Holly Lodge High School, Smethwick, achieves Gold!

Holly Lodge is a large secondary school in Smethwick. It proudly describes itself as 95% EAL. Of course, that does not mean that 95% of its pupils are relatively new to the UK. It does mean that the school understands that at least 50% of its pupils are from families that now have two or more generations living in the UK and that the oldest generation may include grandparents who are not fully fluent in English. It thinks many parents may have some difficulty in understanding communication from the school and takes measures to address that issue. It has a constant flow of international new arrivals. Some are from Indian or Bangladeshi families and arrive via Europe. There are also pupils from Syria, Afghanistan, Ghana and Rumania arriving regularly.

The new arrivals that I spoke to were very clear about what the school does for them: they feel safe, supported and very much part of the school community (especially through their presence at school clubs). They were very clear that the school gives them whatever help they need.

Staff in the classrooms that I visited all understood that they were teaching a wide range of EAL pupils who needed very different kinds of support and seating plans reflect that understanding.

In summary, Holly Lodge is a school that does the right things for all of its EAL pupils. My experience was that governors, staff and pupils were all singing from the same hymn sheet. It is a safe and welcoming place for EAL pupils as well as somewhere they will be stretched academically. I also think it helps a lot if your headteacher was once a UK born EAL pupil.