Greenbank High School
Greenbank High School is the only all-girls' school of the four 11-16 comprehensive schools serving
Southport. It is a high achieving school with traditional values complemented by a dynamic approach
to learning. We take every opportunity to Inspire, Care and Achieve. Greenbank was judged as
Outstanding in its latest OFSTED report in November 2010. There are at present 868 girls on roll
with 100 teaching and support staff. It achieved academy status in November 2011.
It is located in Southport which is a pleasant seaside resort with very good road and rail links. It has
excellent living, working and recreational facilities.
Greenbank enjoys an excellent reputation in the neighbourhood. It has a very strong academic record
and a history of which it is justly proud, with examination results significantly above the national
average. In 2014 Greenbank has been shortlisted as the TES Humanities School of the Year and
Sefton Sports School of the Year. Our curriculum is broad and balanced and seeks to maximise the
number of pupils who are able to achieve the English Baccalaureate where we were placed as the
highest achieving state secondary school in Sefton in 2013. Pupils enter Greenbank with an average
points score above the national average. To match these needs we have a stretch and challenge
curriculum that allows more able pupils to flourish through an emphasis on increased independence.
We are currently a member of NACE (National Association for Able Children in Education) and are
striving to achieve the NACE Challenge Award early in 2015. Greenbank believes all pupils should
be able to make exceptional progress and extra support is given to those pupils who need a boost in
learning, pupil premium and SEN pupils. In January 2013 the school received recognition from the
Minister of State for Schools as being amongst the top 100 best improving schools in the country in
terms of the progress our pupils make between Key Stage 2 and their GCSE results. Recognised by
the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) as an outstanding school, Greenbank was
awarded ‘Leading Edge Status in 2012 which allows us to work with this high achieving group of
schools nationally in sharing best practice to innovate and raise achievement. In November 2012
OFSTED published a good practice report on Geography which was published in the Times
Educational Supplement recognising Greenbank as a lead school in this area of the curriculum.
Greenbank has very high expectations of pupil behaviour both inside and outside school. Pupil voice
and student leadership opportunities allow pupils to become fully involved in the life of the school
including whole school development. We are striving to achieve the UNICEF Rights Respecting
Schools Award (RRSA) in 2014-15 to recognise our community ethos and the spiritual, moral, social
and cultural development of pupils.
All pupils are encouraged to participate in our wide range of extra -curricular activities ranging from
our Sefton Children’s University provision in Year 7 to the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme in Years 9, 10
and 11. We have outstanding provision in Music, Drama and Sport and run an extensive range of
overseas visits such as French and Spanish exchanges, a Music tour of Austria and Humanities visits
to Poland and Italy.
The latest OFSTED report (November 2010) described the school as outstanding and includes the
following comments:
• “Greenbank High School provides its students with an outstanding education and very high quality
care, support and guidance.”
• “Students become mature, self-confident individuals with high aspirations. They are extremely well
prepared for life beyond school. Their attendance, behaviour and attitudes to learning are excellent.”
• Student comment to the inspectors: “There are just so many opportunities. You can do so much
here.”
• “The curriculum is outstanding.”
• “The outstanding quality of care, guidance and support is reflected in the positive relationships that
exist between staff and students and the very strong sense of community in the school."
The school was designated as one of the first Specialist Language Colleges and was re-designated
four times. The British Council International Schools’ Award was gained in 2006 and re-awarded in
September 2012 in recognition of our global dimension work. We have a dedicated Language Centre,
which houses an authentic foreign street and market place. Russian and Latin are offered as well as
French and Spanish. All faculty areas contribute towards the delivery of internationalism, to ensure
pupils are prepared to face the demands of the wider world.
The school is based on a Faculty structure - with the six faculties of English and Communication,
Languages, Mathematics, Technology, Science (including PE) and Humanities. In Year 7 pupils are
placed in ability sets for Mathematics, English and Science and taught in mixed ability groups for
other subjects. In Year 8 there is setting in Mathematics, English, Science and Modern Foreign
Languages and in Year 9, in Mathematics, English, French, Spanish and Science. In Years 10 and 11
there is setting in Mathematics, English, Science and Languages. Spanish and French are taught in
Years 7-9 with Latin in Year 8 and Russian in Year 9 for the more able gifted and talented pupils.
Greenbank has an experienced Child Protection and Safeguarding Team who have all been trained
as Designated Lead teachers in this area. The team consists of the Assistant Headteacher for
Pastoral Care who is the Designated Lead Teacher, The Deputy Headteacher, two Progress Leaders
and a Learning Mentor.
The buildings are situated on the coast, surrounded by the Royal Birkdale Golf Club, home to The
British Open Championship. Accommodation includes 7 new Science laboratories, 5 ICT suites, a
Learning Zone incorporating a library, 7 technology suites, a theatre hall which is home to many
community theatre groups, gymnasium and a Music suite. The school is fortunate to have a floodlit
multi-purpose all-weather pitch to international hockey standards, which benefits not only the pupils
but the community. A sports hall opened for school and community use in September 2004 and is let
until 10pm every evening of the week. The Art rooms have been totally refurbished, a new Textiles
room completed and a dance and drama studio opened recently. In 2013 we developed our Learning
Zone into a state of the art multi use library to encourage independence.
To complement the investment in infrastructure, an ICT enhancement strategy is carefully managed
to keep the school at the forefront of education technology. We were a leading innovator in the
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) provided through Frog VLE which will be succeeded by a new
VLE in 2014 -2015 through the Firefly platform. This has greatly enhanced staff and pupil access to
resources for all lessons and has enabled forums for staff and pupils to be developed. The school
has over 350 networked PCs and electronic interactive whiteboards in every classroom. Pupils are
registered electronically every lesson. We have a range of mobile technology that is used within the
classroom to enhance learning. To further support independent learning ICT learning tools are used
such as Doddle, Encyclopedia Britannica and Accelerated Reader to ensure a personalised approach
to literacy.
The pupils take pride in their contribution to all aspects of school life. There are strong links with the
local community and a considerable amount of money is raised each year for a large variety of
charities. Parental participation is actively encouraged and there is a flourishing Parent Teacher
Association, which has made important contributions to the life of the school.
The Governors of Greenbank High School are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare
of children and young people at every opportunity and expect all staff and volunteers to share this
commitment.
Mr Ian Raikes (Headteacher)
June 2014