Our Mission Statement

"Our vision, at Ripley St Thomas Church of England High School is to develop to the full the academic, spiritual, aesthetic and physical potential of each pupil, encouraging throughout our whole community a real and living faith in God. "

The spiritual dimension

As a church school we have a deep sense of Christian community; this is expressed not only in the way we live out our lives together but in our corporate worshipping life. Pupils and staff begin each day with an act of collective worship and special services are held throughout the year to celebrate the Christian festivals. The spiritual dimension finds expression also through the formal curriculum; Religious Education, a compulsory subject, allows young people to develop a faith which is relevant to their everyday lives. A particularly vibrant expression of our Christian foundation is evident in our “Spirituality Days” when each year group has the opportunity during the year to explore their faith through a range of multi media experiences facilitated by local clergy and lay people.

(In view of the Christian foundation of the school, the governors expect that in choosing the school parents thereby commit their child to taking a full part in the RE and worshipping life of the school.)

Ripley St Thomas is a Voluntary-Aided comprehensive Church of England School with 1580 pupils aged 11-18 on roll.

Of these 318 are in the sixth form. The school admits 243 pupils each September, mainly coming from the Lancaster, Morecambe, Heysham, Lunesdale, Carnforth and Garstang areas. We are confident that at Ripley we provide a rigorous and productive learning environment where children are both challenged and supported. Our conviction is that education should address the whole of what it means to be a happy, fulfilled and successful adult.

We have high expectations of all our pupils and are determined that each young person will experience success during his or her time with us. Not everything goes right or works all the time, but one thing is certain; we will do our best to ensure that all our pupils achieve their potential — and enjoy themselves in the process!

The Curriculum

Through our curriculum at all key stages we aim to provide a learning experience which develops our pupils in body, mind and spirit and enables each individual to take his or her place as a responsible young person and adult in our complex society.

At Key stage 3 pupils study a wide range of subjects which extends beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum:

English, Mathematics, Science, Information Technology, Technology (Resistant Materials, Product Design, Systems and Control, Food, Textiles), Modern Languages (French and German, with Spanish after school), Humanities (Geography and History), Religious Studies, Creative Arts (Art, Music, Drama), Agriculture and Horticulture and Physical Education.

At Key stage 4 pupils are able to study up to eleven GCSE subjects, with English Language and Literature, Mathematics, Science, Religious Studies, a Modern Language and Technology being compulsory. Option subjects include Applied Business Studies, Art, Child Development, Drama, Geography, Health and Social Care, History, Information Technology, PE, Music, Spanish and Rural and Agricultural Science.

To ensure that everyone learns at a pace which is appropriate, pupils are placed in ability groups from the beginning of Year 7 onwards. These are continually kept under review. Particular provision is in place for a significant number of gifted and talented pupils and for those pupils who require extra support.

Ripley has a long tradition of academic excellence; based on value-added performance, the school is placed within the top 10% of secondary schools nationally and features in the DfES list of “Outstanding Schools”. The school was designated a Language College in 2002, has achieved both Sportsmark and Artsmark status and received the International Schools Award in 2005.

Over the last few years we have won all the available awards for achievement from the Specialist Schools Trust.

Language College Status

We see the acquisition of a foreign language as an essential skill for our young people. In 1996, the school was designated a centre of excellence for the study of modern languages and granted Language College status. The extra funding that came with this award enabled us to enhance our language provision and extend opportunities for our young people. Pupils have the chance to study French, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese, depending on their interest, aptitude and age. Our language facilities are increasingly used by the local community, including pupils in local Primary schools, St. Martin’s College, Blackburn Diocese, the Adult Education College, the Friends of Ripley St. Thomas and parents.

Teaching and Learning

We aim to give our pupils the highest quality of educational experience and our focus is on continually improving teaching and learning. We believe that teachers have the right to teach and pupils to learn without disruption. Facilities have been, and are being improved to ensure pupils benefit from up to date provision. Three quarters of a million pounds has been spent on improving IT facilities, and a new sports hall has just been completed.

We plan to build a new sixth form centre in the next few years.

ALL OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS EXIST TO ENABLE PUPILS TO ACHIEVE TO THE MAXIMUM OF THEIR ABILITY...

• We do our utmost to make sure that every child is well known and cared for through our Pastoral system which is structured in four Houses: Blackburn, Chester, Durham and York. As far as possible, pupils are placed in Houses according to parents’ and children’s wishes. Within those houses pupils are placed in a form with a form tutor who keeps each pupil’s progress, behaviour and welfare under regular review. A system of individual reviews allows every form tutor to meet pupils, to discuss strengths and areas for improvement and help pupils set targets.
  
  

• Pupils are given individual targets for each key stage and parents are kept regularly informed of pupils’ progress via half termly grade cards, an annual report and a consultation evening.
  
  

• There are well established systems for rewarding pupils who do well and for providing sanctions for those who do not meet our high expectations. Our calm and well ordered school community with its clear sense of mutual respect enables children to feel safe and to achieve.
  
  

• The school takes seriously its requirement to provide high quality Personal, Health, Social and Citizenship Education and a number of days are set aside each year to allow a concentrated focus on topics relevant to each year group.