From Potential to Performance: The Mitchell High School
"The TPI programmes have been phenomenal... we've turned things around. It not only transforms individuals, it regenerates whole communities."
(Debbie Sanderson, Headteacher, The Mitchell High School)
Mitchell High used to be one of the lowest performing secondary schools in England. In 1998, just 6% of Mitchell High's students gained the benchmark A* - C exam grades, and in 2001, a fifth of its 16-year-olds left without any qualifications. In 2004 however, 43% of its students gained five or more A* - C's. This was one of the biggest improvements in exam performance in any secondary school in the country. In the same year, 96% of school leavers left Mitchell High with some qualification. Mitchell High is currently of the ten most improved secondaries nationwide. Debbie Sanderson, the school's Headteacher , is about to collect an OBE in recognition of her services to education in Stoke- On- Trent, and the school has been approached by the office of the Deputy Prime Minister to serve as a case study of exemplary practice.
For the last 6 years, Stoke's LEA has been working with schools like Mitchell High to embed The Pacific Institute (TPI) concepts in all aspects of school organisational culture and influence. Teachers and other staff at the school participate in the IIE programme while students participate in Thinksmart at Key Stage 3 and in Go For it at Key Stage 4. Parents are offered the opportunity to take part in the STEPS programme. TPI has worked in partnership with Mitchell High and Stoke LEA to train local facilitators who deliver TPI programmes and provide support for the school community on an ongoing basis. This model of developing local capacity within the community has proved cost-effective and has enabled large numbers of people to access the programmes. It has also given all school stakeholders a common, evolving language of optimism and self-efficacy, with amazing results.
The Pacific Institute is delighted to be part of Mitchell High's winning strategy and its unshakeable belief in the power of schools to transform their communities. Debbie Sanderson sums it up in this way:
"Unless you meet people's basic needs, they are not going to value what we have to offer. And I can't raise the attainment of 11 - to 16-year olds unless they go home to a place where learning is valued. People are starting to see that raising attainment for young people goes beyond teaching and learning."
Debbie Sanderson
Headteacher
Mitchell High School
