King George V College

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King George V College (KGV) is a sixth form college in Southport, Merseyside, in the UK. It was previously a grammar school for boys.

King George V College
Motto Your passport to opportunity
Established 1926 as a school,[1] 1978 as a college[2]
Type Further education college
Principle Hilary Anslow
Chair of governors John Rostron[3]
Location Scarisbrick New Road
Southport
Sefton
PR8 6LR
England Flag of England
LEA Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
Ofsted number 130492
Students c. 1200 full time, c. 600 part time[2]
Gender Mixed
Ages 16 to 19
Publication The Voice
Website www.kgv.ac.uk
Coordinates: 53°38′13″N 2°58′44″W / 53.636954, -2.978754

Contents

[edit] Brief History

KGV was first formed as Southport Municipal Secondary School for Boys in September 1920. In 1926, new buildings were built at the college's current site in Scarisbrick New Road, and on 1926-10-16, was reopened as King George V School by Lord Derby.

In September 1979, the school was renamed to King George V College, and in 1982 the school section ceased to exist.

[edit] Present

The College also has the distinction of being placed consistently in the top 10 Sixth Form and FE Colleges in the country for A Level results, and has won a number of Good Schools Guide awards.[4]

The college no longer contains the houses established during the days when it was also a secondary school. It had previously opted for five subject specific faculties, namely:

  • AE - Arts and English Subjects
  • Bi - Business and Information Subjects
  • HL - Humanities and Languages Subjects
  • MS - Maths and Science Subjects
  • SO - Social Science Subjects inc. Psychology and The PASE Scheme

In 2006/2007, it was decided to adopt a new scheme of student pastoral care, colloquially known as "tutor periods". Because of the growing size of the school the previous scheme was too restrictive to cope with the large numbers of students and as a result, many were unable to take advantage of these tutor periods which happened once a week, along with registration once daily.

It was therefore decided that, starting with the 2007/2008 year, from September 2007 each student would be assigned into a tutor group without a faculty. Their form tutor would be a member of teaching staff on a special part-time basis with half of their working time dedicated to teaching, and the other half to student management of their form students. These students meet once weekly for 45 minutes and not at all daily, with all registration taking place electronically in each lesson.

This presented logistical problems for both students and staff alike, as valuable communication time once daily with students has now been lost. As a result, staff and students are now reliant on the email system to communicate - with the obvious issue that if neither reads their emails, communication fails. Also, each tutor could be responsible for as many as four tutor groups (two first year groups and two second year groups), making a total of around 100 pupils possible and making the system far less personal for many than previously. Steps however have been taken to make personal communication easier between staff and student, with the introduction of mobile phones and direct email links to each member of staff, which students can use to contact them.

The college is fast outgrowing it's present grounds, with the student car park constantly full and the arrival of four Portakabins needed to facilitate the teaching of extra students. A plan has been unveiled to completely rebuild the college to a larger and more modern scale within the next five years, which should alleviate many of the accommodation problems currently seen.

[edit] King George V College Students' Union

King George V College Students' Union is an independent union and a member of the National Union of Students. The student union is run by the Student Council, which meet at least once a month.

Usually each Student Council member is a second year student, elected by members of his or her tutor group. The Student Council Co-chairpersons are elected in a college-wide student election. The two co-chairpersons are members of the Governing Body as required by the Education Act 1994.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ King George V School & College History. History of KGV. Old Georgian's Association. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  2. ^ a b Newton, Peter (February 2003). King George V College (PDF). Ofsted inspection report p. 3. Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  3. ^ Newton, Peter (February 2003). King George V College (PDF). Ofsted inspection report p. 2. Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  4. ^ The Good Schools Guide A Level Awards 2005 for teaching excellence. The Good Schools Guide (2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-12.

[edit] External links