The Becket School
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The Becket School, Nottingham (Mixed comprehensive secondary 11 - 18) was formed in 1975 by the amalgamation of two schools. At present the school is split between two sites. The Upper School, on the site of the old Becket School, houses Year 11 and the Sixth Form and is situated in West Bridgford in the neighbouring parish of the Holy Spirit.
The Becket Main School houses Years 7 to 10. It is situated on Ruddington Lane, Wilford and as such lies within Corpus Christi parish.
The school's intake is vast, widely covering the City of Nottingham, such as places like St Anns, Carlton, Clifton, West Bridgford and many more.
For Years 7 to 11 there are six forms, B,E,N,P,R,T. These are all named after saints,
B - St. Bernadette E - St. Edmund N - St. Nicholas P - St. Patrick R - St. Robert T - St. Teresa
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[edit] Performance
Year after year, the school excels with high GCSE and A Level results. The Sixth Form is an integral part of the school's success, with high AS and A Level results each year, giving the school an excellent reputation despite its current split-site nature.
The Year 11 of 2003/2004, who took their GCSE Examinations included many talented pupils, who gained an average of 68% passing with A* - C grades. Many of this Year 11 have continued onto the Becket Sixth Form, where they have been joined by many outstanding pupils from schools throughout Nottinghamshire. The A Level results from the same year were very encouraging for the school, with an average points total of 334.4, well above the national average. The school has since built upon both these results: in August 2006, the pass rate at A level reached 100%[1]. The average points score per student was 388.5 (including General Studies and fourth AS levels). This placed the Becket Sixth as the second highest performing comprehensive school in the country, post 16 (source: the Guardian, 18.8.06).
The results are, however, somewhat distorted due to the school's comparatively low intake, especially at 'A'-Level. A few AS students who gain grades below A-C do not continue into A2, although this usually depends on a correspondence between the school and the individual concerned, and exceptions have been made.
The Sixth Form is sometimes accused of being particularly selective of gifted students, although this is hardly the case, with the school often accepting pupils whose average grades fall below a C. Nevertheless, the current school premises do not permit a larger sixth form, as the buildings are already overcrowded, but applications always exceed capacity, so some pupils do have to be turned away. The new school site will allow for a considerably larger sixth form.
[edit] History
The Becket School was founded in 1929 by two priests (Fr Aidan Kenny and Fr Bede Horwood) from the Order of the Augustinians of the Assumption. The school was for boys only and was based at the Wilford Lane site, now currently occupied by the Upper School. During the period 1929-1968, the school enjoyed a close association with the Order's other school, St Michael's College, Hitchin, with which there was frequent interchange of staff. During the 1960's the school was particularly renowned for its sporting achievements at a national level, producing several national schoolboy champions in both athletics and rowing.
In 1975, the Becket amalgamated with Corpus Christi school to form the present Becket School. Corpus Christi had opened in September 1958 as a Bilateral Secondary School. It offered to boys and girls Grammar, Technical and Secondary Modern courses. The school was planned by Reginald W Cooper, FRIBA, of Nottingham, and was built by A Mason Ltd of Mansfield. It cost approximately £100,000.
The are now plans to build a new school on Gresham Fields, Wilford Lane which will have a lot more classrooms and a better, more modern look for the Becket. The plans have been accepted and the project should be completed in time for the intake of 2008. Both the current sites will then be redeveloped.
