As a parent or carer you want your child to be happy at school. That was certainly one of my top priorities for my own children. I also know as a parent that you want your child to feel safe and well looked after, and of course, for them to be making good progress in their studies and their personal development. So these are perhaps the three most important things you are looking for in a new school for your child – happiness, being well looked after, and making good progress.

This is why these are the first three questions we ask our parents in the regular parent voice surveys that we do in school, and the fact that we don’t simply assume this will be the case is reflected in the overwhelmingly positive response from parents around these three areas. Anybody walking around our school will pick up the sense of community, hope and enjoyment that we have here, and if the basic fundamentals are right, the rest tends to follow.

  • So we are recognised for our innovative, high quality education and excellent examination results.
  • We know each other well and we’re kind to one another.
  • At Marden we’re able to express our own personalities, confident that we will be supported in the achievement of our goals and dreams.
  • Our focus on student leadership helps develop our strong moral compass, giving our young people a global awareness and a sense of agency to shape a more equal society for the future.
  • We focus on thinking about learning and developing student independence, and through this, our children develop confidence and effective communication skills, they enjoy being creative and have a grounded sense of wellbeing.

Learning is at the heart of all that we do, and the personalised provision we give helps develop resilient and resourceful young people. There is, of course, much more I could say here about our great community, but instead I would invite you to have a look at the information on this website so you can start to get a more detailed picture of how we provide the best experiences for our children. If you are able to talk to parents of children currently at Marden, I am confident you will get a very positive picture. If you would like to feel the atmosphere yourself, you may wish to book onto one of our regular tours during the school day by contacting the school office. I would be very interested to meet you and talk about your child’s future. We know how precious that is to you, and we know the part we can play. After all, “It takes a whole village to raise a child”.

Mr Snape, Headteacher.