Prospectus - Page 3

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Friends of King Arthur's

There is an association of the Friends of King Arthur's: it exists to support the school. The Friends are involved in many aspects of school life and organisation. They run events to raise money for extra facilities in the school and may represent ‘parent opinion’ when the Head wishes to consult with parents.

The Friends perform a very valuable service. You can become a Friend of King Arthur's: the present membership includes parents, students, teachers and local councillors.

Complaints

You may one day wish to complain about arrangements or decisions made by the school, or its governors (hopefully this will not happen often since we try to work in partnership with you). Normally problems can be resolved between teachers and parents: they usually arise out of misunderstandings or poor communications.

If you are not satisfied you may appeal to the governors and indeed to the local education authority. There are guidelines and principles to help you and the school has copies: you should contact the Maureen Fletcher, the Head’s PA.

Careers Education And Guidance & 16+ Education

Many of our students proceed to Universities; others enter commerce or industry. A wide range of 'A' level and vocational courses is available Post 16. King Arthur’s maintains very close links with the providers, usually Yeovil College, but sometimes at Strode College in Street, and other colleges in the region. A small number of students goes to Sexey’s School, Bruton.

In Years 10 & 11 students are involved in a variety of activities which help them to prepare for post-16 education and adult life : they all do two weeks' work experience; representatives of industry and commerce visit the school; they are all interviewed by the staff of Somerset Careers in Years 10 & 11; and students meet subject staff from the Post 16 providers and are given opportunities to visit these institutions.

Careers conventions are held biennially at the school: they are attended by major local employers, colleges and universities. Students are given an opportunity to discover what is involved when undertaking certain work or being employed in a particular profession. Many other schools in Dorset and Somerset take advantage of our conventions.

Student Destinations

The students that left us in the summer of 02 have moved on in the following way.

Further Education		66.4%		Employed with formal training		16.1%
Employment		13.7%		Other		3.8%

Daily Routine

8:45 - 8:55		Staff Briefing and move to tutor rooms
8:55 - 9:00		Registration
9:00 - 9:50		Lesson 1
9:50 - 10:40		Lesson 2
10:40 - 11:00		Break
11:00 - 11:50		Lesson 3
11:50 - 12:40		Lesson 4
12:40 - 12:55		Assembly
12:55 - 1:45		Lunch
1:45 - 1:50		Registration
1:50 - 2:40		Lesson 5
2:40 - 3:30		Lesson 6

Lunch

The school’s self-service cafeteria is currently provided by SCS. We try to encourage healthy eating by producing good food in our kitchen and having "healthy eating" as part of our Health Education programme. Some children bring packed lunches which they may eat in the dining room or at the outside picnic benches.

There is a time for each year group to take lunch and when a club takes place during lunchtime a special pass is issued.

If you are in receipt of income support you may be entitled to free school meals: please ask for an application form at the school office or at the Department of Social Security.

Transport

If you live a certain distance from the school your children will be entitled to free transport to and from school. The county council organises school buses and will inform parents directly about pick-up points, times and so on.

Bus travel is an area of potential danger and students' behaviour must always be exemplary: care and consideration are essential. In the last resort, if a student's behaviour is dangerous or distracting, the bus companies, as is appropriate, have the right to refuse to carry students. (In such cases, which are rare, responsibility for transporting the pupil to and from school reverts to the parent!)

School Code Of Dress - General

The School Governors consider that the way students dress contributes greatly towards the school's ethos and image. They realise that the impression students give makes an enormous impact on the public at large and on the local community.

The Governors therefore attach a great deal of importance to school dress.

The Code of Dress adopted by the Governors for the students of King Arthur's is very simple. It is designed to be comfortable and sensible while allowing the students to look smart and purposeful. The cost to the parent has also been considered.

The Governors wish to emphasise that all articles of clothing should be PLAIN. By plain the Governors intend that no different pattern is created by combining complimentary colours or through different shades of the same colour, or by the way the fabric is woven.

