The curriculum is varied and helps every student to develop their interests and skills. The extra curricular programme encourages involvement and engagement - with well over 50 different clubs and activities taking place either at lunchtime, after school, at weekends or in the holiday periods - there is a wealth of choice.

Students are elected by their peers to become members of the Year and College councils where they make genuine decisions about important issues for students.

Parents say that they like what we do and the way we go about our work. The newly formed 'Friends of Bideford College' involves parents, staff and members of the community who want to support the College. They are growing in number and deserve to be congratulated on all that they have achieved in their first year.

We are a specialist Science College – please look at this area on our website to see what we have done to stimulate Science working. There have been a number of key events where students have worked alongside individuals and community groups to broaden their knowledge of science and, in particular, of environmental issues.

The vision for the future of our College is clear. We want every individual, regardless of their ability, interest or need to achieve their potential and to grow into responsible young adults. Some of our students have talents in sports, others in arts, some in sciences, some in languages. There will be individuals who want to debate issues or to take responsibility for others, to be leaders or to work within a team. I see it as our purpose to work closely with parents and carers to give students as many opportunities as we can both within and beyond the classroom, to find out where their talents lie and to develop them as a result of both experience and challenge.

We believe in having a very close working partnership between students, parents/carers and staff. I am confident that we can involve each parent/carer in their son's/daughter's education so that any anxieties that may exist can be addressed quickly. Our size can be an issue for some parents/carers but each Tutor should know an individual student very well and will be able to support and encourage them in their learning just as well as they would be able to in smaller schools. The advantages of size are significant and because of the economies of scale we can provide a much wider range of courses throughout Years 7-13. Our inclusion curriculum and the broad range of AS and A levels in the Sixth Form and a vast array of extra curricular activities effectively illustrate this point.

We have high expectations of ourselves and of our students. Responsibility and self-discipline are valued. Every student is encouraged to wear their College uniform with pride and to recognise that the future reputation of the College is in our hands – whatever we do or say, both in and out of College.

Thank you, again, for visiting the website. Feel free to browse and to contact either myself or other colleagues if you require any further information about the College.