We would like to offer a personal welcome to the Notre Dame High School web site. We hope you find the site interesting and that you are able to access the information you require.
A lively Catholic Comprehensive School
Notre Dame High School is a lively, Catholic comprehensive school with a very special, warm ethos which is recognised by all who visit. In recent years it has been at the forefront of new approaches to teaching and learning. It has been a Technology College since 1995 and in addition, in 2006 it became a Humanities College and Leading Edge school after being identified as a High Performing School by the DfES. In 2011 the school was recognised as one of the first 100 Teaching Schools nationally and in keeping with this community aspect, the school provides a wide range of services in curriculum and management development support and in the ICT field, which includes training from beginner to advanced levels. We believe we are very fortunate to be able to work with young people, and our mission is to ensure that each of our students is valued as a unique individual, and that they know that they belong to a family, which bases itself on Gospel values.
A proud history: The Sisters of Notre Dame
As well as being proud of our technological advances we are also extremely proud of our history and the continuing links with the Sisters of Notre Dame, who are still represented on the school’s governing body. The values and traditions which they established are at the heart of the school's continuing development. We consider ourselves to be very fortunate to have two members of staff, who act as archivists and who spend time collecting and classifying historical papers and artefacts about the school, so that we do not lose that history.
Outstanding reports for an outstanding school
Our school has received four OFSTED reports. The most recent was 2008 and you can access the report if you click here: OFSTED (you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader program to read the file). As in the 2005 inspection the school was judged to be outstanding in each of the 51 judgements, and is a just reward for the efforts of students, staff, parents and Governors. Following the inspection in 2000, Notre Dame High School was named as an 'outstanding' school in the annual report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspection of Schools. In 2005 and in 2008 it was identified as a High Performing School.
Reflection, prayer, and worship
As a Catholic school we are particularly conscious of the need to create opportunities for reflection, prayer and worship. Each day begins and ends with prayer and the celebration of Eucharist is central to the life of the school.