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Welcome to our school

Welcome to Roding Valley High School. I am incredibly proud to be responsible for the leadership of this great school. Please click here if you would like to take a virtual tour of the school and meet some key staff.

The school was inspected by Ofsted in September 2022, and to quote the Lead Inspector, ‘This is a very good school with an outstanding Sixth Form’.

In the Summer of 2022 & Summer 2023, we were delighted with our students' grades.  The school maintained results significantly above both Essex and national averages, including English, Maths and Science. These followed the year of 2019 when we celebrated the best GCSE results ever achieved at Roding Valley High School (the last year of normal exams before Covid). We are delighted with the improvements the school has experienced, and these outcomes are a testament to the sheer commitment and hard work of all staff and students.

A record-breaking 5% of all grades were awarded at Grade 9 – more than double the national average. 106 Grade 9s awarded (A** Grade equivalent) – 22 English, 14 Biology, 11 History, 10 Maths, 9 Physics.

Our Outstanding Sixth Form provision offers an outstanding level of education as evidenced by these outcomes and destinations. The sixth form was established in 2015 and has continued to go from strength to strength. In the summer of 2022,

• 68% of Grades awarded at A level were at A*-B,
• 92% of grades awarded were A*-C
• The average grade achieved was a B

We also celebrated individual success at A Level, allowing students to pursue their chosen university courses, Higher Level Apprenticeships, and other education or employment routes.

Many students secured places at top Russell Group universities such as Imperial College London, the University of Bristol and the University of Liverpool. Students also achieved higher-level apprenticeships with employers such as Hill Group.

Some examples of success in 2023, include:

Daniel M - A*, A*, A* (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics)- The University of Cambridge to study Medicine

Lola B - A*, A, A (Government & Politics, Geography, History)- The University of Leeds to study International History & Politcs

Ethan H - A*, A, A, A (Sociology, History, Biology, EPQ)- The University of Sussex to study Sociology

Robert L - A*, A, A, A (Mathematics, Physics, Further Maths, Computer Science)- The University of Bath to study Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering with professional placement

Erin W - A*, A, A, A (EPQ, Media Studies, Sociology, Spanish)- London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London to study Sociology

Lili W - A, A, A (Drama, Psychology, Sociology)- The Guildhall to study Production, Arts & Theatre Production

Harrison W - A, A, A (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics) The University of Bristol to study Biochemistry

Jessica R - A, Double Distinction* (Photography, Sports CTEC double award)

Dominic A - A, A, A, A (English, History, Sociology, EPQ)- The University of Warwick to study History & Sociology

Lesley A - A, A, A (English, French, Sociology)- Queen Mary University of London to study Law

Daniel A - A, A, A (Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science)- The University of Bristol to study Computer Science

Students have previously achieved places at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and a previous Head Girl has recently graduated with a first in History from Cambridge. We also have high-achieving students who have secured apprenticeships at top firms such as Schroders, Galliard Homes, Haslers, Ofcom, Hill and Aon.

Please review our Sixth Form promotional video for more information here.

Not only have we improved our results, but we have invested in the school’s outstanding facilities in recent years. The school has a lovely mixture of traditional, new build and ultra-modern. In 2018, the Brook Building improved the site, which includes a state-of-the-art sixth-form centre and computer suite. Our sports facilities were already outstanding but further enhanced by a second FIFA standard, AstroTurf. We have refurbished our nine science laboratories, created dedicated A-level science facilities, and created an additional Drama space and a new apple Music Studio. We also opened a brand new Humanities building in 2023, aptly named the 'Forest Building'. We remain committed to the Arts and offering a broad curriculum, investing in new musical instruments for our students to enjoy.

Our ethos is to educate the whole child, regardless of social and ethnic background; we value academic performance and the building of personal character and cultural capital in equal measure. Our SEND faculty is excellent, and our STEM & Challenge and Enrichment programmes inspire the students in our school.

The school has signed up to the Education Wellbeing Charter. Specifically, Specifically, at Roding Valley, we commit to developing a long-term strategy for improving staff well-being that will:

• Prioritise staff mental health
• Give staff the support they need to take responsibility for their own and other people’s wellbeing.
• Give managers access to the tools and resources they need to support the well-being of those they line manage.
• Maintain a clear communications policy
• Continue to give staff a voice in decision-making
• Drive down the unnecessary workload
• Champion flexible working and diversity
• Maintain and support a good behaviour culture
• Support staff to progress in their careers
• Include a sub-strategy for protecting leader's well-being and mental health
• Hold ourselves accountable, including staff wellbeing.

