I am proud to lead Ada Lovelace, the newest school in the Twyford CofE Academies Trust, an outstanding school established to serve the local Ealing community. We are a value centred school that is relentless in its approach to deliver the highest standards of academic achievement for its students. Ada Lovelace is an 11-18 Comprehensive school, which will reach a roll of approximately 1350 students in the academic year 2024/25.

Our new building provides an incredible environment for learning, full of light and airy classrooms, equipped with modern technology and with huge spaces where we join as one community. This enhanced learning environment is academically uplifting, motivating students to do and be the best that they can be.

At Ada Lovelace, we have formed our unique identity using Ada Lovelace’s legacy as ‘the first computer programmer’, as a brilliant, agile thinker and problem solver. This legacy will be at the heart of our Digital Specialism where ‘Digital’ learning will shine brightly. Indeed, the ‘Lovelace Leap’ is central to our school motto ‘Make the Leap…’ Ada courageously challenged her contemporaries to think about computers in a totally different way than was common at the time taking knowledge, and applying it in a different context creating new understanding as a result. This Lovelace Leap is where our motto Make the Leap has its origins and will inspire Ada Lovelace students present and future to do and be great.

At Ada Lovelace, the longer school day means that the Curriculum is broad and balanced and the extended curricula time enables deep academic stretch. All students study an academic, Grammar school curriculum model with a focus on the core and enabling subjects in the morning curriculum with longer lessons in the creative applications in the afternoon. The opportunity to have lessons in the core subjects each day, supported by the daily lesson preparation task completed at home delivers a flow to learning that leads to incredible results.

Teachers are very aware of the needs of students with SEND and care is taken to ensure access to the curriculum for these students.

We also have a well-developed approach to Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance which closely aligns with the Pastoral Programme designed to deliver PSHE within the context of the strongly articulated Christian values of the school (see Ethos and Vision tab above).

In September 2023 we launched our T Levels programme for post-16 students initially majoring on Digital Production, Design and Development or Laboratory Science with Accounting being added from September 2025 entry.

Ada Lovelace is driven by a confident sense of purpose, a clear education vision and ambitious aspirations for our students. We are passionately committed to the students and families we serve. Through the development of the skills and attitudes so well modelled by Ada Lovelace herself, we work tirelessly to ensure that we stretch all students both academically and personally to achieve the highest of standards and of course…. Make the Leap.

Mr Keir Smith

Headteacher

Community

At Ada Lovelace we want students to understand their unique place in the community and the importance of using their gifts for the good of themselves and the communities they serve. To encourage service within school there are opportunities such as house leadership through the student ambassador programme and through the variety of house competitions. As well as students committing to service within school there are opportunities to engage with the wider community through a variety of charitable events. Each house is linked to national/international charities to raise money for them and learn more about their identity and purpose. We have an annual sponsored walk, seven enterprise days and a linked school in Mozambique and this outward looking approach supports our students to engage with a wider community and understand and learn about the world around us.

Beyond the curriculum at Ada Lovelace, we provide a broad range of extracurricular enrichment opportunities with the aim being to provide an offer that rivals our local private school neighbours. Art opportunities, musical orchestras and bands, musical theatre, dramatic school productions, the school newspaper, book clubs, on line coding provision, theatre trips, overseas and overnight stays – the list is joyous. There is a full sports programme focusing on key sports such as cricket, rugby, football, netball, table tennis as well as a health focus on keeping fit and active. We draw on the partnerships with Middlesex Cricket Club, Ealing Cricket Club, Brentford Football Club, and London Irish Rugby Club to add value to our sporting offer.

Ada Lovelace CofE High School is a community, confidently rooted in the Christian tradition having an inclusive approach to other faiths and none. We celebrate that we are all created and loved by God. We believe that every individual has the capacity to make a positive contribution to the world if they engage intelligently and recognise their God-given gifts. Our mission statement (the 10:10 ethic) recognises that we can experience life to the full and we aim to create an environment where students can explore what this means so that they work purposefully and joyfully towards their goals.

The 10:10 ethic is taken from John 10:10 and is an ethos based on the theological narrative of creation, fall, redemption and renewal. Students and staff are supported to understand that they have been made good (creation), with unique gifts and talents; that they therefore have the capacity to be and do good, and use these gifts and talents in service of the community; that being human means having weaknesses (fall), but that weakness is not something to be ashamed of, rather an opportunity to learn through accepting support (redemption); finally, they are supported to understand that through this they can become a stronger person and be in a position to engage fully with opportunities offered by school (and life), committing to impact their community to the best of their ability (renewal). The 10:10 ethic is represented thus:

In order to live out the 10:10 ethic, Twyford CofE Trust schools apply the following principles:

  1. Confidently Christian
  2. Positive & Purposeful
  3. Committed to Improvement
  4. Outward Looking 
  5. Systematic
  6. Able to explain intelligently at all levels
  7. Consistently Pastoral

At Ada Lovelace we are passionate about enabling the flourish of all of those in our school community, both staff and students. We are committed to inspirational, rigorous and supportive development of all our students academically, socially and spiritually. We believe each student is intrinsically good and full of potential so have crafted a curriculum that provides space for all students to be included and to thrive. Our daily times collective worship allow students and staff space to reflect upon their personal gifts and challenges and the contributions we each have to make, as well reminding us all that we pursue growth in fellowship with one another and with the compassion of God. Students are also provided with a rich and varied wider learning offer designed to build essential skills, expose students to new opportunities, discover new passions and talents, create safe space to fail and learn, and to close gaps of disadvantage. Our aim is that every student leaves us as ethical and pioneering problem-solvers with as full a range of opportunities open to them as possible, because of the educational experience we have provided for them. Our results show that the education we provide driven by our ethos, the 10:10 ethic, really does lead to flourishing individuals and thriving community.

We also care deeply about the development of our staff and our contribution to quality education for all nationally, in line with the Church of England’s vision for education. Ada Lovelace runs an exciting and challenging  CPD programme for staff members at all stages of their professional development. Our timetable reflects our commitment to the flourishing of our staff as the school closes early to students on a Friday afternoon so that staff can spend time as a teaching community together in our Developing Teacher Programme sessions and meeting in our reciprocal coaching pairs – supported by StepLab, a coaching tool we use as a school. Staff consistently express how much they value and gain from the school’s commitment to their professional development and the benefits that this has on their professional experience and mental well-being. This is also evident in the quality of the practice of our staff, the student enjoyment of their expert and engaging lessons, and the outstanding academic results we are able to achieve.

As a school community we have made a significant contribution to education beyond our walls through hosting and significant staff involvement in Teach West London Teaching School Hub and the Thames West Language Hub. We believe that contribution to the training of excellent new teachers and the delivery of high-quality language education are natural expressions of our 10:10 ethic, seeking a fuller and richer educational experience - not just for our own students, but for many others also.