Pupil Premium

The school receives funds to support the education of disadvantaged pupils through the Pupil Premium Grant. The school tracks and monitors the progress and attainment of these pupils particularly carefully and is committed to doing all that it can to ensure that outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are as strong as for other groups of children in the school.

At Wilson’s, disadvantage is understood as extending well beyond pupils' academic attainment, and support is shaped around the barriers experienced by each individual pupil rather than assumptions about a cohort. High-quality teaching remains the most important means of minimising disadvantage, but the strategy deliberately looks well beyond the classroom: at attendance and punctuality, wellbeing and resilience, parental engagement, access to suitable resources at home, cultural capital and, crucially, full participation in the wider life of the school. Financial support, pastoral and wellbeing provision, individual learning plans, tutoring and mentoring are used where particular barriers require them, while costs associated with trips and activities such as CCF and DofE can be supported so that financial circumstances do not exclude a pupil from participation.

Success is evaluated broadly. Academic attainment and progress are monitored closely, but so too are attendance, engagement in lessons, wellbeing and participation in clubs, societies and co-curricular activities. Individual interventions are reviewed through assessment and tracking, with teachers recording and monitoring actions for pupils who are underachieving; Pupil Support Managers (a distinctive feature of provision at Wilson's) work with pupils and parents towards defined goals, and support is tailored when concerns emerge. At strategy level, success means not simply closing any attainment gap, but disadvantaged pupils attending, participating and progressing alongside their peers, accessing the same breadth of opportunities and being well prepared for their next stage of education. The school’s review therefore considers attainment and EBacc alongside pastoral concerns, behaviour, engagement and co-curricular participation, reflecting a genuinely rounded view of what it means for disadvantaged pupils to flourish.

Pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium excel at Wilson’s but we are not in any way complacent. Our Pupil Premium Strategy explains the barriers we have identified,intended outcomes, planned expenditure and the impact of the previous year’s provision. It is informed by evidence, aligned with the school’s wider priorities and reviewed regularly so that provision can be adjusted in response to pupils’ changing needs and its demonstrated impact. The current strategy can be found here.

Financially disadvantaged students in the Sixth Form can access the 16-19 Bursary Fund to support aspects of their programme, e.g. money towards the purchase of a suit and other items required for the school dress code in the Sixth Form, travel to open days and curriculum visits.

All relevant policies, statements and forms can be found here.