Welcome to Haberdashers’ Adams Virtual Tour
Adams is one of the few selective state grammar schools in the UK. Located in Newport, Shropshire, we offer day and boarding places for boys aged 11-18 with girls joining as day pupils in the Sixth Form. We have a long and proud tradition of successfully educating generations of young people with a passion for helping our pupils to develop as confident, articulate young men and women who are interesting, balanced and who care for each other. We look forward to meeting you in person at one of our Year 7 and Sixth Form open events and hope our virtual tour will also help to give you a glimpse of the magical feel of Adams.
Gary Hickey – Headmaster
Year 7
We know joining senior school can be a nerve wracking experience so we work hard to help boys settle in and feel part of the Adams community. We hope listening to these Year 7 and 8 pupils talking about their experience will help primary school pupils understand more about what to expect.
Sixth Form
Close to 100 new pupils join our Lower Sixth; both boys and girls join us from a wide variety of schools across the local area and from further away as boarders. Our Sixth Formers know how important it is that Year 11 pupils hear from them directly so our two School Captains would like to share a few words with you.
Year 7
We know joining senior school can be a nerve wracking experience so we work hard to help boys settle in and feel part of the Adams community. We hope listening to these Year 7 and 8 pupils talking about their experience will help primary school pupils understand more about what to expect.
Sixth Form
Close to 100 new pupils join our Lower Sixth; both boys and girls join us from a wide variety of schools across the local area and from further away as boarders. Our Sixth Formers know how important it is that Year 11 pupils hear from them directly so our two School Captains would like to share a few words with you.
Year 7
All Year 7 and 8 pupils benefit from the opportunity to learn an instrument. They have weekly lessons on their instrument and take part in a concert at the end of the school year. Pupils can choose to carry on with their instrument once the programme has finished.
Individual music lessons are available in a wide range of instruments and there are numerous opportunities to perform each as part as an ensemble or as a soloist.
We organise buses from the most popular destinations but these are often over-subscribed. Please do not rely on being able to get a seat on the bus; you will need a back-up plan in case you are not offered a seat.
If you live somewhere that we do not run a bus it is your responsibility to make your own transport arrangements for your son. We may be able to assist in putting you in touch with other families looking for transport from the same area.
It is worth bearing in mind that many of our extra-curricular activities, such as music rehearsals, sports training, House competition practice, take place after school and your son may regularly need picking up at unusual times.
An expression of interest form will be sent to you with the school offer letter if your son is successful in gaining a place. You must return this immediately. Priority will be given to Haberdashers’ Adams pupils and are allocated on a first come first served basis. Newport Girls’ High School students will only be given consideration if seats are still available.
Places will be offered before the end of May.
Further details of the curriculum pupils follow can be found on the Information Booklet you will find on the Virtual Tour site.
Each year group has an afternoon of Games at Longford, in the Autumn and Spring term they play rugby and in the Summer term we offer cricket and athletics. Hockey is an option for boys once they start Year 9.
Each year group also has 1 hour of PE each week, this provides them with a taste of a wide variety of sports including, but not limited to, gymnastics, badminton, tennis, basketball and table tennis.
House competitions take place in a wide range of sport and if a competition isn’t already available there’s no reason a pupil can’t start one!
Sixth Form
While the vast majority of our pupils go on to university we are seeing an increasing number applying for apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships and going directly into the workplace. We will support you in taking whichever direction is right for you.
The year group virtually doubles in size between Year 11 and the Sixth Form so you won’t be one of a small number of new pupils joining us and trying to fit into established friendship groups. Large number of pupils join us each year knowing nobody else in the school, the Head of Sixth Form and the Heads and Captains of each House organise a wide range of events to help everyone get to know each other and you will be amazed how quickly you will fit in and feel like you have always been part of the Adams community.
Being a Sixth Former at Adams is different to being in Years 7-11 and you will have additional freedoms and responsibilities you may not have had before. However, we are still a school and we require Sixth Form pupils to fully participate in school life including attending assemblies and completing an afternoon of Games. Continuing to take part in physical activity is important for both your physical and mental health and is a great way to make friends.
We organise buses from the most popular destinations but these are often over-subscribed. Please do not rely on being able to get a seat on the bus; you will need a back-up plan in case you are not offered a seat.
If you live somewhere that we do not run a bus it is your responsibility to make your own transport arrangements. We may be able to assist in putting you in touch with other families looking for transport from the same area.
It is worth bearing in mind that many of our extra-curricular activities, such as music rehearsals, sports training, House competition practice, take place after school and you may regularly need picking up at unusual times.
The EPQ is helpful in teaching you research and independent study skills which will be invaluable to you whatever route you chose to take after Sixth Form. The EPQ is also valued by some university admissions teams and a good grade can result in a lower A Level offer. Studying a topic, you are interested in in greater depth also means you will have a subject you are confident and knowledgeable about to talk about during interviews.
Completing an AS Level in your Lower Sixth not only provides you with an opportunity to broaden your studies, it also enables you demonstrate your ability to universities and employers, so they are not just looking at your predicted grades. There are two AS Level subjects (Art and Music) which can be extended to a full A Level; the decision as to whether this is possible will be made during the Lower Sixth and will be based on the grades achieved.
Our standard offer already means you will leave Adams with the equivalent of 4 A Levels (3 A Levels, 1 AS Level and 1 EPQ) and in our experience doing 4 full A Levels does not give a significant advantage even when applying to the most competitive universities and degree apprenticeships.
There are 2 AS Level subjects (Art and Music) which can be extended to a full A Level; the decision as to whether this is possible will be made during the Lower Sixth and will be based on the grades achieved.
Yes, the size of our Sixth Form means we are unable to offer every possible combination however we have chosen the blocks so that the most popular combinations are available.
Contact
Haberdashers’ Adams, High Street, Newport, Shropshire, TF10 7BD