Dormston School

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Dormston School is a secondary school located in Sedgley, a town in the West Midlands of England between Dudley and Wolverhampton.

Contents

[edit] History

Dormston School was established in 1935 as one large building which still exists today, although it has undergone substantial refurbishment and a ground floor extension since then. Science and technology blocks were added about 30 years later, they in turn have also been expanded in the last 20 years. A fourth block, housing music, drama, dance and English classrooms was built in 1990, at the same time as three Modern Languages classrooms and two mobile classrooms were added. Two science laboratories were added in 2003, as was a Sixth Form Centre (owned by Dudley College) in 1997.

An estimated 224 pupils per year enroll at Dormston. The main three primary schools whose pupils enroll at Dormston are Cotwall End Primary School, Queen Victoria Primary School and Alder Coppice Primary School. Other less significant feeder schools include St Chad's, Hurst Hill, Foxyards, Hill Avenue and Roberts. GCSE pass rates have regularly passed the 50% mark at Dormston since the early 1990's.

In July 1996, the National Lottery granted the Dormston School with £4million to build an Arts and Sports Centre, which was completed three-and-half years later. The construction of this complex saw the demolition of the old staff room as well as the loss of a playground.

In March 1999, the school made headlines when almost 50 girls were either sent home or isolated from lessons for wearing short skirts. [1]

In spite of a great staff turnover in recent years, there are still a great deal of teachers at the school who have been there since the 1970s and 1980s.

Mrs Stephanie Sherwood, Head Teacher, was appointed in January 2001 to replace the retiring Mrs Barbara O'Conor, who had been at the helm since 1983. Mrs Sherwood is the former headteacher of Buckpool School.

In 2000, just before Mrs O'Connor's retirement, Dormston School was credited with the Charter Mark in recognition of its excellent standards. Mrs O'Connor's last day was marked with a farewell assembly, presented by her long-serving deputy Mr Wally Francis - who himself retired four years later.

The school has five year groups, each of which contain eight classes of approximately 28 children. The tutor groups are split into 'X' and 'Y' populations who are educated separately for all lessons until at least GCSE level.

[edit] Timeline

  • 1935 - Dormston Secondary School opened, consisting of one main building
  • 1970 - 'B' and 'C' Blocks (Science, Technology and Art) are opened.
  • September 1975 - The school's capacity is reduced by 25% following Dudley MBC's decision to rise the primary school/secondary school transition age from 11 to 12.
  • September 1983 - Mrs Barbara O'Connor is appointed head teacher.
  • September 1986 - Computing becomes part of the school's curriculum. A computing department is set up, and the first head of computing is Mr Alan Bradford.
  • September 1990 - 'D' Block opened (fourth school building), containing the English department, Music studio, Drama studio and Dance studio as well as senior management offices, along with two new Art classrooms. These extensions help accommodate extra pupils following the local authority's decision to lower the primary school leaving age from 12 to 11. The former senior management area is divided between the resources and individual needs departments.
  • July 1996 - National Lottery awards a £4million grant to Dormston School, and contributes towards the cost of a £5.5million sports/arts centre.
  • September 1997 - Dudley College opens a new sixth-form centre at Dormston to replace the now-defunct High Arcal sixth-form as Sedgley's post 16 education facility.
  • January 1998 - Construction of the Dormston Centre begins, with a targeted completion date of September 1999.
  • March 1999 - Almost 50 girls are sent home or removed from lessons for wearing short skirts which were more than 2 inches above the knee.
  • September 1999 - A substantial refurbishment programme is completed which sees the conversion of the boys' changing rooms and an adjoining office into an ICT suite, while the girls' changing rooms and former careers office are converted into offices for the Year Heads.
  • March 2000 - The Dormston Centre opens six months behind schedule.
  • December 2000 - The Dormston Centre is officially opened and Mrs Barbara O'Connor retires after 17 years as head teacher.
  • January 2001 - Mrs Stephanie Sherwood is appointed head teacher.
  • September 2001 - The Dormston youth club closes due to extensive vandalism.
  • September 2002 - The Dormston sixth-form is expanded by Dudley College to include a site at nearby High Arcal, in a bid to gain more popularity among post-GCSE students who up till now were choosing other establishments including Halesowen College as their post-GCSE destination.
  • September 2003 - 'E' Block is opened, housing a Science laboratory and an Art room.
  • April 2004 - The youth club on the Dormston grounds is re-opened following a major refurbishment project which saw one building totally rebuilt.
  • December 2004 - Mr Wally Francis retires after 20 years as deputy head.
  • December 2005 - Mr John Turner retires after 21 years as deputy head.
  • September 2006 - Mrs Pat Turton, who was head of R.E at Dormston for more than 20 years, dies of heart failure aged 52.
  • October 2006 - Mrs Sherwood bans the school's pupils from lunching out at local food outlets - a decision which proves largely unpopular with pupils, parents and the local community; including one local person who criticised the policy as a "dictatorship". [2]

[edit] School buildings

[edit] A Block

The original part of the school. It was built in 1935 and accommodates a sports hall, dining hall, learning resources centre, smoking lounge and office for the Careers staff.

