Thornton College is an award-winning, leading, independent day and boarding school for girls ages three to 18 years old, set in 25 acres of beautiful grounds between Milton Keynes and Buckingham. It is the only leading school for girls in the area and each year has around 410 students, including international borders.
In September 2022, at the start of the new academic year, Thornton College was inspected by the ISI, the Independent School Inspectorate.
The Educational Quality Inspection reports upon two key out-comes: the achievement of the pupils, including their academic development; and the personal development of the pupils. In both outcomes, Thornton College has been awarded Excellent, the highest possible judgement. The Compliance Inspection is one that can only be judged as ‘met’ or ‘not met’. Thornton College was found to have ‘met’ and therefore be compliant, in all areas, such as those related to welfare, health and safety of students and safeguarding.
Thornton received the final inspection report in October, and the full inspection report can be downloaded on the school’s website www.thorntoncollege.com – it includes both the results of the Compliance Inspection and the Educational Quality Inspection.
Dr Louise Shaw, Head Teacher said:
“This is the highest outcome that any school can achieve, and we are incredibly proud of our whole school community; students, parents, guardians, teaching and support colleagues, governors and trustees. The report highlights what an outstanding place Thornton is in offering the very best opportunities for students of all ages, from our very youngest in Pre-Reception to our Sixth Form students – the inspectors have firmly confirmed that girls at Thornton thrive.”
Student-led initiatives
At Thornton College, students from the very youngest age are encouraged to lead, especially in areas and topics they are interested and passionate about. Across the school there are opportunities for students from every year group to engage in student-led initiatives such as School Council, Eco Committee, Ethos Committee and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) projects.
Last year, the student Head Girl project led by Victoria and Deputy Head Girl Chiamaka was called is is Me. Victoria and Chiamaka planned and implemented a day off timetable for the whole school to learn about each other and be empowered and proud to present their individual selves and how they identify – their culture, history, interests, likes, dislikes, hobbies, weekend activities and more. The This is Me project saw students set up and create stands and stalls with themes including Persia, Greece, art, animals, climbing, cheerleading, South Asia, Nigeria, Kenya, sewing, baking and more. Over 400 students visited these stands and engaged in this Diversity, Equity and Inclusion student-led initiative and the outcomes have been incredible, enhancing tolerance, identity, empowerment and togetherness.
The This is Me project was nominated and awarded a Finalist in two categories of the is is Us Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Awards 2023. Jennifer Walker, Development Director said:
“Victoria and Chiamaka set out with the aim of integration and to empower students across the school to be comfortable being themselves. They have achieved industry recognition for this project, but more importantly they have given our school and all our students an incredible wealth of understanding and a true learnt legacy. Student-led projects are always impactful and worthwhile and I am proud to work at a school that empowers our students to take the lead, knowing that teachers and sta will support each individual student with time and encour-agement to reach their full potential. Our recent inspection highlight-ed our student led initiatives and engagement as a major strength at Thornton”.
For more information about Thornton College contact Jennifer Walker, Development Director via email JWalker@thorntoncollege.com
