At Priestnall, we put our students at the centre of everything we do.  Our collective philosophy is to provide an ‘education for life’, ensuring that our students are fully prepared – in terms of knowledge, skills, qualifications and confidence, in mind and body – for whatever their next step may be.  We have a number of proactive Student Leadership Teams who work closely with members of staff and contribute significantly to school development; more recently, we have welcomed a new Student Diversity and Equality Team, as well as Wellbeing Ambassadors. 

High quality teaching is the foundation upon which our success has been built, and I am very proud to be the Head of a dedicated, talented and innovative team of staff who are constantly striving to improve on our already good practice. Students at Priestnall enjoy an exciting, diverse and inspiring curriculum, and also have countless opportunities to enrich their school experience though our extra-curricular programme, which is regularly reviewed and developed to meet student interest and need.  We have an exciting and varied Personal Development Curriculum, which includes quality time with a student’s Learning Co-ordinator every morning, as well as a weekly assembly covering a range of themes.   We believe it is important to ‘check in’ with students every morning and ensure that they have everything they need to start their day and encourage parents and carers to stay in regular contact with their child’s Learning Co-ordinator and College team. 

As well as guiding our young people to achieve academic excellence, we provide outstanding pastoral support through our successful pastoral system, which is designed to ensure that all students feel safe, happy and secure.  The college structure enables students to immediately feel part of a small community within the wider school, and also allows our staff to deliver personal and individual support whilst building strong relationships with our parents and carers.  We are proud to have in place three new centres that offer bespoke support to our young people:  a Wellbeing Centre; a Restorative Hub and a Resilience Centre.  Our students comment positively on the wealth of support and guidance they receive here and this is something that remains at the centre of all that we do. 

We insist upon the highest possible standards and quality at all times whilst showing care, compassion and support for each individual.  We aim to remain the vibrant, learning-focused organisation with which all members of the Priestnall ‘family’ are genuinely proud to be associated.

I have been Head here since September 2019 and can honestly say that it is a great place for staff to work and for students to learn.  Our strengths and positive ethos are best seen at first hand, and although you cannot currently visit us at the moment due to Covid-19 measures, I invite you to watch our virtual film which will give you a taste of what we’re about.

Please click here to view our virtual film of the school

I look forward to meeting you in the near future.

Best wishes,

Craig Burns