The offices for the Heads of Year and Isolation Room were added in 1999 after a remodelling of the former girls changing rooms and the Careers office.

A Block originally contained the offices for the senior management, but on the relocation of these facilities to D Block this area was converted into the Individual Needs department as well as a Resources centre.

Classrooms in A Block are used for the teaching of Mathematics, Humanities (Geography, History and Religious Education) and Modern Languages.

A Block included changing rooms until 1999. The boys' changing rooms were knocked through into an office to create an ICT suite. The girls' changing rooms were knocked through into an office to allow space for the offices for the Heads of Year and the Isolation Room.

[edit] B Block

B Block is the second oldest part of the school, built by the early 1970s. It houses six science laboratories as well as two Food Technology suites. Two further B Block classrooms - actually within C Block - were added in 1990 and house the art department.

It has not been substantially altered since its construction, although all of the laboratories have been refurbished, as have both of the Food Technology suites - now known as the Brian Gibbons Technology Rooms. On the construction of a new Art department in 1990, the former Art suites were converted into Science laboratories.

[edit] C Block

C Block was built at the same time as B Block. The downstairs of the building includes two Science laboratories, a CAD/CAM centre as well as laboratories for Graphic Design, Resistant Materials and Systems & Control. The upstairs of the block is given over to a Textiles suite and two computer suites.

The two Science laboratories were refurbished in 2001. The Graphic Design and Systems & Control laboratories remain virtually identical to how they were on their completion, but the Resistant Materials laboratory was built in 1990 and has yet to merit refurbishment.

[edit] D Block

D Block houses the senior management offices, reception area, nurse's office, music studio, drama studio, dance studio, one music classroom and five English classrooms. It was built in 1990 and was detached from the rest of the school until the Dormston Centre was added in 2000.

Being a modern structure, no substantial alterations have yet been made to D Block, although carpets have been replaced and some of the walls have been re-painted or even re-plastered. A combination of wear and tear and vandalism contributed to these refurbishments.

D Block was officially opened by local councillor John T. Wilson, a former member of Dudley MBC.

[edit] E Block

E Block was completed in September 2003 and houses two classrooms used for art and science.

[edit] Dormston Centre

The Dormston Centre includes a sports hall, gymnasium, fitness centre, art gallery, theatre and cafe. It cost nearly £6 million to build, £4 million of which was provided by a grant from the National Lottery. The go-ahead for the centre was given in July 1996 when the Lottery grant was given, and the facilities were in use by March 2000 - six months behind schedule. The official opening took place on December 1st, 2000. At the time, these facilities were virtually unmatched anywhere in the West Midlands.

The staff room for Dormston School is located in the ground floor of the Dormston Centre.

For two years until November 2004, the centre was managed by director Mr Peter Glover. At this time, he was suspended following allegations of misconduct. He then disappeared for five days before returning home.[[3]] Mr Glover was banned from teaching for two years in February 2007 after a General Teaching Council hearing in Birmingham heard details of Mr Glover's misconduct. The hearing revealed that Mr Glover had failed to provide stage equipment for an amateur Drama production in September 2004 and his mistakes had forced the group to cancel their performance. He became angry at the group's decision to cancel the play, and started throwing stage blocks around the centre as well as swearing in front of pupils. Two parents made complaints to head teacher Mrs Stephanie Sherwood and Mr Glover was then suspended. He reacted by intimidating a pupil into signing a statement which contradicted the fact that he had behaved inappropriately and used offensive language. Mr Glover remained suspended from his job until a disciplinary investigation led to him being dismissed in June 2005. [[4]]

[edit] Youth Club

There is a long-running youth club on the grounds of Dormston School, which is run by volunteers several evenings a week and had to close in 2001 due to vandalism. It was re-opened in 2004 following a substantial refurbishment and one of the mobile buildings had to be replaced as part of these improvements.

