St Crispin's School
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| St Crispin's School | |
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| Motto | Excellence for all |
| Established | 1953 |
| Type | Comprehensive |
| Headteacher | Alex Biddle |
| Specialism | Mathematics and Computing College |
| Location | London Road Wokingham Berkshire RG40 1SS  England |
| LEA | Wokingham |
| Ofsted number | 110059 |
| Students | c. 1,060 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11 to 18 |
| School colours | Green and yellow |
| Website | www.crispins.co.uk |
St Crispin's School, founded in 1953, is a co-educational comprehensive school in Wokingham, Berkshire, England, catering for pupils between 11 and 18 years of age. There were 1,057 students at the school in 2005, of whom 191 were in the Sixth Form.[1] The school is on the London Road just outside the main town centre.
St Crispin's is a specialist school in mathematics and computing, and is both a Microsoft Academy and a Cisco Systems Networking Academy. The school has Investor in People Status and also holds the Sportsmark Award. St Crispin's has strong links with the local community and has a special link with Costain through its building awareness programme.[2] The school celebrated its best ever GCSE results in 2007 with 74.8% of pupils achieving five or more passes at grades A to C and 66.2% receiving five or more grades A to C including maths and English.[3] At A level 42.3% of papers were awarded an A or a B and the average UCAS points score per candidate was 783.8.[4]
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[edit] Architecture
St Crispin's School was the first of the Ministry of Education's prototype prefabricated schools. It was built between 1951 and 1953 by the Ministry of Education's own team of researchers into rational school building (David Medd and Mary Crowley) under the direction of S. A. W Johnson Marshall. The work was inspired by that of the Hertfordshire Architect's Department.[5] In the post-war years, with an increasing demand for school places, the government was under pressure to reduce costs but without compromising the school building programme. The aim was to establish new levels of cost efficiency for both erection and running costs. The building is of light steel construction with components of modular sizes. The classrooms were all originally located in a four-storey block above the main entrance with a central courtyard and a rambling series of inter-connected mostly single-storey buildings which provided accommodation for a hall, a gym and specialised teaching spaces for arts and crafts. The new techniques speeded up the building process so much that the school was able to open five months ahead of the planned schedule. It is widely believed that the school tower was designed with the potential to be modified to a hospital in times of national emergency though no records have been found to substantiate the claim.[6] The informal layout and unassuming architecture influenced the layout and construction of schools across the country.[7] St Crispin's was classified as a Grade II listed building by English Heritage on 30 March 1993.[8]
The original school site consisted of 29 acres, of which four acres were gardens to be tended by the students. The gardens have long gone but the school still has extensive playing fields and also benefits from the use of the adjacent St Crispin's Sports Centre.
The artwork on the walls was a particular feature of the school in its early years. The composition slabs by the main entrance featured paintings of a modular girl by the mural artist Fred Millett (1920-1980).[5] He also painted four murals depicting the seasons of the year, the most striking of which was a large mural at the east end of the dining hall depicting apple picking.[9] These pictures were removed or painted over in a redecoration programme in the 1970s. The school has now embarked on an ambitious £22,000 project to locate the murals and restore them to their former glory.[10]
[edit] History
The school was named after St Crispin, the patron saint of cobblers, tanners and leather workers. The choice of name was perhaps inspired by the famous St Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's Henry V, a rousing battle cry from the king before the Battle of Agincourt which was fought on 25 October 1415 (St Crispin's Day).
St Crispin's was officially opened on 14 October 1953 by the Right Honourable Florence Horsbrugh, the then Minister of Education. It featured in a BBC Schools Current Affairs broadcast on 16 October 1953. There were 360 pupils aged between 11 and 15 on roll on the first day with 19 members of staff. By the end of the first full academic year there were 580 pupils at the school. The numbers rose rapidly and by 1958 there were 856 pupils on roll. As of the 2006/2007 academic year, there were 1050 students at the school.
In 2003 the school celebrated its fiftieth anniversary and was featured as a "School in Focus" on the Teachernet website.[11] In the same year the school received a substantial addition to its funds by gaining a School Achievement Award from the DFES.[12]
St Crispin's was awarded specialist maths and computing status with effect from September 2004.[13] The award was accompanied by additional government funding of £600,000 spread over four years to allow the technology to be used across all areas of the curriculum.[14]
[edit] Buildings
The newest addition to the school is the brand new ICT block built in 2005 which contains four rooms, each with around 30 computers. Many of the local primary schools come to St Crispin's for special ICT days where they have the chance to try out the new system.
[edit] The school in film
Pupils from the school have on two occasions been required to act as extras in films. In 1957 the school's playing fields were used to show scenes of a sports day in the eight-part cinema/TV thriller The Great Attraction. The shooting took place over three days and a number of pupils were used in the film.
