Motto | Aspiration, Attitude, Achievement |
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Established | 2000 |
Type | Comprehensive School |
Headteacher | James Fox |
Chair of Governors | David Sage |
Specialism | Business and Enterprise |
Location | Stanley Lane Chippenham Wiltshire SN15 3XB England |
Local authority | Wiltshire |
DfE URN | 131969 |
Ofsted | Reports |
Staff | 100 (approx) |
Students | 911[1] |
Gender | Mixed |
Ages | 11–18 |
Houses | Alfred (Blue), Neeld (Red), Brunel (Green) and Talbot (Yellow) |
Colours | Gold and black |
Website | www.abbeyfieldschool.co.uk |
Abbeyfield School is a secondary mixed comprehensive school in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, for children aged 11 to 18.[1] There are 953 pupils on its roll. [1]
The current headteacher is James Fox who has held the post since 1st September 2010.
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The school was built to serve the needs of the expanding population of Chippenham and the large estates of Pewsham and Cepen Park. In 1998, while the land was being cleared, two unexploded bombs were found on the site and the British Army carried out a controlled explosion.[2] However, other delays occurred due to the nature of the Private Finance Initiative and building did not start until 2000.
The new school was opened in 2001 by The Duke of Edinburgh.[3] In 2008, a new building was built to accommodate the 6th Form students.
The school is located on the east side of Chippenham in Stanley Lane, near the Pewsham estate, off London Road and surrounded by fields.
Every year the school admits around 180 children (six tutor groups of 30 students) from local primary schools. These children come from the Chippenham area which is also served by Hardenhuish and Sheldon schools as well as from surrounding towns such as Melksham Oak and Corsham's The Corsham School, as well as an increasing number of admissions from nearby Calne However, applications for the 2011 school year were greatly diminished on account of the growing popularity and greater quality of the Chippenham's other two comprehensive schools.
Since its first inspection in 2002 the school has been inspected several times by Ofsted. The first of these, in 2002, described the school as "a very effective school, it has the capacity to improve even further". The 2006 inspection described the school as "An effective school which provides a good quality of education for its students who enjoy their learning and achieve well."[4] In 2009 the Ofsted report was not as positive being only 'Satisfactory'[5]
Since 2009, Abbeyfield school had taken part in the UKAYRoC competition. In the first year the only team, named Enigma, past qualification flights and proceeded to the finals, coming ninth overall. The next year, two teams were entered, Quantum and Enigma. Both teams made it to the final, but Enigma suffered from an engine misfire, and only came 15th. The other team, Quantum, had a successful launch, and came 5th overall, which exceeded the previous years result[6]. In 2011, three teams have been entered.
Since 2006, Abbeyfield School has been twinned with Maahad School in The Gambia. It is traditional every year for Year 12 and 13 students to travel to the Gambia to visit the school, help with lessons and spend time with local people. jole rider, an education organisation and registered charity, worked with Abbeyfield to supply refurbished, donated second-hand bicycles and classroom equipment to the school, to help young Gambians gain an education as many live far from the school and need transport in order to get there.[7]
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