HIDDEN away down a long drive is one of Poole’s best kept educational secrets.

Set on a sprawling site off Wimborne Road is Poole High School, a Business and Enterprise College with a strong sense of identity and ethos.

Oversubscribed, it is the largest school in the borough with 1,629 pupils and is soon to grow even more with another year group in 2013, to close on 2,000 students under the borough’s change in the age of transfer.

With an Ofsted ranking as a good school, just a year after being given a notice to improve, its glowing report notes some outstanding and some satisfactory features.

Among its “significant improvements” was its “extremely positive ethos” and leaps forward in the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of its students, led by assistant headteacher Sue Arnaouti.

Guiding the ship with a strong hand on the tiller is head teacher Chris Lewis, whose personal principles for education are set out in the prospectus.

He said: “I believe that everything that we do in school should be centred upon the student and their learning.

“I believe that it is our job to ensure that every student has the best possible opportunity to achieve his or her full potential in all that they do.

“I also fully recognise and understand that the world in which students will live beyond their school years will be very different from today’s world.

“The speed of change in technology and society makes it impossible to guess what the future will be like and what knowledge will be needed to ensure success.

“I believe that it is one of our duties to provide students with the skills and attitudes that will enable them to deal successfully with the challenges of this future.”

It was awarded specialist status as a Business and Enterprise College in September 2009, having secured £50,000 in sponsorship from local businesses.

The school operates a house system, with seven houses and a student will stay in the same one from years 8-11, with a tutor to offer help and guidance.

Pupils have a voice through the 25-strong Student Council and 56 Year 11 prefects are picked by their houses.

“We want them to feel happy and confident so they can achieve the best they can,” said Mrs Arnaouti, who has been at the school nearly 20 years.

“It’s a very happy school, we are very lucky to work here.”

Mr Lewis said: “Poole High School is a fantastic school.

“We have an amazing campus with superb state of the art facilities.

“We have an excellent staff team who work with tireless dedication and enthusiasm for the benefit of the students.

“We have marvellous support and commitment from parents and the local community and most importantly we have hundreds and hundreds of totally fantastic students who are thoughtful, co-operative and an absolute delight to work with.”