Corfe Hills School
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| Corfe Hills School | |
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| Motto | Comprehensive Excellence |
| Established | 1976 |
| School Type | Technology College |
| Headmaster | Alan Hinchliffe |
| Assistant Headteachers | Mr G Scammell Mr J Evans Mrs C Beater |
| Location | Broadstone, England |
| Pupils | 1,618[1] |
| Ages | 13 - 18 |
| Colors | Dark Chocolate Brown, Camel |
| Homepage | Homepage |
Corfe Hills School, is an all purpose secondary school in South East Dorset, located in Broadstone, Poole. In 2004, the school was given technology college status. The school has over 1600 students and over 200 teaching staff. It is one of the largest secondary schools in Dorset, and one of the five main secondary schools serving the Corfe Mullen, Broadstone, Wimborne, Poole, Wareham, Blandford and Bournemouth catchment area. It also has a large and successful sixth form college. The school was established in 1976[2] and has since grown every decade, with a periodical expansion of buildings. The current headmaster is Alan Hinchliffe, appointed in 2003, succeeding Andrew Williams, who headed the school for over ten years.
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[edit] House System
The school has a house system based on local rivers in Southern England; Avon, Frome, Stour and Tarrant. Each year group is split between the houses, with roughly 4 tutor groups and 100 people in each house. The system is not much used currently, but points used to be awarded for success on school sports day and other achievements.
[edit] Uniform
For lower school students, the uniform consists of plain dark chocolate brown trousers or skirt, 'camel' coloured shirt or blouse, school tie (for boys), brown sweater with the school logo and black or brown shoes.[3] The sweater was added to the range of school uniform in 2001 to replace a woollen brown v-necked jersey. The brown and camel colour scheme of the uniform is reflected in the original school buildings, which have dark brown brickwork. It is thought that the colour scheme was chosen by the original headmaster to resemble Pullman coaches, prompted by his love of railways.[citation needed]
The Sixth Form originally had a strict guide on students' clothing; white, beige or black, this has been relaxed over recent years. The Sixth Form Prospectus now states that students have freedom to choose their own clothes as long as they are suitable for a professional environment.[4]
[edit] Productions
The last 7 years have seen a very excellent drama department in the school, in which the annual school play is performed for a week at the Poole lighthouse theatre, a regional arts centre. A further production in aid of the schools charity day is performed in the summer months inhouse at the school, and a further small production is performed in the early spring time. A Christmas carol concert is performed annually at the Wimborne Minster, as well as a spring concert at the St. Nicholas church in nearby Corfe Mullen. The school also enters a team into the Rock Challenge Dance competition yearly, coming second at the 2006 southern finals. Recent productions include Crazy for You, Godspell, Tommy, In to the Woods, and most recently Hot Mikado.
[edit] Sports Tour
The school has many international links, of which its rugby and Netball tours are the best known. The next tour to New Zealand and Cook Islands is planned for summer 2007, and in recent years the teams have travelled to South Africa, New Zealand and Fiji, led by coach's Lyn and Di Lewis, Lyn being the chairman of the English Schools Rugby Association. The schools sporting facilities are excellent, with a large indoor sports hall, gym, and huge outside area, including multiple football and rugby pitches, two cricket strips, an all weather clay hockey pitch, a 400m running track and four tennis courts.
[edit] Extensions
In the mid 1990's a new extension was added to the school, almost doubling its size. New classrooms and offices were added, mainly for the Science departments which received new offices and a new staff room. The Technology department and computing facilities were also developed. In 2004 the school constructed a new Maths department to the North West of the main school complex. The building included ten classrooms and a new departmental staff room. The existing Maths department classrooms and offices were used for the extension of the Humanities department. In 2005 the school built a new reception and foyer to increase the space available on entrance to the school. In 2005 the school redesigned the Sixth Form common room, building a new first floor dining area and cafe. Refurbishments also occurred during the summer of 2006 with a new Humanities Department staff room, larger library, and a new ICT room.
[edit] Notable Alumni
Jackie Rowland BBC Correspondent
[edit] Ofsted Inspection, Summary
Date of Inspection: September 2006
[edit] Achievement and standards
- The school has sustained an attendance rate over a number of years which compares very favourably with the local authority average. The modest increase in absence in 2005/6 is mainly reflected the application by the school of stricter rules for the registration of pupils arriving late.
- For the few pupils tracked on the inspection, levels of engagement and achievement were at least satisfactory and in many cases good.
[edit] Quality of teaching and learning
- The school uses a good range of measures to emphasise to pupils and parents the links between attendance and achievement.
- The pupils interviewed who had been supported by the “TOPS” facility within the school spoke particularly positively about the help they had received.
- However, most reported variations between members of staff across the school in terms of support when returning to lessons after a period of absence.
- The quality of teaching and learning in the few lessons seen on this visit were satisfactory.
[edit] Quality of curriculum
- The quality of the curriculum in supporting attendance is good.
- The school has substantially expanded the range of activities offered at Key Stage 4 and this has enabled more customised packages to be put together to meet pupils’ individual needs.
[edit] Leadership and management of attendance
- Leadership and management in relation to attendance are outstanding.
- Attendance is an integral part of the school’s overall development planning and is given high priority within this.
- The school makes good use of its very detailed registration information to analyse patterns of attendance for both individual pupils and groups.
- Attendance is monitored regularly and planning and review for individual cases is detailed and rigorous.
- Appropriate use is made of rewards and sanctions, both for pupils and parents.
- There is effective collaboration with other agencies and schools.
[edit] Inclusion
- The provision for inclusion in relation to attendance issues is good.
- All the pupils interviewed said that there was at least one member of staff who took a particular interest in their well-being and progress.
- All said similarly that there was at least one person who they could approach with confidence about any problems.
- There are a number of sources of individual support for pupils with problems.
[edit] References
- ^ Report of the Governors to Parents for the Year to 31 Aug 2005, Section 12. Student numbers and attendance record for 2004/2005
- ^ http://www.schoolsnet.com/
- ^ Corfe Hills School, Handbook 2006/2007, Section 7. School Dress Code. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
- ^ Corfe Hills School, Sixth Form Prospectus, What is Different About the Sixth Form. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
