no more important or serious activity than educating children, and so we are absolutely committed to the highest standards in everything that we do; we work hard to challenge underachievement of all kinds.  At the same time, we believe that education should be fun and we aim to engage and stimulate all our learners so that they enjoy their time with us.  We hope that the school is a close and supportive community and we know that relationships between staff and students are very good.  We are fortunate in that our parents are very supportive and share our core values. Our school slogan is: Kindness, Ambition, Diligence.
Catchment Area

Crofton is situated on the edge of Stubbington, which is a pleasant residential village close to the seashore.  The school serves a compact catchment area consisting of Stubbington and Hill Head.  At present, the school is substantially oversubscribed.  There are approximately 1,090 students on roll, of which some 15% are from outside our catchment area.

Site and Buildings

The school is housed in buildings in excellent condition with adjoining playing fields, tennis courts, 3G Synthetic sports area (fully floodlit) and an attractive wooded area to one side of the estate.  There is a specialist Science block, a specialist Music block, an Arts, Design and Technology block, a Humanities block; an area housing the Learning Resource Centre, central offices and the medical room.  There is also a central block consisting of the School Hall, Gymnasium, Drama rooms and a fine Sports Hall, and an interconnecting series of blocks containing Maths, English, Special Needs and Modern Language areas.  We also have a purpose-built resourced provision for students on the Autistic spectrum.

Curriculum Structure

There are eight forms of entry.  The ability of our intake is above average and we enjoy considerable support from Governors, parents and the local community.  The structure of the curriculum is fairly conventional with students taught mainly in mixed ability classes in Years 7 with more setting being introduced from Year 8.  Students follow a well-established curriculum based on: the high value we place on English, maths, science, history, geography and languages; the preferences of students and their parents; a proven track record of success.  Each year the curriculum is reviewed and adapted to meet continually changing needs and to personalise the learning of our students.  In recent years, the school has introduced new courses such as BDS, Citizenship, Dance and Child development and we provide work-based learning for a number of targeted individuals. PDL (Personal Development Learning) is followed by all students as a non-examination subject which also aims to develop students’ ideas and understanding of, ethical, moral and spiritual issues.  Nearly all students take courses leading to nine or more GCSEs. In the summer term of Year 2014, examination results were the best ever at Crofton (79% A*-C). In the spring of 2014 Crofton School was named as one of the top 100 schools in England for the greatest sustained improvement.

Support and Guidance Structure

For support and guidance purposes, the school is divided by year group with each group having a permanent Head of Year.  In general, tutors progress from Year 7 to Year 11 with their tutor groups and are considered to be the major pastoral link with their students.  We have introduced a house system to promote competition and mixed-age activities.

ICT Facilities

All teaching staff have laptops and all teaching areas have fixed projectors and/or interactive whiteboards.  There are 6 ICT suites, each containing 30 computers and interactive whiteboards and a smaller suite comprising 15 computers.  Each department has their own machines in the classrooms which are networked and use software applicable to their needs.  Internet access via broadband is available on all machines and incorporates a filtering service provided by Hampshire County Council.  Our VLE (Moodle) is used prolifically and is considered an extremely useful tool.

Continuing Professional Development

The school has an extensive training programme in support of our commitment to staff development. Full use is made of in-service training days in order to meet individual, team and whole school needs.  We make use of national training agencies, and consultants, local authorities and our own expertise in order to provide quality development.  A senior member of staff acts as a professional tutor.
Post 16 Provision

About 85% of our students each year choose to go on to Further Education, the majority of these students taking up places at St Vincent Sixth Form College, Fareham College or Bay House Sixth Form.