Newsletters

A warm welcome to The Buckingham School. Our school is committed to providing the best possible opportunities for your child. We are a caring, supportive and inclusive school, where everyone works together to achieve their very best. We place great emphasis on developing resilient students, who feel inspired by the school and the opportunities ahead of them in life.

Our Mission is simple – to become the best school we can; with outcomes we can be proud of. Our students are polite, well-presented and respectful. Some students have huge academic flair, some have other abilities and talents that are just as valuable. They are inspiration, drive and opportunity for each child. Our students take pride in their appearance and understand the value of hard work and they enjoy coming to school.

We are proud of the relationships and partnerships in learning between students and staff. Our staff are our greatest assets and this is a key part of our ethos and school values. Furthermore, we are proud of the relationships with our community; young people joining The Buckingham School are part of a vibrant, supportive and caring community with the desire to succeed.

Please have a look at the content provided here; you will find a video of the school, prospectus, key information and web pages and links to hopefully give you a good insight into our ethos, culture and what The Buckingham School can offer your child.

Best wishes, 

Mr A McGinnes, Headteacher

We pride ourselves on the breadth and depth of our curriculum, with students experiencing a wide range of subjects and within them, rich and deep learning experiences. As a school, we have worked hard to ensure that there are clear pathways from Years 7-13, seeing the time students have at the school as a seven year journey, throughout which students will achieve in a number of areas, be challenged in plethora of ways and enjoy their time with us, developing into young adults who embody the Virtues of the school.   

Through our Key Stage 3 curriculum, we recognise the importance of a good start to a pupil’s secondary school education. We aim to set the right culture for learning that is embraced by our students from the outset. We work closely with our primary feeder schools to ascertain a clear understanding of our students’ achievements in primary school and build on them from their first day at The Buckingham School. Our high expectations are clear from the outset, both academically and behaviourally, ensuring that the learning habits needed for future success at the school are embedded early on.

Our curriculum currently covers Years 7 and 8, although from September 2020 will also cover Year 9. We build on the foundations laid in Key Stage 2 and take into account revisions to the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 to deepen students’ knowledge and widen their skill-set.

Our Key Stage 4 curriculum offers students flexibility and choice through a guided structure. It recognises that every student is individual, with different needs, abilities and talents. We believe that students should follow their interests and the subjects best suited to their abilities and offer a wide range of subjects to meet this, as well as offering thorough advice and guidance within our options process. Alongside the core subjects of English (Language and Literature), Maths, Science, Core PE and Personal Development (PSHE and Enrichment at Year 9), students are given the opportunity to select four option choices. 

To read about each subject by year group, and option choices at Key Stage 4, click here.

An ethos of care and challenge pervades all aspects of school life. We all thrive in a highly inclusive, supportive, mutually respectful and tolerant environment. Everyone belongs and everyone is valued. Trust and respect are values which underpin all work and relationships at The Buckingham School, together with a high sense of unity that is ensured by honest interactions.

Learning and progress are vital to our values. We promote a vibrant, exciting learning environment for everyone, encompassing flexible skill development, technological capability, skilful communication, and entrepreneurship, as well as providing breadth of knowledge, creativity, and sporting opportunities, both within and beyond the classroom, for all learners. We invest in staff through high quality professional development. We provide an environment where spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding underpins all aspects of school life and ensures that everyone understands their rights and responsibilities as British Citizens.

We serve the community, valuing and respecting the needs of all.

Our Vision underlies everything at The Buckingham School. We want children to achieve the highest possible standards, be challenged and enjoy their school experience. This underpins all that we do, whether in the classroom, on the sports field, in concert, on stage, or in the extensive range of other opportunities we offer our students at all stages of their education. 

As a school, we aim to develop our students to be successful in all that life in the 21^st Century offers. Our curriculum is designed to achieve this by being broad and balanced, as well as offering students deep and rich learning and enrichment experiences that are all underpinned by our School Virtues.

We developed seven Virtues that we particularly cherish and seek to embed in our students:-

AMBITION, CONFIDENCE, RESPECT, EMPATHY, RESILIENCE, INTEGRITY AND CURIOSITY.

To learn more about our Virtues, click here.

The Buckingham School’s House system gives a real sense of belonging, and it allows students to develop important and personal relationships. Every student is assigned a House. The House system creates competition, promotes good work and behaviour, encourages teamwork, provides opportunities to take on responsibilities and brings everyone in the school together. 

