Enhanced Learning
Steeped in history and with a wonderful sense of community, the future is looking bright for Archbishop Temple Church of England High School, writes Meena McDonald
Ivan Catlow, the Headteacher at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School believes all pupils have the opportunity to reach their full potential: “Every child at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School has a sense of belonging and community,” he says.
Housed in a Grade II listed building which is steeped in richness and individuality, Archbishop Temple was founded in 1963 and designed by architect Keith Scott who was also responsible for designing the iconic Preston bus station.
The school’s focus is on enabling pupils to achieve their best through a well-crafted ‘curriculum driven by knowledge’ structure, allowing pupils to develop their capabilities and progress much further than they might anticipate.
A traditional school structure would be to group children into sets based on pure results. However, Archbishop Temple does things a little differently. They take a much broader view of each pupil and group them based on wider attributes and create personalised groups which considers aspects such as drivers and relationships.
This model is based on research and all 48 teachers at the school are trained in the ‘science of learning’ and utilise this knowledge to create the most conducive learning environment for each pupil. The teachers are immersed in learning as well as teaching and share best practice on a weekly basis.
To enhance the environment further, the school has recently secured £9.2 million funding which will be used to build a brand new three-storey carbon neutral building as well as refurbishing the existing buildings.
With the addition of the extensive new building, the school will accommodate 55 extra children in each year group from September 2024. As a highly desirable and successful school with long waiting lists, these additional places will be welcomed by the community.
The enrichment for Archbishop pupils doesn’t stop there. There are considerable opportunities for them to go on trips throughout the UK as well as further afield such as France, New York, Italy and Iceland.
‘Temple Time’ is another tremendous success for the school, where pupils constructively use the first 30 minutes of form time each day focusing on specific development topics such as British values and safeguarding.
With the amazing green space the school has, they are also planning to create a mini farm area where pupils can have some peace and quiet and enjoy the local rabbits, deer, foxes and general wildlife.
It isn’t just the building that holds such cultural capital for the school, it is also the original name of the school, which was William Temple.
Archbishop William Temple was one of the great men of the 20th century, hugely influential in education and social welfare, with values which still hold true to the school today. In acknowledgment of this rich history and the values of the school, it celebrates William Temple Day on his birthday in October each year.
If you’d like to get a sense of the values and community spirit at Archbishop Temple, why not pop along and see for yourself? The doors are always open to parents and the wider community.
There is an Open Evening on Thursday 10th October from 4pm-7pm. For more information and to register please go to: archbishoptemple.com
Archbishop Temple
Church of England High School
St Vincent’s Road, Fulwood
Preston PR2 8RA
01772 717782
archbishoptemple.com
