Weston Road High School

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Weston Road High School
Established 1967
Headteacher Doctor Greg Taylor
Specialism Maths and Computing College
Location Blackheath Lane
Stafford
Staffordshire
ST18 0YG
England
LEA Staffordshire
Ofsted number 124446
Staff 67
Students 1039
Gender Coeducational
Ages 11 to 18
School colours Blue
Website http://www.westonroad.staffs.sch.uk/
Coordinates: 52°48′51″N 2°04′31″W / 52.81429, -2.07536

Weston Road High School is a comprehensive school providing secondary and further education for pupils aged 11- 18 of the community in the east side of the market town Stafford and surrounding villages; Little Haywood, Great Haywood, Weston and Hixon. It has links to other Stafford High Schools and Stafford College through a local education collaboration-the Stafford Collegiate- which provides education for pupils aged 16-18.

Recent years have seen the school take part in provision of new vocational subjects including ICT and Engineering. In 2004 the school held various money raising events to win a bid to become a specialsed Maths College, however this was not achieved until recently.

Former Physical Education teacher Frank W. Burns went on to host the BBC's flagship Sportsnight programme in the nineties.[citation needed]

Recent Council plans have decided that Weston Road, as with every other out of date high school in the Stafford, will be knocked down and replaced with newer schools within the next 6 years.[citation needed]

The school has a special programme for Gifted and Talented pupils and shared expertise regarding exam preparation, highlighting achievements in more ways and have started to use surveys and interviews to ascertain stakeholder opinions to help determine priorities for the school to make sure a target is given in each subject area.

Contents

[edit] Specialist Status [1]

Dr Taylor writes:

The Minister for Education announced this morning that our application to become a specialist school in Maths and Computing has been successful and I am as delighted for our sponsors and business partners as for the school.Their interest, support and generosity has been vital to achieving specialist school status.

This is a valuable opportunity that we intend to make the most of. We will boost and diversify our pupils' curriculum experience immensely while working closely with our feeder schools and partner secondary school, Stafford Sports College, in these vitally important subjects. We look forward to serving adults in our community by providing courses leading to qualifications in ICT and numeracy that will improve employment and career prospects. It is our ambition to be a hub of adult learning for work and leisure, welcoming minority ethnic groups to take up these opportunities as well as parents and people living and working nearby.


[edit] Activities

The school has introduced new extracurricular activities such as Gymnastics and Sixth Form Debating Society, and put on musical productions including Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George". The school also hosts productions from the local primary school, St Johns.

Other activities include Rugby, dance, aerobics, cricket, Warhammer, Environmental, ICT and Science clubs. Many pupils also participate in the 'Duke of Edinburough Award' scheme.

Educational and leisure trips are also organised throughout the year to theatres, museums, ice rinks, paintballing etc. Holidays overseas are also arranged- there is an annual skiing trip and until recently, a yearly trip to France and Germany was arranged every summer by members of the language faculty to improve pupils foreign language skills.

[edit] The School and the Local Community

The school keeps parents and local schools informed through letters and a half termly newsletter. Parents are invited to be involved in setting achievement targets for their children and survey the school at Consultation Evenings. There is a small but active PTFA which hears reports from the headteacher and raises funds.

The school also successfully organises charity fundraising for a number of causes chosen by the students. Many Sixth Formers are engaged in Community Service, which includes supporting teachers in primary shools. The premises are used for adult education and community-based sport and leisure.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.westonroad.staffs.sch.uk/news/default.asp?storyID=9