Academic Excellence

We continue to strive for Academic Excellence, with our boys achieving the highest possible academic standards, routinely exceeding initial expectations when they join the School. Tonbridge takes advantage of its independence, innovating in curricular matters as appropriate; the academic programme is designed to support, engage, stretch and challenge all boys (including the most able), equipping them for later life.

Objectives

• Encourage intellectual advancement, curiosity and creativity in a stimulating, challenging and supportive academic environment;
• Develop boys’ love of learning for its own sake, and their general study skills and team work;
• Provide opportunities for cultural, linguistic, scientific, and physical extension and enrichment;
• Develop an awareness of, and service to, the school, local, national and global community and heritage;
• Prepare Tonbridgians for entry to good universities, either in the UK or abroad;
• Enable Tonbridgians to enter the adult world with the knowledge and self-belief to fulfil their potential.

Actions

1. Recruiting, retaining and developing the best teachers: offering attractive packages and conditions of employment, fostering a culture of professional development, regularly reviewing teaching and learning within and across departments, and developing Tonbridge as a centre of excellence for professional development.
2. Monitoring national curriculum and examination developments to ensure that subjects and courses offered preserve choice (allowing boys to play to their strengths), are compatible with academic rigour and a broad educational experience, and support the development of analytical, interpersonal and leadership skills. For Tonbridge this means offering a wide range of subjects at A-Level and GCSE, and increasingly adopting the more challenging iGCSE courses.
3. Promoting teaching beyond exam specifications to foster academic rigour, intellectual curiosity and independent learning, with the pursuit of excellence including not only suitable challenges for the gifted and talented (through extension and enrichment activities) but also effective support for those with specific educational needs.
4. Maximising prospects by providing the best possible environment and equipment for teaching and learning, including the effective use of ICT and the improvement of facilities.
5. Recruiting the most talented boys locally, from a wide geographic area, and from across a range of diverse socio-economic and international backgrounds. This requires marketing the school effectively to potential parents and schools, continuing to modify the admissions process to maintain a stable and appropriately high standard of entry (but still minimise failure at Common Entrance), and also to give candidates from all educational backgrounds an equal opportunity.
6. Supporting boys in selecting subjects, identifying potential careers, and choosing and gaining entry to university.

Measures of Success

• Levels of achievement in public examinations across a range of subjects compared to national averages and specified competitor schools.
• Consistent delivery of “value added” to boys compared to other local schools and national averages.
• Success in gaining entry to Oxbridge and other top universities.
• The School at, or near, capacity without lowering academic standards.
• Parental (and boy) satisfaction with levels of academic achievement.
• High quality ratings for teaching standards received from external inspections (i.e. ISI).