About the School
Visitors often tell us that as soon as they come into Claremont, they get a sense of warmth and vibrancy, of a school with a genuine buzz about it. We think so too. Claremont is a welcoming, exciting bubbly place and this is down to the pupils’ outlook and the staff’s effort and energy. This page is about our school: we hope it gives you a sense of what it’s like. We’ll start with a bit of background.
Claremont started life in 1968 as a small school, but by the early 1990s we had grown to be two-form entry with 14 classes. In 2011 because of a lack of primary school spaces locally, and because we were regularly over-subscribed, we were asked to take on additional children. So for two years we expanded to a three-form reception intake. We have now returned to a two-form entry, meaning we now have two ‘bulge’ years of 90-children making their way through the school. Currently they are in years 2 and 3.
Over the years we have adapted and expanded the school itself to meet these changes and the evolving styles and needs of education. We created a 33-computer ICT room in 2002, and seven years later an arts suite, with a library and music practice rooms. Our most recent addition was the temporary classroom unit to cater for the ‘bulge’ classes.
Changes and improvements on the site have been made to more than just the buildings. 2007 saw the creation of a woodland trail and a wildflower meadow on the site. Parental support has helped fund a nature garden, an outdoor music stand, an interactive science wall and most recently little reading houses for outdoor learning activities.
At the moment we have 496 children on the roll. However we try to group them – years, classes, teams, key stages, houses – they still emerge as 496 individuals. And they all find something to excel at. Because all these individuals are trying every day to be the best at what they do, the school hums with their effort and their enjoyment.
The teachers are an exceptional team, with amazing motivational dynamism. We’ve got a great mix of recently trained teachers, a few in their second or third job, and a couple who’ve been with us for much of their careers. They are all dedicated, talented and hard-working professionals, many with additional teaching qualifications. They are always looking for ways to improve and develop their teaching and the pupils’ learning.
The school’s PTA runs events all through the year – Christmas and Summer fairs, discos, cinema club. More unusually, they also stage a music festival on the sports field. ‘Clarefest’ is host every other summer to local bands, including the school rock band and a teachers’ supergroup, who play to a crowd of pupils and parents as the sun goes down.
What else? Well, the school has its own radio station (Shine FM), broadcasting twice-termly podcasts of school and class performances, poems and plays. There’s the annual ‘P-Factor’ poetry competition, ‘Claremont’s Got Talent’ and the inter-house cross-country races. Of course, there are school trips, including residential stays for year 4 and year 6. And there are lots of clubs for the pupils, both during and after school: Spanish, orchestra, pottery, chess, craft, and choir are just a few. And there are also sports clubs like gymnastics, cross-country, athletics, football, tag rugby, cricket ...
We hope this gives you a flavour of Claremont. But please come in and see it for yourself: give us a call.