Welcome to Pebble Brook School

A teacher entered the dining room and had a quick chat with as many pupils as possible. All of the chats were brief as she passed through to pick up a sandwich.  All the chats made every pupil feel good. All the chats were relevant to the pupil.  No one batted an eyelid.  That is normal at Pebble Brook. 

This is the type of thing that makes us who we are.

On the way out the teacher pinched a chip off a Year 10 pupil and said she’d see her at ‘Shoelace tying club’.  Shoelace tying club has been specially put on during a lunch break because it is something some of our pupils can not do. 

This is another type of thing that makes us who we are.

Our pupils come here, they’re young, they’ve often found school to be a real challenge and here they are with yet more school to survive.

We change all that. Our pupils aren’t judged by their ability or progress. They are respected and celebrated as young people and given all possible opportunities in lessons, free time and special activities to get to where they could be.

Our philosophy is deliberately simple.  Everyone at our school is given a chance to succeed.  We know all our pupils very well and we make sure they are happy and safe, they are taught well and that they are given everything they need to take their steps into the adult world.

Our classes are small so that we can individualise and personalise activities.  Progress is expected in every lesson and we offer additional support from speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and behaviour specialists.

We give plenty of attention to achieving quality qualifications in Science, PE, ICT, Creative Craft and Food Technology.

Further to this, we offer vocational subjects in Small Animal Care, Painting and Decorating, Construction, Horticulture, Creative Craft and Sports Leadership.

We also link with AYMP in offering Motor Mechanics and Aylesbury college in offering Catering and Fashion to provide a wide range of work experiences.

However, at our core is literacy, numeracy and the personal and social development of the child.  When you finally leave our school we want you to be completely ready for the next steps in your life.

These steps are good for employment, an appropriate college course or a good apprenticeship. After following this philosophy for a few years, we can now say that this is exactly what we do.

Personal and social development for our pupils is enabled, encouraged and taught from the moment the school opens until closure at the end of the day.  We cover social development, emotional development, religious education, independence, healthy lifestyles, citizenship and receptive and expressive language.

We also thread through the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of each young person.

There is one more area of ‘PSD’ and I am happy to single it out.  This is the development of careers and employability.  We are very proud of how many pupils leave us with good jobs (way, way above the national average) and this is partly due to the fact that careers and employability is a compulsory subject from Year 7 to Year 14.

What is the most important thing to have when you leave our school?  We don't know exactly what it is yet, but we will do all we can to make sure it is the right thing for you and that it is what you want.

We love the way our pupils develop a positive attitude and a positive approach to being a part of the community they are about to enter.

Pebble Brook also has after school clubs on four nights a week.  The boarding facility is winding down and will be closed in July this year.  Very sad for our school but we move on.

Our families and friends are part of our school.  We hope you feel well supported and have all the information and opportunities you need to join in your child's success.  

Everyone knows everyone else in our school.  It is a special feature and one we join together with openness and warmth to create somewhere that brings out the best in everyone.

Best wishes

David Miller

Headteacher