Inspiring learners, changing lives

FUTURE OF THE CHICHESTER HIGH SCHOOLS

CONSULTATION LEAFLET

WHY ARE WE CONSIDERING CHANGE?

The Chichester High Schools for Boys and Girls share a campus at Kingsham Road. Both schools are comprehensives for 11-18 year olds with capacity for over 1,200 pupils each. The Boys High School is also a Specialist Business and Enterprise College. A successful joint Sixth Form has been in place between the schools for a number of years.

Since becoming academies, in 2013, under (TKAT) The Kemnal Academies Trust, the two High Schools have continued to operate as separate schools, with a joint, mixed gender sixth form and standards overall have risen in both schools over the last few years.

However the fall in demographics in the Chichester area, has resulted in a fall in demand for places at both High schools. Both schools are now only 50% full and this has a significant impact on budgets, both now and potentially in the future. Reduced budgets mean less choice and opportunities for pupils.

The Governors, Headteachers and Academy sponsor of both schools are being pro-active in considering different options for the future of the schools to ensure that they can continue to provide and enhance an exciting and balanced curriculum for all students to achieve good outcomes.

If nothing changes both schools will see:

• a decline in student numbers

• a reduction in teaching sets in each year group

• an overall increase in class sizes

• a reduction in the minority subject options open to students.

We are therefore proposing to move to one single co-educational school, with a sixth form. This will bring together the expertise and experience of the Boys’ and the Girls’ High Schools; creating an effective and efficient environment to enhance education for existing and new students.

We recognise that this will remove the option, in Chichester, for parents and students to choose to go to a single gender school. However existing pupils will continue to be educated in single gender classes (with the possibility of some minority options being brought together). The first intake of co-educational classes will begin in September 2016. Throughout the process the Governors and staff at both the schools will be focused on improving standards for all students, both new and existing and an appropriate senior leadership structure will be put in place to take the schools forward, working collaboratively together.

This is a new and exciting opportunity for TKAT, the Academy sponsor and the schools. Importantly though, it is the children within the Chichester community who will reap the benefits.

We are keen to hear your views and ideas on our proposals and will be hosting meetings over the next few months, to share our thinking in more detail and to answer any questions.

Please could you take a few minutes to complete the short survey enclosed with this leaflet. Alternatively, the survey can also be completed online and via the schools’ website.

Link to the Survey: www.research.net/s/chichesterhighschools

Chichester High School for Girls www.chsg-tkat.org Chichester High School for Boys www.chsb.org.uk

Thank you

Amanda Godfrey Peter Waters Chair of Governors at Chair of Governors at Chichester High School for Boys Chichester High School for Girls

OUR AIM FOR THE FUTURE Our aim is to create an excellent school at the heart of the Chichester community where students (new and existing) are happy and can achieve their full potential through high quality teaching of a varied and rich curriculum. The single school would be of average size, 1300-1500 pupils, including sixth form students.

We believe that the benefits for students of one Chichester High School will be:

• Wider, more personalised curriculum with greater flexibility to offer a broader range of options at GCSE and A-level

• Greater capacity to organise learning groups in a more targeted and effective way

• Greater opportunity to attract and retain high quality teachers, with more specialist subjects

• Increased diversity of staff to support the richness and range of extra-curricular activity

• An opportunity to bring together the legacy of existing knowledge and good practice from both schools

• Potential to redevelop the site, with the possibility of realisation of capital to further improve the quality and range of facilities

Our proposals present an exciting opportunity to improve the learning experience and facilities for all our students, staff and the wider community.

The transition of the existing schools into one school will need careful planning and implementation to ensure that the benefits are realised. Bringing the existing school populations together will be an important and carefully executed task.

CONSULTATION

The consultation to hear your views and ideas will take place between Wednesday 5th November 2014 and Friday 16th January 2015.

There are several ways to provide your feedback, including:

• Complete the online survey: www.research.net/s/chichesterhighschools

• Complete the survey via the schools’ website: www.chsg-tkat.org or www.chsb.org.uk

• Reply to the survey provided with this leaflet (with pre-paid envelope)

There will also be the opportunity to meet the Headteachers, Governors and TKAT, the Academy Trust at a meeting:

Public Meetings:

• Tuesday 18th November 2014 from 6pm-7pm at the Girls School

• Tuesday 13th January 2015 from 2.30pm - 3.30pm at the Boys School

Parents Meetings

• Tuesday 11th November 2014 from 2.30pm – 3.30pm at the Boys School

• Tuesday 13th January 2015 from 6pm – 7pm at the Girls School

The meeting dates will also be available via the schools’ website: www.chsg-tkat.org and www.chsb.org.uk

Please note all feedback will remain anonymous If you wish to contact someone in relation to any aspect of this consultation please contact:

Mrs Belinda Clack Project and Change Manager, TKAT e: belinda.clack@tkat.org t: 07710 916 951, f: 023 9273 8052

Address: c/o Miltoncross Academy, Milton Road, Milton Portsmouth, PO3 6RB