16/07/2026
Weโre Proud to Celebrate Our Skills Builder Award!
Educational Diversity Achieves the Skills Builder Award
We are delighted to announce that we have been recognised with the Skills Builder Award, a national accreditation that celebrates our commitment to developing the essential skills that help young people succeed in education, employment, and life.
The Skills Builder Award recognises schools that have embedded the teaching and development of the eight essential skills; Listening, Speaking, Problem Solving, Creativity, Staying Positive, Aiming High, Leadership and Teamwork, throughout their curriculum and wider school experience.
What This Means for Our School
Receiving this award is a significant achievement and reflects our dedication to preparing pupils for successful futures. We believe that academic achievement and essential life skills go hand in hand, and this recognition highlights the hard work of our staff and students in developing these important capabilities every day.
By focusing on essential skills, we help our learners become more confident, resilient and ready to embrace future challenges, whether in further education, employment, or everyday life.
Our Journey
Our Skills Builder journey has involved embedding essential skills across all areas of school life. Through classroom learning, enrichment activities, pupil leadership opportunities and collaborative projects, students have had countless opportunities to develop and demonstrate these vital skills.
Key highlights include:
โข Integrating essential skills into curriculum planning and teaching
โข Providing staff development to support consistent skills-based approaches
โข Celebrating student success and skill development across the school
โข Building links with employers and the wider community to enhance real-world learning opportunities
โข We had a fantastic whole school Skills Builder Launch Day in the summer term.
These initiatives have enabled our pupils to recognise their strengths, build confidence, and develop skills that will support them long after they leave our school.
Vic OโFarrell, Headteacher, said:
"We are incredibly proud to receive the Skills Builder Award. This recognition reflects the dedication of our staff and students in developing the essential skills that are so important for future success. We remain committed to ensuring every pupil has the opportunity to grow in confidence, resilience and aspiration."
Year 8 pupil said:
"The Skills Builder activities have helped me become more confident and work better with others. I've learned skills that will help me both in school and in the future."
Looking Ahead
While we are proud of this achievement, we see it as an important milestone rather than the finish line. We look forward to continuing to develop essential skills across our school community, creating even more opportunities for our students to thrive, achieve their ambitions, and make a positive difference in the world.
Thank you to our staff, students, families and partners for supporting us on this journey.
