Sawston Village College

Sawston Village College

Prospectus 2020-21
 Sawston Village College

“Sawston is a calm, supportive and caring school,

not only for my child, but also for us as parents.”
Parent, quoted in Ofsted 2017

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 Sawston Village College

Welcome from the Principal

I am delighted that you are considering classroom. We are also driven by the
Sawston Village College for the need to achieve excellence in all aspects
education of your child. of our work - in high expectations for
pupil achievement and behaviour, in our
At Sawston Village College we are outstanding care and support for young
committed to maximising the potential of people, in the quality of our staff and the
every single child that is part of our partnerships they form with parents and
community - whether that is through others in our community. Our pupils
GCSE examinations, involvement with deserve nothing less.
extracurricular activities or via the
wealth of leadership and personal I hope this prospectus is able to convey
development opportunities that we have something of that ambition for success in
on offer. We recognise that not only are all its forms, and my staff and I would be
we building the foundations for study, delighted to welcome you and your child Mr J Russell, Principal
employment and training beyond 16, but to our College Open Evening in
that we also have a duty to develop the October, or to provide a personal tour
whole child to enable them to take their of the College during the working day.
place in our communities as positive,
purposeful and fulfilled citizens. We would be proud to welcome you to
Sawston Village College.
We are also committed to providing an
exciting range of opportunities for our
young people - to open their minds to
new challenges, new ideas and broaden
their horizons in ways that make both
teaching and learning come alive. This
prospectus can only give a brief glimpse
of all that we have on offer at Sawston For information on our admissions policy, please
Village College, in and out of the see: www.sawstonvc.org/the-college/admissions.

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 Sawston Village College

“The school’s commitment to the inclusion of all pupils is

transparent and at the heart of well-established procedures.”
Ofsted 2017

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 Sawston Village College

Our Aims,Vision and Values

Our mission at Sawston Village College Alongside these core aims and values are
is to: the ASPIRE principles developed by
 unlock potential pupils and staff and which set out the
 create opportunity essential attributes and skills needed to
 achieve excellence be successful in school, work and life:
in all aspects of our work, an ambition
that applies equally to pupils and staff. Achieving
Self-motivated
As a result, we expect all learners to
leave school having: Positive
 achieved to their highest academic Independent
potential; Respectful
 embraced all available opportunities; Engaged
 learned how to value, respect and
care for each other; These are the themes that provide the
 taken responsibility to support their foundation for success - for now and in
school and the wider community, the future.
and developed the essential skills,
personal resilience and confidence to We are proud to be part of Anglian
be successful in education, Learning, a highly successful
employment and life. multi-academy trust of seven academies
that have come together to provide
This vision underpins all of our work, outstanding education and learning for
setting out the purpose of education as our communities. Together, we believe
we see it if we are to create prosperous education can play a transformational
and successful people who will contribute role in the lives of children and the
to our society. success and wellbeing of our wider
society.

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 Sawston Village College

“You and your team have been amazing throughout my son’s time at Sawston.
I have been impressed with how the school is led and the policies in place - in
my opinion many other schools could do with following your approach.”
Parent

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 Sawston Village College

Our unique place in history

– the first Village College
Sawston Village College opened in 1930, We continue to maintain a vibrant adult
having been founded by education learning programme, and we operate a
pioneer Henry Morris. cinema with live satellite broadcasts, as
well as our own commercial Sports
His vision was for a school which would Centre. This means we have over 1,500
nurture a lifelong love of learning for members of the local community visiting
people of all ages, in an environment that the school every week, reinforcing our
offered inspiration. The original Grade II message that learning is for life, in
listed buildings reflect these ideals, based keeping with Henry Morris’s original
as they are on Cambridge University vision.
courtyards. These values are still at the
heart of our work eighty-nine years
later.

Today, the College’s campus

encompasses some thirty acres of
classrooms, state of the art laboratories
and extensive sports facilities, providing
a stimulating environment in which to
learn.

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 Sawston Village College

“We just wanted to say thank you and congratulations for the range of
experiences that Sawston Village College builds into its curriculum.”
Parent

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 Sawston Village College

Unlocking Potential
We are very proud of our achievements We also provide breadth in the
in public examinations. Our English, curriculum through more practical
Maths and Science results are among the subjects, such as Engineering and
very best in the region. Furthermore, Hairdressing, to accommodate a wide
we are in the top 6% nationally for our range of interests. Where pupils may
EBacc performance. have had difficulties with literacy at
primary school we will work hard to
This success is based on a firm belief that boost their reading and writing through
all pupils, whatever their starting point, additional support - our ambition is to
have the right to an education that meets ensure that no child falls behind in their
their needs and provides them with the learning.
opportunity to realise their full potential.
The curriculum offered at Sawston
Village College reflects this ambition.

We are strongly committed to the Arts,

offering Dance, Drama, Music, Art and
Music Technology. All pupils follow a
three-year Key Stage 3 curriculum
before having a free choice in option
subjects at the end of Year 9. The vast
majority of pupils opt for a Humanities,
Language or Computer Science GCSE to
complement their core subjects, which,
for many, includes Triple Science.

