Partnerships & Awards
The Sapientia Education Trust was established in 2016 with the purpose of bringing like-minded schools together to work in partnership to deliver the highest standards of education to young people in Norfolk and Suffolk. The term Sapientia comes from the logo of the founding school, Wymondham College and means wisdom.
We are committed to delivering high academic standards in our schools, combined with a view of education that is child-centred and holistic. Our schools have a strong commitment to personal development and extra-curricular activities are strongly promoted. Our work is cross-phase and involves a strong commitment to staff development and on-going training for all staff in our schools. We believe that collaboration and partnership work helps raise standards and we work with a range of schools within and beyond the SET Trust.
Wymondham College is one of the highest achieving state schools nationally and was ranked in the top twenty schools nationally in 2016. Old Buckenham Primary joined SET in September 2016 having secured a ‘good’ judgement from Ofsted in Summer 2016. Our vision is to build on our success to develop a medium-sized Multi-Academy Trust where we make a real difference to the students we have the privilege of educating.
Jonathan Taylor — CEO
The Wymondham College Trust is a registered Charity (reg no. 1066833) established since 1997. The Trusts’ mission is to raise, safeguard and distribute external funding for the benefit of Wymondham College and its students to:
- Relieve hardship
- Award bursaries & scholarships
- Provide funds for enhancement of College facilities
All Trust members have a strong connection with the College either as former students, parents of students or Governors. The trust is also supported by the College Principal and Bursar. Our 8 members have diverse backgrounds in areas such as commerce and governance and can each bring expertise in their field to help the Trust meet its aims.
Edward Miles is Chair of the Trust. He was a Boarder in Fry House from 83—88 (Peel 88—90). He has extensive business experience, is currently a Director of a local business consultancy and has volunteered extensively at the College over the last 5 years.
“Having been a trustee. I was elected as chairman in 2016 with a vision of developing the trust to significantly increase its financial contribution to students and enhancing college life."
During January 2017 we will be launching an appeal to the college Alumni, asking those who benefited from a Wymondham College education to sign up to making a monthly contribution of £10 which will be used to support those current students with the greatest needs who would otherwise not be able to continue their education at the college.”
Mr Ed Miles - Chairman
Donations — The Hardship Fund
Cases of student hardship occur regularly at the College, through no fault of the student. These often cannot be resolved through conventional channels and the Trust is the last hope for these students to continue their Wymondham education.
Your help is absolutely vital, put simply we promise it will not be wasted – every penny donated (and more if you complete the Gift Aid declaration) will go directly to support those most in need.
We believe that a large body of people making small, regular donations can make a huge difference. Your support can directly make a difference to families, ensuring their children can continue their education at the College.
Each year we receive numerous requests for support from existing and new students whose families are facing hardship due to unexpected challenges like redundancy, divorce or bereavement.
Our initial goal is to aim for 250 donors contributing £10 per month which will provide an incredible £30,000 per year, making a crucial difference to so many young people.
Of course we realise that it is not practical for many Old Wymondhamians and friends to offer Wymondham College financial support during their lifetime. A bequest may be easier or more appropriate in the circumstances.
We do hope that you might be able to consider just how much your life has been positively influenced by your connection with Wymondham College. If you feel you could do something to help future generations we should be delighted to hear from you.
To everyone who donates to the Hardship Fund – a sincere thank you, and please, please keep donating. It really does make a huge difference.
Donate Now
You can now donate to the hardship fund online with the following options. Clicking on the links below will direct you to Go Cardless to set up a direct debit or one-off payment to the Wymondham College Trust. We are using Go Cardless as it is simple to administer and low-cost and they take payments from Europe too.
Regular gifts
£10 regular gift to the Hardship fund
£20 regular gift to the Hardship fund
Single gifts
£50 single gift to the Hardship fund
£100 single gift to the Hardship fund
Thank you for donating to the Hardship Fund. We really do appreciate your generosity.
Once you have completed your donation details we shall send an acknowledgement of your kind donation, together with a Gift Aid form separately.
Gift Aid enables us to claim an extra 25% on top of your donation at no extra cost to you.
The difference you make
A donor writes…
"As I’ve reached my more mature years I’ve reflected on my time at Wymondham College and what an impact it had on my life and career. The opportunities afforded to me by the College and the lifelong friends I made make me realise how privileged I was. That is why I am supporting the Hardship Fund and I hope that others less fortunate can benefit too."
A student writes…
"It was a really difficult time in my life. My family were struggling financially and had to move house after my father became very ill. It would have been very easy to give up on my schooling. However with the amazing support from College Trust I managed to keep going and I am now pursuing my dream of becoming a teacher."
A parent writes…
"There is no doubt that without the financial support from the College Trust my daughter couldn’t have stayed and completed her exams this year. I’m immensely grateful, this had made a world of difference to our family."
We are very proud to have been accredited as a World Class School in 2014 (re-accredited 2018).
It is universally acknowledged that we are preparing young people for a world which is significantly different to that of twenty years ago. Young people need to perform in a diverse global economy which is typified by technological innovation, is highly competitive and where entrepreneurism is celebrated.
World Class schools equip students with knowledge, skills and confidence to thrive in a challenging international environment where those who succeed take risks and continually pursue improvement. World Class students are educated to be active and effective citizens who have qualifications which give them choices, and the competences to choose well. They have developed a level of emotional and intellectual literacy which enables them to navigate a potentially bewildering plethora of opportunities and achieve success and contentment for themselves.
It is the calibre of the student which proves the calibre of the school. If the school is truly World Class then the students will be able to own and demonstrate World Class qualities. A World Class student is highly literate scientifically, mathematically, technologically and culturally consistently out-performs students from similar contexts, and is committed to continually improving their performance is an excellent learner, dedicated to life- long learning is a compelling candidate in their field for higher education and/or employment, being globally aware, confident and prepared for life in an international environment.
World Class Schools Assessment Centre 2022
- Six of our Year 10 World Class Schools Ambassadors went to Houlton School in Rugby to take part in this year’s Assessment Centre.
- In total, there were 175 students from 30 different primary and secondary schools taking part in the event.
- On the day, our students had to work with pupils from another school on a joint project. There were given a brief from the ‘client’ i.e. Houlton School, which meant that this was a real-world challenge.
- Our students were part of Team 10 - They worked together to create tree hangings and a sculpture to reflect the achievements of Neil Armstrong, after whom one of the school’s houses is named.
- Each member of the team had a specific role to play, including Communications Officer, Research Analyst, Designer and Publications Director. The details of the project were released two weeks before the day at the Assessment Centre, so the students had a considerable amount of work to do before they even got there!
- Overall, this was a fantastic opportunity for the students to evidence their world-class characteristics under the headings of Leaders, Learners, Community and Workplace.
- Our students really enjoyed making new friends and working with Year 10 pupils from another school towards a common goal. They were excellent ambassadors for Wymondham College and they demonstrated our Core Values of Pride, Passion and Positivity throughout the whole project
Wymondham College has been awarded the Quality Mark for outstanding teaching in English, History, Maths, MFL, Music and Science
The PTI launched the Subject Leadership Programme in 2007 to recognise and reward school departments that develop inspirational ideas and activities which enhance the teaching of Art, English, Geography, History, Latin, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, Music and Science, regardless of their pupils’ backgrounds or abilities.
Dan Browning (Headteacher), said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the PTI Mark for the innovative work in these six areas of the College, and will be proud to carry the Mark on our website as evidence of our commitment to inspirational teaching.”
The PTI’s Subject Leadership Programme is open to all state secondary schools in England. To become members, school departments must demonstrate their commitment to increasing teachers’ subject knowledge, and to furthering their students’ understanding of and enthusiasm for the subject, regardless of their background or ability.
To achieve the PTI Mark, departments have to demonstrate that they have increased the challenge within their subject curriculum, developed their staff’s specialist subject knowledge, developed subject-based links outside school and enthused their pupils through subject-based activities beyond the curriculum.
After three years of Subject Leadership Programme membership, departments may choose to join the Research Programme by devising an advanced multi-year programme in one of these areas. As Research Programme members they will share their growing expertise with others in the Subject Leadership Programme to the benefit of all.
