Open Day at King Arthur's School

I arrived at King Arthur's and tagged on to a group of parents and their children who had come to see the school. I expected we would be given a quick tour led by an established teacher.

Mr. Dwyer and our two Guides

That was not what we got. Instead we were welcomed by a senior member of staff who issued us all with an impressive information pack.

He then asked where we were from. On being told that this group was from Bruton, he chose two pupils from a panel of six (who themselves came from Bruton) to show us around. I thought that rather amazing, particularly when I asked the girls what year they were in and learnt they were Year 8, only in their second year.

It was an inspired choice for they showed themselves to be surprisingly knowledgeable, highly articulate, courteous and very enthusiastic about their school - so off we went. They had lots to say, keenly drawing our attention to things we might miss and answering questions.

The interior of the school looks really good with carpeted corridors and pristine paintwork . Along all the main corridors there is an amazing collection of student art work, all carefully framed. This makes a powerful impression. That was not all. Whichever department we entered there were fine displays of student work. This included the Maths Department - not a place I had expected to find it.

Obviously all classes and teachers in the school must have been told to expect parties of parents and their young to come wandering around, but I was amazed at the relaxed reception we received. Our two guides brought us to each department and introduced us to the teachers, who talked easily and enthusiastically about what they did and answered questions while the class of pupils continued to quietly get on with their work. Throughout our tour we saw no rowdy or turned off class, instead the atmosphere everywhere was quiet and purposeful with students either working together in groups or at computers, or getting stuck in on their own.

The library is much used

Our first stop was the library which has been upgraded and attractively refurbished over the last couple of years. It was in use by a class and the teacher librarian told us it is also open at break time and at lunch and that books and computers are always available and much used.

The Art Department was filled with Year 11 students, their GCSE year. They were happy to show us their project work and discuss what they were doing and there was a lot of fine work around. Art, as well as exploring themes and developing skills in different media, also involves researching, writing up and presenting what has been learnt.

The visit to the Maths Department was a revelation. We met two teachers, the Head of Department and her assistant. Extremely enthusiastic and competent, they explained the way they differentiate their curriculum so that those who are good at the subject are encouraged to get further ahead and are stretched while those who show particular weaknesses are given carefully structured support. This can include one-to-one sessions with an Advanced Teaching Assistant or special small group tuition to get them back on track. They both emphasised the one thing they need from pupils coming to them from primary school is for them to know their "times tables". Without these being well memorised, further work in the subject can be stymied. They made Maths sound really exciting.

Visits to Computing, Design and Technology, Food Technology, Humanities, Modern Languages, Gym and Dance followed.

We found the impressive Music Department in the middle of preparations to take a large group of students on a visit to Germany, where they will be linking up with our twin town Lahnau. They will be performing as a choir, a folk group, orchestral group and band. Then it was off to the English Department before meeting up with Ms Tamra Bradbury, the Head, and Mrs Emma Wilkes ,the Deputy Head, who were ready to answer any questions.

As we thanked our guides and the staff I suddenly realised the tour had taken two hours. The time had flown and as we walked away, chatting to each other, it was clear we had all been very impressed.

Food Technology

Talking Science

The impressive Performance Enhancement Centre (PEC)

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