At Ringwood, our intent is to create opportunities both within and beyond the classroom where all our students can flourish and develop a passion for learning.

From each year group we identify a group of students as being Academically More Able (AMA) using various attainment measures and we support their academic and intellectual development in a myriad of ways both within and beyond the classroom.

Ringwood School works hard to ensure it meets the need of our Academically More Able students. Our most able students routinely achieve grades 8 and 9 at GCSE. Ringwood students are congratulated annually by exam boards for achieving marks in the top 1% of all students nationally. Every year in our Sixth Form, many students secure A and A* grades in all their subjects and entrance to Russell Group universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.

All our students are challenged to think hard and this, of course includes our AMA students. To help students and parents, curriculum maps for all subjects at Key Stage Three have challenge questions and suggested activities to broaden and deepen students’ understanding beyond the classroom (the super curricular). At Sixth Form all subjects have developed a bank of Academic Enrichment ideas and resources to aid the development of academic curiosity. As a school, we are also members of NACE (National Association for Able Children in Education) and are able to use the resources they publish to support more able students.

In addition to support within lessons and activities organised by departments we provide whole school opportunities for the most able throughout their time with us. These are opportunities to raise their aspirations, stretch their minds and help them reach their goals. Many of these opportunities, although aimed at the Academical More Able, are open to all our students to participate in as we as a community want to raise the aspirations of all our young people. Some of these activities are described below.

• To support the transition of our most able we organise a cross curricular day for able Year 5s from our different feeder schools where students take part in Maths, French, Science and English activities.
• In year 7 we offer ‘Curious Minds’, an afterschool club for able students designed to nurture academic curiosity and independent thinking. Students get the opportunity to be introduced to subjects not on the curriculum for example, Italian, Classical Civilisation and Anthropology.
• We have had a series of inspirational school talks organised through ‘Speakers for Schools’. For example we have been lucky enough to have Robert Elsey, Executive Director for Technology for the Bank of England come and talk to the whole of Year 9 about working in the technology and financial industry.
• We have a Year 11-13 Debate Team that takes part in the prestigious National Debating Competition – the Schools’ Mace organised by the English Speaking Union.

We also support students in their aspirations for selective higher education and careers.

• The Scholars Programme (a widening participation project), organised by the Brilliant Club, for selected students in yr9-10. Students take part in academic enrichment working with doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in small groups which culminates in each student writing an independent dissertation to A Level standard. Through a combination of university trips and in-school tutorials, students develop the knowledge, skills and ambition needed to progress to highly selective universities.
• Students in Years 10-13 who are interested in studying medicine and health related careers meet with a local retired surgeon and member of Sheffield University Medical School Admissions panel to discuss medical ethics and other related topical news stories, as well as getting relevant career and higher education advice.
• We host an annual Oxbridge Roadshow for any interested students in yr10-13; sessions are run by staff and students from Trinity College Cambridge and St Edmund’s Hall Oxford. Students can get advice and information about Oxbridge and making a successful application.
• Annual visits to St Edmunds Hall, Oxford University for year 10 and 12 students. (Please remove this bullet)
• Our Year 12 students have the opportunity to take part in HE+ a widening participation project run by Cambridge University. The scheme involves Year 12 students from across the county meeting for 5 twilight sessions in one of a chosen subject discipline. Some sessions are taken by Cambridge University teaching staff, and some sessions are run out of Southampton University. Students also have access to additional career and higher education advice, and the opportunity to visit Trinity College, Cambridge.