Leighton Park Shortlisted for TES Independent Senior School of the Year

Leighton Park has been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Independent Senior School of the Year’ award in the 2023 TES (Times Education Supplement) School Awards.

This is one of the most sought after awards in education, recognising leading practice in the country’s top schools.

Head, Matthew LS Judd, said: “It is unexpected, humbling and amazing to receive validation from one of the sector’s top awards. We believe a school must be judged by the full range and depth of the achievements of its students, and at Leighton Park we seek to develop young people who understand, cherish, and make a difference to the world which they will inherit. I’m lucky to witness our extraordinary learning environment everyday, to see the meaningful connections between students and staff and all-round approach to learning and self-guided growth. It is an honour to receive this distinguished accolade and I congratulate the whole Leighton Park community on this tremendous achievement.”

The TES nomination process is very thorough and assessed the school against a broad set of criteria. Our submission emphasised our distinctive, values-led approach – providing evidence of the benefits for our students. Examples included:

• Our focus on Pupil Personal Development and pioneering use of technology to support students to set and reflect on their own personal values and targets for personal growth.
• Our multi award-winning character education, providing opportunities for students to work in partnership with our local community, to help others and develop a strong sense of self.
• Our pioneering curriculum designed to educate ethical changemakers, giving them the critical thinking and leadership skills, the character and the values to effect positive change.

Tes editor and chief judge of the Tes Schools Awards Jon Severs said: “With these awards we honour the education community, whom we have served for over 112 years. This year has seen some incredibly high quality entries. So every teacher and school who has been named in this shortlist should be very proud – it’s a fantastic achievement.

“We are looking forward to showcasing, as we do every year, just how vital our education professionals are to every facet of this country. Teachers, leaders and support staff all play such an important role in schools: this is our chance to say thank you for all that they do.”

The TES Award winners will be announced on Friday 23rd June at a gala ceremony at London Grosvenor Park Hotel.

Leighton Park has received several recent accolades. The most recent UK Government analysis shows that the school’s Sixth Form leavers achieve the best academic progress in Berkshire, while the Independent Schools Inspectorate awarded it excellent in all areas in January 2022 – the highest possible attainment for an independent school.

The School was recognised as a national leader for Pupil Personal Development in 2022, winning the Independent Schools Association (ISA) Award for Excellence in this area. In the same, year the School gained the Wellbeing Award for Schools, accredited by the National Children’s Bureau.

Leighton Park won the national ISA Award for Outstanding Local Community Involvement in both 2021 and 2020. In 2020, the school won the national Award for Excellence in STEAM Education – reflecting the school’s strong reputation for teaching creative problem-solving – combining the analytical skills from Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), with creativity from the Arts. The School is also a Yamaha Flagship Music Education Partner, the only school in Europe to hold this level of partnership.