Choosing Chailey

I am delighted to welcome you to Chailey School. I am privileged to lead such a fantastic school.  Here at Chailey School we believe that our school is a very special place, with a unique atmosphere reflecting our core commitment to ‘every young person and every adult in our school achieving more than they ever thought possible’.

A child’s experience at school plays a crucial part in shaping their future and choosing a secondary school is a key decision for any parent or carer.  Our students travel to Chailey from a wide area – attracted by the care and support of a small school with high achievement and a huge range of broader opportunities. Visitors and friends of the school often comment on the very warm and lively atmosphere that exists at Chailey.

Students at Chailey can be sure that their talents, abilities and needs will be the focus on all that we do.  The school exists for the students – it is their futures that staff, parents and governors invest in and we are proud to know all our students as individuals.   We believe in traditional values and have high expectations of students in their work, behaviour and appearance.

Our record in GCSE results is excellent and has been sustained year on year with students achieving well above expected progress and in comparison with national levels of attainment. As a result of our sustained success academically we have been chosen to be the English Hub and Modern Foreign Languages Hub for East Sussex.  This is in recognition for these subjects being centres of excellence for the delivery of English and Languages. We are justly proud of all our academic achievements, but our true measure of success is seeing a school full of happy, confident and independent young people, fully engaged in their studies and the broader life of the school.

School is about more than just exam results and we are passionate about ensuring students have a broad curriculum and have many rich experiences both within and beyond the school environment. We are the first secondary school within East Sussex to be awarded a national award for ‘Learning Outside of the Classroom’ in recognition for our commitment to ensuring students make the most of a huge range of trips and activities in all curriculum areas. Our students are our future and we seek to broaden their horizons by offering them a rich variety of opportunities and experiences including many residential experiences both within and beyond the UK.  We want our students to be curious and adventurous; interested in, and excited by, what lies beyond the school.

Pastoral care at Chailey is widely recognised as outstanding.  We take great care over transition arrangements for new students and continue to provide individualised care for our students throughout their life at the school. We have a great staff who are willing to go the extra mile to make the difference between success and failure. We believe that positive relationships between adults and young people lie at the root of the education we offer and we work extremely hard to prepare each young person, both socially and academically, for the world beyond school.  We have a strong home-school partnership working closely with our students and parents to ensure that the school is offering an educational experience that is both engaging and rewarding.

 We encourage our students to become active and responsible citizens who are respectful of others.  We have a wide range of opportunities for students to make a positive contribution to the life of the school and the wider community and to develop their leadership skills.

Our students and staff would be delighted to show you more of our very happy and high achieving school.  Please do call to arrange a visit on 01273 890407.  We look forward to welcoming you.

Helen Key

Headteacher