When I took up my Headship post in September 2022, I set myself the goal to establish a new school for the area and I’m so proud to have launched Laurel Park School. This isn’t a school that has been re-branded just in name, it is so much more than that. It is a school that is underpinned by a set of core values and a school where children are happy, safe and thrive. I am a mother and my key message to all my staff is, the school and quality of education needs to be good enough for my own children, and if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough to serve the children of other families who have entrusted me with the most precious people in their lives. I can sincerely say that I would be both happy and honoured for my children to attend Laurel Park School, which is supported by a number of staff who also have their children currently attend the school.
Since opening the school, I have been asked so many times why Laurel? What does it mean? Laurel Park School stems from the Latin name laurus nobilis which is also known as a ‘bay leaf’ or ‘bay laurel’. The bay tree is a popular evergreen plant with smooth leaves.
Ancient Greeks awarded laurel wreaths to victors in the Olympics and poetic competitions. Laurel wreaths were worn on either the head or neck. Laurel wreaths were originally made from the bay laurel limbs and leaves. In Ancient Rome, it was worn on the head as a symbol of triumph. Laurel also became a symbol of peace, wisdom and courage.
Under ideal conditions, bay laurels can live over a hundred years. Bay laurel has long been part of the earth’s ecosystem. Remains of its ancestors have been found in soil layers 5.3 billion years old.
In terms of how Laurel fits with our school values, our aim is for all our students to be successful and triumphant, kind, courageous to be leaders whilst leaving a legacy for many years to come.
Our vision at Laurel Park School is to develop well rounded students who have the ambition and determination to excel in life whether this be through academic study, vocational training and on to employment. Alongside this, our school is committed to developing character and integrity across our school and wider community by providing opportunities outside of the taught curriculum to develop core life skills, preparing our students to be proud global citizens. Finally, our school is one where all members of the community are treated with care, respect and supported both with their well-being and with their academic aspirations.
Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviours, skills, values and attitudes. At Laurel Park School we recognise the importance of teaching our students how to excel in all these areas with every part of the school life being an opportunity to learn. Our school is one where we celebrate identity, diversity and culture and where we learn about each other to make our school community a richer and more vibrant environment.
Our vision is committed to:
● Developing students to be life-long learners, who are well supported and guided through their journey with us and beyond.
● Our school community is a place that is harmonious and where all students are safe, cared for and who are encouraged to maximise their potential. Alongside this, we aim to have positive working relationships with parents and carers – sharing in the same vision: to support our children to succeed.
● Providing an inclusive and safe environment where everyone’s culture and identity is welcomed and celebrated.
● Having high expectations of behaviour, where embedded systems support our students to make good choices every day and to prepare them for life beyond the school gates. This will be encouraged by celebrating integrity, determination, excellence and ambition (IDEA).
Alongside this, across our school you will hear students talking about the core values of Integrity, Determination, Excellence and Ambition. These are character traits that as parents we all want our children to aspire to and live out in their everyday lives.
In our work to build our new school we have:
A new curriculum
A new leadership team
A new uniform
A new approach to behaviour and expectations
An embedded approach to character education for all
A new influx of fantastic teachers
I am also pleased to highlight that we have appointed 28 new teachers and a number of pastoral support, and that we have subject specialists in all curriculum areas. This has already had a significant impact on learning where children are being challenged and where there is a learning buzz within the classroom. It’s always a testament to a school when your teachers are telling their friends who are teachers in other schools to come and work here because we have a fantastic community and where everyone is valued. This strengthens the sense of camaraderie in driving forward the vision of the school, and ultimately outcomes and opportunities for all of our children.
One of the unique aspects of our curriculum is our fortnightly Character Education. As young people going into society and as parents, we want our children to be kind, inquisitive, curious, resilient and to have a thirst for lifelong learning. Our Thursday curriculum is called ‘Enrichment for all’, this is where our entire staff body will work with our young people to develop these key attributes. All students will be engaged in a range of activities that include: financial literacy, money management, learning Braille, debating, Japanese art and culture, teaching adults English, volunteering at Morrisons, growing and cooking our own fruit and vegetables, developing the school newspaper – just to name a few. Why are we doing this? Because life skills and cultural capital are important to make sure our young people are ready for life beyond the school gates. One of our successes this year has been winning the King’s Coronation bench competition. This is where schools were invited to design a bench to mark the King’s Coronation, there were 1500 entries and only 15 winners. I am proud to say that we were the only London school to win, and that our bench has been on display at the Tower of London all summer. We have made it into the history books, something our young people will be able to reference forever. Additionally, we had a team of students who made it through to the National Robotics final in Birmingham, to compete against mostly private schools in creating their robot and completing time limited tasks.
We are a school that does not and will not rest on its Laurels. In a first year of Headship, where my own personal goal was to open a new school and stabilise my staffing, our results also improved across all headline measures with some departments making significant progress. Ourania and Vasili were just two of many students who secured grades 8s and 9s across all of their GCSEs and who have moved on to prestigious and well known sixth form colleges. We also had a significant number of other students who made excellent progress and 99% of our students have moved onto further education to continue with their education journey. Why is this important that this is shared with you? Because in a year when our priority was not necessarily driving up results, it was about stabilising staffing, by default our results show improvement therefore I am absolutely confident that the journey in our school will see superb outcomes for our young people.
We are a small community school, where we know each and every student and who are described by our school improvement partners as ‘compliant’ ‘kind’ and ‘who are keen to learn and do well.’ Our year 7s who joined us in September have said ‘that they have loved their transition’, ‘that the teachers are really helpful and care’, who ‘love their lessons’ and are ‘having an amazing time’ and that the ‘older students have helped us to find our classrooms and have been really nice and welcoming’. We are a school community that serves a wide diverse community where morals and values are celebrated, but also where cultures are visible and appreciated. On our annual culture day, I too showcase my own Greek Cypriot heritage and culture by activities such as Greek dancing with my students and staff in the school. It’s lovely to be a part of a school where we can be who we are, share customs and traditions and feel valued for that.
I am excited about the journey ahead for our school and the great things that we will achieve. I wholeheartedly and warmly invite you to our open evening on 4th October 2023 to see for yourselves and/or to book in for coffee and a chat with me at one of our coffee mornings, which can be accessed via our school website www.laurelparkschool.co.uk.
Laurel Park School – Learn, Persevere, Succeed.
Adele Christofi
Headteacher
