Excel Prospectus

Expect Excellence

Respect, Ambition Welcome by Principal Miss Steele
Confidence
Welcome to The Excel Academy. We are excited for you to explore
“There is a our Academy and our prospectus and see how our guiding values of
strong sense of
community within Respect, Ambition and Confidence are intrinsically

this school” embedded within the fabric of all that we do at Excel.

Ofsted 2021 Our Academy prides itself on the relationship between the school and
home, with an emphasis for students on belonging and being proud
of being a part of the Excel Family. Should you choose to join our
Academy, we will work in partnership with you to ensure that your
child has the opportunities, skills and attributes to allow them to
excel. We believe that parents value the same things that we do - we
want our students to be happy, confident and motivated to be the
best that they can be. Getting involved in some of the many wider
school experiences gives students opportunities to excel in a variety
of spheres and ensures that students leave the Academy with skills
that prepare them for the wider world of work.

Our strong foundation of Pride and Respect

remains a very important part of our basic expectations across the
Academy.

Our outstanding new building creates a safe and vibrant environment
with cutting edge facilities which, together with our ambitious
curriculum, provide the basis for success. Students are proud of their
Academy and this is clear when you walk around the building.

We welcome you to visit the Academy – either on our Open Evening
or on a visit during a normal working day– to experience for yourself
all that The Excel Academy has to offer.

The Alpha Academies Trust has been established with the aim to
create a network of outstanding primary & secondary academies in
North Staffordshire to maximise attainment and develop character.

Our purpose

“to deliver a first-class education for
every child that overcomes inequality”

Our values

“Our academies all have values personal
to the community they serve but that are
connected across the Trust to establish
a culture of high performance and
success”

How do we succeed CEO of the
Alpha Academies Trust
• By working together.
• Having the highest standards. Mr S. French

• Investing and recruiting the best
leaders and staff.

• Creating access to some of the best
teaching facilities.

Excel Academy
is part of the

Alpha Academies
Trust

Our Purpose

To provide a first-class education to enable all students to excel.

.
Our Values

Respect: To show that you are mindful of someone else and

their feelings. To behave and act in a respectful way is to show
that you are polite, well-mannered and considerate.

Ambition: To set your own goals high, reach for the stars and

have the very highest expectations for yourself. You may want to
try something new that you haven’t had the opportunity to do yet.

Confidence: To hold your head high, communicate

with others and to show that you are proud of who you
are and what you stand for.

Hard work beats
talent when talent
doesn’t work hard.

Hard WEoxrck leealdlsetonce

Excellent Opportunities for Character Development

Our students have a long tradition of success in the sporting Relationships between pupils
arena with a huge number of our young athletes winning Town, and teachers are very strong and
City and County honours each year. Our talented young actors, based on mutual respect. Pupils
singers and dancers produce outstanding performances at our
prestigious Achievement Awards evening, our Performance are proud of their school.
evenings and our summer productions. They are happy and safe.

Students relish opportunities to make a positive contribution Ofsted 2021
to their life in the Academy and community. Our student
council allows students to shape the direction and decisions
made by the Academy community. There is also an expectation
that students develop their leadership and demonstrate this
through a student leadership role, including roles as Sports
Leaders, Peer Mentors, Prefects and Subject Ambassadors.

Our students will all have a Universal Character programme
where they will be involved in various activities throughout
the year in and out of the classroom. This will enhance
each curriculum area and gives every student other
opportunities to exceed in.

"Skilled leaders have Excellent
developed a curriculum
&Teaching Learning
that meets the needs of our
of all pupils." Curriculum

Ofsted 2021 We teach a broad and rich curriculum, ensuring
all students are on a pathway to achieve and we

are extremely proud of our students’ academic
achievements. In particular, our results in GCSE
Mathematics and English are regularly the best

locally and our creative arts and vocational
subjects continue to achieve excellent results
too. Whilst exam achievement is of paramount

importance, it is not our sole focus.

We ‘expect excellence’ in all areas of student
personal development. There is a strong emphasis
on the core skills of Literacy and Numeracy which
is complimented by a focus on Oracy and a blend
of traditionally academic, vocational, creative and
technical learning options. Our aim is to maximise

the success of our students by ensuring that
lessons are enjoyable and motivating.

