Did you miss our Open Day?
We are always happy to arrange a tour of the School and an appointment to meet the Headmaster, please contact Mrs Mary Butterworth on 0151 651 3009 or by email at headmaster@birkenheadschool.co.uk.
The Entrance and Scholarship Examination for 11+ entry for September 2008 will take place on Saturday 26th January 2008
For photographs taken at Open Day click here.
The Headmaster's Welcome
Below is an extract from the Headmaster's presentation on Open Day
Choosing a school is one of the most important choices you have to make. I think this is the best school you could choose – but then I would, wouldn’t I!
However,
if I stand back, I would have to say that there is no such thing as the best
school, only the right school for you, for your son, for your daughter. That’s
what today is about. Talk to pupils, talk to parents, talk to teachers and
non-teaching staff, talk to the School Nurse to try and decide whether
Birkenhead School is right for you. But please don’t stop at today. Open Days
are inevitably artificial in some ways. Come and see us on a normal school day,
come and have a chat with me, let one of the pupils show you round.
Well, what should you be looking for as you visit a school? Facilities, yes, results, yes; but it is the people and the ethos they create which are what make a school – consider what are the pupils like: how do they relate to each other? How do staff and pupils relate to each other? And crucially how do staff, pupils and parents relate to each other? That’s a crucial triangle and if the communication and relationships in that triangle are right, you have the foundations for a happy and successful education. It is also those relationships which help you through the problem times, if they arise.
I hope you will take away many varied impressions today – of the Headmaster, maybe (!), of the staff (both teaching and non-teaching), of our parents, of the facilities, of our wonderful campus (not bathed in sunlight today but glorious when it is!) … but above all of the pupils. They are possibly the School’s greatest asset & sometimes I think we could set things up for Open Day and leave them to get on with. Our only instruction to pupils today is to be themselves and tell it as it is, so ask them whatever you like.
So what kind of school do I, as Headmaster, think you are looking at today? You can then see whether pupils see it in the same way!
Firstly I believe we have high expectations of all our pupils – whatever their academic ability might be, wherever their talents might lie – be that in music or sport, drama or outdoor pursuits – wherever. We also expect them to work hard – not just academically but in all of their pursuits or commitments
Discipline
is high on the agenda – without discipline learning doesn’t take place as it
should do. But I believe Birkenhead discipline is discipline with a light touch.
I am proud to say that our pupils are (generally!) extremely biddable, and
discipline is a natural and expected part of everyday life. I believe we owe it
to our pupils to make it clear what is expected of them … and consistency of
expectation and response are vital if pupils are to feel comfortable and happy
in school
Respect – the Government put Respect on its agenda a couple of years ago and yet, as with quite few educational ideas, it has been thriving in good schools for years. Respect for staff, teaching and non-teaching, mutual respect amongst peers and for the wider community, and then all importantly the respect we want pupils to have for themselves by doing their best, taking care of themselves and making the most of their potential
And, finally, making the most of the opportunities available to them. This school is all about opportunity and it is great pleasure for me as Head to watch so many of our pupils seize the many opportunities available to them to develop their talents and enthusiasms and discover completely new areas of interest and endeavour. As you walk around the school today I hope you will find ample evidence of that. Some of them take on so much that I wonder how their parents cope as they become part of a Wirral wide taxi service.
One
of our unique features is our campus. I believe it is a vital element in
moulding those relationships I spoke of earlier – it helps to create a unique
sense of community and that very special ethos which the School has. It has, in
my view, an immensely civilising influence. It usually also means that boys can
see the Headmaster coming and make sure their shirts are tucked in before he
reaches them..., well usually… Anyway, the pupils will tell you it’s one of my
pet obsessions!
Overdale - the white building at the south corner of the campus – is very important. It is a school within a school and is home to pupils in years 7 and 8. Overdale allows pupils, as they move from primary into secondary school, to find their feet in their own protected and special environment, yet having access to all the fantastic facilities of the wider school.
I mentioned earlier facilities - yes they are important and we are constantly investing, but they are not the be-all and end all. It is what you do with those facilities that matters and in the end there is no substitute for passionate and talented teachers and motivated, hard-working pupils. Nevertheless, I hope you are impressed by our facilities. Here’s just a sample of where we have invested in senior school in the past few years.
Full refurbishment of Overdale – inside and out
Electronic whiteboards or media projectors in all labs, workshops and many other
classrooms
State-of–the-art CAD technology
Multi-media language laboratory
Approx. 300 computers on campus
3 brand new Physics labs
Indoor climbing wall
Computer linked keyboard lab for Music
Restaurant quality dining
New outdoor games surface
Recent refurbishment of all toilet and locker facilities
New computer network in 2007 with home access
And this summer the major development has been the installation of a completely new computer network which will not only lead to major changes in School but will also allow pupils to access their work and all our networked learning resources from home.
Success comes in many forms and many areas of course. And yes, of course, examination results matter.
