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Prestatyn High School
"Prestatyn High School is a high performing centre of education. I am proud of our excellent results, our outstanding pastoral care, and the way we help shape our young people to be aspiring and caring citizens. Our pupils and students are prepared well for the modern world, ready and equipped for their bright futures ahead.
We have achieved great things over many years, but the way our excellent school has risen to the challenges during, and after, the pandemic, is truly remarkable. Our latest results at both GCSE and A-level have been some of our best ever, and they are especially pleasing when you consider the upheaval of recent years. For our pupils to face these obstacles head on, embrace these challenges, and overcome them, is a true reflection of our school and our community.
This is a great time to join the Prestatyn High School family. We are building back better and stronger. Alongside this, we have renovated and improved many of the school buildings to give all of our learners the best educational experience possible. These changes and improvements are just another step in our journey to be the best we can be.
I am exceptionally proud to be the Headteacher at Prestatyn High School. My passion is for all our learners to be challenged and supported to achieve their very best. The staff here at Prestatyn High School work tirelessly to ensure our pupils and students enjoy their time at school, work hard, and achieve good outcomes. In an ever-changing educational landscape, our focus is fixed firmly on strategies to further improve the quality of teaching, learning, assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare for all our young people. This first-class education will provide them with the knowledge to achieve well in examinations whilst developing lifelong skills that will prepare them for their future.
Here at Prestatyn High School, we embed Literacy, Numeracy and ICT skills in all we do, ensuring that all pupils are ready to make their way in the world and society. We strive that all pupils, no matter their starting point or background, make rapid and sustained progress.
The opportunities available to learners at Prestatyn High School are as numerous as they are varied. The broad curriculum empowers learners to progress well and achieve the very best academic qualifications. The enrichment activities, which include after school clubs, additional GCSE qualifications, and many trips abroad, allow pupils to expand their interests and horizons well beyond the school gates.
Please join us on our Open Evening and Open Morning to see what wonderful things we can offer. Come and be part of our success."
Neil Foley B.Sc. MA.
Headteacher
Nurtured, Safe and Happy
Prestatyn High School is proud of its transition which enables the children to settle quickly into their new school. Our relationship with local primary schools is strong, and we work closely to ensure that every child has the best possible start.
The dedicated transition team of Head of Year, David North, and Assistant Head of Year, Julie Jones, organise events throughout the school year to familiarise the children with the school and members of staff. Last year, we provided the Year 6 children with tasters in PE, Science, Music & Drama, Foreign Languages, and many more.
Whilst we are a large school, our systems ensure that we get to know every child quickly and give the feeling of a “school within a school”. Our Year 7s have their own dedicated entrance and registration area, together with Year 7 only social areas at break and lunchtime. We are also proud of our buddies, a team of peer mentors who are on hand to support the new Year 7s during their first few weeks.
Top Performing Sixth Form
Post-16 education is an important and integral part of our school. The majority of our Year 11s choose to stay on with us and study at Level 3. We are one of the largest providers in the area of both A level and BTEC courses, with students joining our Sixth Form from a wide range of local secondary schools. We pride ourselves on the excellence of our teaching and the continuous pastoral support our students receive. We offer over 30 Level 3 courses, ensuring our learners have lots of choice, meeting their needs and the demands of the modern world. The opportunities we offer are wide and varied, giving all members of the Sixth Form an enriching experience, preparing them for their future, and allowing them to achieve their goals.
We are a school that achieves high standards for its students, both academically, and in encouraging personal and social development. Being part of Prestatyn High School’s Sixth Form provides a wealth of opportunities for students to develop and extend their wider skills throughout the school and local community, including extra-curricular activities.
We are extremely proud of our recent Year 13 students and their achievements this year, with 31% of our students achieving the highest grades A*/A and Distinction*/Distinction. This is a clear indication and validation of all the hard work the learners and staff have put in over the last two years. All of our students have been able to successfully move on to either university, employment or apprenticeships.
Investing in Science
Over the last two years, we have seen a huge investment of our Science facilities to support and promote excellence in education and STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
By the end of this academic year all of our science labs will be refurbished along with the installation of state of the art technology. This investment has already had an immediate benefit with 100% of pupils passing Chemistry, Biology and Physics at GCSE. The number of A*-A grades have also risen dramatically in all three subjects, with Physics pupils achieving an astonishing 61% of grades at A or A*. These skills in Science and Technology are essential in the modern world and we are determined to give our pupils the best life chances and education possible.
ALN - Additional Learning Needs
At Prestatyn High School we pride ourselves on being an inclusive school and believe that all pupils have the right to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. We want to transform expectations, experiences and outcomes for children and young people with additional learning needs (ALN). We have a dedicated ‘Nurture Class’ in Year 7 (a maximum of 16 pupils), supported by a qualified nurture teacher and teaching assistants. This group has the majority of their lessons with one teacher and is for ‘learners who require more support in accessing their learning in a mainstream school environment’. They have an alternative curriculum based on literacy and numeracy and pupil well-being.
The focus is to improve these critical areas, but also to build their confidence to transition into Year 8, with a small class that has access to our mainstream curriculum. All our ALN pupils will have either an Individual Education Plan or an Individual Development Plan, depending on whether they have gone through the transformation to the new ALN system that is taking place between 2021 and 2024 (see ALN Reforms section of our website for further information). This will help inform teachers and others working with a pupil who requires specific strategies and support them to achieve.
Summer School
For the last 5 years, Prestatyn High School has offered our sector-leading summer holiday programme, ‘Food and Fun’, for the new Year 7 students who start with us in September. The programme runs for 3 weeks over the summer holidays, and new students get to meet teachers and staff, make new friends, and learn and have fun in a safe environment. The project is aimed at reducing anxiety, increasing engagement, and increasing physical activity in school holidays. The sessions incorporate exercise, healthy eating, engagement, fun activities and educational sessions.
Over the summer holidays, our programme was attended by over 100 Year 6 students from over 15 primary schools and was a huge success, with feedback from children and parents being overwhelmingly positive. Children have expressed that they felt more confident about starting in September and parents commented that their children thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
After-School Enrichment
Prestatyn High School has an after-school enrichment timetable to compliment the successful lessons delivered during the school day. Enrichment takes place between 3pm and 4pm and provides students with new social opportunities, additional learning, and helps develop new skills and interests. Enrichment is a fantastic way to increase enjoyment of school life and create an inclusive, community spirit within the school, while also developing skills and building character.
A range of sessions and classes are on offer for all year groups, and these encompass the core areas of additional learning, group sessions, community engagement and sports. The enrichment sessions are decided by the students and a dedicated member of staff oversees the sessions on offer. The sessions include art, animal care, computer and board game clubs, creative writing, eco club, F1 in school and Lego. As part of these sessions, physical activities from the 5x60 timetable are offered, with sessions in football, basketball, gymnastics, badminton and netball.
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