Explore Senior

TG Escapes to Design & Build Hoe Bridge Senior School

We are thrilled to announce that we are to partner with TG Escapes to design and build our Senior School building. They have built 800 buildings throughout the UK, specialising in the education sector. TG Escapes originated from the belief that you can create stylish buildings from sustainable materials which will enhance the wellbeing of the occupants as well as helping to protect the planet.

Designing buildings net-zero in operation as standard, TG Escapes achieves this through a combination of the latest technologies, highly insulated energy-efficient design, best in class ventilation, off-site construction and the use of timber and carbon offsetting. Their in-house professional team covers Architects, Structural Engineers, M&E Designers, Drainage Engineers, Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers as well as managers for Commerial, Operations and Procurement, all of whom will input throughout our project.

See Our New Senior School Flythrough Video Here

Proposed Plans

 Examples of Interior Look and Feel

Ground Floor

First Floor

Broad Range of GSCE Options 

Our Year 9 curriculum comprises of English, Mathematics, Sciences, Modern Languages, Latin, History, Geography, TPR (Theology, Philosophy & Religion), Art, ICT, Design & Technology, Music, Drama and PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health & Citizenship Education) before moving into Year 10 and the GCSE programme. Time is also given at this stage to future plans and our dedicated Careers Programme allows students a chance to explore how their current interests could develop into a career or discover ideas for potential future career options. We continue to place considerable emphasis on sport and physical exercise throughout the Senior years, fully aware of the synergies between healthy lifestyle, wellbeing and academic development. As is the case throughout Hoe Bridge, students benefit from small class sizes, tailored learning plans and close attention. 

GCSE Courses

*A broad range of GCSE subjects will be available to students. Subjects that we are currently investigating to offer at GCSE are listed below.

Day & Residential Trips

Throughout Hoe Bridge, pupils experience a vast array of educational trips, both day and residential bringing classroom studies to life. This is an important aspect of school life and will continue through to the Senior School broadening further cultural experiences and adventures for all our children.

Year 7 & 8 Residential Trips Planned

Year 7 & 8 Day Trips Planned

Trips and experiences through Year 9 to 11 will be developed further to include the below and more:

• Language Trips to France and Spain
• Charitable Trips to Africa
• Sports Tours outside Europe
• Business Studies/Geography Trips to European Cities
• Drama performances at festivals
• DofE expeditions (Bronze, Silver and Gold)
• Music and Choir tours (mixture of U.K. and overseas destinations)

House System

Wearing their House badge with pride on their blazers, children have the chance to work with their friends and staff, interacting with others and developing new and stronger relationships with different year groups in our current House system and this will continue through to the Senior School. For Year 9 and above, the system will aim to develop student leadership in our Senior School and also vertical integration across Prep. Existing pupils will continue in their House with new students being allocated to either Cornwall, Kent, Gloucester or York when they enter the school. Siblings are always placed in the same House.

Regular inter-house competitions and activities (House lunches, charity events, music, sport and debating) for senior pupils will continue and friendly competition is always encouraged! The roles of Captain and Deputy for each House are voted on yearly. These pupils lead their House and are on hand to look after the younger members.  

Extending School Life

Our children and families alike benefit from the opportunity to extend school hours beyond normal classroom hours. The Senior day starts at 8:15am or children can join our popular Breakfast Club every day from 7:30am. Senior students finish at 5.30pm which includes prep, where they complete their homework supervised relieving a little pressure at home. Following which we have a wide range of after school clubs to 6.30pm where students can pursue existing or new activities which often develop into lifelong interests. These form part of our seniors enrichment programme, alongside exciting but highly relevant school trips and other curricular and non-curricular experiences.

Hoe Bridge 11+ Scholarships

Available in Academics, Music, Art & DT, Performing Arts, Sport and an All Round Headmaster Award.
Scholarships recognise those students with exceptional ability or potential in a specific area and seek to nurture this throughout their time at Hoe Bridge through our programme of enrichment and mentoring. Please find further information about our scholarship programmes and how to apply HERE.

Year 9 Academic Update

This term, we have started to refine the Year 9 timetable. By carefully structuring subjects and class times, we aim to optimise the learning opportunities and cater to the diverse interests and talents of our future Year 9 cohort. In addition to refining the timetable, our team has started to expand on our Year 9 schemes of work. These schemes provide a detailed outline of the topics and activities that will be covered throughout the academic year. Moreover, they serve as a foundation for the exciting opportunities we are organising, including educational trips and workshops.

