Robert Smyth School
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The Robert Smyth School, in Market Harborough, Leicestershire is committed to the education of 14-19 year olds. With around 100 staff and more than 1300 students, it provides a comprehensive education for students in KS4 or GCSE and Post-16 (A-levels). It is a Department for education Technology College and has been awarded both an Investors in People award and an Artsmark award. In 2006 a successful application was put forward for the school to become a dual status technology/arts college. The catchment area of the school covers both the town of Market Harborough itself and the surrounding South Leicestershire villages, primarily Kibworth, Fleckney (Corby), Great Glen, and the Langtons. The current headteacher is Colin Dean, and the Deputy Headteacher position is held jointly by Jan Turner and Phillip Pope. The School at this time houses some very notable and intelligent students such as Ben Malin and Christopher Wells.
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[edit] Houses and Forms
The school is the largest in Market Harborough consisting of four 'houses'. Bragg, Moseley, Wartnaby and Pickering. Moseley is of course the best house, as of voted by from all the lovely teachers and students. The houses are named after historical figures from the town, and are mainly in existence for administrative purposes (main school lessons are timetabled by house group and house assemblies are held weekly) but inter-house sports are also popular activities. Two Year 12 students from each house are nominated by staff annually to become school prefects, and each house has a number of house prefects depending on the intake that year. The school also has a school council which consists of about 20 students from each house, two of which go forward to board meetings. The school council are students who want to make the school a better place for the students and suggest positive changes for the school.
Each house is split into tutor groups comprising of 20 to 30 students, from all four school year groups. This arrangement of “vertical tutoring” was put into place in the academic year 2005/6, and it is hoped it will encourage peer mentoring and a greater sense of school community. Forms meet daily and take part in activities such as organising assemblies and poking each other. The best poking is usually done to the younger year 10 students or any year 11s who have not yet hit puberty.
[edit] Sixth Form
Post-16, or sixth form as it's commonly known is housed in the 'Sixth Form Centre', a separate building to the lower school, providing a cafeteria, computer suite and quiet work areas. Sixth form lessons are held throughout the school. This building has a few classrooms, but the majority of sixth form classes are still taught in the main buildings in the school.
Both sixth form and main school students have access to the Studyzone, which contains a library and small number of inferior computers. Lower school students have a separate canteen, situated a short distance from the main building and refreshments are also provided through a bar (Open at all times) in the main school hall and through a hole in the external wall of the sixth form canteen at break and lunchtimes. Main school students are not permitted to set foot in the 6th form centre but often do and get attacked.
[edit] Facilities
Other notable facilities of the school are The Main Hall - an assembly hall, in which assemblies are held, as well as concerts, proms and other large scale events. The Old Gym, which previously allowed students can take part in activities such as trampoline and table tennis, has been converted into a performing arts hall - "The Max". This has a highly flexible format with space for dancing classes, acting, and small offset theory classrooms. A new/extended sports centre is being built adjacent to the existing one (in which indoor football, netball, basketball and other sports are played) to replace and modernise the facilities lost by this conversion. There is also a large school field, on which football and rugby are played, an outdoor basketball court and two tennis courts.
The school has a number of IT rooms, all networked with internet access and several science labs. These science labs put up with a lot of experiments, examples of these would be 'Barbie Burning', 'Germ Growing' and 'Pea Watching'. All of these experiments are considered safe by the National Authority Of Safety.
[edit] Events
The school holds a number of expressive arts events each year – an annual dramatic production, a Rock Concert involving local bands whose members attend the school, an annual Leavers’ Concert and concerts in the Spring and Christmas involving all school ensembles. Every year the CAIRS (Charitable Action In Robert Smyth) committee organises the CAIRS concert – which is a talent showcase and usually involves singers, dancers, musicians and sometimes drama or stand up comedy. The proceeds of this, as with all activities organised by CAIRS, are split between a number of nominated charities.
