Committed to potential; SHELDON HEATH COMMUNITY ARTS COLLEGE.

Byline: STATE OF THE ART Year 11 students work towards their GCSEs and, right, excellent computer facilities.

SHELDON Heath Community Arts College is a school committed to ensuring that every child reaches their full potential, both academically and socially.

To achieve this end the school works to create a calm, positive learning atmosphere, characterised by clear expectations of behaviour, positive attitudes to learning and the building of good working relationships with students and their families.

The school believes that good discipline is the cornerstone of a successful school and will create a safe and secure environment where children can learn and teachers can teach.

The school has clear systems in place for managing and supporting behaviour. It is a key school aim that students become well motivated, self disciplined and ready to learn.

In order to ensure all students fulfil their potential the school has created a curriculum designed to provide them with opportunities matched to their strengths and aptitudes.

At the age of 14, those students who are academically inclined will have the opportunity to follow a wide and diverse range of subjects that will prepare them for further and higher education. Whilst those who want to pursue work-related subjects will also have a wide choice available to them.

Underpinning all of the school's work is the belief that all children have the potential to achieve. Promoting good discipline provides the basis for good teaching and learning.

The school pushes hard to ensure students do their very best. This approach is raising standards across the school and in 2006 42 per cent of students achieved five A*-C grades.

The school is a specialist arts college and this helps to give it a distinctive ethos.

There is a wide range of instrumental and voice music lessons on offer, all of which are free. The school has several music groups and bands and runs a number of drama productions every year.

A developing area of the arts at the school is art and design, which is proving very popular with students.

The facilities for the arts are excellent. They include three performing arts areas, three music areas and a number of rehearsal rooms and bespoke art rooms.

Sheldon Heath also has dedicated information technology rooms for media and music.

The good facilities are not just confined to the arts and there are excellent resources for information technology, science and technology, and sport

Staff value the contribution that families can make to the school and the learning of students. Throughout the year there a number of opportunities for families to visit the school, meet staff and receive information on the progress of their son or daughter.

Moving up to secondary school from primary school is an important stage in a young person's life. At Sheldon Heath Community Arts College they work hard to ensure that this transition is smooth.

The head of Year 7, supported by a mentor, visits primary schools to meet prospective students.

The school urges families to attend the open evening on September 21 (5.30pm to 8.30pm) or one of the open mornings on September 22 and 25 (9am to 11am). Should you have any questions, feel free to contact the head teacher, John Allen.

AT A GLANCE

Sheldon Heath Community Arts College

Head teacher John Allen

Address Sheldon Heath Road, Birmingham, B26 2RZ

Phone [phone]

email [e-mail]

Bus routes 13, 17, 72, 590

CAPTION(S):

STATE OF THE ART Year 11 students work towards their GCSEs and, right, excellent computer facilities.