COVE
SCHOOL
Care, Character and Academic Excellence
“ Top class school, and improving all the time in its pursuit of excellence. Headteacher and staff should be immensely proud of the school!” – YEAR 8 PARENT
Welcome Dear Parent, I am incredibly proud to be the Headteacher of Cove School and to lead a team of dedicated and talented staff who work tirelessly to ensure that every student receives the very best academic opportunities, alongside the care, guidance and support they need to thrive. Cove is a school with a strong sense of community, high aspirations and a genuine commitment to helping every young person make the most of their time with us. At the heart of Cove are our three values: Care, Character and Academic Excellence. I believe these are fundamental to developing young people who are equipped to navigate and contribute positively to an increasingly complex and ever-changing world. Care is fundamental to who we are. We want every student to feel happy, safe, valued and that they belong at Cove. We believe that strong relationships and a supportive environment provide the foundations from which young people can flourish. Character is about helping our students understand themselves, develop confidence and resilience, and learn how to work positively as part of a community. We want our students to experience opportunities beyond the classroom through our extensive co-curricular programme, broadening their horizons, discovering new interests and developing the wider skills and experiences that will form their toolkit for life beyond Cove. Alongside this, Academic Excellence ensures that students are inspired by their learning through a broad and ambitious curriculum, while being both supported and challenged to achieve the very best outcomes of which they are capable. We want their education at Cove to open doors and provide opportunities for their future. We are proud to be an important part of our wider community and recognise the vital role that parents, carers and our local primary schools play in the success of our students. We work closely with families and our partner primary schools throughout Year 6 and into Year 7 to ensure that every child experiences a positive, well-supported transition and starts their secondary education with confidence. We want students to arrive at Cove knowing that they are part of a community that believes in them and is committed to helping them succeed. Thank you for taking the time to read our prospectus and, most importantly, for taking an interest in Cove School. I hope that these pages give you a sense of our ambition, our values and the opportunities we provide. Most of all, I hope that you will take the opportunity to visit us and experience the warmth, energy and ambition of Cove for yourself. We would be delighted to welcome you. Yours faithfully, Mr D. Bibby Headteacher COVE SCHOOL •
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An inspirin place to le Building confidence and raising aspirations At Cove School we want to inspire students to love learning and to excel academically. Cove School constantly reviews its curriculum, pastoral support, and school facilities to provide an inspirational place for children to thrive. We ensure we have strong links with our primary schools and local 6th Forms. From Year 7, we push students academically, ensuring that there is no wasted learning time in the transition period between primary and secondary school. In Year 11 we fully prepare our students for life in post-16 education, and therefore the next steps in their future careers. The result of this is that over 98% of our students go to post-16 education and many on to university. Great emphasis is placed on the foundational skills of literacy, oracy, and numeracy at Cove School, to ensure every student can access the challenges of the 21st Century learning. This is underpinned by the high expectations we inspire regarding standards of behaviour, character, and academic excellence.
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We ensure that our teachers instil passion and enthusiasm in every lesson they teach. We are passionate about celebrating success in ‘academic achievement boards’ which show superb work ranging from ‘most improved’ to ‘highest attainer’. We want students to be inspired not just in the classroom, but seek to extend their knowledge when they leave. We have a wealth of school trips, clubs and academic competitions to encourage students to love learning. Our multi-layered pastoral and academic support enables students of all abilities and backgrounds to overcome challenges that they have in education. We want the very best for our students because we understand how vital a good education is in order to help them thrive in the place of work and in life.
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“ This is a fabulous school and we are so pleased we chose to come to Cove.” – YEAR 7 STUDENT
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Inspiration and enrich We aim to develop a thirst for learning in all our students by offering a wide range of sport and creative extra-curricular activities.
Sports We have been investing significantly in upgrading our sports facilities with a new basketball area, new gym equipment and a refurbished sports hall. These facilities, along with trained staff to run the Duke of Edinburgh award, means we are able to offer a wide range of activities at lunchtimes, after school and during the weekend. These include popular traditional sports such as football, rugby, netball, and basketball, as well as alternative activities such as indoor rowing, cycling, and boxing.
Expressive Arts We have a wide range of musical opportunities from learning how to play various instruments via our partnership with the Rock and Pop Foundation, how to sing by being part of our choir and how to play the steel pans in our steel pan group. We also have dance groups and a wide range of drama productions which are popular with our students and our local community. Cove School regularly and successfully participates in Shakespeare Schools Festival and the National Rock Challenge.
