Our Vision for the School

Our vision for the school is straightforward yet challenging. We want St Helena to be a genuinely inclusive environment where our learners are able to enjoy the process of becoming Independent , Creative , Technologically-adept learners. We are proud of our status as a comprehensive school, and this remains central to our vision – we want every learner to achieve their best, irrespective of their prior achievements.

For our learners to progress from dependence to independence, they need to take on key attributes which drive their learning, behaviour and interactions at all times. We believe that these attributes can be summarised as the ‘5 Rs’ – Reasoning, Reflective, Resilient, Resourceful and Responsible. By developing these attributes, learners can make a positive contribution to their future prospects, irrespective of their ability. Crucially, they can also start to understand why and how they have been able to achieve, allowing the process of self-evaluation to drive their progress through school and beyond.

Creativity is a key partner of independence. Our Media Arts specialism gives us an initial context for this, through the incorporation of creative media elements into lessons that can help learners engage with and connect the learning. Ultimately however, creativity is about choice. Not unfettered choice where learners can do whatever they please, but specific choices in lessons that provide learners with the opportunity to personalise their experience, and become confident in choosing how they learn and how they demonstrate their learning.

Technology is a powerful enabler of both independence and creativity. For our learners to achieve economic well-being; for them to compete and collaborate effectively in the modern world, they need to be able to take full advantage of all the available technologies. An effective understanding of the tools available, combined with the skill to use them effectively can motivate learners to learn inside and outside the classroom; on their own, with each other and from each other.

We don’t see enjoyment as an optional extra; we believe it to be a pre-requisite for effective learning. Genuine enjoyment is about much more than just a ‘fun lesson’ – it requires a wider perspective, where learners can place their experiences in a local, national and international context. It also demands a healthy, safe learning atmosphere where all our staff are encouraged to excite not exhort, to inspire not inhibit, to be dynamic not dictatorial… so that our learners can gain the satisfaction which derives from knowing that their achievements are the result of their own choices and decisions, not just the product of a spoon-fed culture.