Associate Headteacher's Welcome

I would like to wish you a very warm welcome to Arden. We are an exciting and ambitious school that strives daily to ensure opportunities for all of our students and staff. We pride ourselves on our "Arden Family", a supportive and caring culture that ensures an environment exists where students can be pushed and challenged to achieve their potential and where our highly skilled staff can deliver the highest levels of inspiring and engaging learning.

Through our broad curriculum and our extensive array of co-curricular opportunities, we provide opportunity for all students to find their passion and to achieve their potential in their chosen pathways. The Co-curricular opportunities on offer add depth and variety to our students learning, ensuring that school fulfils a far greater role than just the delivery of a curriculum.

Arden is an ambitious and aspirational school. Our students value education and recognise the crucial role it plays in ensuring that they are prepared to enter the worlds of further education and work as skilled and resilient members of the community. We are very proud of the exam results that our students achieve and the fact that they leave us well equipped for the next stages in their lives at the age of 16 or, for a majority, 18.

The achievements that our students accomplish and the wonderful young adults that they develop into are shaped through a culture of expectation. We have exceptionally high expectations. Students of all ages are expected to display the very strongest attitudes towards learning, to take pride in their work and to challenge themselves in each and every lesson. The pride that students have in their school is demonstrated through the very high standard of uniform. Smart appearance, a strong work ethic and exemplary behaviour creates the climate where all students flourish.

Our Arden Values of Determination, Excellence, Courage, Friendship, Inspiration, Equality and Respect run through all that we do and provide the framework in which our students are able to grow and develop into well rounded young adults.

We have a highly skilled, committed and professional team of staff who work tirelessly to provide outstanding learning in a climate of care and support. The level of staff care and attention is, in my view, unparalleled. The relationships that exist between staff and students are simply fantastic, underpinned by a clear vision that we are all striving to achieve the same thing, the very best we can for each and every one of our students.

At its heart, Arden is a community school. We are justifiably proud of the number of students who want to represent their peers, their school and their community; many are motivated by a desire to "give something back". Student bodies, such as our student council, are key component of life at Arden and are actively involved in ongoing school development.

I would like to thank all students, staff and parents for each of their contributions that make Arden such a special and unique school.

 Dave Warwood - Associate Headteacher