Aiming Higher

This area of the website provides information about the work that we do to support those students aiming for the very highest academic achievement. 

Here you can find details about what we are doing to encourge our students to realise their academic potential. We also aim to provide enriching educational experiences that challenge and inspire our learners to have the highest ambitions for the future. We have a dedicated coordinator in post who leads our Aiming Higher programme, but all our staff are aware of their role in supporting those students with the potential to achieve the highest levels. 

Provision begins in the planning of our curriculum and all schemes of work planned by heads of departments include specific materials and ideas which differentiate, enrich and extend learning to ensure that the work is sufficiently challenging. 

Outside of lessons we aim to offer a wide variety of enrichment opportunities across all areas of the curriculum and provide students with the best information, advice and guidance to support them in their aspirations for college/university study.

You can read about some of our students’ successes in the case studies link as well as find out more about all of the above by navigating the links on this page. 

Message from HPA Coordinator

My name is James Sandford and since October 2019 I have led on strategies to cater for our students with high prior attainment. As well as this I am also Faculty Lead for Languages and have a good understanding of how to prepare our students for their GCSE and A-level examinations.

It is essential that students who have high prior attainment are regularly challenged in every subject and are offered the best opportunity to excel in all areas of education. I work with all departments to ensure teachers are confident applying suitable strategies to stretch our HPA students.

HPA students can sometimes find the school journey difficult, as they are not prepared to make mistakes. They may find learning emotionally challenging due to such high expectations. Our aim is to promote a growth mindset for these individuals to ensure they excel in all areas of their Hove Park experience and get a real flavour for the challenges that lie ahead of them in their journey into careers or higher education.