In 1989 around 150 pupils from the school acted as extras in Back Home, a television feature film starring Hayley Mills and Hayley Carr. The film was set in an English school in 1946 and told the story of an English girl returning home after spending the war years in the US. The students were selected if they had the appropriate look for the period, and they were paid £5 each for their contribution. Bearwood College was used as the location for many of the school shots and other scenes were filmed in Midhurst in West Sussex.[15]
Jennifer Rae Daykin, a Year Eight pupil at the school, played the part of Lily Brown in the 2005 family film Nanny McPhee. She subsequently appeared as Chloe Taylor-Thomas in The Catherine Tate Show in 2006.
[edit] Curriculum
| Subject | GCSE | A level |
|---|---|---|
| Art and Design | Yes | Yes |
| Biology | Yes | Yes |
| Business Studies | Yes | Yes |
| Chemistry | Yes | Yes |
| Child Development | Yes | - |
| Computer Studies | No | Yes |
| Design and Technology | Yes | Yes |
| Drama | Yes | Yes |
| Economics | - | Yes |
| English Language | Yes | - |
| English Literature | Yes | Yes |
| French | Yes | Yes |
| Further Mathematics | - | Yes |
| General Studies | - | Yes |
| Geography | Yes | Yes |
| German | Yes | Yes |
| History | Yes | Yes |
| ICT | Yes | Yes |
| Mathematics | Yes | Yes |
| Media Studies | - | Yes |
| Music | Yes | Yes |
| Psychology | No | Yes |
| Physical Education | Yes | Yes |
| Physics | Yes | Yes |
| Religious Education | Yes | Yes |
| Science (double award) | Yes | - |
| Statistics | Yes | - |
In Years 7, 8 and 9 (Key Stage 3) students study the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science plus the following foundation subjects: French, Design and Technology, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), History, Geography, Religious Education, Art, Music and Physical Education. In addition lessons are offered in Personal, Social and Health Education, Citizenship and Drama. Pupils are taught in sets for English, Maths, Science and French. German is offered as a second foreign language from Year 8 onwards to those in the top French sets.
The subjects offered at GCSE are shown in the table (right). St Crispin's is one of a small number of state schools which still offer the three separate sciences at GCSE. The following Design and Technology options are offered at GCSE: Food and Nutrition; Graphic Products; Resistant Materials; Systems and Control; Textiles.
The subjects offered at A level are also shown in the table (right). In addition, a number of vocational courses are available including the new Key Skills Qualifications in Application of Number, Communication, and Information Technology, and the National Diploma in Business (Level 2). St Crispin's participates in the Cisco Networking Academy Programme and is one of the relatively few schools in the UK to offer this globally accepted professional course in networking. Pupils on this course have networked the computers in the school's IT suite and also those of the neighbouring primary school Westende.
St Crispin's has pioneered an innovative science buddy scheme, which was featured on Teachernet, the website for teachers and educators.[16] The scheme involved around 30 pupils from the top three sets in Year 11 helping the younger children in Year 7 to conduct experiments and investigations in a lunchtime club. The buddies also visited local primary schools during National Science Week and led practical sessions with Year 5 and Year 6 pupils.
[edit] Sports
Pupils at the school participate in the following sports: athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, health-related fitness, hockey, netball, rounders, rugby, tennis and trampolining. There are school teams which play regular fixtures with other local schools in rugby, football, hockey, netball and basketball. Pupils also participate in the Reading Cross Country League. A number of pupils play at county level.[17]
[edit] Extracurricular activities
[edit] Competitions
Pupils participate in the Economics Challenge, Young Enterprise, the Mathematics Olympiad, and the Wokingham Schools' Debating Competition. In 2004 St Crispin's School, represented by Ella Dolan and Joe Rogers, were the winners of the John Redwood Cup in the inaugural Wokingham Schools' Debating Competition.[18]
[edit] Music
Music tuition is provided by Berkshire Maestros at discounted rates. Pupils can learn to play woodwind, brass, percussion, violin, viola, guitar and keyboard.[19]
[edit] School clubs
A range of clubs are available both at lunchtime and after school. There are clubs for music, drama, dance, art, Warhammer, various sports, computing (including a computer club specifically for girls) and Christian Union.
