Sue Bland, acting head of PE, has been at the school for 10 years. She said: “I love working here. It is a fantastic school. There is a supportive community ethos and it’s always very friendly.”

Madeleine Mathas, modern languages subject leader, said: “This school is like a big family. We like to make students feel special. Languages are important to us and compulsory. We do exchange trips to France and Germany.”

Nicola Gray, 17, is in Year 13. She said: “They support you emotionally at this school and the chaplaincy team have helped me a lot. We do a lot of sport here and it helps you to get to know a lot of people.”

Year 13 student Daniel Dunleavy, 18, said: “Here you can develop academically and they nurture your talents. I wasn’t very academically minded when I first came here but that has changed and I hope to study politics at university.”

Rebecca Pitcher, 16, is in Year 12. “I really like this school for the opportunities with languages. I did Spanish and French at GCSE and hope to do something with languages in the future. We do a wide variety of languages.”

Parent Gill Cook has a son who started in Year 8 in September. She said: “He made new friends very easily and has become involved in school life. He did the lighting for the school production.”

Monika Quine has a son in Year 10 and hopes her daughter will follow him into the school. She said: “I was a pupil here and I enjoyed it. My son loves being in the school band and we are delighted with his education here.”