Rachel Britt and Roger Madge of Huish Episcopi Academy a specialist college for Science, Languages and Applied Learning in Langport talk to Glen King Marketing about the bright future for this award winning college ....
It is a new era and a very exciting time for Huish Episcopi in Langport as the school can now offer their pupils a chance to continue their further education studies in a brand new cutting edge designed £4.5 million sixth form facility.
The new autumn term welcomed 6th formers for the first time a chance to explore the newly completed building. A multi-functional auditorium, contemporary café, high-tech computer suites and vibrant colour scheme are just some of the innovative design features. And the response from the students was very positive.
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| Laura Thornton |
Laura Thornton is a year 12 student studying Maths, English Literature, History and Spanish, she said, “It was really exciting to come into such a modern building . The best thing is the size of the classes, because they are smaller you can really concentrate and get one-to-one tutoring.”
Roger Madge, Head of Huish Sixth says, “The completion of Huish Sixth following 5 years of hard work on the project has given the entire school a new lease of life. There is a hub of excitement amongst the students and staff. Now that we have the facilities available we can really encourage a number of pioneering projects that have until now only been talked about for the future. In addition we are looking to establish strong relationships with local businesses to offer them opportunities such as using our conferencing facilities. We also want members of the local community to be fully involved and have the opportunity to benefit from the new development. It has so much to offer and we want to share it with as many people as possible. We’re hoping to run art exhibitions and start-up a film club in the fantastic new auditorium as well as other community based projects.”
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| From left: Head of Husih Episcopi Graham Roff, Head of Governors David Bell, David Heath MP and Head of Huish Sixth Roger Madge |
And it’s a double celebration as the school which is rated outstanding by Ofsted is one of the first in the country to attain *Academy status under the new coalition Government. Following careful consideration by a panel of staff and governors this month the final seal of approval was given which means the school has freedom from local authority and will be able to make changes that can maximise the potential of students at the Academy.
One area that will no doubt gain increased focus is the language department following its recent accreditation in the form of ‘The International School Award (ISA)’. This recognises the school’s commitment to embedding a global dimension into the curriculum through projects that collaborate with pupils in other European countries such as Spain and Sweden. International Dimension Co-ordinator Rachel Britt says, “It is wonderful to receive this award in recognition of all our efforts to ensure our pupils are global citizens and realise the world is on their doorstep. We feel it is essential that pupils take advantage of the opportunities available to link with their peers in countries all over the world to teach each other, share ideas and gain an insight into the culture of that country.”
The world just got smaller with the use of webcams and Skype allowing pupils to immerse themselves in other cultures from day-to-day as well as through school study trips to Italy, France and Spain to increase awareness of local environmental schemes and implementing such schemes via the schools ‘Not Stupid’ campaign. Pupils are also encouraged to share their work with students in countries as far flung as Chile, New Zealand and India.
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