Beyond the classroom
At Hermitage, we believe that learning takes place indoors and out, throughout the day and in many different places. Trips, residentials, wide ranging partnerships and opportunities before and after school are all experiences that make Hermitage an exciting, challenging and fun place to learn. Our pupils achieve and thrive because of these experiences.
Mission
Our Trust mission is to promote social equality and give the children and families we serve equal opportunities in life and choices about their future. We have identified that many of our pupils have limited access to opportunities which widen their cultural experiences. This limits the bank of knowledge and experience that the children can refer to and limits their language. We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that our pupils belong, achieve and thrive at Hermitage and beyond, and make the most of our unique location to give our pupils access to a broad range of enriching experiences.
Vision
Our school vision is expressed as a set of promises we make to every child at Hermitage:
- You will have friends and will have learned how to treat other people with fairness, kindness and respect.
- You will have discovered the joy of helping others and the difference this can make to the world.
- You will love learning new things, believe it can take you anywhere and want to keep on learning more.
- You will have grown healthy and strong and understand how to take care of your body and mind.
- You will know that life is a fantastic adventure, have dreams for your future and the confidence to take on the challenges that await you.
- You will understand that the world is a wondrous place and be inspired to make a difference. You will have explored both near and far.
- You will have had fun, discovered your talents & had the opportunity to express yourself in many different ways.
- You will have discovered the many ways to use your voice to share what you believe in; with the confidence to speak up and speak out about what matters most to you.
Our fifth and sixth promises relate directly to our commitment to providing a wide range of enriching experiences.
Residentials
Trips, including residentials, are a vitally important part of our curriculum at Hermitage.
We believe that residential trips offer our children the space to develop our core values and fosters their independence.
In year 6, children visit Wick Court Farm in Gloucestershire. This is a Farms for City Children farm, established by Michael Morpurgo and his wife. Pupils spend an inspiring week learning new skills, developing their independence and teamwork skills over five days, usually in October. They learn to work together to care for a range of animals and share in the responsibility of the smooth-running of the farm during their visit, supported by trained instructors.
In years 3 and 4, children visit an activity centre over 2-3 days where they have the opportunity to experience a range of adventurous activities including: zip lining, archery, shelter-building and campfires.
Approximately every three years, we offer a group of children in KS2 the opportunity to visit the Hardelot Centre, near Boulogne in France. Pupils spend an amazing few days practising their French, sampling French culture and cuisine and developing their independence.
Every three years, we take a group of children to visit the Hardelot centre, near Boulogne, in France, to practice our French, sample French culture and food, negotiate passport control and stay abroad without our families!