Prospectus - Eteach

St Philomena’s
Catholic High School for Girls
Prospectus
“An Exceptional School”
Ofsted

At St Philomena’s
• We provide a broad and balanced Catholic
Education for students of all abilities.
• The principle of equal value of each
student operates in all that we do.
• We promote the highest achievement
in all students.
• We support spiritual, moral, cultural,
emotional and physical development.
• We enable students to make informed
decisions based on sound judgement.
• We create a well ordered, stimulating
and supportive learning environment.
“St Philomena’s is an exceptional school. It is successful, very
popular and has a deservedly good reputation. The Catholic
ethos underpins the friendly, purposeful environment and
reflects the school’s core mission of ‘Learning through rigour
and care’. It is highly effective in providing an inclusive and
challenging education where every child is supported and
encouraged to do as well as they can.”
Ofsted

Dear Parents
I would like to welcome you to St Philomena’s Catholic High School
for Girls. Choosing a secondary school for your daughter will probably
be one of the most important decisions you make as a parent.
Through this prospectus I hope to give you a glimpse of our school, of the vision
we have to develop the young women in our care and of the values we hold
as a community.
At St Philomena’s we have a clear, distinctive Catholic ethos that helps our students
to feel completely secure and this brings with it a sense of shared ownership in the
school. Our students are inquisitive, open to new ideas, hungry to learn and aware
of their responsibilities to others and to the world in which they live.
Our vision is centred on eight key areas:
• Sharing our Catholic vision and ethos.
• Developing inspirational leaders at all levels.
• Delivering outstanding learning and teaching.
• Providing effective professional development for all our staff.
• Building a stimulating sustainable learning environment.
• Creating a challenging, inclusive curriculum.
• Nurturing high quality partnerships.
• Ensuring rigorous evaluation for school improvement.
It is my belief that these areas will enable us to improve our
standards of excellence even further.
St Philomena’s is a living learning community, where each student is stretched and
encouraged to perform to her highest ability in an environment where she will feel
happy and secure.
We are rightly very proud of our academic record, the students and their
achievements. We actively encourage our students to take a lead role in their
education, develop their learning whilst maturing into confident, resilient,
resourceful young women able to face any challenge.
The vast majority of students progress to our sixth form and thereafter to university
or further education. We have a very active Old Girls’ network.
Our commitment to you is that your daughter will be welcomed to St Philomena’s
as a child and will leave as a young woman, with a broad and balanced breadth of
knowledge and experience, enriched by her education and ready to embrace the
challenges presented by the wider world.
If you would like to learn more about our school and meet our staff and students,
please visit us on our Open Evening or Open Mornings.
I look forward to meeting and welcoming you to our school.
Yours sincerely
Miss M Noone BSc (Hons) MBA
Headteacher

2
“Unless the Lord build the house, they labour
in vain who build it.”
ST PHILOMENA’S SCHOOL MOTTO FROM PSALM 127
Our Catholic Vision and Ethos
Our Vision is of a
community where…
• Christ’s teaching and
example are the basis of
daily life, relationships and
future hopes.
• The twin themes of love of
God and love of neighbour
are demonstrated through
the respect, concern and
care shown by all members
of the community for
one another.
• Students and staff are
allowed the freedom to
develop their own principles
and attitudes in the light of
Christ’s teaching.
• All learners are encouraged
to identify and reach their
potential and have their
achievements recognised
and praised.
• Learners are prepared for
the challenges they will
face in the wider world.
Founded by the Daughters of the Cross in 1893, St Philomena’s
seeks to build on their legacy by giving students every opportunity to
develop spiritually, intellectually and socially in the context of a Catholic
community. We are forward-looking while maintaining the best of
traditional values in an outstanding, vibrant school.
We are committed to helping every one
of our students achieve their potential
throughout their time at the school. As a
consequence, our students consistently
achieve outstanding results, and they
and their teachers enjoy being part of
a genuinely supportive community that
encourages high aspirations and brings
out the best in everyone.
Central to our ethos is the belief that
every person is unique. We provide
a high quality education tailored to
the needs of each individual in an
environment where all can flourish. As
well as achieving outstanding results, our
students explore and develop their faith,
learn to care for and respect one another
and grow into young women ready to
make a positive impact on the world.
Collective worship is an integral part of
life in our school and all students have
the opportunity to regularly attend
mass. Our chaplaincy supports spiritual
development in our community through
a programme of retreats and other
activities which provide opportunities
for worship and for students to explore
their faith. Every student is supported by
a personal tutor who offers outstanding
care and guidance.