We focus on

Achievement: through an ambitious, knowledge

rich, curriculum.

Character Development: students follow

a learning journey curriculum that supports
their personal growth.

Excel way: the standards we expect of everyone

at the Academy.

By focusing on our core values it allows us to deliver
our curriculum in order to develop young people who
are:

• Respectful to others, rules & property; are

caring & trustworthy; conduct themselves with
a moral purpose; and are proud of themselves
and the Academy.

• Ambitious and have high expectations for

academic, creative, sporting, linguistic and
personal success; have a passion to be lifelong
learners and a desire to develop their
Cultural Capital.

• Confident and take action; courageous;

articulate; work effectively with others;
confident readers and presenters; and
develop their leadership skills.

Excellent

Outcomes

The Excel Academy has a record of strong academic outcomes
borne from a culture of ambition and a dedication to working
hard. In every lesson students are assessed according to their
mindset for learning and they are regularly assessed against
Academy Targets. Regular feedback from a range of assessment
types including classwork, extended writing and tests are used to
give feedback, which is used to support students in improving
outcomes further. Much emphasis is placed on students’
awareness of their own progress, together with excellent
processes and systems. This includes annual parent
evenings and an online reporting system, which allow
parents and teachers to fully support their children to
succeed and exceed their goals. Students are
supported through a range of interventions and
strategies that are bespoke to each child’s needs
throughout their time at the Academy. Our staff
value and respect parental engagement and
will communicate with you as and when
the need arises.

Reading is prioritised in the Academy and we are proud to be
a school where reading for pleasure is promoted and valued
by students. Students in all years get regular opportunities
to read and to visit our well-stocked and current library. Our
librarian is always on hand to recommend books to students
and is always excited when students come to talk to her
about books they have read. We test reading ages upon
entry to Excel and then every 6 months after to ensure that
we provide students with the most appropriate support
where necessary.

Excellent “My son feels
valued and
&Care really enjoys
Support attending
school”
At the Academy we are immensely proud of the pastoral care and
support systems we have in place. The experienced team of welfare Excel Parent
and support staff ensure all students feel safe and have the
opportunities to excel. The welfare team works closely with
external agencies to ensure each student has access to the support
they need. Additional support is always on hand via our SENCo
and inclusion team for any students with learning needs. Positive
relationships with parents and carers are key in ensuring good lines
of communication are in place. We encourage parents to communicate
via telephone or email with any questions they may have. The first
point of call for all students is their Form Tutor. Each year team is
led by a Head of Year who oversees all aspects of Personal
Development, Behaviour, Welfare, Attendance and Achievement
for their year group. Any issues of bullying are dealt with swiftly.
Students can report any bullying by speaking to a member of staff
or via the website by pressing the Blue button. The Excel Academy
is a compassionate community where, through our fundamental value
of Respect, we expect excellence and embrace diversity. We provide
a balanced curriculum, where core British Values are at the heart of
every subject.

Excellent “Fantastic support
from all teachers”
Transition
Excel Parent

The move from primary school can be an exciting yet daunting prospect for many students and we aim to ease the transition process.
We ensure that all students feel safe and confident in joining our Academy through our strong relationship with primary schools.

Our transition programme includes:- • Orientation afternoon for parents and new Year 7 students

• Taster days for Year 5 and 6 students. before their first day at the Academy in September.
• Regular visits to primary schools by our staff including Senior Leaders.
• Open evening for prospective new students. • Induction day on the first day to our Academy in September.
• Open invitation for parents to come in and see our Academy. • Parent evening early in the autumn term to discuss any

transition issues.

Alpha Academies Trust CEO Mr S. French The Excel Academy Telephone: 01782 882 700
Principal Miss A. Steele Milton Road, Email: [email protected]
Chair of Governors Mrs J. Dodd Sneyd Green, www.excel.alphaacademiestrust.co.uk
Stoke-on-Trent,
ST1 6LG The Excel Academy is part
of the Alpha Academies Trust
(A company limited by guarantee)
Company Number: 7272906 VAT Number: 127983478