Each House has its own identity and its own House colour, this is symbolised by each House having their own House tie which clearly maintains the school colours and logo, but also highlights and shows which House each student represents. Each House also has a Head of House and their brief is to instil belonging and pride in the Houses, extending our House competitions far beyond the Inter-House sport that already takes place.
To read more about each House, click here.

The Student First Team provide an all embracing service for our students, working together to develop and maintain their social, emotional, mental health and wellbeing.

The team, all of whom have a wealth of experience in their own areas of expertise. The aim is to always put students first and offer them support and guidance, as well as providing necessary support for parents and carers.  We also refer to and work with organisations who provide additional support for young people and their families when necessary.

To read the Student First Team leaflet, please click here.

Enrichment: Culture and ethos is one of holistically educating your child so that they become ready for the 21st Century, as fully rounded individuals who have many different skills and experiences and genuinely enjoy their education both inside and outside of the classroom.

There is a growing focus in education on the quality of the education provided for young people which is not just about what grades they get at the end of Year 11 or Year 13. Rather, it is about how we educate our students in all aspects of their lives, offer them opportunities to learn about different cultures and societies, broaden their view of themselves and to want to learn or develop new talents.

The Buckingham School offers an exciting Enrichment programme which centres around offering your child an opportunity to take up a new activity they have never tried before or to develop their skills in a particular area, to even learn a new language. Additionally, under normal circumstances, during the final week of the academic year, an Enrichment Week takes place - it provides students with the opportunity to take part in an activity/range of activities outside of the normal curriculum. This allows students to develop new skills, improve existing skills, build new and existing relationships and develop team building skills which is an integral part of our wider SMSC and PSHE curriculum.

A number of students take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme (Bronze, Silver and Gold Levels). Duke of Edinburgh offers a constructive individual challenge , enjoyable activities and encourages personal development.  

Students represent the school in fixtures and competitions with other schools. Sports for all is a core ethos within the school and we encourage students to develop their skills, health and fitness to the best of their ability. Some students participate at County, Regional and National level in their favourite sport.  

The Buckingham School has a thorough and comprehensive transition programme for all children moving up from primary school.

We understand that starting secondary school can be very exciting yet, a little daunting experience for many students.  Our staff understand this and work closely with the primary schools to try to make students transition into The Buckingham School as easy as possible.

We have strong links with feeder schools and we work closely to make the transition to The Buckingham School as smooth as possible. Our team visits primary schools to meet the children who are due to come to The Buckingham School, in surroundings they are familiar with. 

We hold open days and help children understand what The Buckingham School can offer them as they make their choice of secondary school. Then, all children would normally join us for two transition days in July. 

The transition is underpinned by our pastoral care team who have a brilliant record of helping all the new Year 7 students quickly settle and feel part of the school community.

The school website has a wealth of important and useful information, so please take the opportunity to look around. We have a dedicated Transition area on the website - a place we have created for information to hopefully make your child's transition from primary to secondary school as smooth as possible.

Click here to explore more.

Year 6 Open Evening  - Thursday 24 September 2020

Come along to our Open Evening. There will be two presentations which will include a talk given by our Headteacher, one at 6pm and repeated at 7pm, as well as tours of our school. There will be a range of interactive and fun activities for children and parents to engage in across the curriculum.

There is no need to book a place to attend this event, however, if you would like to speak with us regarding anything to do with our Open Evening, please contact Kate Bones, Admissions Officer, on 01280 818927 or email kbones@buckinghamschool.org

Year 6 Open Morning - Friday 25 September 2020 

Our Year 6 Open Morning will run from from 9.15am until 11.00am. We will start promptly at 9.15am with a welcome presentation followed by a student-led tour of our school, and is a great opportunity to see our school in action.

Year 6 Open Day - Thursday 22 October 2020

You are warmly invited to join us on our Year 6 Open Day, for children and their families who are considering entry for September 2021, scheduled tours are available at 9am, 10am and 2pm, to see our school in action.

You will need to book a place to attend one of our Open Events (with the exception of our Open Evening on 24 September), so please contact Kate Bones, School Admissions Officer on 01280 818927 or email kbones@buckinghamschool.org FOLL

*In the current, uncertain times, the Open events may be subject to change. Please keep checking the school website for updated information.  

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Success for All through Achievement, Challenge & Enjoyment

The Buckingham School, London Road, Buckingham MK18 1AT
Tel. 01280 812206 Email office@buckinghamschool.org
www.buckinghamschool.org

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