. . . . . Headmaster This section of the website gives me the opportunity to set out the aims and practices of Kennet School. We are confident that pupils at Kennet are offered an education which is of the highest quality, and our judgement was confirmed both by an excellent OFSTED inspection report in March 2005, and a further glowing report in May 2008. During this visit Kennet was declared to be Outstanding. All visitors to the school are an important source of feedback and we pride ourselves in ensuring that the school is performing at its very best every day, not just when inspectors and other external organisations visit. From teachers hoping to gain a post at Kennet through to prospective parents, the feedback we get is consistently strong; Kennet School’s strengths of individual care and high academic and behavioural standards are witnessed on a daily basis in our classrooms, in our corridors and through our public events. The school has gained many accolades including the status of Specialist School (firstly Technology and more recently Theatre Arts and Modern Foreign Languages). We are the only West Berkshire school to have three specialisms and one of a very few in the whole country. This emphasises our strength and depth. We are also the proud owners of Artsmark Gold and Sportsmark, a brief indication of the great variety of talent amongst the pupils and teachers at our school. We also hold the Challenge Award. This recognises outstanding provision for able, gifted and talented pupils. In 2012, we were one of the first schools in the country to gain the Exceptional Schools Award - because we are. We are proud of the happy but purposeful atmosphere at Kennet School and we intend to ensure that pupils have the support and discipline required for real academic progress. We place great store on hard work and we know that pupils will succeed only in a calm and orderly atmosphere, where mutual consideration, respect, courtesy and self-discipline are strongly featured. For this reason, we make no apology for demanding hard work and good behaviour from all our pupils. Visitors, whether parents or colleagues from education or industry, regularly comment on the happy but purposeful atmosphere at Kennet, and we intend to ensure that pupils have the support and discipline required for real academic progress. Work, while central in the life of a school, is not the whole picture. Kennet has been particularly successful in valuing pupils as individuals, providing them with work experience, careers guidance and opportunities in the areas of music, drama, sport and fund-raising for charity amongst others. All pupils have many talents, and it is important that these talents are identified and fostered; in this way, the individual will develop into the whole person. In addition to examination success and our achievements in extra-curricular activities, we seek other opportunities in which pupils may excel – including local and national quizzes and other competitions; our record is second to none and our trophy cabinet is full of the rewards which flow. Kennet School is not at all complacent nor does it compare itself with other schools. Each year we redefine our own standards, aiming ever higher. I am confident that we will, with the support of the greater Thatcham area, continue to thrive and prosper. We are ambitious for our pupils and I trust that your child and you wish to be part of the success story which is Kennet School. P G Dick Headmaster Powered by Frog