3
“St Philomena’s is an amazing school. The staff
and the older students really care about you.”
YEAR 7 PUPIL
Developing Inspirational Leaders
We encourage our students to be leaders whenever possible by
developing them as resourceful, confident, resilient and reflective
individuals. We identify, encourage and develop the potential leadership
skills of our students and this contributes to making St Philomena’s a
high performing school.
We have seven student leadership
groups which include E-safety, Teaching
& Learning, Community and Fundraising.
Young people working in these teams
make valuable contributions to the school
by running events, speaking to other
students and working with students
from other schools. The most important
outcome being the recommendations
the leadership groups make to the
Headteacher.
Each student is a member of one of our
seven houses, led by our senior students,
which compete in sport and house points
and raise funds for charities.

4
“This is a very special place for a young girl to
make the transition from child to young adult.”
PARENT OF YEAR 8 STUDENT
A Challenging, Personalised Curriculum
Our Curriculum inspires students to become lifelong learners.
It is dynamic, offering breadth and diversity regardless of ability.
At St Philomena’s we are proud to offer
exceptional teaching and learning which
leads to our examination results being
among the best in the country. Students
experience traditional rigour together
with innovative lessons supported by
the latest technologies. As a specialist
Technology and Language College
we have excellent facilities to support
learning in these areas including a new
state-of-the-art language laboratory.
Students joining the school in Year 7
follow our Key Stage 3 curriculum of
core and foundation subjects. They also
engage in our Challenge Curriculum
which helps them to develop their
problem solving skills through a number
of themed days.
At Key Stage 4 we offer a number of
pathways with the vast majority of
students studying GCSEs in Religious
Studies, English Language and Literature,
Mathematics, double or triple award
Sciences and one or more Modern
Foreign Languages. Students choose
a further three GCSEs from a range
of arts, humanities and technology
based academic subjects or vocational
courses. All students are set targets that
are realistic but challenging allowing
our students to reach their potential
irrespective of ability.
We are committed to providing a range
of exciting experiences for all of our
young people both in and beyond
the classroom. Our personalised,
differentiated curriculum offers extension
and enhancement opportunities for
able, gifted and talented students and
additional support for students with
special educational needs and disabilities.

5
“My daughter in year 7 has made a great start to
her new school and has developed so much.”
PARENT OF YEAR 7 STUDENT
Extra Curricular Opportunities
St Philomena’s offers a wide range of opportunities both in and out of
the classroom for students to develop their creative, cultural, sporting,
intellectual and musical talents through our enriched curriculum.
Students can join in sporting activities such as athletics, netball
and football. Many students achieve their Bronze or Silver Duke of
Edinburgh award each year while others pursue their interests by
joining clubs ranging from Chess to Photography. Each June a number
of our students have the opportunity to serve as ball girls at the
prestigious Queen’s Club International Tennis Tournament.
Students have had the opportunity
to travel abroad on trips to America,
Belgium, France, Poland and
Switzerland. In recent years we have
taken students on more adventurous
expeditions to Equador, Namibia,
Borneo and Thailand. Linguistic skills are
developed through student exchange
partnerships with schools in Spain,
France, Belgium and Germany.
The majority of students join the
Junior Choir in Key Stage 3 with many
continuing to the Chapel Choir which
regularly sings at top European venues
such as St Peters, Rome and St Marks,
Venice. In addition, all students have
the opportunity to learn a musical
instrument and join a number of
ensembles – Djembe drums being
particularly popular.
Drama is a strength of the school
with a number of performances by
young people of all ages throughout
the year. Our main school productions
are legendary featuring casts of over
one hundred.