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 Sawston Village College

“Opportunities to attend after-school clubs and interesting

enrichment experiences are extensive and popular.”
Ofsted 2017

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 Sawston Village College

Creating Opportunity
One of the strengths of the College is
the breadth and depth of opportunities
on offer to our pupils.
Our provision in the Arts is truly
outstanding. All Year 7 pupils are given
the opportunity to complete the Bronze
Arts Award, a nationally accredited
qualification, and they are able to draw
on the high quality experiences offered
in Music, Drama, Art and Dance to do
this. Filmmaking is also offered as an
extracurricular activity. Our strong links
with Sawston Youth Drama and other
similar organisations also open up
further exciting opportunities for our
young people.
Science, Maths, Geography and
Technology competitions, with a strong
track record of success, while the range
of lunchtime and after-school
opportunities is extensive, with
something for everyone to take part in.
Add to this the residential trips to Italy,
Germany, Spain and the legendary
Ardèche trip, as well as the fundraising
events, environmental projects,
Activities Week, Work Experience and
much more, it is clear that the College
offers wonderful and stimulating
opportunities to support the personal
development of our pupils.

Pupils are encouraged wherever possible

to develop their leadership skills, for
example, by joining one of our pupil-led
forums, or through becoming Sports
Leaders working with younger pupils and
in our primary schools. Pupils are also
able to complete the Duke of
Edinburgh’s Award and the Arts Award
at different levels and gain further
valuable skills. In addition to this, pupils
also regularly take part in regional

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 Sawston Village College

“The strongly committed team of governors share senior leaders’ ambition

and determination to continue to improve on pupils’ overall strong progress.”
Ofsted 2017

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Achieving Excellence
We aim to achieve excellence in all
aspects of our work. Our teachers work
hard to ensure their practice remains
fresh and inspiring. Seven of our team
are also Specialist Leaders in Education,
working to support other schools, as
well as developing our own high quality
teaching. The College is designated as a
National Support School, recognised by
the Department for Education as high
performing and therefore able to
contribute to the improvement of other
schools. We are proud to be strategic
members in both AGTSA and CASSA
Teaching Alliances, partnerships of good
and outstanding schools committed to
ensuring excellence in local education.
In addition to the quality of teaching, we
also seek excellence in the quality of
support we give to our pupils. We are
a warm, friendly and welcoming
community, with a team of staff who
care deeply about the progress and
wellbeing of all the children in the
College.
Central to this is our House system of
mentoring and support. All pupils are
Sawston Village College
placed in one of four Houses, creating a
family within which there are smaller
mixed-age mentoring groups, each
overseen by two mentors. Pupils quickly
form positive relationships with others
across the year groups, while the
mentors and non-teaching Year Leads/
Heads of House can review academic
progress and respond quickly to any
concerns, providing a much more
personalised experience.
We have high expectations for pupil The College is committed to achieving
achievement. We also have high excellent outcomes for its pupils and
expectations regarding behaviour, creating an environment where they are
demanding of our pupils good manners safe and happy. This can only happen
and respect towards each other, staff where there are high standards of
and other adults in the College at all behaviour, mutual respect and adherence
times.
to our code of conduct. In this we look
for and expect parental support.
Furthermore, we expect pupils to take
care and pride in the quality and
presentation of classwork and
homework, to wear the correct uniform
and to support the school and local
community, implementing the College’s
aims and values at all times as active,
positive citizens.
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 Sawston Village College

“The quality of tuition and

opportunities here are amazing.”
Year 10 Pupil

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 Sawston Village College

Preparing for the Next Step

Working in close partnership with our experience and have the opportunity to
local primary schools is the key to visit employers and undergo face-to-face
ensuring a smooth transition to Sawston mock interviews to prepare for the
Village College. In addition to the taster world of work. And when they finally
days and joint projects between our core leave College, we hope that our pupils
departments and Year 6 teachers, senior will continue to stay in touch with us
staff visit all prospective pupils to find through our flourishing Alumni Network
out about their interests, skills, ambitions - www.sawstonvc.org/alumni - so that
and concerns, to place them in the right we can follow their continuing
mentor group, House and teaching education and careers, and for the
group. Parents are also given a personal benefit of the next generation of young
appointment with their child’s mentor people who will join the College.
before school begins in September, to
ensure the best possible start and to Whatever stage your child is at in their
form that all important relationship education, we aim to make sure that
between home and school. their progression is as smooth as
possible, setting pupils up to succeed in
For those pupils about to leave the their next step.
College at the end of Year 11, we
provide a very strong programme of
Careers Information, Advice and
Guidance (CIAG) to enable pupils to
progress successfully to post-16
education and training. All pupils receive
careers guidance through dedicated
PSHE Days and also have one hour a
fortnight in Year 11 to support their
application to post-16 providers.
Alongside this, all pupils complete work

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 Sawston Village College

“Everyone is really friendly here, and they

made me feel welcome on my Induction Day.”
Year 7 Pupil

Sawston Village College Sawston Adult Education Sawston Cinema Sawston Sports Centre
T: 01223 712777 T: 01223 712424 T: 01223 712825 T: 01223 712555
E: office@sawstonvc.org E: community@sawstonvc.org E: cinema@sawstonvc.org E: info@sawstonsports.com
Twitter: @sawstonvc Twitter: @sawstonadulted Twitter: @sawstoncinema Twitter: @sawstonsports
New Road, Sawston www.sawstonadulted.org www.sawstoncinema.org.uk www.sawstonsports.com
Cambridge CB22 3BP

www.sawstonvc.org
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