Gosforth High School

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Gosforth High School

Motto	High Achievers
Contact Information	Phone: 0191 2851000 Fax: 0191 2132068
Established	1973
Type	Comprehensive, Sixth form, Language College
Head Teacher	Hugh Robinson
Location	Knightsbridge, Great North Road Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear UK
Enrollment	1653^[1] students
Ages	13 to 19 (Sixth form)
Website	Gosforth High School

Gosforth High School is an English secondary school in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne and is a specialist Language College. Many of it's mainstream students come from 3 large feeder middle schools (Gosforth Central, West and East Middle Schools). It also houses a large Sixth form college, where the majority of the lower school students continue their studies. There is a Special education centre within the school to aid students who need it. The school also houses 'Gosforth Community Education', which provides courses for adults within the local community.

1 History
2 Emblem
3 Achievements
4 Facilities
5 'Feeder' schools
6 Notable alumni
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

The school was originally founded in 1973 through the merger of two local comprehensive schools with Gosforth Grammar School. Between 2000 and 2002 the school buildings were renovated, and the new facilities were opened by the Prime Minister Tony Blair on 29 November 2002.^[2] After the completion of the new buildings, which bear a striking resemblance to airport architecture, the old West Wing was demolished in 2004.

Footballer and former pupil Alan Shearer donated £10,000 to the school in 2006 from the proceeds of several testimonial events held to honour his ten years playing for Newcastle United.^[3]

In September 2006, Gosforth High introduced a very new reward and discipline scheme, previously only used once in another school (in Leeds as a trial). The system rewards students mainly with coloured stamps in their planners and sometimes postcards home from members of staff. Other rewards include mp3 players and USB sticks. The discipline scheme is hierarchical and beginning with verbal warnings, punishments rise up to isolation and then exclusion. The scheme revolves around specially designed planners, which must be shown at the school gate by every student. Failure to do so students spending a day in isolation, unless a parent can bring it in.

In September 2006, Gosforth High took over the administration duties of Gosforth West Middle School, in a Federation style agreement^[4]. There are also plans for Gosforth West to be renamed Gosforth Junior High School or Gosforth High Lower School.

[edit] Emblem

The school's emblem is comprised of 3 main parts: the tree of growth and knowledge, the badge of Newcastle city and the Northumberland coat of arms; the school's motto is High Achievers. The belt surrounding the logo looks similar to Oxford University's.

Mainstream students (Year 9, Year 10 & Year 11) have a coloured ring around the logo on their uniforms. This helps identify individuals into which year group they are. The colour of the ring is either pale blue, gold yellow or dark green (Currently Year 9 have a green ring, Year 10 have a gold ring, and Year 11 have a blue ring) and it does not change when a year group moves up a year (e.g Year 9 students move up to Year 10). Sixth Form students currently have no formal school uniform, however they must wear a school I.D. badge at all times when on school property.

[edit] Achievements

The school is a designated ambassador school for the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth, in addition to being a beacon school and a specialist Language College. GHS has also been awarded many other awards in the past.

[edit] Facilities

Gosforth High School has a wide range of quality of facilities. Some areas are in desperate need of modernization whist some are up-to-date. Much of the original building of Gosforth High School no longer exists.

Gosforth High School's present building is actually 2 buildings; one building has 2 floors and the other 3 and a half floors (the half being a Mezzanine Level which is currently used as an art gallery). This difference in buildings can be clearly seen when you are crossing between the two via stairs.

The school has:

15 Science laboratories
12 ICT rooms (some assigned to a particular subject)
One large library (known as the Learning Resource Centre or LRC)
A large art department
A Sixth form common room
A smaller year 11 common room
A fully equipped Drama studio
3 small Music practice rooms
One Gym
One Indoor Sports Court (Badminton, Basketball & Football)
2 Outdoor Sports Courts (Tennis, Hockey, Basketball, Netball, Football)
One Weight-Training room.
A Student Support Base, which also contains a police base for the area.

All but some of the classrooms in the English department have interactive whiteboards (most of which are SMARTBoard) fitted. A combination of wired and wireless networks allow teachers to use their laptops anywhere. The register in the school is taken via computer, using SIMS.net.

However, the sports department is the oldest part of the current school and is in need of modernization. The gym, indoor sport courts and weight training room all have roof’s that leaks which in turn sometimes prevents them being used if the weather has been bad. The indoor sports courts have earned the nickname ‘The Shed’ by students and teachers alike in the school. The school has planned to replace the existing indoor sports courts with a modern sports facility, although it has not stated the dates.