Importantly, our Year 9 curriculum has been designed to seamlessly transition from the excellent provision in Year 8. Building upon the foundations laid in the previous year, our curriculum aims to challenge and inspire pupils, fostering continuous growth and academic excellence. Furthermore, the curriculum is aligned with the Common Entrance (13+) syllabus, ensuring that the pupils are well prepared for the challenges ahead. Our choice of exam boards plays a crucial role in shaping the learning experience of our Year 9 pupils. By aligning our curriculum with the requirements and standards set by these boards, we ensure that they receive a robust and relevant education that prepares them for future academic endeavours. The insights and guidance provided by exam boards inform our teaching practices and curriculum development, ensuring that pupils are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in their GCSEs in Year 11.

Facilities Update

We are excited to introduce a new and exclusive cafe area tailored specifically for Year 9. This vibrant space will be carefully crafted to provide a welcoming environment where they can not only socialise and relax, but also cultivate independence. At the heart of our cafe area is the belief in nurturing independence. They will have the freedom to make their own choices, whether it is selecting their favourite snacks or finding the ideal spot to recharge and connect with the beautiful school grounds. Next term, the Pioneer Student Committee will contribute to the important menu decisions to ensure that the array of hot drinks and snacks are bespoke to the year group. Most importantly, this cafe area is reserved exclusively for Year 9, providing them with a sense of ownership and belonging within the school site. By having a space uniquely theirs, they can foster a sense of identity and camaraderie, before moving to the GCSE Hub in Year 10.

Trips Development

With the Year 7 & 8 St. Lucia Cricket Tour getting ever closer, our attention has been on the type of offering we may be looking towards in the future. Our staple array of trips during Trips Week will continue to develop as we look for new and innovative experiences for the children. Beyond this, plans for a multisport trip to Dubai is being considered as is a Senior Ski Trip specifically for Year 7, 8 and 9 in addition to the Junior Ski Trip for the younger years. From a musical perspective, Italy has been recommended as the most culturally enriching country for our musicians to visit on their first choir and instrumental tour for some time. Closer to home, our thespians will utilise the wonders of the West End in London for unparalleled levels of enrichment with both actors and producers hosted in the most wonderful theatres. There is much more being considered behind the scenes as we plan and prepare for the best opportunities we possibly can for the future.

New Minibuses and Expanding Service

At the beginning of the Summer Term, we will have enlarged our minibus fleet with the addition of two new nine seaters which will allow us greater flexibility throughout the average week. We are specifically pinpointing the growth of our morning and afternoon bus service which has grown significantly this year and will continue to grow in readiness for the academic year 2024/25. The expansion of our minibus service will include more opportunities for families to utilise our early morning pick up which enables the children to arrive for 7.30am and join Early Morning Breakfast Club. This allows the children to miss the busiest traffic time and become part of the breakfast community. There are often forty children or more enjoying lovely food and revelling in each other’s company.

Community Support

We have recently held a very productive PHBSS Committee meeting with a number of our Year 7 parents. Discussion centred on areas for implementation in September of this year, thoughts for Year 9 in 2025 and the move towards our Senior School building being open and ready for use. The parental voice is of great importance for us as a school and the value that these meetings bring are instrumental in shaping the future. This is why we have created a Year 5 & 6 equivalent group to work with us throughout the Summer Term before we begin the new academic year with committees in Years 5 to 8.  

Thank you to all of those who have championed our planning application with letters of support. If you are yet to do so, and are happy and able to write, please do this before Friday 22 March. It is wonderful to see such support for our expansion, something that will hugely benefit the whole school community in the future.

We continue to grow our Outreach Program and in doing so, engaging with our wider community, and offering children opportunities within our school. We now have annual events, closer partnerships with certain primary schools and Headteacher meetings on a regular basis. This will be an area in which our children will benefit as opportunities to work with adults and children from these schools develop.

HBSS Pioneering Group - Food

Following on from our first meeting of this half term, the committee met with me and Chef Adam to begin discussions relating to food options and the delivery of this most important aspect of school life for our Senior School pupils. The Year 9 Café was the hot topic, but this quickly moved into the provision for the new development and the link between break time snacks and the lunch offering. Many ideas were shared and we will meet again soon to make a more agreed future vision.

Your Local Independent School, Welcoming Local Families

One of the main reasons behind the establishment of our Senior School was to provide for the first time independent secondary education for families in and around Woking. Students and their families alike benefit from travel times that are shorter than those for senior schools outside the immediate area, allowing students to take advantage of after-school enrichment activities and more time with family at home. We also offer a door to door bus service in the immediate area, a gem for busy, multitasking parents.

We have an open door policy as every student’s learning journey needs a robust child – parent – teacher partnership to be truly effective. We encourage regular informal communication as well as the more structured parent evenings and planning sessions about your child’s future pathway.