But at the heart of everything we do is great teaching and learning, every single day.

That is why we are launching Faculty Focus, a new initiative shining a light on the incredible teaching, learning and support happening across our curriculum.

Through Faculty Focus, we’ll take you into classrooms and behind the scenes to share the knowledge, skills and experiences our students are developing every day. From practical learning and subject-specific opportunities to extra support, revision and the expertise of our teachers, we want to give families a greater insight into the day-to-day Gordano experience.

Each faculty will take a turn in the spotlight, sharing regular updates about the learning happening in their classrooms via social media. These will build towards a larger Faculty Focus feature on our website, which will be linked in our Parent Communications and Termly News.

First up: Science

A huge thank you to our Science Department, who volunteered to be up first for Faculty Focus! They’ve already shared their first update with us and we can’t wait for more!

We’re joining Mr Lloyd’s Year 11 Combined Science Chemistry class, where students have been carrying out a practical experiment exploring the reduction of copper oxide.

The experiment demonstrates a chemical process in which oxygen is removed from copper oxide, leaving behind copper. The red glow above the Bunsen burner gives an indication of just how hot the reaction becomes, with the copper reaching temperatures of more than 1,084°C – around four times hotter than a domestic oven can reach.

Practical work like this is about much more than learning scientific theory. Over their time at Gordano, students develop the knowledge and confidence to carry out potentially hazardous experiments safely, learning how to assess risk, follow procedures and work responsibly, skills that can be valuable in many different careers.

And the learning doesn’t stop when the lesson ends. Many students in this Year 11 class will be back in school after lessons today for additional revision ahead of their upcoming mock exams. Last week, more than 90 Year 11 students gave up their own time to attend extra revision support.

As one student put it: “I love the practicals we do in Science, and we do them frequently!”

This is just the first glimpse of how our values of Dream Big, Do Your Best and Give Back are brought to life in the classroom every day.

Watch this space as Faculty Focus continues, with another faculty taking centre stage and sharing more of the learning happening in classrooms across our school.