Sir Roger Manwood’s School

The school's website states: 'At Sir Roger Manwood’s School we aim to provide a broad curriculum which is balanced, relevant, enjoyable and challenging to all pupils. It is a core belief of the school that all individuals are equally valued and that everyone treats one another with mutual respect .

The school enjoys high standards of behaviour from its students and a strong sense of loyalty to the school. The students have many opportunities to develop skills and personal qualities, both in the formal curriculum and in the extra-curricular life of the school, that will serve them well in their future lives. We also seek to provide a caring community which encourages concern and respect for the welfare of others.'

One of the guiding principles of Manwood’s is that its pupils should work hard, play hard and contribute to the School community at least as much as they derive from it. The wide range of activities offers numerous opportunities both to develop interests and to take responsibility.

The extra-curricular programme operates on the basis that pupils will give of their time at lunch-times and after school - the commitment to sports teams, plays, concerts, language classes, Duke of Edinburgh, Young Enterprise, CCF etc is considerable. On the musical front, for example, there are frequent concerts for choirs, orchestra, brass band, jazz band, rock bands, and soloists, with opportunities for all levels of competence to perform in public. Peripatetic teachers visit the School regularly to give lessons, as well as taking part in the evening concerts. Drama is very strong within the school with both Senior and Junior Productions each year and lively Drama Clubs which meet each week. Drama also appears on the curriculum at all Key Stages.
 
The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is very popular with students pursuing Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. The Combined Cadet Force, in which both boys and girls participate, is greatly in demand at local civic occasions, besides providing exciting opportunities on its Field Weekends, Adventure Training Weeks, and Annual Camps. All members are volunteers, and the contingent numbers about 100. Debating and Public Speaking competitions are run in school and students compete for the David Starkey Awards at Junior, Intermediate and Senior levels. Students also compete in national competitions.
 
The school enjoys an excellent reputation within the local community and students reach out to it through the activities of the Charity Committee, the CCF Band, the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, the music and drama performances and the Boarding Community. The Manwoodian Magazine is produced each year by a student editorial group under the leadership of a member of staff.
 
In the course of the year staff organise a wide variety of trips: to lectures and conferences, art gallery, museum and theatre visits, foreign exchanges, form outings, day trips to France etc. The Charity Committee is active throughout the school year organising events to raise money for the nominated school charity, one highlight of the year being “Charity Week”.
 
Two Young Enterprise Companies operate in school each year with members of the Lower Sixth honing their entrepreneurial and business skills.

The school has a very strong commitment to Learning Outside the Classroom. For example, the Geography Department organise many field trips, the Science Department has strong links with the University of Kent and the History Department take their GCSE students to Berlin each year. In the last few years, the Music Department has taken the School Orchestra and Choir to Hungary, Barcelona Italy and Portugal.