Working with the community

Our partnerships build mutually beneficial educational opportunity for our community, focusing on working with local partner schools and community groups.

We call our work ‘partnerships’ rather than ‘outreach’. The Partnerships Programme at Habs sees hundreds of our students and staff, plus thousands of partner school students and staff working together every single week. All in genuine partnership.

The impact of this programme is profound. The conviction that all communities benefit by working together is at its heart. Also through partnerships work, our students develop the resilience and moral compass to create positive change. By developing daily shared educational experiences, we draw our students out into the wider world, while inviting the wider world into Habs.

The aim is that every Habs student be involved in partnerships work as they progress through our school. With such a large, varied and still-growing programme, there is plenty for them to get stuck into.

Why do partnerships matter?

They place us at the heart of our community.
They are mutually beneficial – not just for partner organisations, but for Habs students, staff and parents.
They are built to last: founded on genuine, reciprocal relationships, rather than ‘outreach’.
They build capacity in our community, helping everyone involved to build their skills, while helping schools to get better and better at delivering an outstanding education.
Through bursary places, pastoral support and regular partnership activities, the opportunities Habs offers students can be distributed more widely and equitably.

Civic Award Winner 2022 / 2023

Example: The broadening horizons programme

The core of the programme consists of a rich, varied programme of weekly academic and co-curricular sessions for students from a network of local state partner schools. All activities are led by our students and staff:

Winner of the 2023 Herts Civic Award for services for residents of the borough
Habs students and staff will spend an estimated 54,000 hours working in partnership with schools and other educational organisations this academic year
We provide 50 hours per week of academic and co-curricular sessions for students from local state schools, led by dedicated Habs students and staff
56 Habs staff devote at least one hour per week to the programme
Around 400 Habs students devote at least one hour per week to the programme, every single week
Around 1,500 partner school children are involved in the programme, every single week
Around 80 applicants from partner schools are being supported through the university application, exam and interview process, with some becoming the first in the history of their schools to get into Oxbridge

Example: Teacher development

We are building teacher capacity through local, national and global professional learning networks.

For example, we are training four new teachers in our partner schools:

Two as part of the GTTP (Galileo Teacher Training Programme) for science teachers
Two as part of the NML SCITT (school-centred initial teacher training in modern languages)

Example: The refugee learning hub

We have created a refugee learning hub for the 120 Afghan children living nearby:

62 members of teaching and support staff provided 20 hours per week of schooling, focusing on English, maths and science
We have offered weekly climbing, music and science sessions at Habs, with around 80 Habs students acting as mentors or participants
We provide weekly wraparound and after-school activities for refugee children
We also support a mother-and-child group

I think you may have changed lives, and for that I am truly grateful

Claire Gibbs, Headteacher, Margaret Wix Primary School, St Albans

I just wanted to say how incredibly grateful we are for all Habs is doing for us. The sessions are so wonderful for the children in so many ways. The school, parents and children are all so delighted

Catherine Goodwin, Fairfield Headteacher

I wanted to thank you for all that Habs did last year for the school including swimming, Maths, STEM support and the Summer School. We really appreciate the collaboration, it has made such a tremendous difference to our students both in terms of opportunity and also exposure to role models.

Nicola Winch, How Wood Chair of Governors

Our partnerships are growing

We are investing heavily in expanding and deepening our partnerships:

We are embarking on an ambitious programme to strengthen our relationships with partner schools (including globally)
We are finding opportunities for every Habs student to be involved in partnerships work during their time at school
We are creating relationships with new types of institutions – regionally, nationally, and internationally. This includes businesses, universities and charities, plus leading sports and arts organisations, all delivering opportunities for our students and staff to learn, share, network and participate

Watch this space for more…

Introducing her to the lab at Habs had an inconceivable impact on her attitude toward science. She has become a great advocate of science. I will not be surprised if she chooses something in that field as her future career.

Parents of Year 6 participant at partner school...now a current Year 7

I found it extremely enjoyable leading sessions for the children, and working together in a group with new people. It improved my leadership and communication skills.

Habs student