Orchard School in Horfield, North Bristol, serves almost 900 students ages 11-16.  We are a seriously good school on an ambitious and exciting journey towards excellence in all areas. Our vision statement – “inspire today, empower for life” – underpins all that we do. Education changes lives and we consider every child’s journey with us to be very precious. We are building success through our ORCHARD values which permeate the school: Open minded, Respectful, Creative & Curious, Healthy, Ambitious, Responsible and Determined. 

We are hugely ambitious for all of our students.  Our curriculum is broad and empowering, with opportunities for students to excel in creative and performance subjects, alongside the core academic subjects.  Our curriculum promotes knowledge, develops skills, enhances personal development and inspires a passion for learning.  Reading is the foundation of our curriculum and we promote oracy skills across all year groups.  We want all of our students to be leaders, to engender student agency and aspiration for the future.  

We have a bright, friendly and professionally-stimulating environment which values the contributions of staff and students.  Our staff team are highly-skilled practitioners, well-qualified and enthusiastic.  The relationship between staff, students and parents is strong, ensuring students feel safe and happy and are able to make great learning gains.  We are very proud of the progress the school has made, but are not complacent.  We are determined that Orchard will be the outstanding school our community deserves.