[edit] Notable alumni

  • Phil Parkes - former West Ham goalkeeper, attended from 1961 to 1966
  • Chris Marsh - former Walsall defender, attended from 1982 to 1986

[edit] Notable staff


[edit] School uniform

  • Black trousers or skirts
  • White shirts
  • Black blazers
  • Red/grey striped ties
  • Grey pullovers (optional)

[edit] The school day

8.45am: Pupils need to be in school for registration; each year group has an assembly twice every week.

9.00am: Period 1 begins.

9.50am: Period 1 finishes and Period 2 begins.

10.40am: Period 2 finishes and breaktime begins.

10.55am: Breaktime finishes and Period 3 begins.

11.45am: Period 3 finishes and Period 4 begins.

12.35am: Period 4 finishes and lunchtime begins.

1.25pm: Lunchtime finishes and registration begins.

1.30pm: Registration finishes and Period 5 begins.

2.20pm: Period 5 finishes and Period 6 begins.

3.10pm: End of school day

  • Lunchtimes at Dormston were originally 1 hour long, until they were reduced to 50 minutes with effect from September 2004. This allowed the school day to be shortened by 10 minutes.
  • Pupils are allowed to access the quadrangles, playing fields and dining hall at breaktime and lunchtime. Between October and April, form rooms are open to pupils at breaktime and lunchtimes; during the summer, form rooms are only open in bad weather. This system came into effect in April 2001.
  • Due to insurance regulations, pupils under the age of 16 are not allowed to leave the school grounds at breaktime or lunchtime. Pupils of any age who wish to leave the site at breaktime or lunchtime must obtain a pass from the school office. This system is currently being reviewed, as of the 2006 autumn term.

[edit] Attendance

The school sets a target of 95% attendance for each of its pupils to attain for the academic year. An Attendance Officer is employed to work with parents and pupils to ensure that a good level of attendance is achieved, and it is the officer's responsibility to contact home on the first day of any absence which has yet to be explained by a reliable adult. Pupils can be offered work to be done at home in the event of any long-term absences.

[edit] Behaviour

The school supports attitudes and behaviour which support learning, equal opportunities for all pupils and staff, a safe and pleasant environment and respect for all pupils, staff and property.

The school does not support racism, sexism, bullying, harassment, sexual misconduct, vandalism, graffiti, theft, litter, violence or possession of dangerous/harmful substances.

[edit] Code of Conduct

The school expects pupils to allow others to learn, show respect for others, follow all instructions from all staff, take care of the school, attend regularly and punctually, follow classroom and corridor codes, wear the correct uniform, not bring in valuables and not to chew gum indoors.

[edit] Classroom Code

The school expects pupils to be silent and ready for the lesson to begin, follow all instructions from the teacher, respect everyone else in the class, work with others in a safe manner, record homework in their diary/planner, and be silent and ready for the lesson to end.

[edit] Corridor Code

The school expects pupils to keep to the left of the corridor, be aware of others using the corridor, walk quietly and sensibly, use the most direct route to wherever they need to go, and not eat or drink in corridors.

[edit] Pastoral system

The form tutor is responsible for getting to know each individual in their tutor group, helping them to settle into the school and feel confident, keep a look out for any potential problems or worries that a pupil might encounter, and to talk and listen to each pupil. They are also expected to monitor attendance, punctuality, homework, uniform and behaviour.

There is a "Head of Year" responsible for each year group. Like all other staff in the school, they have a key responsibility to protect all pupils and rationally discuss any situation which suggests that their welfare has been compromised.

[edit] Homework policy

Homework is an important and compulsory extension of classwork for each year group. All pupils are issued with a diary/planner which contains a record of each day's homework and a timetable for the homework which is expected each day. Parents are expected to check and sign the diary on a weekly basis.

All pupils have a right to complete homework in a quiet, undisturbed setting. They can complete the homework at home or in the Learning Resources Centre. Homework at Dormston is a very varied task, ranging from research to illustration to watching particular work-related TV programmes. In the run-up to any examinations, pupils are expected to revise the work which they have completed over that period.

[edit] Residential trips

Residential trips play an important part in the culture of Dormston. There have been recent visits to Knapp House Holiday Centre in Devon, the First World War trenches in Belgium, the art galleries of Florence in Italy, Euro Disney in Paris, skiing trips to Austria and America, and the Dudley Schools' cruise of the Middle East.

[edit] GCSE Results

41% of the pupils who left the school in July 2006 attained 5 or more GCSE grades at A to C.

This meant that Dormston was ranked as the 12th out of the Dudley borough's 22 secondary schools.

