Brunel School Paignton

What an incredible Sports Day! 🎉

This year, our Sports Day took place across three local sites, giving all of our pupils the opportunity to take part, challenge themselves and, most importantly, have fun.

We are incredibly proud of every single pupil who showed determination, resilience, and teamwork throughout the events. Whether they were running, jumping, throwing or cheering on their friends, everyone played their part.

You should all be very proud of your achievements! 🌟

The government is cutting VAT from 20% to 5% on family days out — from cinema and theatre tickets to attractions, and children's meals out. Less to pay, more summer to enjoy.
25 June – 1 September 2026, right across the UK.
Click below to learn more.

https://summersavings.gov.uk/?es_c=3C811C2CE508F395329AB4DE20F27F5E&es_cl=4B5792677EA94279E590705CE261C46A&es_id=ph7£o1

What a lovely poem written by one of our Year 11 leavers. It is a fitting recognition of times of change and transitions for pupils, with a significant one coming up for this pupil. Many other pupils could relate to the big emotions around difficult transitions.

Chaos

Today
you might feel fright
but everything gonna be alright
so you can relax and chill tonight

When you wake up
Take a breath to forget death

Drink water you oughter
so you don't slaughter me
Whilst we have tea

I'm too shy to say goodbye
so don't be a fly
and cry

This pupil will be joining our Post 16 Supported Internships Programme - whilst the World is opening up, it's with familiar people and familiar places.

Wishing all Torbay pupils who are transitioning between settings this year a wonderful Summer break and a positive start at their new settings in September.

Vikki Alden
Headteacher
Brunel School

We Are Proud to Announce That Brunel Has Achieved the Leading Parent Partnership Award!

At Brunel School, we've always believed that the very best outcomes for children are achieved when schools and families work together in genuine partnership.

We're therefore incredibly proud to share that we have been awarded the Optimus Education Leading Parent Partnership Award (LPPA) - a nationally recognised accreditation celebrating excellence in engaging and working alongside parents and carers.

This award isn't about a single event or initiative. It's recognition of the culture we've built together.

During the assessment, the strength of our relationships with families, our welcoming and inclusive ethos, our communication, our transition support and our unwavering commitment to putting children at the heart of everything we do were all recognised as key strengths.

The assessor saw what we already know; that Brunel is a community where families are listened to, supported and valued, and where staff go above and beyond every day to help every child succeed.

This achievement belongs to our entire school community. Thank you to our amazing staff for their dedication, compassion and professionalism, to our parents and carers for placing their trust in us and working alongside us, and to our fantastic pupils, who inspire us every single day.

We're incredibly proud of this recognition, but even more proud of the partnerships that made it possible. We'll continue to listen, learn and work together because we know that when home and school stand side by side, children thrive.

Thank you for being part of the Brunel family.

Year 11 leaver J-P is thriving on his work experience placement with local organisation Turning Heads.
J-P has been busy this week taking promotional photographs of the community interest company's services and editing them in preparation to be shared on the internet.
Turning Heads runs a day service for adults with additional needs as well as providing a social supermarket and a community cafe. The organisation is also set to open some new land, named Turning Wild, in Newton Abbot next week.

Friday 26th June marked Year 11 Leavers' Day, as we celebrated the achievements of our pupils and their next steps into adulthood. Click below to read more and see some photos of this special day!

Year 11 Leavers' Day 2026 Friday 26th June marked Year 11 Leavers' Day at Brunel School, as we celebrated the achievements of our pupils and the their next exciting steps in their preparation for adulthood.

A message from our Headteacher.

I am delighted to share the outcome of our recent Ofsted inspection.

The report recognises the significant journey Brunel School has been on and highlights many strengths that our pupils, families and staff will be proud of.

Inspectors found that safeguarding is effective and that pupils experience an "inclusive school culture where they feel safe and are understood well by the staff who teach and support them."
The report acknowledges that pupils have "a true sense of belonging" and that their voices are valued. Inspectors recognised the positive relationships at the heart of the school, noting that staff are fully committed to supporting pupils' individual needs and helping them overcome barriers to learning and wellbeing.

We were particularly pleased that inspectors recognised:
- The ambitious and well-designed curriculum that supports pupils from their varied starting points.
- The school's commitment to building strong relationships with families and carers.
- The broad range of qualifications and opportunities available to pupils.
- The rich wider curriculum, including outdoor learning, cooking, digital skills and life skills.
- The significant improvements made in attendance, school culture and pupil wellbeing.
- The dedication, resilience and tenacity shown by leaders and staff in driving school improvement.

The report states that "leaders' tenacity and resilience in improving the school to its current point are notable" and recognises that the improvements made have ensured that pupils are increasingly well prepared for their next steps in education, employment and adult life.

Building confidence, resilience, self-belief and positive learning habits takes time. We are committed to continuing this work so that every pupil develops the confidence to see themselves as successful learners and can thrive both academically and personally.

I would like to thank our pupils, staff, families, trustees and colleagues across Special Partnership Trust for their ongoing support. The report reflects the collective effort of our entire school community and provides a strong platform from which we will continue to grow and improve.

We remain incredibly proud of our pupils and look forward to continuing our journey together.

Vikki Alden
Headteacher
Brunel School

Year 11 pupil, K, has is enjoying a successful work experience placement with Cycle Torbay CIC.
Today, he replaced the handle grips on a donated mountain bike and gave it a good clean-up. It came out well. Well done, K!