Personal Development & Citizenship

At Samuel Ryder Academy we believe that the personal development of our students’ is an integral component in their school journey. Our ACE values are a major contributing factor to the character of a Samuel Ryder student and this ensures a long-lasting positive contribution in school and the wider community.

We believe in creating opportunities for all of our students to develop skills and attributes through our well-established House system, where regular competitions provide students with a platform to compete in a range of activities, developing resilience and building mutual respect with a sense of ownership.

Our extra-curricular provision is pivotal in developing the character of our students through a range of different activities and subject areas. This wide variety covers activities such as, sport, music, drama, school shows, art, science clubs, to name but a few. There really are opportunities for all students to express themselves and develop on an individual and team level.

Our popular Duke of Edinburgh and Camps International expeditions are another example of how our students extend their development beyond the classroom and school gates. The willingness to challenge themselves demonstrates the continual personal development that is apparent at Samuel Ryder Academy within the student body.

There are targeted programmes to allow students to demonstrate their individual growth across a range of year groups. The Year 5 and 6 ‘Character and Virtue Award’ can be found at the bottom of this page, as well as the ‘Bronze Student Leadership Award’. Both of these, in conjunction with the Personal Development Curriculum are opportunities for students to demonstrate personal growth and gain recognition for it.

The Sixth Form students follow a personalised programme supporting their learning and development to enhance skills and attributes in preparation for their future careers, higher education or apprenticeships. They use the Unifrog platform to record and evidence their key activities & competencies and prepare their CVs and personal statements alongside the teacher reference, CEIAG interactions recording and destination tracking tools - all in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks.