Denefield School

Welcome to Denefield School

• Mr E Towill
• 13 September 2019

I am delighted to welcome you to Denefield School. Denefield is an ambitious, successful and over-subscribed school located in the western Reading suburb of Tilehurst.

I believe passionately that every young person should gain the qualifications and develop the character skills to have, as we say at Denefield, ‘success for life’. To prepare them for this, Denefield offers a rigorous and engaging curriculum at GCSE and A Level, with creative and practical subjects alongside traditional academic courses.  In addition, students at Denefield work hard at the school’s nine CHARACTER values – confidence, happiness, articulacy, resilience, ambition, courage, tolerance, empathy and respect.  They have the opportunity to develop these during subject lessons, during assemblies and house competitions, and during the many extra-curricular activities during and outside the school day. Further information on our CHARACTER values can be found here http://www.denefield.org.uk/Our-Ethos/Our-Character

I am particularly proud of the school’s supportive pastoral system, including its vertical tutor groups and houses, where students of different year groups learn alongside each other. I am also very proud of the excellent achievements of Denefield’s many sports clubs and teams.  Denefield students also benefit from a very wide range of extra-curricular opportunities, including designing and building racing cars, taking part in mock trials or debating competitions, taking the Duke of Edinburgh qualification or joining the Combined Cadet Force, or undertaking residential visits in the UK and abroad.  The breadth of these opportunities in many ways sets Denefield apart from other schools, and these activities play a major part in helping students develop the CHARACTER values that contribute so much to a young person achieving success for life.

I am delighted at the achievements of Denefield students and that so many choose to join the school’s Sixth Form. As at GCSE, we offer a rigorous and engaging curriculum in the Sixth Form designed to ensure students can access the most competitive universities, including Russell Group and Oxbridge, and the most sought-after apprenticeships.  I am very impressed with the rapid success of the newly-formed Sports Coaching and Player Development Programme, a combined venture with Reading Football Club, which leads to advanced sporting qualifications and performance in addition to A Level qualifications.

I believe that students at Denefield do enjoy success for life. This is partly because of the school’s talented, committed and supportive teaching and support staff and governors (or Trust Board).  It is also because of the school’s excellent facilities.  Denefield is situated on a generous school site, with many playing fields and plenty of outdoor space.  Most recently the school benefited from nearly £10m of investment, creating an expanded canteen area, along with new facilities in the Science and Art, Design & Technology departments, as well as a new display and assembly space – fittingly called the Da Vinci auditorium.

I am deeply proud of students and staff at Denefield School. If you wish to find out more – as a prospective parent, member of staff or member of the Trust Board – then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Mr E Towill MA (Oxon)
Headteacher

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