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n hment Academic Clubs We have dedicated board game rooms for each year group open at lunchtimes. We also have many other opportunities available to students in both break and after school clubs including computing club, science club, eco-warriors; all of which underpins our keen focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths). We strongly believe that participating in clubs leads to further opportunities such as local and national competitions and potentially additional qualifications. This further contributes to the ‘thirst for learning’ we aim to instil in every individual who enters Cove School.
Aspire Programme The Aspire Programme at Cove School is a bespoke, long‑term initiative designed to raise aspirations, nurture ambition, and enhance the future life chances of highly motivated students. Launched with its first cohort in Autumn 2025, this fully‑funded programme extends student learning from Year 7-9. Students are selected based on their potential, curiosity, and drive, and are supported to develop the confidence, resilience, and intellectual curiosity needed to thrive. The programme reflects a shared vision: to provide an exceptional platform for ambitious students to fulfil their potential. Rooted in
a culture of high expectations, the Aspire Programme demonstrates Cove School’s commitment to ensuring that all talented students, regardless of background, are empowered to aim high and succeed.
Higher Project Qualification This qualification is being launched in Autumn 2026. A fully‑funded programme extends student learning for those in KS4 who are seeking further academic development and to make their CV and study portfolio shine. It teaches essential research and essay-writing skills that directly improve their performance in core subjects like History, English, and Science. It helps students to have stand-out college applications by teaching an independent research project. Students get to choose their own topic, whether it is AI, fashion, or space, turning a personal interest into a real qualification. It builds lifelong confidence. It teaches them how to manage a major project and speak in public, building vital skills they will use all the way through university and their career.
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“ Huge thank you to you all at Cove school for making my daughter’s time there so enjoyable. I know she will miss all the wonderful teachers so much.” – YEAR 11 PARENT
Respect and kindn Encouraging positive relationships Cove School is a friendly, supportive, inspirational and forward-thinking community. One where the ethos of respect and kindness lies at the heart of all that we do. Our simple mantra is ‘work hard and be kind’. We explicitly teach respect and kindness from Year 7, enabling students to model our core values. We have a strong student leadership team where students of all year groups can take on leadership roles as either junior or senior prefects. We want our students to grow up as resilient, kind individuals who are ready for any challenge, responding positively to uncertainty and change in our modern times.
At Cove ‘character,’ education, and traditional values of honesty, integrity, good behaviour and co-operation are explicitly taught and are basic expectations of all students as they join our community.
“ I like my teachers because they show me Cove students learn how to collaborate, to listen to others’ points of view, to use their imaginations, and how to fix my mistakes, to solve problems effectively. We encourage and promote a team spirit in various activities, which are really kind and teaches students to be well-rounded individuals. want us to learn.” 06 • COVE SCHOOL
– YEAR 9 STUDENT
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“ I would like to thank you for the wonderful way in which you received our boy in the community of your school. Cove is everything he wanted out of a school.” – YEAR 7 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT
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Cultivating an ambitious culture Striving for excellence for every child Cove School is committed to providing the very best education so that all students can excel. Staff at Cove take part in continuous professional development, which is robust, regular, and keeps pace with pedagogical research. Enabling teachers to deliver the very best lessons for your child to succeed. Cove School also trains teachers by working with many universities and SCITT Teacher training providers including Portsmouth, Reading and Winchester Universities. High quality inclusive teaching is at the core of all that we do; committed to academic progression and enabling all students to make progress beyond what would be expected. Lessons are calm and purposeful, with strong relationships between staff and students. All students are encouraged to take risks and overcome perceived failure as part of developing resilience and becoming a successful learner. We run a traditional three-year Key Stage 3 curriculum to ensure our students experience the full breadth of subjects. This prepares students for the rigours and depth of knowledge needed in the Key Stage 4 curriculum. This will enable students to succeed in their GCSE examinations. Our team of specialist staff are here to support individual learning needs.
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Every child is part of a tutor group with whom they meet twice per day. The role of a tutor is to support, challenge and mentor students as they progress through their journey at Cove and onto the next stage of their academic career.
A curriculum for learning Promoting scholarship regardless of ability and background At Cove School, as soon as students begin their learning career with us, we want our curriculum to be exciting yet challenging. Our curriculum demonstrates the essential knowledge and mastery of basic skills across all subjects allowing students to work towards their academic goals. The curriculum in Year 7 brings together all the essential knowledge acquired at primary school whilst developing a new level of mastery in a wide range of subjects. This is coupled with enrichment through our varied extra-curriculum opportunities we offer at Cove.
healthy choices and decision-making enabling children to keep themselves safe in the modern world. Cove School gives all students a homework timetable in order for them to broaden their understanding and develop more independent learning skills.
