Nower Hill High School
More about Combined
Science and Arts Specialisms
We were successful at securing Science Specialist status and extending Arts College status.
As before, we are committed to improving achievement not only in the Arts but Science as well, and also throughout the school. This involves working with other Faculties to improve their working environment and by providing learning through Science and Arts based projects.
A major project in our new designation has been to bring our Main Hall into the 21st Century by replacing the lighting and sound facilities, purchasing tiered seating and modernising the stage.
Staffing has been increased in Science, Art, Dance, Drama and Music to cope with the additional demands and to cover the increase in pupil numbers brought about by the commencement of our first ever Year 7 students in 2010 and the continuation of growth in our 6th Form. The original designation as a Specialist Arts College was granted by the DfES in June 2002.
For many years our commitment to and provision for the Arts had continued to grow. Added to our existing GCSE subjects of Drama, Music and Fine Art, we now give pupils an additional choice of GCSE Dance, Graphic Art and Media, and at ‘A' level Theatre Studies, Music Technology, Fine Art and Media Studies. For Science GCSE's we now offer Science & Additional Science, Triple Sciences - Biology, Chemistry, & Physics, Astronomy, and OCR National in Science.
The Visual Art rooms have been completely refurbished, a Music Studio had been built and the smaller Drama Studio enlarged.A large amount of hi-tech equipment has been purchased, particularly to support Media Studies and Music. In 2006 we had to re-apply for specialist status. This included conducting an extensive audit of our progression during the initial designation.
In March 2007 we received the good news that we had been successful in our bid and we have been granted redesignation as a Specialist Arts College. The Bid was written by Maureen Chappell (Arts College Coordinator - now retired) and Jon Butterworth (Head of Arts Faculty) with input from other Arts staff. In addition we will be continuing to work with our feeder middle schools, our designated high school (Harrow High School) and within the wider community.
The wider community commitment will involve outreach work and the organisation of twilight sessions to enable parents and friends in the local area to improve their Science and Arts skills. There is still an emphasis on developing skills that help to enhance self-esteem and confidence. This should in turn lead to higher achievement across the curriculum. We will also continue to give our young people access to professional practitioners and the opportunities to perform and exhibit at professional venues.
This is a very exciting time for all teachers and pupils involved in the wide ranging activities.
If you would also like to become involved in our Science or Arts projects or can offer a Science or an Arts skill to enhance our provision, please contact Jon Butterworth or Marianne Jeanes at Nower Hill.