Partnerships

Ashford School is superbly equipped to showcase the Performing Arts to a wide audience. Brake Hall can hold upwards of 500 people and benefits from a recently upgraded sound and lighting system. In addition to an extremely popular pantomime run of Jack and the Beanstalk, the Ashford Choral Society and other concerts are regularly held in this atmospheric venue.

As a school we work closely and regularly with local primary schools to share expertise, facilities and experiences.

This year we hosted two moderation events for local Primary school teachers. Over 115 teachers attended, representing 30 schools all within 10 miles of Ashford School.

Twenty of the School’s Year 12 pupils deliver a Maths workshop for pupils from two local Primary schools. The sessions take place fortnightly at Ashford School. This is now being extended to include workshops in Science, English and MFL.

Over 300 local Primary school pupils were invited to see the matinee performance of our Senior School musical Beauty and the Beast.

This summer, we will also be hosting the Central Ashford Town Schools (CATS) choir, with over 350 local Primary school pupils involved.

Each year, we host the eight largest Primary School sports festivals. Our pupils officiate, lead and support each event that in total provides over 1,500 local Primary school pupils with the opportunity to participate in tournaments covering all major team sports, using our fantastic sports facilities.

During the Summer term, our teaching staff and pupils are regularly involved in delivering workshops for local Primary schools. Often enabling access to specialist teaching spaces and equipment that aren’t typically found in the Primary sector, these workshops are hugely popular and provide a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to develop their leadership and communication skills. We currently offer workshops in;

• Bushcraft
• Young Enterprise
• Drama
• DT Challenge

Almost half of our pupils in Years 9 to 13 have recently or are currently completing the Duke of Edinburgh award at bronze, silver or gold level. These pupils and those in our Combined Cadet Force complete volunteering work either within the School or local community.

Volunteering is also a key part of our Adventurous Learning Week and our pupils have taken part in projects to support the Kent Wildlife Trust, The River Stour Conservation Society, Ashford Winter Night Shelter, Fareshare (Food Bank) and a Dementia awareness charity.

Our Learn to Swim Programmes have proved incredibly popular and has gone from strength to strength. Making use of the School’s two indoor swimming pools, we provide Learn to Swim programmes to the community and local Primary schools. The latter often involves transport in our own school minibuses to increase accessibility. As an ASA affiliated centre, we also offer synchronised swimming, water polo, rookie lifeguard and offer qualifications as well as a competitive swimming academy. The following Primary schools have all accessed our Primary school Learn to Swim Programme or one of our incredibly popular crash courses;

• Aldington Primary School
• Brook Community Primary School
• ChilmingtonGreen Primary School
• East Stour Primary School
• FinberryPrimary School
• Goat Lees Primary School
• The John Wallis Church of England Academy
• Kennington CE Academy
• Phoenix Community Primary School
• Ashford St Mary’s Church of England Primary School
• St Michael’s Church of England Primary School
• St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School
• Victoria Road Primary School

Ashford School is building a national reputation for cricket. A key part of achieving this is our continued support of, and involvement in, the area Cricket Programme. The Southern Spartans provide a pathway for talented and aspirational cricketers of school age to refine their skills and access the County Selection process. Ashford School is the venue for both the trials and winter nets training programme, ensuring these young cricketers have access to the very best facilities.

Making full use of the three grass wickets and sports pavilion at Ashford School, we are delighted to have hosted the area cricket festivals for the last two years. Taking place in late July, this three-day festival of cricket sees the very best cricketers at each group challenge those from other districts from within Kent.

With an ever-increasing number of pupils progressing through the England Hockey Player Pathway, our national reputation for Hockey is growing and much of this is due to the recent completion of our second full-sized AstroTurf pitch and staff expertise. Our increasingly strong links with Ashford Hockey Club have seen joint masterclass training sessions open to Ashford School pupils and club players, led by a combination of School and AHC coaches.

Our fantastic facilities; including a full-sized sports hall equipped with cricket nets, five grass rugby pitches, three grass cricket squares including one artificial wicket, two indoor swimming pools and two full-sized floodlit AstroTurf pitches are used extensively by local sports clubs. For many clubs, these venues have enhanced their match and training provision or simply allowed them to increase their membership. Local sports clubs that currently benefit from using the sports facilities at Ashford School include:

• Mersham Cricket Club
• Great Chart Cricket Club
• Boughton and Eastwell Cricket Club
• Aspire Cricket Academy
• Willesborough Cricket Club
• Ashford United Football Club
• Bromley Green Valiants Football Club
• Charing Football Club
• Mersham Football Club
• Pilgrims Football Club
• South Willesborough Football Club
• Wye Juniors Football Club
• Ashford Hockey Club
• Sevenoaks Ladies Hockey Club
• Maidstone Hockey Club
• Ashford Triathlon Club
• Saracens Rugby Club
• Excel Regional Swim Squad