Wath Comprehensive School

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Wath Comprehensive School, A Language College
Motto	Meliora Spectare (L. "Look to better things")
Established	1923
Type	Secondary School, Language College
Gender	Mixed
Students	approx. 1800
Location	Sandygate, Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England
Colours	Maroon (Yrs 7-11) / Black and Maroon (VI Form)
Website	Wath Comprehensive School

Wath Comprehensive School is a co-educational secondary school in Wath-upon-Dearne, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is a specialist Language College, with approximately 1,800 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18. The simplified version of its arms, worn by the lower school, features a torch and a river, while the full version, worn by the Sixth Form only, also features a book and a tool. Its motto is Meliora Spectare, Latin for Look to better things.

Although the school has links to a seventeenth century school that existed in Wath, it was founded in 1923 as Wath-upon-Dearne Grammar School. The school was expanded with many new buildings in the early 1950s. In 1964, with the scrapping of the eleven-plus exam in the area, the school absorbed Park Road Secondary Modern School, although it was some time before it was designated a comprehensive school in 1972 and renamed as such in 1974. A major Private Finance Initiative rebuild in the last few years has seen the school mostly housed in brand new buildings, although the loss of the oldest buildings was not without controversy, particularly the traditional 1930s part of the school which was set around two quadrangles. In October of 2007 the second phase of the rebuilding started which includes the construction of a swimming pool. The second phase is due for completion by November of 2008.

The school also has a very good sixth form which currently has around 300 pupils. The school also has a school council, which contributes to the decisions made by the head and speaks on behalf of all the students in all years.

The school has six houses, named after ancient cities - Carthage, Sparta, Rome, Troy, Athens and Thebes.

[edit] Alumni

Famous Alumni include the Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague MP,^[1] the poet and so-called Bard of Barnsley Ian McMillan,^[2] international show business biographer David Bret^[3] and former Lara Croft model Lucy Clarkson.^[4]