Welcome
"The Dearne High is committed to achieving the highest standards of educational experience for all; serving its community in an environment which is stimulating and happy; united in its purpose.”
About The School
The Dearne High – A Specialist Humanities College is an oversubscribed, popular, community comprehensive school in the Dearne Valley with 1180 students on roll.
There is no doubt that The Dearne High is an improving school. Staff, students, parents and governors have worked tirelessly to raise standards, to improve the quality of learning and teaching, to value the student voice promoting learners as partners in the learning process and to raise the profile of The Dearne in its immediate community and beyond.
The Dearne High is in an excellent position to build upon its recent successes planning for an even brighter future.
In 2007, The Dearne:
- Acquired Humanities Specialist School Status
- Gained national recognition for its innovative use of modern technology to support student learning
- Developed support and guidance systems which reflects the needs of the individual, removing barriers to learning, allowing teachers to concentrate on developing learning of the highest quality and turn the vision of the “Every Child Matters” agenda into reality.
In 2008 The Dearne continued to improve its results at both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.
- The percentage of students achieving Level 5+ in English at Key Stage 3 increased by 9 percentage points.
- The percentage of students achieving 5+A*-C including GCSE English and Mathematics rose to 22%.
- Attendance continued to improve. The rise to 93% is above the National Average.
We are collectively determined to build upon this solid foundation to:-
- Raise standards to unexplored heights
- Develop learning and teaching practices which equip our students for life and work in the 21st century
- Further develop creative policies and practices which place our students for life and work in the 21st century
- Challenge historical perceptions of how secondary schools operate
- Further develop an ethos where leadership and management flourish at every level
Humanities Specialist School Status provides us with one such driver for change as does our involvement as a phase 1 school in Barnsley’s Building Schools for the Future Programme, which will see us move into a brand new Advanced Learning Centre in 2010. The school's newly built Community Memory Hub utilises digitally enhanced ICT based technologies to portray our rich local heritage, instilling a sense of pride and self-worth in the community.
Our last OFSTED inspection stated the following:
“The leadership and management of the school are good”
“The school is rightly proud that there has been a considerable improvement in the proportion of pupils gaining five or more higher grade passes in the general certificate of secondary education (GCSE)”
You can be sure of a warm welcome should you wish to come and visit the school.
We look forward to hearing from soon.
