Business details
Dallam School
- Tel: 015395 65165
- Email: [Send email to Dallam School]
- Website: http://www.dallam.eu/
- Dallam School, Milnthorpe, LA7 7DD
Dallam school
Dallam is a mixed, comprehensive 11 to 19 school with boarding and language college status in the rural, southern fringes of the Lake District.
Our popularity is based on:
a track record of outstanding examination achievement
£12m recent investment in new facilities across the school
being small enough for every student to be well known as an individual
but being large enough to offer a wide range of courses,including the highly regarded International Baccalaureate
an extensive extra-curricular programme of sports, arts and outdoor adventure
a distinctive international ethos with special opportunities
for learning languages and for visits abroad
being a community college promoting lifelong learning
"Dallam is very special. We are incredibly lucky to have a school that gives so many opportunities to our children."
YEAR 7 PARENT
"Students' contribution to the school and wider community is outstanding."
OFSTED
Here to learn
The school is friendly, yet purposeful. All students know that very high standards of academic and personal achievement are expected of them. The emphasis is on preparation for an ever changing modern world and a lifetime of learning. There is respect, though, for the traditions of the school, including good behaviour and smart school uniform.
On entering the school, students are taught mostly in their tutor groups. They are placed with friends from their primary schools. Maths teaches in sets from the start. Science also begins to set by ability. English teaches in all ability groups and sets at the end of Year 7.
Students can be in different sets for different subject areas and great care is taken to move them up and down according to individual rates of progress identified in their regular assessments.
Organised around the principles of the IB Middle Years Programme, all students in years 7 to 9 follow the full national curriculum, with classes in English, maths, science, information technology, design and technology, French or Spanish, citizenship, geography, history, religious studies, PE, art, drama dance and music. Students add German, French or Spanish to their studies in Year 9. In years 10 and 11, students have greater choice. In addition to English, maths and science, at least one modern language (French, German or Spanish), ICT, core PE and religious studies, students can choose from GCSEs in catering, product design, textiles, music, art, drama, history, geography, religious studies, PE, business studies, health and social care, and business communication technology. Environment and Land Based Studies is available as both a science GCSE and a Specialised Diploma. Other Diploma courses in a range of vocational areas are available through our partnership with South Lakes Federation schools and Kendal College. A very wide range of International Baccalaureate courses is available in years 12 and 13, giving excellent access to universities in the UK and abroad.
All students follow a programme of personal and social education in their tutor groups. Health education includes personal health, sex education and drug education.
Learning for life
We aim for students to become active, lifelong learners. Therefore, we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods, including practical work, discussion, off-site visits, individual research, group work and IT based learning.
There is much emphasis on developing good study skills and personal organisation. Homework is an important part of the programme. Students record this in their study planners, which are signed by parents and checked by personal tutors.
Employers give good support to our careers programme and all students do work experience in year 10.
Students are able to take work related courses in years 10 to 13, including programmes based at Kendal College.
The school is at the centre of its community and is the largest adult education provider in Cumbria. We have strong business links and work closely with voluntary groups. Work with local primary schools is well developed. Of particular note is the growing partnership with local artists and performing arts organisations. As a designated Extended School, we work with partners in the Local Authority, health service and especially local primary schools to meet the wider needs of young people and families. We can help with holiday and after school schemes, get support from outside agencies, and give access to our facilities to dozens of local community groups.
Healthy, active and creative students
There is a wealth of creative and sporting activity both in and beyond the school day. Although a specialist language college, Dallam has also developed a strong reputation as a centre for artistic excellence and has gained the prestigious Artsmark Gold Award.
Termly school productions range from Shakespeare to musicals and include both aspiring actors and those who just want to join in and have fun. Huge numbers of students have instrumental music lessons, arranged and subsidised by the school, during the day. This is accompanied by a wide range of musical groups and performances, from jazz to orchestra.
Dallam is traditionally a sporting school with very high levels of participation. There are clubs at lunchtimes and after school in sports such as netball, rugby, hockey, soccer, athletics, cricket, rounders and cross country running. There are also activities as diverse as gymnastics, swimming, canoeing, tennis, badminton and skiing. We compete with local schools after school and on Saturday mornings, and are well represented at district and county levels. We are very lucky in having a brand new sports hall, gym, fitness studio and third generation artificial pitch, but also an additional sports hall, a swimming pool, four all weather floodlit tennis courts and extensive playing fields. Tennis, through its club links and excellent facilities, is a real area of strength for the school.
