These results over time show historic performance for key exam results. We show pre-pandemic results as the fairest indicator of whether performance is up, down or stable
School Description
Bethany enjoys a reputation as a particularly friendly and happy community. It is a strong, thriving school and recent years have seen an enviable building programme. The Head firmly believes that school should be enjoyed rather than endured and it is the atmosphere of positive nurturing and encouragement which makes Bethany ‘refreshingly different’.Located in Kent’s ‘Garden of England’, Bethany combines an idyllic rural location with easy accessibility.
Meet staff and pupils and tour our School’s superb facilities, including our award-winning 25m indoor swimming pool, state-of-the-art Fitness Suite and dedicated Sixth Form Centre.
Our greatest aim is to enable each of our pupils to realise their potential in every area that they study, flourishing in those subjects where their talents shine brightest and carrying with them a genuine love of learning.
We create a challenging and supportive learning environment, and small class sizes are fundamental to our success. We generally have fewer 18 pupils in any class, allowing our teachers to target and develop the abilities of each individual, offering support and guidance as they work through our broad and balanced curriculum together.
Through dynamic and differentiated teaching, we aim to instil in our pupils key skills, both from a learning and a social perspective, that are so vital for exam success and life beyond School.
Bethany’s Learning Support department enjoys an international reputation for its success in giving specialist help to dyslexic pupils within our mainstream school, and the school has been CReSTeD registered since 1994. In addition, for those pupils who may benefit from it, we also offer English as an Additional Language (EAL) support.
Bethany STEM pupils have reached the finals for the Big Bang national competition. Throughout November, over 70 judges from the field of STEM have been reviewing projects and helping to select the winners who will be attending the Finals. Our first ever Year 12 pupils, Ben Scott and Aaron Monk’s STEM project ‘Independent mobility for disabled users’, has been successful and the students have been invited to attend The Big Bang Competition Finals 2020.
The Finals will take place at the NEC in Birmingham on Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th March 2020. At the Finals, the finalists’ project is judged by leading experts, and the pupils will also take part in exciting STEM activities and possibly come away with a fantastic prize!
The project was an enormous scale of reverse engineering and modification. In this modern world, we take a lot for granted, such as the car or motorbike. People who have lost the ability to walk cannot drive or ride any to go where they want. They would have to use public transport or friends to get around. This makes them less independent. The STEM pupils decided that should change.
“Motorbikes are very close to our hearts, and we know what it feels like not being able to jump on a motorcycle and head off into the sunset. This motorcycle would allow those who have lost the ability to use their legs/ or limited use to get on their bike and ride off into the sunset” remarked Aaron.
Most motorcycles are made with high seating positions which for someone with limited or no use of their legs would be very unreasonable and not realistic to put them on and ride, so with this in mind the pupils set out to build a low, stable bike making it as eco-friendly as possible.
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“We also had to bear in mind that the bike would have to be light and have a very low centre of gravity, so we had to get the weight low down. This would help the user with limited or no use of their legs to feel stable on the bike. Moreover, hopefully, the low centre of gravity would give the bike the right amount of natural stability. To help make it safe, we added stabilisers”, said Ben.
The pupils started off using a written off Honda CBF 125, which is very reliable and a stable bike. This motorcycle had been in an accident and was written off, so they bought it for spares and repairs. It took some days to strip the bike down for its engine wheels, suspension and swinging arms as these were the most expensive parts. The bike so far had only cost £250. The team decided that if they made the seat too low, the rider would not feel comfortable on the bike at all, and if too high, they would feel unstable. So, they made a seating height of 40cm, which feels very comfortable.
The STEM finalists learnt and applied the following skills to make the bike: (1) horizontal ban saw, (2) MiG welder, (3) filing, (4) sanding/scotching, (5) priming/painting, (6) fabricating, (7) milling, and (8) lathing. STEM teaches pupils life skills and congratulations to Ben and Aaron for being Bethany’s STEM ambassadors this academic year.
This year was a year like no other but the resilient Year 11 pupils at Bethany did not allow this to negatively impact their academic focus and have attained outstanding GCSE results. The pupils achieved highly due to their sustained diligence, and the excellent guidance and support of the teaching staff.