To find out more about the Subject Leadership Programme please click on the link below:
Princes' Teaching Institute Website
We are proud members of The Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA) which is the United Kingdom Association serving and representing member boarding schools, training staff and promoting boarding education in both independent and state boarding schools. While our member schools are listed here, and a prospective parent can browse for school websites of particular interest to them, the BSA does not operate an advisory service for parents seeking a boarding school. They are all our member schools and we do not recommend one more than another. We believe that finding the right school for the right child is hugely important. We believe that parents and students are the best people to make this decision. We offer a list of questions which should help parents identify what is important to them and their child and define their areas of choice, but BSA is not involved in the matching of child to school.
We are an active member of the State Boarding Forum (SBF), part of the Boarding School Association.
Why choose an SBF school?
There are many reasons for choosing a state boarding school for your child. Here are just a few:
Excellent Education
All state boarding schools follow the National Curriculum and pupils take the same exams as they would in a state day school. Whilst the exams are the same, the performance exceeds that of many other schools with state boarding schools frequently featuring at the top of league tables. This applies to selective and non-selective schools.
Top Quality Boarding Facilities
By selecting a state boarding school parents are choosing top quality boarding care. Many schools have new boarding houses with state-of-the-art facilities and staff that are totally committed to the well-being of the children. When you can get top quality education combined with state-of-the-art boarding facilities it is easy to see why so many parents choose state boarding education for their children.
The AcSEED Initiative was set up in 2010 by members of the YoungMinds VIK project. The first year was spent researching the wide variety of support services available in Hampshire secondary schools, and examining relevant Government recommendations. Several schools were visited to review their experiences in detail and understand the gaps in current provision. There was a rapid growth in interest for The AcSEED Initiative, including recognition and support from local MP Steve Brine.
The Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) encourages employers to support defence and inspire others to do the same. The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards for employer organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to defence and the armed forces community, and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
The ERS is designed primarily to recognise private sector support although public sector organisations such as the emergency services, local authorities, NHS trusts and executive agencies are also eligible to be recognised.
Bronze Award
Bronze Award Holders:
- are self-nominated by employers who pledge to support the armed forces, including existing or prospective employees who are members of the community
- must have signed the Armed Forces Covenant
- promote being armed forces-friendly and are open to employing reservists, armed forces veterans (including the wounded, injured and sick), cadet instructors and military spouses/partners
- receive an electronic certificate and logos to display on their website, stationery and other collateral
EqualiTeach is a nationwide not-for-profit equality and diversity training and consultancy organisation, which inspires and empowers people to create equal, diverse and inclusive environments where everyone feels safe, valued and able to succeed. Wymondham College is working towards the Equalities Gold Award, which is the highest level of accreditation and, once awarded, will mark the College as a beacon of outstanding practice and commitment to equality in education. This is achieved through building a portfolio of evidence of action towards the following: the elimination of discrimination, advancement of equality of opportunity, and fostering of good relations (Equality Act, 2010); the promotion of community cohesion (Education and Inspections Act, 2006); the prevention of people being drawn into terrorism (Counter Terrorism and Security Act, 2015); and, the safeguarding of children and promotion of spiritual moral, social and cultural development (Education Act 2002).
Wymondham College EDI Statement 2023
We have recently become members of the Association for Character Education to support the work that we are doing in this area through our Floreat curriculum and the Wymondham College Diploma. The ACE is a community for schools, organisations and individuals interested in character education to share expertise and good practice. The organisation supports schools, teachers and other educationalists to develop and promote character education responses that enable young people and societies to flourish. It does this in three ways: by supporting teachers to develop a vision and strategy for the enhancement of character education in their school, by demonstrating the value of character education to teachers and by raising the profile of character education in the UK and its effectiveness at supporting other whole school aims including attainment, behaviour and careers. In the next academic year (2021/2022), we intend to apply for one of the ACE Kitemarks to recognise the character education provided by the College.
We are delighted to announce that Wymondham College has been awarded the Boarding School Mental Health Silver Award from the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools.
Wymondham College evidenced a very strong whole College approach to supporting and promoting positive Mental Health within our community - from our PHSE curriculum, Peer Mentor scheme, Safeguarding and Wellbeing provision. Working collaboratively across the College to ensure Mental Health is everyone’s responsibility!
We are proud to announce that we are an official Gender Action Supporter. Our school is committed to promoting gender equity and making sure no child’s choice is limited by gendered stereotypes.
