Orchard Park High School awarded Character Kitemark

After a rigorous process, we are delighted to share that we have been awarded the ACE school of Character Quality Mark, held by only 29 schools in the UK.

We are thrilled to receive this award as it clearly recognises the high quality of our personal development programme experienced by all members of our school community. The assessor reported that they were delighted to visit a school which has a clear and detailed plan focusing on common sense and detailed research in equal measure.

The assessment report highlighted the following as particular strengths of the school:

• The strategic planning and careful attention to detail to ensure that character activities are seamlessly blended across both curriculum activities and the huge range of opportunities provided by ‘Character Clubs’ was identified as excellent.
• Students spoke very confidently about their experiences of character activity and they were able to relate ‘taught character material’ to a range of situations and activities in everyday life.
• The confidence with which students used the school's well developed language of character was impressive and in turn, enabled them to link development of their own character traits with the well-being of the school community.
• Relationships across the school were universally positive, respectful and helped create a sense of security which enabled both students and staff to flourish in equal measure.
• The assessor was significantly impressed with the maturity and competence of the students he interviewed. Students were able to articulate with confidence and enthusiasm for the positive impact the character programme was having on their lives now and in the future. The level of maturity and obvious personal reflection exhibited by students of all ages was impressive and reflected positively on their sense of pride in their school and its wider community. They understood that character development and academic achievement were of equal value.

Ms V Ongley, Assistant Headteacher