Welcome

Head Teacher

Nikki Clifton

"At Kinver we believe that every child really matters and that every child is an individual with an array of talents, perhaps yet to be discovered."

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Kinver High School and Sixth Form—where every student is known, valued, and inspired to succeed. I am delighted that you want to get to know us better. I am Nikki Clifton and I am proud to have been Headteacher at Kinver since December 2019. Over this time, I’ve seen the school grow in popularity, size, and academic excellence. As part of Invictus Education Trust, I also serve as the Executive Lead overseeing the strategic development of both our South Staffordshire secondary schools—Kinver High and Wombourne High School.

As an experienced senior leader in education and a passionate Modern Foreign Languages teacher, I continue to teach and still get a buzz from seeing students not only speak another language but flourish, develop, and grow in self-confidence. Being a parent of three grown-up daughters also allows me to understand the challenges faced by our students, parents, and carers—while sharing the same sentiment of wanting the very best school for your son or daughter. Quite simply, our view at Kinver High is: if it isn’t good enough for our own children, then it isn’t good enough. This is perhaps why so many staff within Invictus and Kinver choose to send their children here. My own children recently left Kinver for university and college, so I know how important and valuable the relationship between home and school is for the development of our students.

At Kinver, we believe that every child matters and that each is an individual with a unique array of talents—perhaps yet to be discovered. We believe every child can be successful, and we are committed to ensuring that all students are prepared for their future and are able to lead successful lives. At the heart of everything we do is one guiding principle: Every day, in every way, our students come first.

Our goal is simple: we want all students to develop into well-rounded, confident, independent, resilient, and high-achieving individuals who are proud of their school, its values, and its reputation. We equip all students with the knowledge, skills, characteristics, and learning behaviours to enable them to set aspirational and challenging goals. We always seek to work with students, parents, and our wider school community to provide a happy, supportive, and stimulating environment where all students thrive, feel safe, respected, and recognised. We want our students to be happy, successful young adults who contribute to their communities, seek out opportunities, and always aim to be the best they can be.

Kinver High School and Sixth Form is widely recognised as a friendly and welcoming school community where everyone is valued. We are committed to supporting and challenging all our students to work hard and to aspire to high levels of academic success and personal development. Student attainment at Kinver is consistently above both the national and local averages and has been so since 2020. Our students’ conduct is exemplary—not simply because we uphold high standards and expectations, but because our students know that we care, value their views and opinions, and treat them with kindness and respect. In turn, this culture of mutual respect fosters a positive environment where we reap what we sow.

Kinver is a relatively small 11–18 secondary school, currently providing for just over 800 students. As we continue to grow in size, having become increasingly popular (being oversubscribed for ‘First Choices’ since 2021), we have retained our close-knit ‘family feel’ environment. We know our students well, and this quality is seen by parents and students as highly beneficial. Knowing our students as individuals means we can help them learn and develop effectively and tailor provision and support when needed.

We offer a traditional ‘Core Curriculum’, reflective of the National Curriculum, that is broad and balanced and includes a wide variety of subjects. Alongside this, our ‘Enhanced Curriculum’ allows students to deepen their knowledge, develop skills, or discover new talents and interests across a wide array of performance, artistic, technical, sporting, academic, theoretical, entrepreneurial, cultural, leadership, digital, and community-based options. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all students develop strong theoretical knowledge and practical skills, preparing them to be successful members of society and to gain the best possible recognised qualifications. Our positive learning environment promotes, recognises, and rewards all students’ achievements and contributions to wider school life. Together with our comprehensive student support structure, we ensure that all students can access the help, guidance, and support they need to succeed. As a result, our students are the best advertisement the school could have.

Academic work at all stages at Kinver High is important, but our idea of education goes beyond the classroom. Through both our ‘Enhanced Curriculum’ and Enrichment Opportunities, we offer an exceptional range of extra-curricular activities—from sports teams and musical performances to a variety of after-school clubs designed to engage and inspire students. We also have a house system that adds a positive, competitive edge to many team activities. Most importantly, in keeping with our school dictum: Engage, Succeed, Aspire to Lead, we place great emphasis on developing leadership, in all of our students. Every student holds at least one leadership role. To support this, all Year 7 students complete an ‘Aspire to Lead’ programme, where leadership qualities and skills are taught and practised before applying for formal student leadership roles. Over the next five years, these skills are nurtured and developed, culminating in the opportunity to become a school Prefect—or ‘stripey’, as they are affectionately known by students.

We are located in the beautiful rural village of Kinver and serve a wide area, including the South Staffordshire villages of Stourton, Swindon, Bobbington, and Trysull. In recent years, a substantial number of children have travelled in from Dudley and the southern and western parts of Stourbridge, including Norton, Wollaston, Wordsley, Cookley in Worcestershire, Bridgnorth, and Kidderminster, using our designated school coach service. We are pleased and proud to continue our partnership with Prospect Coaches, who manage this private home-to-school service. Each year, our coach routes are redesigned according to need, with pick-up points no more than a 10-minute walk from students’ homes. This service makes us the non-selective selective school of choice for many parents.

We look forward to welcoming you to Kinver High School and Sixth Form. As we are so popular, we have designated additional dates alongside our annual Open Day (Saturday 20th September 2025 for Year 7 Admission September 2026 and Thursday 2nd October 2025 for Sixth Form Admission September 2026 ) to offer tours during the school day for In-Year Transfer Requests (see admissions page for further information), future prospective students or colleagues from other educational establishments. We schedule three dates per term, and these are available from the school office, who can also book you onto the next school day tour: office@kinverhigh.co.uk

I hope you will want to discover more of what Kinver High can offer you or your child and encourage you to explore our website or book onto the next school tour to discover why we say: ‘Every day is an Open Day at Kinver High School and Sixth Form’.