We hold the Healthy Schools Award, and have worked hard on the nutrition, emotional health, exercise and healthy lifestyles of our students. All food served at Dallam is low fat, low salt and cooked in our own kitchens from locally sourced ingredients.
We encourage students to drink water in lessons and no fizzy or sugary drinks are sold in school.
Year 7 students choose from Spanish, Board Games, Art, Science, Drama, Dance and many other clubs each lunchtime. Young Enterprise always does well in the South Cumbria area competition, and our year 12 public speakers often beat neighbouring schools, to name but a few of our extra curricular activities. Of course, there are the usual breakfast and homework clubs, but more unusual are the Get Global Group which goes from strength to strength or the ever active Eco School groups.
The school has developed a programme of holiday sporting, cultural and study activities. These include the summer school for gifted and talented students, the summer sports camps, musical and artistic events, and outdoor adventure programmes. Many students enjoy the school's tennis, swimming and other sporting facilities through membership of our partner clubs.
Out in the country
We are very fortunate in being in such a beautiful location. As a relatively small rural school, we value our links with the countryside and local industry, including agriculture and other landbased enterprises.
As one of the few secondary schools in the country to be awarded the Eco-School Green Flag, our students organise themselves to care for our environment. They recycle waste, run energy saving and anti-litter campaigns, establish gardens in the school grounds, plant trees and visit partner schools abroad to study their schemes for environmental sustainability.
Dallam is renowned for its outdoor education and its Duke of Edinburgh activity in particular. Taking advantage of our proximity to both the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, large numbers of students and staff participate in canoeing, hiking, camping and other adventurous pursuits. All year 7 students have a residential experience at Borrowdale and this adds greatly to their personal and social development. Many parents, especially those of boarders from cities or abroad, seek the safe, rural lifestyle that Dallam can offer.
Everyone counts
Dallam is small enough for every student to be known as an individual. Every student meets their personal tutor twice a day and maintains that relationship from years 7 to 11.
The personal tutor tracks both the academic and personal development of a relatively small group of students and provides an invaluable link with parents. They are supported by heads of year and members of the leadership team who are attached to specific year groups. The Student Services Office monitors student attendance and provides sickness and first aid support. Parents will also find somebody at the end of the phone at all times in the Heads of Year Office to get help on how students are getting on in their studies or socially.
At Dallam we believe that all students have the right to equal educational opportunities so that they can achieve their full potential. The learning support department, in partnership with parents and other agencies, carefully assesses and regularly reviews the special educational needs of students, and provides support, largely within mainstream classes, where required. Please contact the Head of Learning Support if you wish to discuss the individual learning needs of your son or daughter.
The school works hard to identify the needs and to plan appropriate programmes for students who are particularly gifted or talented. Departments challenge able students within subject areas and support them to excel through to International Baccalaureate and entry to Oxford, Cambridge and other prestigious universities.
Working together
We pride ourselves on the quality of relationships at Dallam. There is a high level of respect between students and staff, and visitors to the school comment on the friendly atmosphere.
Perhaps because students come from so many different and sometimes far flung places, new students settle in quickly and happily.
High levels of behaviour are expected of all students. The school operates a system of rewards and sanctions to uphold its code of conduct, with an emphasis on rewards and positive reinforcement of good behaviour.
Bullying is not tolerated at Dallam. We have a robust policy, monitored by Governors, to ensure that all students feel safe and that any incidents are dealt with swiftly and effectively.
Everything we do, whether outdoor challenge, student mentoring or life skills programmes, is designed to support students emotionally and socially. Dallam maintains good links with parents. There are one full and two interim reports a year. Annual parents' evenings are well attended. The Parent Teacher Association is exceptionally active, with a wide programme of social, fundraising and information giving activities.
Areas served: Ambleside, Barrow-in-furness, Bowness-on-windermere, Kendal, Kirkby Stephen, Milnthorpe.
Categories: Colleges, Schools