Every subject is taught by a specialist teacher who will engage your child in learning new information, skills and to develop new work habits. Our teachers are dedicated and innovative professionals with high expectations for every child. We offer an extensive range of subjects for all students ranging from core subjects such as English, Maths and Science to the Arts, Technologies, PE and Humanities.
External exams play an important part in the success of every child which is why we maintain a broad curriculum through to Year 11, allowing students to choose four option subjects in Year 9. We encourage students to select EBacc subjects at GCSE (Humanities and Modern Languages) as this is desired by the very best universities in the country.
RSHE-Relationships, Sex and Health Education which became statutory for teaching in September 2021 is taught as a discrete lesson in Key Stage 3 and through assemblies and curriculum lessons at Key Stage 4.
From Autumn 2024 Cove School introduced Citizenship GCSE and Leadership and Field Craft. Carefully selected curriculums to teach students about the everchanging world. Students learn about government systems, democracy systems and life skills.
The content is carefully organised to be age appropriate and covers personal development, mental health and well-being,
“ Two of my children have very successfully gone through Cove School and my third is just thriving.” – YEAR 9 PARENT
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Community Partnerships for Excellen Ensuring seamless progress from primary to secondary education Our aim is to prepare students for their future and to help them succeed in a global society. We ensure that we help students so that when they leave Cove, they meet the needs of the employment market and the workplace and successfully become contributors to the economic prosperity of the nation. We run a range of business-enterprise initiatives throughout the academic year and across year groups, as well as hosting events with local businesses and the military. We have a dedicated careers team and have a strong partnership with the Prospect Trust who supply our students with independent careers advice and guidance. We strongly believe in close, active relationships with our Primary Partner schools and Sixth Form colleges. Our staff regularly liaise with colleagues in other institutions from our Primary Curriculum Conferences to Sixth Form experience days. We have strong partnerships with local universities, especially Surrey and Reading Universities which provides a range of learning opportunities for students. One particularly popular example is the popular ‘Brilliant Club’ which links some of our disadvantaged children with PhD students at universities such as Oxford, King’s and Royal Holloway.
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As parents you remain our most important partners and we encourage regular communication with your child’s tutor, attendance at parents’ evenings and other social community-based events hosted by the school. We pride ourselves on knowing each student as an individual and ensuring each student has the right support and engages with the wider community of the school. We encourage our young leaders to help in primary school sporting events, charity work, inter-house and other competitions. Our half termly Parent Communication helps to keep parents informed of key developments, achievements and dates for the calendar. Our school website is regularly updated so you can access all you need to help your child. We also have a suite of IT provisions to help you support your child through their learning journey such as Arbor and Satchel:One.
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“There is a very wide choice of high-quality clubs. Afterschool clubs encourage pupils to get involved in healthy and thoughtful activities... along with very wide-ranging trips and visits on offer.” – OFSTED
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Explicit Charac Education Children at the heart of everything we do As you walk around Cove School you can’t fail to notice our core values of ‘Care and Character’. We strive to ensure that each child is happy, safe and enjoys school. We have high expectations for every child with respect to behaviours for learning and how they play an important role in our school community. At Cove, we want to ensure that students leave our school with an excellent moral compass. Students need to have core values to drive them on to success and we deliberately teach that through our Character Programme. This is done in tutor time, assemblies and taught lessons from our proud partner Commando Joe’s. Dedicated Key Stage 3 lessons are given over to teaching a RESPECT frame work which help students to meet our core values of Care, Character and Academic Excellence. They are hands on lessons which teach students these values through ‘mission’ style activities. Our SENCO leads a highly trained team of learning support staff who deliver effective classroom assistance and intervention for students with additional needs. The targeted interventions include specialist provision for the hearing impaired, reading and literacy, and social, emotional and mental health. Our SEND provision is further supported by the work of our student support workers located in our Raising Aspiration Suite (RAS), who also provide tailored intervention based on individual needs. All staff at Cove share a common purpose; which is to care and nurture every child who joins our community so that they can thrive.
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“ Great school, empathetic teachers, who look after every child, not just the high achievers!” – YEAR 7 & 10 PARENTS
COVE
SCHOOL
St John’s Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 9RN 01252 542397
info@coveschool.uk
www.coveschool.uk