Our School In Outline

Montgomery High School has developed specialisms and diversity which uniquely reflect our priorities as a professional learning community.

We are:

• An 11-16 High School of approximately 1400 students, which prides itself on high quality relationships between staff and students across all subject areas with a pastoral care system reported by Ofsted as “excellent”
• A Language College as of January 1997, which has worked hard to raise student awareness of the wider world to develop language learning opportunities and to raise whole school standards of attainment
• The Full Service Extended School for Blackpool, developing access for the community to a range of services linked to health, parenting and childcare support, as well as lifelong learning, both at the school and elsewhere in Blackpool
• The Lead School in the Tower Networked Learning Community, NCSL approved, working with five other primary and secondary schools to improve our understanding of teaching and learning, on behalf of our young people
• A Pathways School, which is committed to developing different learning experiences through different educational programmes for specific groups of people
• An Investors in People School as of 2000, which is committed to staff development for all, staff involvement opportunities for all and increased opportunities for distributed leadership
• An FA Charter Mark and Sports Mark Award School, which pursues a policy of Sport for All, as well as high standards of achievement in all aspects of physical education and sport
• A School with high standards of attainment, which significantly raised whole school attainment in 1997 and has maintained its steady growth over the past ten years with a 57% pass rate of 5+ grades A*-C at GCSE in 2004 and which now seeks to raise whole school attainment to a higher level again
  

A Language College with an International Ethos and Links Across the World

Montgomery High School applied to become a Specialist School in Modern Foreign Languages in September 1996. We raised £118,000 in sponsorship in support of our application and were successful in becoming a Language College on first application. The school was given specialist status in January 1997 and in June 1998, we hosted the third Annual Conference for all Language Colleges nationally, in part to demonstrate our commitment to this specialism.

Becoming a Language College transformed the school. It led us into achieving much higher standards of attainment, not just in modern foreign languages, but across the whole subject range. We lifted our % pass rate of 5+ grades A*-C at GCSE from the mid-thirties to the high fifties. We now aspire to raise standards of attainment onto a higher level again. Specialist status challenged the professional community, stimulated the teaching staff and brought a sense of pride and achievement to everybody in the school.

The school has introduced an ambitious programme of modern foreign language teaching. All students study a foreign language during each of their five years at Montgomery High School. The language studied can be French or German or Spanish. Other languages available to students are Japanese and Italian. Pupils at the school enjoy learning, even though it is not easy. Many students learn more than one language.

The school has worked to develop the teaching of modern foreign languages in its feeder primary schools. Currently 4 language teachers have timetable commitments in several local primary schools.

We are committed to creating an international sense of the world. Our achievements in this area were recognised by the British Council when they granted us International School Award for “outstanding development of the international dimension of the curriculum.” (2002).

We are developing a global network of partner schools. These include:

• Scoala 280 Mikail Sebastian, Bucharest, Romania
• Obirin High School, Tokyo, Japan
• Batmansskolan, Gothenburg, Sweden
• C.P.I Manual Padin Truieiro Arcade, (Soutomaior), Galicia, Spain

In addition, we offer a number of international work experience placements in Bottrop, Germany. These placements are offered to Year 10 students studying German at GCSE level.

The Language Suite

This suite of rooms, numbering 9 classrooms, resource centre, and staff room area was completely refurbished in 1988 after we became a specialist school. It occupies the top floor of L Block. These facilities offer a first rate learning environment.

The Teaching Team

Director of Language College – Vacancy
Subject Leader, German – Mrs Christine Jennings
Subject Leader, French – Miss Anna Harkness
Subject Leader, Spanish – Ms Vicky O’Brien
Teacher of MFL – Miss Helen Rowe
Teacher of MFL – Miss Tori Higgins
Teacher of MFL – Miss Karen Redman
Teacher of MFL (0.6) – Mr Brian Carter
Teacher of MFL (0.6) – Mrs Clare Manabwski
Teacher of Italian – Mrs Gemma Goodman
Teacher of Japanese – Mrs Mariko Pumbien
Language assistant, German – Barbara Mertens
Language assistant, French – Marjorie Marman

Blackpool’s Full Service Extended School

In September 2003, Montgomery was designated, by the DfES, as Blackpool’s Full Service Extended School. Throughout 2003-2004, we have operated in partnership with a wide range of community agencies to develop a strategy which helps us to take forward the needs of young people and their families, locally and across Blackpool, in the areas indicated below:

• Child care
• Parenting support
• Health and social care
• Community access to ICT facilities
• Adult and family learning
• Community access to sports and arts facilities
• Study support

We are developing a community campus at the front of the school, which will be re-modelled for community use with a particular focus on supporting the health, including mental health, needs of young people. We believe this community campus at Montgomery should:

• Belong to the community, establishing its own independent, community focussed programmes of support, with full confidentiality of support for young people and their parents
• Aspire to support mental health issues but recognise that this must be part of a broader health provision with other agencies
• Support the needs of residents in Central and North Blackpool and, where appropriate and viable, residents from South Blackpool. There is an earmarked transport budget of £10000 to facilitate this

The Tower Networked Learning Community

Montgomery is the lead school in the Tower Networked Learning Community, one of only 120 networks across the country working on an innovative initiative organised by the National College for School Leadership. Our community consists of three secondary schools and three primary schools. These six schools are working together to improve and enhance the quality of learning in our schools.

Teachers in the network work cross-school and cross phase in order to broaden their practice and knowledge. During the first phase, 12 teachers were focussing on collaborative work through literacy strategies and the focus of the second phase in research and thinking skills.

The network is keen to make student participation integral to the networks activities. Six pupil ambassadors from each school regularly meet together to discuss their learning and assist teachers to articulate a vision for the future.

