Letter from the Head - September 2011

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the new academic year at Mangotsfield School.  It has been a pleasure to once again welcome students and their parent/carers into Year 7.  We also welcome our new sixth form students.  I am pleased to report that all students have made a great return to school and the new students are already settling in well.

Exam Success

We offer congratulations to our students in Year 11 who achieved the best ever Mangotsfield results this year, continuing the improving trend of recent years.  Thank you for supporting staff in working with these students to achieve these fantastic results.  80% of Year 11 achieved 5A*-C, an increase of 12% on 2010.  55% achieved 5A*-C including English and Maths, a 3% increase on 2010.  More than a third of students achieved at least an A*/A grade in one of their subjects.  Many students achieved beyond their target grades and have been able to progress into the sixth form, college or apprenticeships.  Students studying BTEC courses have achieved particularly well, with special mention to ICT and Science who achieved over an 80% pass rate.

We will be inviting some of these students to share their successes and they will be able to give advice and support to those students in younger years, although the old adage of hard work, regular revision, use of catch up sessions and support to work at home are all key factors to success.

Our Year 13 students also achieved record grades this year with 95% obtaining a pass in their subject, with the average grades achieved being BCC.  We have a number of A and A* grade students who will be leaving Bristol to study Higher Education at universities such as Oxford, Leeds and Cardiff.  However, due to their success in their exams, most students were able to claim their first choice places at university, college or within employment.  We wish them well in the future.

Celebrate Success

As a school we readily celebrate success, both academic and personal, thereby helping our students to develop self-confidence and self-esteem.  We have a number of events throughout the year whereby we invite parents into the school to help us celebrate the achievements of all students.  We do all we can to ensure that each child’s learning progresses as rapidly as possible and we are proud of the level of support and guidance that we give.  The school’s positive working ethos is reflected in our continued good standards of behaviour and high levels of attendance. 

Innovative Approaches

We are continuing to develop innovative approaches to teaching and learning in co-operation with the other schools in the Kingswood Partnership, other Specialist Colleges, and our primary school partners.  Mangotsfield School is proud that we give every student the opportunity to participate in a wide range of challenging activities and we see our students respond well to the increased levels of responsibility that we give them.  The school council will continue to play a crucial role in the day to day running of the school, as well as continuing their good work with fundraising, lobbying and contributing to staff appointments.  We feel that participation in sport, music, drama and other extra-curricular pursuits contributes greatly to the life of the school and is extremely beneficial for the students.

See Us At Work

We hope that this website will be a useful introduction to the school and will help you to decide on your preferred secondary school for your child.  We have our Open Evening from 5.30 pm on Monday 12th September and our Open Morning on Wednesday 14th September, please come and see all that we have to offer.  We are happy to host other visits by arrangement.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask or, better still, come and see us at work during a school day.  My colleagues and I will be very pleased to welcome you.

Yours faithfully

Richard Badley

Headteacher