6
“The sixth form provides an outstanding
education overall.”
OFSTED
Sixth Form
Our highly successful sixth form offers an exciting range of AS and
A level courses complemented by vocational options. We are able to
offer an extended range of courses by working collaboratively with
other schools to ensure that learners have access to minority and
specialist A level courses in addition to the more popular choices.
Newly refurbished sixth form rooms
and areas, including our well-equipped
Learning Resource Centre, offer excellent
ICT and other study facilities.
Sixth form students enjoy high levels
of academic success and develop into
independent, responsible young adults
equipped for higher education and the
world of work. We are proud of the way
they act as role models for the rest of the
school, with many of them helping to
nurture younger students by assisting in
class. They play key roles in our student
leadership programmes and each year
a number of sixth form students are
elected as House Captains or to our
Head Girl team.
All of our students pursue enrichment
courses that go beyond the traditional
sixth form curriculum including the
Extended Project Qualification and a
sports leadership award.
Although our sixth form is Catholic,
applications are welcomed from all.

7
“St. Philomena’s has really made me grow in confidence
and I have made some great new friends.”
YEAR 7 STUDENT
Nurturing High Quality Partnerships
We work in close partnership with parents to develop healthy and happy
young women who flourish at school and in higher education. We
maintain an open dialogue with parents and ensure that they are kept
informed at all stages of their daughter’s education. In this way, families
stay well informed about their child’s progress. We pride ourselves in
developing strong, supportive relationships with parents and carers.
Regular newsletters keep parents
informed about school life. Parents’
consultations and reports provide up
to date information about each
student’s progress.
Our active Parents’ Association
contributes significantly to the success
of the school by fundraising and by
arranging social occasions.
Partnerships with other organisations are
important to us. Partners include:
• The Daughters of the Cross, Our
Diocese and local parishes
• Our feeder schools
• Sutton secondary schools
• St Philomena’s Old Girls Association
• Our Catholic network of secondary
schools and local Catholic primary
schools
• Association of Maintained Girls Schools
• National College for School Leadership
Our work with these organisations
helps us to enhance the experience
of our students. By working with
international partners in Europe and
Africa, education at St Philomena’s
also has a truly global dimension.

“My daughter has had a fantastic
education at this school.”
PARENT OF YEAR 11 STUDENT
An Outstanding Environment
St Philomena’s School is set in twenty-five
acres of parkland in Carshalton and offers
a unique learning and working environment
for all students. We combine a traditional
setting with up to date facilities which are
continually evolving to keep pace with
education in the 21st century.
We have several state of the art computer suites
together with well-equipped science laboratories,
workshops and sports facilities. Our wonderful,
historic chapel offers a peaceful environment for
collective worship and private meditation.
St Philomena’s is a strong, happy and successful
learning community which embraces the local,
national and global community.
Our excellent reputation is well-deserved because
while we uphold our core values we also adapt to
deliver education meeting the needs of students in
the modern world.

St Philomena’s
Catholic High School for Girls
Pound Street
Carshalton
Surrey
SM5 3PS
T 020 8642 2025
F 020 8643 7925
enquiries@stphils.org.uk
www.stphils.org.uk
Westmead Road
Entrance
Carshalton Road
St Philomena’s School Hymn
Lord make our school a house of prayer
In work and play in all we do
Regard for others be our care
And serving them may we serve you.
In vain we labour if we suppose
Ourselves sufficient for our task
O Master builder of this house
Give us the faith and grace we ask.
Amen