The network has enjoyed considerable success. We have been asked to contribute to national conferences and publications as well as regional events. Our network recently featured on the opening video at the National Conference in London as an example of good practice. We hope to continually expand the work of the network to reach all classrooms in all schools. Highly positive teacher and pupil comments are powerful in guiding the networks progress in this exciting initiative.

Developing pathways for students

We plan to introduce within the school, four pathways for learning, developing different learning programmes to cater for different needs and interests. These pathways are not mutually exclusive and our approach will be one of flexibility and partnership with parents and students.

We commit to David Milliband’s vision of Personalised Learning and recognise the key significance of teaching and learning, assessment for learning and curriculum entitlement/pathways as the three key processes in the personalisation of learning. We understand that these processes are critically supported by e-learning and engagement with the school community. Finally, we value the power of student voice and seek to model emotional literacy for all with our school and wider community as Blackpool’s Full Service Extended School.

In September 2004 Year 8 pupils at Montgomery were timetabled into four pathways. This has lead to the development of different learning programmes to suit the needs of different groups of learners.

Montgomery High School is having a second major building programme, currently underway. The main part of this building programme includes a very large 16-classroom block. The first floor of this block will house Orange Pathway pupils and will be called Montgomery’s Learning Community. It has been designed with the help of Human Scale Education Officers to enable teaching teams to create an entirely different learning environment for 200 key underachievers in this school.

The focus of our work to date is primarily on Orange Pathway but it is our intention to plan and develop all four pathways in partnership throughout the 2004/05 academic year and beyond.

Capital programme

Montgomery has been the recipient of two major LEA funded capital programmes over the past 4 years, the second of which is still in progress and will not be complete until summer 2005. These programmes have had a dramatic effect on Montgomery School and continue to improve the school life of our students. Montgomery High School is committed to improving teaching and learning facilities within the campus using an approach where quality of building work as well as the final fit and finish of the teaching and learning resources are of the utmost importance.

Capital Programme 1: Completed in 2001. The programme included the following items for construction and improvement:

New English and Expressive Arts Block:
The programme included the completion of a new 180sqm, 2 storey block in which to hous our English and Expressive Arts Curriculum Teams. There are 10 classrooms on the first floor which are used for English, Religious Education and Modern World classes. On the ground floor there are 3 fully fitted Art classrooms, 2 Music classrooms, a recording studio, Music composition and private practice facilities as well as 2 large Drama studios with sprung wooden floor and professional quality light and music controls. The new block was connected to our existing ‘L’ Block by means of a glass link corridor structure.

In order to house the increasing numbers of non-teaching staff at the school, the administration block was extended to create new office space. The programme added 6 offices, a Conference Room as well as a Staff Quiet Room. The office extension, which was a ground floor, single storey project, also included the extension of the staff room which more than doubled the area available to staff during break and lunchtimes. This staff room, as with many similar schools, is accepted as the social centre of the school and enhances the daily working lives of all staff.

‘L’ Block Extension/Renovation:
Our ‘L’ Block facility was extended to include 2 new classrooms for the Humanities Team. These classrooms, currently used for Geography, were renovated and equipped with new ICT equipment to enhance the teaching ane learning facilities within the school.

New School Reception:
The school has benefited from the creation of a new reception area where visitors are made to feel welcome at the school. An ambitious programme saw the deployment of high grade materials – more in touch with a large hotel chain – as well as the deployment of plasma display screens where information and images of the school could be played to give visitors a feel for the school before their visit has even started.

Ground Floor Science Lab:
As an extension to the science facilities in the school, a new purpose built ground floor, single story, science laboratory was created and added to existing science block.

Capital Programme 2: Initiated in 2003 and is, at the time of writing, still in progress. The work is due for completion in the summer of 2005 and contains the following:

Area ‘A’ – New Block:
The main item in Capital Programme 2 is the construction of a new 2000sqm, 2 storey block behind our existing ‘L’ Block. The new building will house Technology on the ground floor in new, purpose built design and technology rooms incorporating: Textiles, CAD/CAM, Electronics, Graphics, Food Tech and Resistant Materials. There is also a central resource area for the preparation of materials. The rooms have been equipped to a very high standard with all new power tools as well as modern ‘corian’ worktops and other high-tech finishes on furniture.

The first floor will house the Orange Pathway – an approach to personalized learning which will see the start of many Pathways in order to change the way we think about personalized learning. The first floor contains 6 classrooms, a science laboratory as well as office and administration facilities and a parent meeting room for use in presentations, meeting and bespoke Student Council appointments. Throughout the first floor there is extensive use of bespoke furniture. Finished in modern materials and colours and including ‘corian’ edging this furniture provides a very different feel to the first floor. The pride of the first floor however, is the central resource area. With its solid oak and glass partition wall, wood flooring and dramatic bespoke furniture as well as plasma display screens and effect lighting to enable conference use, this is a truly unique room in he school. Throughout the entire building there are items such as solid hardwood bumpers in the corridors, stainless steel and glass materials in the handrail, stainless finish on the lift as well as modern and extensively tiled toilet facilities for staff and pupils. All of these facilities underline the effort which has gone into ensuring accommodation of the highest quality.

Area ‘A’ – Lower School Dining Room
This has been extended to provide a further 60 seats for children in years 7,8 and 9.

Area ‘D’ – Upper School Dining Room
This will be extended to provide a further 32 seats for children in year 10 and 11. The combined effect of area ‘A’ and Area ‘D’ will mean that the school has capacity for 509 students to be seated during lunchtime.

Area ‘F’ – Changing Rooms
The current changing rooms have seen very little renovation since the school opened and are very much original fitment. Capital Programme 2 will change this with the construction of new changing and showering facilities for up to 150 children at a time.

Please click here to see the new block plans