Awards
Primary Science Quality Mark
Primary Science Quality Mark is not like other quality marks: it is a year-long CPD programme that helps schools to achieve a quality mark, whether science within the school has been a low profile for a while or the school wants to improve the provision further. It focuses on developing effective, confident science leadership for whole school impact on science teaching and learning.
Eco-Schools Silver Award
This award was gained by incorporating environmental learning into the school curriculum. We have so far achieved Eco school's silver status and we are now planning to work towards Green Flag status.
Green Tree School Gold Award
To achieve our Green Tree Schools Gold Award we carried out environmental projects such as tree planting, reducing CO2 emissions and visiting woods. We collected points for each activity we completed, and progressed through bronze and silver to our gold level.
School Games Gold Award
The School Games Mark is a government led awards scheme launched in 2012 to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community. Participating in this process allows schools to evaluate their PE provision and assists them in developing an action plan for future progress.
Healthy Choice Gold Award
We are delighted to announce that our Breakfast Club has been awarded Gold in the Healthy Choice Award! The Healthy Choice Gold Award is the highest level which can be awarded and we are thrilled that our Breakfast Club has been given the recognition it deserves
Artsmark Silver Award
We are very proud to announce that we were awarded the Artsmark Silver Award which is issued by the Arts Council England. This award is for making a commitment to the growth of arts within our school and for providing our children with opportunities to be creative wherever possible. Our key aims are to unlock the potential of our pupils, develop character and talent, and to increase their knowledge and understanding of all of the arts. The silver award recognises that we have confidently started our journey to provide the best arts curriculum possible by developing expertise in our staff and outcomes in pupils. Our next step is to aim for the Gold Award where we will strive to provide even more creative opportunities for our pupils to shine bright and Think Big!
Our City, Our World
Our City, Our world is an important city-wide project which uses education to raise awareness of and tackle climate change and sustainability. This project challenges us to look in detail at our Curriculum, Campus and Community and strive to make them greener. We have completed the first two terms of this extended project and have already been awarded the Silver Award. We will continue to work towards a Gold Award and the aim of a more sustainable world for our children’s futures.
Ogden Trust Brighton and Portslade Hub
We are very pleased to be part of the Ogden Trust Physics Hub. We were successful in our application to create the Brighton and Portslade Hub, which includes Varndean School and local primary schools. The Ogden Trust is a charitable organisation established by Sir Peter Ogden to promote the teaching and learning of physics. Their mission is to increase the uptake of physics post-16 by supporting physics education and engagement for all young people.
Teachers across the Hub will benefit from bespoke professional development from a specialist to enhance teaching. Our school will also receive high quality equipment to strengthen the teaching of key topics, and we will organise events to engage young people with physics, such as science fairs, competitions and providing quality resources to share. Watch this space!
If you would like to know more, or you would like to come into school to talk to our pupils about your career or interest in physics, please contact Mr Harris.
