Our School: All the pupils at Gonville Academy are encouraged to achieve highly

Sarah Mitchell, head teacher at Gonville Academy in Thornton Heath, tells us why her school is on the up... Tell us about the history of the school... Gonville Academy was founded in 1931 and more than 80 years later, we are still going strong. We are a thriving school community, with 525 pupils aged from 3-11. As part of The STEP (Striving Together for Excellence in Partnership) Academy Trust, Gonville works with two schools – David Livingstone Academy and Applegarth School. Led by Sarah Mitchell and Lana-Lea O'Keefe, and Mark Ducker as executive head teacher, Gonville is dedicated to improving the life chances of all children. Describe the school's ethos The academy motto is "striving together for excellence" and we do everything we can to ensure that all pupils achieve their full potential. Gonville is a Rights Respecting School and has also achieved International Schools' status, reflecting our diverse community and international ethos. We provide a rich curriculum for our students, with high-quality teaching throughout the school and aim to ensure that every child leaves Gonville with the skills they need to succeed in life. What are the school's greatest recent achievements? Gonville has recently been accredited as a Grade 1 ICT Mark school and we are a Fronter Champion School, helping other schools to develop their managed learning environment (MLE). ICT is an integral part of our children's education, and parents and carers can use the school's MLE to support their children's learning, and keep up to date with events at school. We also have dedicated art and music teachers and a French language assistant, ensuring that children at Gonville receive top-quality arts and language lessons. Our children also have many opportunities to participate in the wider life of the school, including school council, Year 6 Pupil Advocates, eco-council and the school's online newspaper, The Gonville Gazette. Why should parents send their child to your school? Gonville Academy is an incredibly exciting place to be. Children receive an excellent grounding in the Early Years, with a nurturing learning environment, and our dedicated staff team make sure that children throughout the school feel safe and happy. We work in partnership with parents and carers, and promote positive communication, so that the whole school community works together to inspire our learners to be aspirational, resilient and creative.

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Name: Gonville Academy Address: Gonville Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 6DL Number of pupils: 525 Heads of school: Sarah Mitchell and Lana-Lea O'Keefe Executive head teacher: Mark Ducker Ofsted rating: Good (outstanding for behaviour), June 2012