Visitors always comment on the warm and welcoming atmosphere, the politeness of our students and how highly they speak of their school – this is a testament to the school’s success, and it is safe, caring and inclusive culture. We take safeguarding very seriously and recognise that everyone in the school community plays a role in keeping children safe.

At Roding Valley High School, a student can expect high levels of support, encouragement and high-quality teaching. Our innovative approach to teaching and learning, data, assessment and personal development ensures that more students than ever are achieving high academic success and are well-rounded young people with high aspirations, show respect for others, and endeavour to become the very best that they can be.

The school has developed its own successful, bespoke Teaching and Learning framework: ACED. Every teacher is expected to follow our ACED Mastery framework, which we believe creates outstanding outcomes for our learners and fully supports our teachers in the classroom and their career progression. Our relentless focus on teaching and learning, ACED, has supported significant improvements in outcomes. We believe that if learning is to be outstanding, learners need to feel valued and motivated, and the essential ingredients of learning must be ACED.

Our curriculum is planned to aid the progression of knowledge and skills in each subject to ensure that our students are equipped with the tools to be successful at every stage of their 7-year school journey, including GCSE, A-Level and beyond. We offer a full complement of subjects through Key Stage 3, which will equip students with the skills to make informed GCSE choices and move on to post-16. Students study a broad range of subjects until they focus on their chosen GCSE subjects from Year 10. Our Sixth Form is now established and offers a wide range of A-Level and vocational courses, along with a newly formed partnership with Chelsea Football Club. There is a serious work ethic at Roding Valley High School, with the vast majority of students moving onto top Russell Group universities or securing higher-level apprenticeships. They receive high-quality support and guidance from our in-school careers advisor and specialist Sixth Form team.

We value everyone for their individuality and the unique talent that they bring to our school. Last year, we worked with the Prosperity Project to help us bring even greater diversity to our curriculum. We celebrate students with other languages and support their transition as we immerse them in English. In 2019, Igor, who had joined us in Year 10 with no grasp of the English Language, went on to achieve a place at Cambridge. I am very proud of the teachers; they are all dedicated educators of their subjects but also work hard to foster good relations with students. Our pastoral systems are excellent; we nurture, reward and sanction as appropriate. We have also enhanced our Personal Development Programme. This is a progressive curriculum interwoven into the school. The school is enhanced by our House System, which supports healthy competition, and encourages student voice and collaboration across the age ranges. We use student leadership to support our highly effective transition programme at both Year 7 and Year 12. Our specially trained ‘YES’ Prefects and our in lesson Sixth Form mentors help support where needed. This year the school ran a summer school which proved to be excellent support for the students transitioning from primary to secondary.

As well as academic success, we are also proud of the wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities offered to our students. We have won many sporting titles both locally, regionally and nationally. Our school productions are fabulous and bring together students from all year groups. We run the successful Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, and there is also a wide range of trips and visits that allow our students to gain skills and experiences beyond the classroom. Trips and visits include New York, Berlin, Ypres Battlefields, Barcelona and Madrid football tours, Disneyland Paris, Maths trip and PGL-style activity trips. It will be wonderful to be able to take students on trips again. Still, we also plan to further utilise Google Tools, such as ‘Google Arts & Culture’, to bring enrichment and opportunity ‘for all’ to the classroom via our Digital Strategy.

Our students attend many conferences, including the Yes Conference and subject-specific exam support conferences. The pandemic thwarted these opportunities, but the school is committed to rejuvenating all the enrichment opportunities and more offered. The English faculty regularly organise West End theatre trips, taking advantage of our location, a short train trip to London. However, we have just had a theatre company come into school and deliver exciting shows directly to our students: Year 8, Introduction to Shakespeare; Year 9, Romeo and Juliet and Year 10, bring their GCSE text to life, An Inspector Calls. We run a full and exciting Challenge and Enrichment  Programme, which includes access to the student magazine – ‘Exposed’, debating competitions, extended projects, university visits and academic lectures. Roding Valley High School has many accolades to be proud of. We won the National Debating Competition in 2019; a title won against 1000 schools nationwide. We have also won the Epping Forest Debating competition hosted by Dame Eleanor Laing, MP, more times than any other participating school. We also hosted the West Essex Regional Final of the Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out’ Challenge 2019; from 16 schools, our Year 9’s secured 1st and 3rd place. Our students are also regular participants and winners in local and regional Maths challenges. Our sporting achievements are vast with wide participation. Please follow the RVHS PE twitter. You can read more about a year in the life of Roding Valley High School; please visit here.

We value communication with all stakeholders in the school community and establish good relationships with parents and carers. Please do take some time to read our RVHS Bulletins, celebrating student achievement and sharing essential key information and the support offered by our How to help your child guide.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and I hope to welcome you to our school community soon.

Dan Charlton

Headteacher