Teign School Careers & HE Fair 2012

Welcome

Welcome to the Teign School website. I hope you find the site informative and easy to navigate. We are always seeking to improve our services so if you have any suggestions or ideas for improvement please do use the links provided and let us know. We have tried to include all the information that our students, parents and community have requested, but if you have any questions that are not addressed, please do not hesitate to contact us at school.

Headteacher's News:

The start of a new term is always a busy time in school, but we do work hard to hit the ground running.  This is particularly important for those year groups who will take exams this year.  For some there will be exams in January so there is only a little time to get students up to speed.  If your youngsters are involved in exams, look out for revision classes after school and make sure they are used!

Building work continues to disrupt normal school life.  As part of a project funded by the Government, we are upgrading our insulation and heating systems in a number of buildings.  Whilst this infra-structure work is very important, the fact that we have to complete during term time adds to the complexities.  All this work should be completed by the end of term.

The new Skills Centre on the Brunel Industrial Estate should be completed by the end of this term and will provide a venue for some of the courses offered by ‘TQ12’.  TQ12 is a partnership of the three local secondary schools offering occupational skills courses for Post-16 students across Kingsteignton and Newton Abbot.  You will be able to find out more about TQ12 at our Careers Fair to be held on the evening of Thursday 2 February.

This term will also see the first theatre production in the new Templer Theatre, and it promises to be a fantastic production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.  This will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 7, Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 February.  Tickets are available from Mrs Street in the Drama Department and cost £4.00 for adults and £3.00.

Teign School praised highly by Ofsted

Karl Sampson, Lead Inspector of the most recent Ofsted inspection of Teign School praised the positive atmosphere at the school.

‘The way the school cares for and supports students is outstanding. Everyone is known as an individual.’

The report described Teign as a place where ‘students and staff enjoy working and learning.’

Teign school, which has recently become an Academy, was reported as delivering ‘GCSE exam results which are increasingly above average.’ The inspectors believed this was because of good teaching and ‘thanks to the Headteacher’s strong belief in success.’

The report spoke highly of Teign students’ behaviour. Unlike TV hits Waterloo Road and Educating Essex, inspectors found students at Teign ‘are polite, friendly and behave well.’ After interviewing a number of students it described them as ‘eloquent and enthusiastic about how the school supports them.’

Teign’s teachers were delighted to be praised for the ‘excellent care’ they take of students and the harmonious atmosphere inspectors found at the school. Most parents were also ‘overwhelmingly positive’ about the school when they replied to the Ofsted questionnaire.
The report said that the good leadership at the school ‘has led to sustained improvement in many aspects of the school’s work since the last inspection.’ The Sixth Form was also found to have ‘improved significantly’ with students making good academic and personal progress.

Mr Vyv Game, the Headteacher said, ‘we are all delighted with the findings of this inspection as it highlights the improvements made since the last visit of Ofsted.  Of particular delight were the positive and mature contributions made by the students and their recognition of the support they receive from all staff’.

To read the full Ofsted report - click here 

Success

Students at Teign School continue to make excellent progress at GCSE outperforming all previous years. 65% of all students achieved at least 5A* - C including English and Maths, the best ever result. This represents a 10% improvement on last year and is a reflection of the determination of all staff, students and parents to ensure the highest levels of achievement.

Vyv Game - Headteacher commented “I am particularly delighted by the achievements of this year as they are a lovely group of students who worked hard and reflected young people at their best. What is particularly pleasing is the strong performance across all subjects, evidence of strength in depth. All staff, students and parents should be congratulated on this fabulous performance which proves what can be achieved when all 3 groups work in a positive partnership”.

Teign School, an 11-18 comprehensive school, became an Academy in March as part of the Templer Academy Schools Trust. Teign was joined in August by Coombeshead College and the Headteachers at both schools are confident that this partnership will lead to even greater success.

What Makes Teign such a successful school?

The hard work of all our students and staff is a remarkable feature of Teign and one that has placed us in the top 2% of schools in Devon and top 25% of schools in the country, a fact we are justly proud of. However, whilst exam results are an important feature of a school, more important to us is that all our students work hard to achieve the best they are capable of.

Once you put aside all the statistics, the vital factor in any school is happiness. Happy students work harder; happy students are more successful learners; happy students develop the confidence to overcome problems and happy students expect the best of themselves and others. We work hard to make Teign a happy environment for all those involved and to ensure that school is an enjoyable place to be. We believe that learning occurs anywhere and sometimes some of life’s most important skills are not just learned in the classroom.

We have the largest range of extra curricular activities and clubs of any school I have worked in - from sports clubs and residentials, orchestra and Drama productions, a vibrant library and reading culture to our highly successful Ten Tors and outward bound activities. We believe strongly in developing the whole person and furnishing all our learners with the skills to make them successful in life.

We are one of the first secondary schools in Devon to pilot SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) to help develop these skills and we are working hard to place these values at the centre of our learning culture. We see our school as an important part of the community and work very closely with our parents, partner primaries and local business partners to ensure the best opportunities for our students. We are constantly working to expand these opportunities: our Environmental and Land Based Learning course and school farm became operational in September, we have introduced a new house system and we have expanded our Year 7 curriculum to focus explicitly on learning how to learn. We are proud of the fact we are doing well, but know that we can always improve. Whatever the statistics, we know that the true mark of a successful school is that it always strives to be an exceptional one. Thank you for taking the time to visit our website and I hope it gives you a flavour of life at Teign.

Teign School Academy is proud to be a Specialist Science College. The Teign School Learning Community is grateful for the support of all its sponsors and partners.