School prepares pupils for world of opportunity (From Kingston Guardian)

School prepares New Malden pupils for world of opportunity

7:10am Monday 30th April 2012 in News By Clare Buchanan

Pupils and staff marked 80 years of education with the best GCSE results to date and a look back at the history of their school.

Coombe Boys’ School celebrated 81 per cent of the pupils achieving five A* to C grades in their GCSE exams and have worked together to create the Coombe Chronicle, archiving the school’s history since it was founded in 1931.

The school motto, “preparing you for a world of opportunity”, remains as a main focus at Coombe Boys with pupils engaged in extracurricular activities and forging community links.

The boys are encouraged to take time out and visit local organisations, including Coombe Hill Infants, which they work with through a mentor scheme acting as positive role-models to younger boys.

Coombe Boys also led a cluster concert involving New Malden primary schools for the third year, which saw a showcase of drama and music to an audience of more than 700 at the Rose Theatre.

Samantha O’Reilly, head of performing arts, said: “It was fantastic to be part of this amazing event that is now in its third year. It was brilliant to see how much talent is in the cluster.”

A science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) club aims to let pupils explore and investigate subjects in an environment outside the school timetable, helping boys understand links between subjects.

The school is in a unique working partnership with Coombe Girls’ School, with whom they share a headteacher – Deborah Walls – and is part of the larger Coombe federation, which also includes Coombe Sixth Form.