[edit] School trips
The school provides a regular programme of school trips to enhance the curriculum. Pupils have visited Warwick Castle, Lulworth Cove, Cheddar Gorge, HMS Belfast and the Black Country Museum. Lower school pupils have the opportunity to participate in a residential team building weekend. Overseas trips have included visits to the First World War battlefields, the art galleries in Barcelona, trekking in Thailand and Mexico, ski-ing in Aprica, Italy, and the USA, and trips to Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
[edit] Admissions
In common with all other schools in Wokingham Borough, school places are allocated by the Local Education Authority based on designated catchment areas and feeder primary schools. Around 190 places are available at St Crispin's every year.[20] The feeder primary schools for St Crispin's are:
- Gorse Ride Junior School
- Hatch Ride Primary School
- Keep Hatch Primary School
- Nine Mile Ride Primary School
- Oaklands Junior School
- The Palmer Church of England Junior School
- Westende Junior School
- St Sebastian's Church of England School
In addition the school receives a significant number of students from the primary schools in Bracknell Forest Authority. The 2006 intake was made up of 180 students from 26 different primary schools.[21]
[edit] Headteachers
[edit] Eric Bancroft (1953-1971)
The first headteacher of St Crispin's was Eric Bancroft who joined the school in 1953. He moved to Wokingham from Yorkshire where he was formerly the headteacher of Sheffield County School. Drama was one of Bancroft's particular passions and the school has always had a strong tradition in the subject. Bancroft retired from teaching in 1972 and continued to live in Wokingham. He died on 13 July 1981.[22]
[edit] John Cole (1972-1992)
John Cole was selected as headteacher designate on 10 July 1971 and formally took over from Eric Bancroft in January 1972. He was responsible for overseeing the change to comprehensive status and the extension of the facilities to create new science, maths and sixth form blocks. He was trained as a French teacher and had a deliberate policy of teaching his subject to every pupil in their first year so that he knew every child in the school. He retired in 1992 and died of cancer on 4 January 2007 at the age of 75.[23][24]
[edit] Alex Biddle (1992-)
Alex Biddle was appointed as headteacher in November 1991 and took office on 27 March 1992. He has presided over a significant growth in the school roll from a low of 701 in 1993 to 1050 in the 2005-2006 academic year.[25]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Luke Bedford, composer
- Serena Doshi, internet entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer of Neo1[26][27]
- Keith Fletcher, former All England Boxing Champion[28]
- Stephen Hughes, footballer[27]
- Peter Lewington, Berkshire and Warwickshire cricketer[29]
- Stephen Meads, international squash player[27][30]
- Tom Morgan, international rower and medal winner at the 2002 Commonwealth Games[27]
- Graham Woodward, President of Airbus Canada[27]
[edit] Further reading
St Crispin's School: The Story So Far. Wokingham, Berkshire: St Crispin's School, 2003.
[edit] References
- ^ DFES statistics
- ^ Costain Building Awareness Programme
- ^ 2007 GCSE results for comprehensives and academies from The Guardian accessed August 2007
- ^ Daily Mail A level and GCSE results for St Crispin’s School for 2007 accessed August 2007
- ^ a b Pevsner, N. The Buildings of England: Berkshire, Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, pp.309-310.
- ^ 'The site and buildings of St Crispin's'. St Crispin's School: The Story So Far. Wokingham, Berkshire: St Crispin's School, 2003, p25.
- ^ Building the Post-War World: Modern architecture and reconstruction in modern Britain by Nicholas Bullock. London and New York: Routledge: p 223. ISBN 0415221781 accessed February 2008
- ^ Images of England ref. no. 41799
- ^ St Crispin's School: The Story So Far. Wokingham, Berkshire: St Crispin's School, 2003, p26.
- ^ 'Help crack case of the missing mural: School restores artwork'. Wokingham Times, 10 October 2007, p15.
- ^ School in Focus - Celebrating Success: St Crispin's School, Wokingham
- ^ School Achievement Award Scheme
- ^ The Standards Site. List of Maths and Computing Colleges.
- ^ St Crispin's Opens Its Doors To Celebrate Its Specialist Status. Wokingham Borough Council online news archive, 24th September 2004 accessed September 2007
- ^ 'Back Home'. St Crispin's School: The Story So Far. Wokingham, Berkshire: St Crispin's School, 2003, pp20-21.
- ^ 'Science buddies'. Teachernet Case Studies
- ^ County representation 2006-2007.
- ^ Wokingham Schools' Debating Competition
- ^ Music tuition provided by Berkshire Maestros at St Crispin’s School accessed August 2007
- ^ Wokingham Borough Council. A Parent's Guide to Secondary School Admissions for September 2007.
- ^ 'Information for prospective parents'. St Crispin's school website accessed August 2007
- ^ "The early years under Eric Bancroft (1953-71)". St Crispin's School: The Story So Far. Wokingham, Berkshire: St Crispin's School, 2003, pp8-13.
- ^ "Former school head dies". The Wokingham Times, 10 January 2007.
- ^ "Consolidation and comprehensive change with John Cole (1972-92)". St Crispin's School: The Story So Far. Wokingham, Berkshire: St Crispin's School, 2003, pp14-15.
- ^ "Into the new millennium with Alex Biddle (1992 until today)" St Crispin's School: The Story So Far. Wokingham, Berkshire: St Crispin's School, 2003, pp16-17.
- ^ Serena Doshi profile
- ^ a b c d e St Crispin’s School website page on famous students accessed August 2007
- ^ 'Sport'. St Crispin's: The Story So Far. Wokingham, Berkshire: St Crispin's School, 2003, p6.
- ^ Peter Lewington profile from Cricinfo
- ^ Stephen Meads - international squash ranking
[edit] External links
- St Crispin's School website
- St Crispin's Wikispace for Digital Parents
- St Crispin's Gold
- Science buddies
- School overview and profile from Schoolsfinder
- Aerial view of St Crispin's from Live Search
- St Crispin's Guest Book for former pupils
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