Stoke Park Trust
The drive to raise standards is seen as the key to raising
community
aspirations and
will be approached through layered enhancements to aspects of the
school’s specialist areas, 14-19 provision and further community
engagement.
Links with the three universities are seen as hugely important
in terms of extending horizons by exposing staff and students to
world-class resources and expertise. The school believes that the
excitement generated around such activities, and the prestige of
being linked with three universities will create a “halo effect”
for them as they are seen as being at the centre of high-quality,
high profile experiences.
Stoke Park is a single school trust based on Stoke Park School
and Community Technology College. The school opened as a trust
school on 1st September 2008.
Partners: Aston University, Coventry
University, Midland Group Training Services Ltd, The International
Manufacturing Centre at the University of Warwick and Coventry
LA.
All external partners provide members for the school’s governing
body but collectively form a minority. The Trust Board meets three
times a year and operates as a “challenging and stimulating think
tank”. The headteacher regards them as an invaluable sounding board
that allows a high level of challenge and stimulation without
necessarily becoming preoccupied by the “nitty-gritty of school
management”. No sub-groups have been formed.
Examples of trust impact include:
- The range of activities and inputs to programmes is genuinely
impressive and multi-layered. Many of the planned activities, as
well as being successful in their own right, have had unexpected
and successful “spin offs”.
- An example to illustrate this is found in the plans for a new
media course. The school has put together an intervention strategy
for disengaged, white working class boys that include an intensive
two week media course.
- The Chair of the trust has been researching and evaluating new
learning environments on behalf of the International Manufacturing
Centre at the University of Warwick.
- A central feature of the school’s technology specialism is
around the use of ICT to develop life-long independent learning.
.
- Year 13 visit to Warwick University Chemistry department for
tutorials with professors; sessions on “theoretical and
computational chemistry” using advanced IT systems
- Input to Year 12 and 13 physics course by university professor
to work on “Particle Physics”
- STEM science and engineering workshops for Gifted and Talented
Year 7s; development of Building Learning Power
- National Diploma workshops for Y9- potential engineers within
an ICT environment
Although there are no immediate plans to change the structure or
membership of the trust, the trust is exploring ways in which to
increase its commercial effectiveness.
“We see the trust as the only really effective way of energising
the learning of the community and empowering the community. We will
unashamedly use the trust to enable Stoke Park to focus on the most
effective and imaginative learning and teaching for the 21st
Century”. Guy Shears, Headteacher at Stoke Park School.