Thorpe Hall School was selected as finalist for the prestigious Tes (Times Educational Supplement) Senior School of the Year award in its annual independent schools awards.
The new nomination recognises several areas of the school’s provision, from the unique experiences it offers pupils to its approach to developing independent learners with excellent cognitive skills, set for a lifetime of learning.
Pupils’ Wellbeing – A framework of strategies and initiatives help pupils manage stress, resolve friendship issues and develop healthy relationships. The Girls on Board approach, created and pioneered by Thorpe Hall, has now been adopted by over 200 schools and benefits over 50,000 girls in schools across the UK and overseas.
Pupil Progress – A school’s ‘Value Added’ score measures how well each pupil does at GCSE compared to predictions generated by nationally recognised tests in Year 7. Last year, Thorpe Hall’s ‘Value Added’ score was 0.75. That means that for every 10 GCSEs taken, 7.5 of them were a whole grade higher than predicted.
GCSE Offering – The GCSE offering at Thorpe Hall is broad, with options including Dance, Child Development, Film Studies, Media Studies, Food and Nutrition, Drama, Music, Business Studies and Computer Sciences.
Greater ‘Choice’ – A weekly ‘Choice’ programme’ encourages pupils to try new activities and learn new skills. With film making, enterprise, fishing, drone making and many more, ‘Choice’ activities aim to build competencies such as social skills, communication, perseverance and creativity.
Unique Experiences – Supporting the curriculum is a rich and varied offer of different experiences. School trips have included a calligraphy lesson at the Japanese Embassy, a mock trial at the Royal Courts of Justice, a pupil-led design workshop on prosthetics at the Royal College of Surgeons, a residential exchange trip to an Efterskole in Denmark and West End Musical Theatre workshops.