College Vision and Values - Uckfield College
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College Vision and Values

College Vision and Values

OUR VISION

An inspiring College where every individual is supported and challenged to achieve personal excellence

OUR CULTURE

OUR CULTURE is based on ‘We All Belong’ and ‘Respect for All’

  1. I respect myself
    We all deserve to be the best versions of ourselves
  2. I speak and behave respectfully to staff and students
    We are ‘extra polite’ to one another
  3. I respect the College environment
    Our exceptional College belongs to us all
  4. I respect the wider community outside College and online
    We do the right thing, even when no-one is looking

OUR CURRICULUM INTENT is that every student is an 'Uckfield ACE'.

A. Academic Achievement:

  • Critical, creative, hard thinkers and learners
  • Confident and knowledgeable speakers with large vocabularies (over 50,000 words) by the time they leave year 11

C. Citizens of our world with good Character:

  • Social activists: engaged, responsible, knowledgeable, tolerant, outward-looking
  • Ready, willing and able to make a wholly positive contribution to improving society

E. Enterprise and confidence:

  • Personally developed and personally knowledgeable - physically, mentally, socially and emotionally
  • Able to think for themselves, be innovative, aspirational and to use their knowledge confidently

The curriculum is how we achieve our vision and aims. We believe that curriculum thinking has to be underpinned by being bold and ambitious, that we are a challenge-seeking species; that all children enjoy difficult work as long as they have appropriate scaffolding and support. Knowledge is power and freedom; knowledge is authoritative; knowledge enables creativity; knowledge is inspiring.  Acquiring new knowledge that sticks necessarily means focusing on precise curriculum design within subjects and whole-College drives on reading, speaking and thinking hard. This is achieved through a relentless focus on the quality of teaching and learning and professional development.  A wide-ranging, ambitious and tailored personal development curriculum is also prioritised, so that every student leaves the College ready, willing and able to make a positive contribution to society and with aspirational plans in place for future education and employment.

OUR VALUES

Our values are reflected in the Uckfield Qualities our staff model and uphold and that we actively educate our students to embody:

Love

Learning

Life
Integrity

We care about and respect everyone. We stand up for what is morally right and we do the right thing, even when no-one is looking. We believe every individual belongs and we are anti-prejudice.
Curiosity

We are curious, intellectual, active, deep thinking and questioning learners. We participate fully and value opportunities to work with and learn from others.
Resilience

We are courageous and embrace new challenges.  We are optimistic, solution-focused and persevere, even when it is difficult. We know that we improve through practice.
Kindness

We are considerate, empathetic and giving. We are supportive of each other’s personal development and wellbeing. We appreciate and recognise what others do for us.
Aspiration

We set ourselves ambitious goals and we achieve personal excellence. We are ready, willing and able to make a wholly positive contribution to improving society.
Self-regulation

We manage our emotions, have a growth mindset and develop good habits.  We communicate confidently and respectfully and are good listeners.  We reflect on and learn from our experiences.

Our Martlet

MarletOur school badge incorporates a Martlet. The Martlet bird is a mythical creature that represents:

  • the ceaseless pursuit of learning
  • virtue, perseverance, endeavour and hard work.

Both of these qualities represent what our college stands for and what our students develop and display. The Martlet has been used in English heraldry and is based on the Martin, Swift and/or Swallow. It has no feet and is thought to constantly fly, feeding on the wing without ever landing. This is why it represents the ceaseless pursuit of learning. The Martlet also represented, in old English heraldry, the fourth son, who did not inherit and therefore had to make their own way in the world. This is why it also represents reliance on virtue, bravery, perseverance and endeavour to earn your way in the world.

The Martlet is on the Sussex flag, the East Sussex flag, Uckfield Rural District Council (up until 1972) and Uckfield Town Council’s badge, so it has historical, local links.

Our logo reflects what our college stands for and what we represent as a school. We promote traditional values such as honesty and respect. We do so because traditional values have stood the test of time throughout history in a world that has changed constantly and will therefore equip our students in the future as they make their way in an ever changing world. We also base our teaching and learning on educational research and use the very best teaching methods. In this way, we are very forward looking and continually look to improve our pedagogy and practice in the most inspiring way. Therefore, our logo is a modern and inspiring interpretation of a traditional symbol.