[edit] Curriculum

[edit] Key Stage 3

[edit] Key Stage 4 (GCSE)

English, Mathematics, Science, Foreign Languages (French or German), Religious Education, Information Technology, Physical Education, Technology and Tutor Period are compulsory for all pupils at this key stage. All of the remaining subjects at key stage 3 are optional, 3 of which can be selected as a GCSE option. Alternatively, pupils can choose 1 of these subjects to study alongside Health & Social Care, Applied Business Studies or Applied Art & Design.

Citizenship is also taught at both key stages and is rewardable with a short-course GCSE pass (if obtained) at the end of Year 11.

[edit] Gifted and Talented

The school actively promotes academic, spiritual and personal development all pupils, while recognising that some students have special abilities and talents. These students are recognised as "gifted and talented".

Year 7 pupils take a series of "MIDYIS" tests which give the teachers an insight into each pupil's potential. Each pupil's progress in then closely monitored, and some students will be given the option of attending Summer Schools - an event organised by the National Academy at Warwick University. They can also attend a Science club which is open to key stage 3 pupils. There is also an optional day visit to Oxford University for some of these pupils.

Since September 1999, certain pupils entering key stage 3 will be selected for accelerated key stage 4 courses which will see them complete a GCSE in year 10 and an AS Level in year 11.

Mrs Elaine James, a long-serving Science teacher at the school, is consultant for the "Gifted and Talented" policy.

[edit] Extra Curriculur Activities

The school offers an extensive and wide range of extra curriculur activities, which include:

Many of these extra curriculur activities are represented in school teams who have achieved considerable success in various competitions between local schools.

There are also after-school clubs for subject including Science and Technology.

With direct access to the state-of-the-art Dormston Centre, the school has regularly featured in Drama productions; the first of these was West Side Story in March 2000. Each key stage gives an annual Performance Arts Evening for pupils to display their various talents.

Year 10 pupils are involved in the Young Enterprise initiave and in 2005 received a local award for being the "Most Enterprising Company".

Year 9 and GCSE pupils have the opportunity to attend revision and coursework support classes which are organised by staff who teach the appropriate subject.

Pupils with individual educational needs are encouraged to attend small group or one-to-one sessions organised by the Learning Support Department.

Year 10 pupils have the opportunity to apply to become a Senior, which gives them extra responsibility during their final year of compulsory education. This system has long been in place, having originally been pioneered during the days of Mrs O'Connor's stewardship. New to the policy since September 2005 has been the appointment of a "Head Boy" and "Head Girl" (who each have deputies). These students work closely with staff and pupils to give them an exceptionally prominent responsibility.

There is also an active School Council and each year pupils are encouraged to vote for a pupil in their year group to be elected as councillors.

[edit] Presentation evening

Each December, a presentation evening is held for the Year 11 pupils who left that summer. All pupils receive their GCSE certificates and a select group of pupils receive subject prizes; these are presented by the Guest of Honour - the most recent person to have this role was Mr David Cox, who has been deputy head and head teacher at several local primary schools.

The Stourbridge College Award for Effort was always presented by the Head of the Governors; until his retirement in December 2005 this award was presented by Mr Norman Caddick, who has since been succeeded by Mrs Pauline Gregory. The award was renamed the Thomas Walker Award for Effort from 2006, in honour of a boy at the school who died aged 14 in tragic circumstances in January 2005.

The Neil Skidmore Memorial Trophy is presented to the winner of the P.E subject prize; it is named in honour of former pupil Neil Skidmore, who excelled at sport and died aged 15 in 1994 from a heart attack while playing football.

The DSA Achievement Award is presented by Mrs Stephanie Sherwood, the school's current head teacher.

[edit] Community links

[edit] Arts/Sports Centre

The school has direct access to the Dormston Centre, a high quality arts/sports complex which opened in March 2000 and was mostly funded by a National Lottery grant which had been made four years earlier.

The centre contains a 350-seat theatre, art gallery, cafe/bar, fitness centre, sports hall and floodlit outdoor multi-sports area. These facilities give pupils a great opportunity to fully develop their potential in different aspects of arts and sports.

[edit] Community learning

The Dormston School offers members of the public a wide range of community learning classes including Yoga and Photography. The school has long offered a range of adult learning classes, but has recently expanded its agenda to include family learning classes that are aimed at children and adults learning together.

The Dormston Centre operates its own Youth Theatre Group which gives young members of the public (from Dormston and other establishments) the opportunity to make the most of their acting potential.

[edit] Adult Education

The Dormston Centre has offered adult education classes since its opening, while the school has being offering these opportunities since the 1980s. Various tutors are selected for their knowledge of specialist subjects as well as their ability to deal with a wide range of students. Courses commence in late September and most are completed within 10 weeks.

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