They open the doors to the rest of a child’s future. But they are not all that matters … by a long way. There are many other qualities – personal qualities of integrity and compassion, social qualities such as self-confidence, concern for the world around us, leadership and teamwork – which we work hard to develop and which so often are just as important in later life as results … if not more so. These are all qualities which it is impossible to measure in league tables … and yet people do judge schools by league tables and I was thrilled this summer to see our pupils enhance the school’s academic reputation by taking us up from last year’s record 70% A + B grades at A level to over 74%, with a stunning 54% at A grade.
The
gap between us and other selective schools on Wirral remains very significant.
And this is not because we are more selective in our intake. We are not! We
select pupils of similar ability to local grammar schools and in some cases some
who do not manage the 11+ but whose academic potential and other qualities we
are able to take into account because we are not limited to the snap shot Verbal
Reasoning test. We look at performance in English and Maths too, as well as
school reports and what prospective pupils tell us about themselves.
One of my best moments this summer was seeing a pupil in the Lower Sixth emerge on results day with 4 A grades at AS, having achieved 7 A* grades and 3 A’s at GCSE last year … and yet he actually failed the 11+ to get into Grammar School! And now he has his sights set on Oxford. But don’t think he lives with his head in his books – he is a talented and obsessive sportsman, playing 1st team rugby and cricket!
In this respect I always find the A + B grade tables a little unfair. They only take account of the top performers and that’s not what it should be about. C grades and D grades can represent just as great an achievement. And so I was particularly proud to see where we stood in the table produced by the Times newspaper which takes account of all students’ performances not just the high flyers with whom we know we are doing well.
And here the gap between Birkenhead School and other selective local grammar schools is startling. This table records university entrance points in which an A grade is worth 120 points, a B 100 points, a C 80 points and so on.
Average UCAS points 2007 (excl. General Studies)
Birkenhead School
367.8
The local grammar schools:
302.9
297.6
292.0
A Level 2007 A&B Grades
Birkenhead School:
75%
The local grammar schools:
60%
56%
48%
A Level 2007 A Grades
Birkenhead School:
54%
The local grammar schools:
36%
28%
20%
The Times
Top Schools nationally for A Level 2007
Positions:
Birkenhead School
162
The local grammar schools:
438
633
817
The local grammar schools don’t come close.
Our size means that we are small enough for no-one to get lost, but big enough to provide a range of academic and co-curricular opportunities which much bigger schools can only envy.
Our
size is vital to our pastoral system. Many parents will tell you that for them
it is our pastoral care which makes us special; in a typical year group of 60 or
so pupils we have 4 Form Tutors plus a Head of Year who will not have a Form –
that’s a pastoral care ratio of 1 teacher to 12 pupils.
Small is beautiful extends to teaching groups as well where we never exceed 24 but most classes are smaller than that.
Our size also means that we can be flexible in adapting timetable and curriculum to individual needs and talents.
400 pupils 11 – 18
Pastoral (Form) groups: typically 15
Teaching groups: typically 20 (max. 24), often fewer
Flexibility to suit different talents & needs
Opportunities for all in Music, Sport, Drama, Scouts, Duke of Edinburgh Award…….
The value of Community
Our size means that everyone has an opportunity to try everything; in sport we have not only A teams, but B teams and sometimes C and D teams, meaning that anyone who wants to has an opportunity to compete and represent the School; and because of the time and care which our sports coaches give to every pupil we regularly beat teams from schools twice or three times our size.
Our size also means that we are a tight knit community where everyone can know everyone else, with a strong sense of belonging and the shared values which go with that.
And what do students do after Birkenhead? Well they go in vastly different directions – from acting to accountancy, physics to forensics. He are typical figures for some of the most popular courses over the last few years.
Law 10%
Medicine /Dentistry/Vet Sci. 12%
Engineering 11%
Economics/Business/Finance
And here are their top destinations. 60% of this years Leavers went to Oxbridge or Russell Group universities.
Durham (16%)
Oxbridge (8%)
Leeds (8%)
Nottingham (8%)
Manchester (6%)
Liverpool (6%)
Newcastle (4%)
Bristol (2%)
Birmingham (2%)
But it’s not just about universities. One of our star musicians has just taken up a place at the Royal Northern College of Music.
I do hope you enjoy the tour of our campus and facilities today. If there is anything you want to know please do not hesitate to ask.
The last word from a parent of a recent leaver…
Dear Mr Clark
As you will be aware, our son left the School this year after seven very happy
years. Naturally we are delighted that he achieved excellent A level results and
that he will be able to pursue his first choice university place at Sheffield.
Birkenhead School, though, has never seemed to us to be solely about excellent
academic achievement.
We have watched with quiet satisfaction at how the school has encouraged him to develop into a confident young man with wide non-academic interests and an appreciation of school community with shared values of tolerance and peer support. We always felt that throughout his time at the school his teachers showed a personal interest in his progress and were prepared to put themselves out when necessary to help him overcome difficulties.
I know he will continue to remain in contact with the school. I am also sure he will look back with gratitude to the school for helping him achieve his true potential.
John Clark
Headmaster
Open Day Photographs
The following photographs were taken on the Open Day - to look at the full-sized versions, simply click on a picture and use your "back" button to return to this page
