Park Vale Academy Ethos

The Academy’s ethos is entirely based around the principle of high expectations. We believe that students should behave well and work hard in order to achieve their full potential. By promoting high standards right across the board, we are able to maintain a clear focus on ensuring that students leave school with the best possible set of academic qualifications. This is also driven by high quality teaching and learning from a team of professionals passionate about their subjects and committed to ensuring that students make exceptional progress. Your child’s learning and development is our number one priority, providing them with an education that will give them the best possible opportunities in life.

By offering each student a variety of educational pathways and exciting co-curricular activities, we aim to cater for a wide range of talents, interests and aspirations.  The academy actively encourages student involvement in our co-curricular offer .Widening student experiences  both inside and outside of the classroom helps  to develop them as well-rounded individuals who are prepared for life in the 21st century.

This is achieved through a combination of excellent teaching and high quality opportunities. By continually improving our own teaching and learning and simultaneously developing our students’ independent learning skills, we guide young people on their journey to further and higher education or skilled employment.

Our active encouragement of qualities such as independent thinking, self-reliance and social responsibility helps students gain in confidence and take responsibility for their development into fully-rounded individuals. Here at the academy we value and celebrate students’ academic achievements.

Academy House System

The Academy is divided into four Houses. Each one is led by a Head of House, supported by a member of the Senior Leadership Team.  Within each House there is also a House Achievement Co-ordinator and a wider team of Tutors who have a role focused on supporting the achievement of every student. Each House also has a House Support Assistant who works within the House team.

Tutors in each House are teachers and they play a vital role in knowing every student and supporting them through their time at the Academy. Tutor groups are made up of mixed age groups comprising students from years 7 to 11 and this creates a strong family ethos within the tutor group. Generally speaking, family members are assigned to the same House as their siblings.  All Houses have a formal assembly at least once a week. As a parent, your main point of contact with the Academy is through the Form Tutor or Head of House to which your child belongs.

We strongly believe that organising a secondary school in this way helps to shape the student population into cohesive groups, which promotes a sense of community and belonging. It creates a system where everyone is well cared for and their academic progress is closely monitored in an effort to maximise each individual’s achievement.