Education on the Isle of Wight
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[edit] School Provision
There are 69 Local Education Authority-maintained schools on the Isle of Wight, and two independent schools. As a rural community, many of these schools are small, with average numbers of pupils lower than in many urban areas.
[edit] School System
The Isle of Wight does not conform to the general pattern of education in the United Kingdom in which pupils change schools at age 11 (see Education in England) but uses a system once experimented with in a number of areas, but now retained in parts of only some 17 Local Authorities. In this system pupils change school at ages 9 and 13.
Part of the rationale behind this system was that the age of eleven is a period of dramatic physical and emotional change, and also significantly different to the higher age groups in secondary education. Creation of a tier between earlier primary and later secondary education meant that a different character of education suitable to the age group could be developed, taking the child up to age thirteen when they were more ready for high school.
The system has been popular among parents and teachers, but since the introduction of the National Curriculum criticisms have arisen over the system because the curriculum is based on Key Stages lasting either two or three years. It has been suggested that changing school at age 13, with two years of Key Stage 3 spent at a middle school and one year in high school, results in a lack of continuity and problems for high schools whose intake will be from several middle schools.
[edit] Types of School
- Primary Schools -- There are 46 primary schools on the island, taking pupils from age four plus to nine [the reception year to year 4]. 19 of these are Church of England or Catholic aided or controlled. All primaries have pre-school facilities.
- Middle Schools -- There are 16 middle schools, taking pupils from age 9 to 13 [Years 5 to 8]. Of these, one is the local Catholic school, two are Church of England controlled and one is C of E voluntary aided. In some other areas of the UK still retaining a three-tier system the middle school ages are 8 to 12 [Years 4 to 7].
- High Schools -- There are five high schools , taking pupils from age 13 to 18 (compulsory years 9 to 11 and (sixth form) years 12 and 13).
There is no church high school.
- Isle of Wight College -- Like many counties, the Isle of Wight has a college offering vocational course and a sixth form as well as link courses in tertiary and postgraduate education. This college in located on the outskirts of Newport.
- Independent Schools
The Priory School, presently in Shanklin.
'Ryde School With Upper Chine', founded in 1921, is co-educational, non-selective HMC school in Ryde. Ryde School owns the old Bembridge School site where its boarding campus is now based. [Kingswood currently shares the site with them.] Upper Chine School amalgamated with Ryde School and so Ryde School became Ryde School With Upper Chine in 1994.
[edit] Standards & Reforms to the System
In 2004 the Isle of Wight council undertook a consultative process aimed at changing local education structure, to a two tier school system similar to that existing in the rest of the country. This move was opposed by a lobby, 'Standards not Tiers', based in Upper Ventnor and the Conservatives, who, after they won the local council elections in May 2005 shelved the proposals pending further investigation.
The Annual Performance Assessment of the Isle of Wight Council's Education and Children's Social Care Services 2005, carried out by Ofsted and the Commission for Social Care Inspection, found low levels of achievements for pupils in schools and a lack of significant and sustained progress over the last five years. Overall, the Isle of Wight Council’s capacity to improve its services for children and young people was judged to be 'adequate', out of the four ratings 'very good', 'promising', 'adequate' or 'inadequate'.
In 2006, the regional Learning and Skills Council proposed to replace the school sixth forms with central provision at the Isle of Wight College. In January 2007, the authority rejected this proposal, and instead offered its own, which included a reduced number of secondary schools, and the retention of Year 9 pupils in Middle schools, extending their range to form 9-14 schools - a unique arrangement in the United Kingdom - and 14-19 provision at High Schools.[1]
[edit] Adult Education
The Isle of Wight College provides the usual varieties of courses; mostly based at its campus in Newport. However, there are many other providers of adult education on the Isle of Wight including Libraries, Museums, Leisure Centres, West Wight Training Centre, Learning Links, Ventnor Community Projects, Quays Arts, Platform One and the Isle of Wight Council.
The local Council provides a wide range of adult and community learning opportunities including family learning (parents and children learning together in schools) and community learning programmes which are delivered in communities to overcome difficulties in accessing learning such as time, transport and affordability.
[edit] External links
- The official Isle of Wight education website
- The Isle of Wight Council adult and community learning website
- Bishop Lovett Middle School
- Ryde High School
- Sandown High School TJS
- Medina High School
- Carisbrooke High School
- Cowes High School
[edit] References
- ^ "Schools shake-up a step nearer", Isle of Wight County Press, 2007-01-26. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
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