Welcome from the Head Teacher
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to our new school website and the information within.
We are proud to refer to our school, its students and staff as the ‘Fernwood Family’. ‘Family’ is a term used with sincerity as we want all our students to have a sense of belonging and to be proud of themselves, each other, our school and our community. That sense of belonging is a critical element of our continued success irrespective of a student’s background.
Our ethos is precious to us and as such we always seek to nourish and embed still further. Our ethos of care and discipline leads to high achievement. Our discipline is very firm whilst at the same time aiming for students to appreciate that self-discipline is a key to their future success and contentment.
Visitors always comment on how polite, courteous, and self-confident our students are. I am immensely proud of our students. Parents and governors are supportive of our school and the challenges faced. Our teaching staff are able to motivate students and embrace a variety of approaches to ensure effective learning.
Non-teaching staff further embed pastoral care and academic achievement for our students. This is supported by excellent CPD opportunities.
Examination results are excellent. Students from all backgrounds and abilities perform extremely well. However, we are much, much more than a centre of academic excellence. Examination outcomes are of course important, but they are only one component of our school.
We aim to ensure all students feel cared for as part of our richly diverse multi-cultural community based on the principles of compassion, tolerance and mutual respect. Students learn to develop a positive self-image alongside the rights, feelings and beliefs of others. We are always striving to improve and will never be complacent. I hope you find the website informative and that it provides a clear sense of our values and the opportunities afforded to our students of whom we are most proud.
Paul Burke
Headteacher
