Thurstable School

About the school

I was fortunate enough to take up the position of Headteacher of Thurstable School in September 2020 and am proud to work alongside our ambitious staff, students and parents. We have high hopes and equally high expectations of our students in all that they do in the classroom and community.

We are building a school community based on the key values of working hard, being kind and leaving a legacy. These are the driving principles behind the most successful sports team of all time, the All Blacks, and ones we are embedding at Thurstable. We want to nurture children who are humble enough to ‘sweep the shed’, kind enough to care and ambitious enough to leave their legacy.

We want to be known for our great research informed teaching, exemplary behaviour and kind heart. We will do everything that we can to ensure that each and every student will be the best version of themselves and achieve the highest exam grades that they can achieve. We are unashamedly clear that academic scholarship, reading and writing are at the heart of our curriculum – but the Thurstable experience is about so much more. We must equally nurture the dreams of the aspirant Cambridge student, the Explorer and the West End performer. We provide a whole range of rich opportunities for children to make their memories from foreign exchanges, musical productions, Duke of Edinburgh schemes and numerous sporting opportunities.

Whilst we are ambitious for our childrens’ personal achievement, this must never come at the cost of young peoples’ well-being. As a parent myself, I know that the most important thing is that your child is happy at school. All staff are trained in supporting children’s mental health and well-being and we have a number of non-teaching staff to support students’ emotional well-being. Thurstable is a positive and optimistic school and happiness is best achieved when students feel part of something bigger and are fully engaged with their community. We will be working hard to provide opportunities for our children to make a positive difference to the lives of others.

We want our children to develop a life-long love of learning, form firm friendships and become caring and compassionate young adults. Like the All Blacks, we want our children to work hard, be kind and leave a legacy. We won’t get everything right, but we will always be honest and learn to do better. We are excited about our journey and hope you would like your child to be part of our humble but ambitious school community.

James Ketley, Headteacher