Extremes of fashion are not acceptable and the Governors expect all parents to co-operate by ensuring that their children are sent to school in correct, acceptable dress.

JEWELLERY
Only three items of jewellery are acceptable (a watch counts as one). One pair of earrings counts as one item of jewellery.

SKIRT/TROUSERS
Plain black skirt or conventional black trousers (NO cords, denims or canvas).

SWEATSHIRT
King Arthur's own sweatshirt : raglan sleeve, with school badge, for years 7, 8 and 9; dropped shoulder, with school name, for years 10 and 11.
Sweatshirts can be purchased from the school.

SHIRT
When students are not wearing the school sweatshirt, the only acceptable garment is the white polo shirt with the school logo - it must be tucked in! No coloured or patterned T-shirts are to be worn under the shirt.

SOCKS or TIGHTS
White or black socks or black or neutral tights.

SHOES
Sensible black or brown shoes or boots - NO TRAINERS - to be worn
(Students can change into alternative footwear when necessary for approved physical activities).

Please mark all items with the owner's name so that lost or mislaid articles can be returned.
Please note that only in very exceptional circumstances will variations on the school dress code be permitted.

School Code Of Dress - Physical Education

The unisex code is as follows:

Royal blue rugby shirt with reversible yellow stripe.
Blue polo ‘PE’ shirt for summer and indoor use.
Black plain shorts. Royal blue long football socks;
Training Shoes. Football boots. Shin Pads British standard please. Gum shield for hockey
Plain swimming costume
Towel for showering
Optional Track/Jogging Suit: (warm and with growing space).

Cricket is taught in normal school trousers with the school white shirt. Cricket whites are normally worn for fixtures.

ALL P.E. CLOTHING TO HAVE INITIALS EMBROIDERED ON THE FRONT

NO Jewellery, with the exception of S.O.S. bracelets, to be worn.

All kit is available from RAM Sports in Wincanton.

Medical Matters & Absence Return 01/02

If your child has any medical history which could produce problems for them or us, please let us know. The information will only be divulged to a very few members of staff and past experience has shown us how important it is to know such details.

On occasions, accidents happen in school and we always act quickly: the school has a good relationship with the local doctors who are ready to come to school immediately if requested; alternatively we may choose to take an accident victim to hospital. If your child is ever involved in any medical emergency you will be informed as soon as we can contact you. We try to keep an accurate and up-to-date register of parents' addresses and telephone numbers.

Authorised and Unauthorised Absence

1.	Number of students on roll for at least one session	743
2.	Number of pupil sessions	223600
3.	Number of authorised absences	18489	(8.3%)
4.	Number of students with at least one authorised absence	726
5.	Number of unauthorised absences	683	(0.3%)
6.	Number of students with at least one unauthorised absence	38	(5.1%)

Examinations

How good is a school ? How do you judge a school ? It is very difficult for parents and the community to know how good schools are. Education is such a complex, wide-ranging business: there are so many factors involved.

The answer of course lies in the quality of experience the students have and how successful they are at the end of their time in the school.

One simple, but very limited, measure is how well students do in examinations. Even then it is difficult to be sure you are comparing like with like. Much will depend on the innate ability of the students, the support they get at home, how long they have been in the school, and so on.

With those “caveats” we offer the following figures, in summary, of the GCSE exam results.

FIGURES FOR GCSE EXAMINATIONS 2000/01-FOR COMPARISON
Students entered achieving	KA 02 - %	KA 01 - %	Somerset 01 - %
5 or more Grades A*-C	46	52	54
5 or more Grades A*-G	94	93	93
1 or more Grades A*-G	98	98	97

You might like to see the trend of percentage gaining 5 A*-C over the past few years:

1994   42%
1995   47%
1996   51%
1997   51%
1998   60%
1999   49%
2000   55%
2001   52%
2002   46%

On the following pages you will find full listings for each subject. If you want further information or help with interpreting the figures please to not hesitate to contact the school...