Vision and values

Ambition 

Our community embraces new experiences and has the confidence to aim high.

Arnewood has played a central role in its local community since 1970, and that role is one the school is committed to sustaining for generations to come. As a proud member of Bourne Education Trust, Arnewood is able to offer a truly inclusive education to all young people in the catchment area, drawing on the wider expertise, resources and ambition of the Trust to continually improve.

Ambition at Arnewood means aspiration - encouraging every student to set their sights high and believe in what they are capable of. It means determination, building the habits and resilience to see things through. It means confidence, nurtured through experience and the trust of those around you. And it means opportunity - ensuring that every student, regardless of background or starting point, has doors open to them.

Arnewood alumni have graced the corridors of the most prestigious universities, worked in high level positions in government, become professional referees, embarked on ground breaking gene therapy research, trodden the boards in London's West End, worked for charities, started their own businesses locally and much more. It remains at the heart of The Arnewood way to guide, celebrate, and support ambition in any direction that contributes positively to society.

Success 

Our community discovers what they love to learn and is supported every step of the way.

Success at Arnewood is broad and personal. It is about growth - making progress, developing as a learner and becoming more capable over time. It is about achievement, recognised and celebrated in all its forms. It is about responsibility - taking ownership of learning and contributing meaningfully to the community. And it is about recognition, ensuring that every effort and every milestone is seen and valued.

A full and varied calendar of enrichment trips is organised including annual residential visits to sites around the UK, a biannual trip to New York, and experiences as far afield as Poland, the Azores and beyond. The Performing Arts department is a particular strength, with a new production staged each year and all year groups are encouraged to be involved. A testament to this is the recent successful bid to become the Southeast representatives to perform the West End version of Frozen. The year is further enriched by theatre trips and visiting artists sharing their expertise. Beyond the curriculum, students are supported to grow through Duke of Edinburgh, a rich programme of sports and clubs, and a student leadership structure that gives every young person a genuine voice through Arnewood Listens, Year Councils and the School Council.

Together 

Our community is based on strong relationships and trust. Everyone should feel valued and respected.

The relationship between teachers and support staff, students, parents and carers is at the heart of everything Arnewood does. Together means community - a genuine sense of shared belonging that runs through every year group, every classroom and every interaction. It means respect, for each other and for difference. It means collaboration, working alongside one another to achieve more than any of us could alone. And it means inclusion - a commitment to ensuring that every member of the Arnewood community feels welcomed, valued and appropriately challenged.

As a relational school, Arnewood invests deeply in knowing its students as individuals. Every student has a Form Tutor who checks in with them each morning, a Head of Year who knows them by name and an Assistant Head of Year available throughout the day. High expectations are held for everyone, met with high levels of support where needed. It is in this environment - one that celebrates difference and diversity - that both ambition and success can truly thrive.