Our facilities support high-quality teaching and learning in a warm, inclusive environment. While we are a small school, we are very well equipped, and our spaces are used purposefully to support every student.
Our general classrooms provide bright, welcoming spaces where strong teaching and learning take place each day. Alongside these, we have a dedicated Home Room for our Special Class, offering a calm and supportive base for students, as well as small-group support rooms which allow for targeted teaching and personalised support when needed.
Technology
At St Michael’s Community College, technology is an important part of learning, and we are deliberate in how we use it.
For our school, our staff, and the way we teach and our students learn, a one-to-one device model is not the right fit. Instead, we take a balanced approach, using technology where it enhances learning while continuing to prioritise discussion, explanation, collaboration, reading, and the development of strong writing skills.
In practical terms, this means that technology is readily available when needed. Every classroom is equipped with a desktop computer and data projector or interactive digital whiteboard, and all teachers have individual devices. We have a fully equipped IT Room with a suite of computers and printers, a specialist Technical Graphics/Drawing Room with SolidWorks, and Chromebook trolleys which allow for flexible, technology-rich learning across all subject areas. We use Google Workspace for Education as our secure digital learning platform, supporting students and staff in accessing materials, collaborating, completing work, and staying organised.
This approach reflects our awareness of the level of screen time young people already experience outside of school and our belief that technology is most effective when used with purpose. It is also supported by a growing body of research, including work by organisations such as the OECD, which suggests that technology has the greatest impact when it supports high-quality teaching and learning.
Physical Education and Wellbeing
Physical education and wellbeing are supported through our gymnasium, with separate boys’ and girls’ changing facilities, as well as our playing field and running track, providing valuable opportunities for sport, activity, and recreation.
Specialist Learning Spaces
We have a strong range of specialist subject rooms, including a newly developed Science Laboratory, Home Economics Room, Engineering Room, Wood Technology Room, Art Room, and Music Room. These spaces support hands-on, practical, and creative learning experiences, allowing students to engage fully in their subjects.
The Difference Our Facilities Make
What matters most to us is not just what we have, but how we use it. Our school size allows us to ensure that these facilities are genuinely accessible to students as part of their everyday learning. Students are known, supported, and challenged in these spaces, and the quality of teaching within them is reflected in our consistently strong outcomes, which are above national norms.