This is particularly laudable given the disruption that they have experienced since March. Bethany’s focus on community and continuous emphasis on personal growth and development has once again reaped a rich dividend. This was exemplified by the record number of grade 9’s achieved by the pupils this year. In addition, English retained its 100% pass rate and not to be outdone, Mathematics mirrored this achievement. Bethany’s broad curriculum, which allows pupils to concentre on their strengths, was also evident in this exceptional set of results. A third of the pupils who studied Design Technology achieved grade 9, half the pupils who sat English Literature obtained the top two grades, while three quarters of the Artists secured grades 7 or higher.
Top of the class this year is Max Brown, from Cranbrook, who achieved a grade 9 in every subject. He is closely followed by Dan Akowe (Dagenham), Ruqaiyah Jarviton (Maidstone), Harry Ip (Northampton) and Sebastian Smith (Maidstone) who all achieved top grades across the board.
Headmaster Francie Healy says: “Our exceptionally talented and dedicated staff have superbly guided the committed Year 11 pupils through these troubled waters. I am incredibly proud of every single pupil. The results obtained are both outstanding and well deserved. Last year Bethany was judged to be in the top 0.5% of schools nationally with regard to progress at A level, and therefore our pupils are well placed to secure stunning A level successes in two years’ time”.
“Thank you, Bethany. You promised and you delivered an education sympathetic to my daughter’s needs. The School is a special place, and a very great example of everything that is rare in life these days.” Mr Ross
“I am so pleased with my GCSE results. I feel I could never have achieved my results without the fantastic teachers at Bethany.” Sophie Ovenden
“Its been an amazing five years. I can’t thank the staff enough for giving me such an amazing secondary School experience.” Dan Akowe
Francie Healy started out at Bethany at a Mathematics teacher. He then assumed responsibility for ICT in the classroom and in 1999 successfully introduced laptops for every child and teacher at Bethany under the Anywhere Anytime Learning programme. In 2000, he trained as an ISI inspector. Francie was then appointed Academic Deputy and subsequently became Deputy Head. An innovator by nature, he is constantly looking at ways to improve the educational experience of pupils. He remains steadfast in his desire in wanting all pupils to become the very best versions of themselves. He is passionate in believing that being happy and successful go hand in hand and that excellent pastoral care provides the necessary bedrock to sustained success.
Who/what inspired you to become a teacher?
I like helping people and I love the optimism of youth. My two favourite teachers at school were my Mathematics teacher and my History teacher and I can trace my love of both of these subjects back to these two inspirational teachers. I want to play my part in spreading similar joy, awe and wonderment to others.
What achievement are you most proud of as Head?
Keeping children at the heart of every decision that is made as well as maintaining our holistic approach to education. This is hugely appreciated by parents and they are very supportive of this approach. Our pupils overachieve in examinations because we focus on the amount of effort we require of pupils in our positive, supportive “can do” environment. Being able to withstand governmental or societal dogma when it comes to education gives me enormous pride. We deliver what we promise.
What does a successful school look like to you?
It is a school that always puts the child first. The best schools ensure that the shy introverted child who enters it develops into a confident, articulate, successful, natural, caring and empathetic adult by the time they leave. In addition to achieving excellent academic results, it is also of crucial importance that the pupils leave with excellent intra and interpersonal skills. The ability to get on exceptionally well with one’s peers and work colleagues is what separates the good from the great. Every pupil, through their educational experience, should be given copious opportunities to acquire the best skills in all of these areas.
What is the most important quality you want every child to have when they leave your school? And why?
The confidence to be their natural selves.
No one can ask any more of anyone than to be the best version of themselves. Such people come across as natural and sincere. They generate automatic respect from others. They are best placed to become leaders in their chosen areas of expertise. They are also better placed to lead a balanced and happy life and this in turn ensures that whatever success is generated is sustainable.
Please give 5 words to describe the ethos of your school.
Welcoming, Natural, Caring, Ambitious, Successful.
This school is independently managed and its admission criteria may be selective. There is no set catchment area as pupils are admitted from a wide variety of postcodes and, in the case of boarding schools, from outside the UK. Contact the school directly or visit their website for more information on Admissions Policy and Procedures.
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