Introduction
At La Retraite, we place great emphasis on high achievement – we want each individual student to be able to have a variety of life choices, made possible by excellent examination outcomes. OFSTED has designated La Retraite as an ‘Outstanding’ school and it is the aim of all members of staff to ensure that each student achieves her personal best.
Students join a mixed attainment form group in Year 7, and are placed in the set best suited to their ability in Maths and Science. Later, they are set also in English and Modern Foreign Languages. In this way, we hope that each girl will have an equal but different chance, according to her talents and capacity.
All students follow a broad and balanced curriculum at Key Stage 3. At Key Stage 4, there are many interesting choices to be made, according to the preference and learning style of the student. Some students are ‘fast-tracked’ and take some GCSE examinations early, in Year 10. Students can take up to 11 traditional GCSEs or they can opt for vocational courses in Health and Social Care or Business Studies. La Retraite is one of the first schools to offer a 14-19 diploma to suitable students.
Students’ progress is carefully and regularly tracked and parents informed immediately if ever a student falls behind her targets. These targets are individually set and are extremely demanding.
We want our students to be amongst the highest-performing in the UK and we work hard to make this happen.
