High Arcal School

High Arcal School
Motto Wisdom & Service
Established 1961
Type Foundation school
Headteacher Mrs Joanna Mary Manson
Specialism Science
Applied Learning
Location High Arcal Drive
Sedgley
West Midlands
DY3 1BP
England
Local authority Dudley
DfE URN 103873
Ofsted Reports
Students 1213
Gender Coeducational
Ages 11–16
Houses Attingham, Himley, Boscobel, Wightwick
Publication The Arcalian (former grammar school)
Website High Arcal School

High Arcal School is a comprehensive secondary school situated in Sedgley, West Midlands, England. It was opened in 1961 as a grammar school and became comprehensive in 1975. The school holds Specialist Science College status. Along with one for applied learning

Contents

Admissions

The school is situated between the A457 (Tipton Road) and the A459 (Dudley Road) in Woodsetton, to the east of Sedgley town centre.

It was originally a grammar school for 11-18 year olds in Sedgley and Coseley who passed the 11 plus examination, but is now a comprehensive school most serving the eastern part of Sedgley and the western part of Coseley. After nearly two decades serving the 12-18 age range, it was reorganised to form an 11-16 school and now covers a wider catchment area including parts of Dudley and Tipton.

History

The school opened in September 1961 as a grammar school to serve the urban district councils of Sedgley and Coseley, with the catchment area being altered from September 1966 when the bulk of Sedgley was absorbed into the borough of Dudley; approximately half of Coseley remained in the catchment area as part of the expanded Dudley borough, but significant portions of the old urban district were merged into Wolverhampton and West Bromwich and removed from the catchment area of High Arcal.

The school's age range was altered to 12-18 from September 1972, and its status changed from grammar to comprehensive in September 1975.

The school's sixth form closed in July 1990 as part of further reorganisation by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, and from September that year the age range was altered to 11-16 with 11-year-olds being readmitted to High Arcal after 18 years as a 12+ school. Since then, places at the school have been obtainable to pupils living in Tipton (just beyond the Dudley borough's borders in Sandwell, where the secondary transfer age has always been 11 years) and the school has consequently become a popular choice for children living in Tipton, particularly in the Tipton Green district.

The school's current head teacher is Mrs Jo Manson, who took the position on a temporary basis in August 2006 following the resignation of Mr Jeffrey Williams, who quit after being fined at Wolverhampton Crown Court following a conviction for kerb-crawling. He had been head at the school for 14 years, and had seen a major turnaround in the school's fortunes since the retirement of previous head teacher Mr John Gerrish in December 1992, who in turn succeeded the foundation headmaster Mr John Ardern. He had taught at a school in Shropshire for several years prior to becoming head of High Arcal, having once been a subject teacher at High Arcal.

The highlight of the school's recent uprise in fortunes came in 2002, when it came highest of Sedgley's three secondary schools in the GCSE tables for the first time in more than a decade. Further success came in 2006, when High Arcal came seventh out of the borough's 22 schools - ahead of 12th placed Dormston and 14th placed Ellowes. Its rising standards have attracted a growing number of pupils from areas which previously attracted a much lower intake. It gets GCSE results at the England average.

Houses

Pupils are divided into four groups known as "houses", all of which take their names from local stately homes. The original house names were Abbey, Beacon, Castle and Priory but changed in the 1980s to Clee, Malvern, Wenlock and Wrekin (after local hill ranges) and were changed once more in the 1990s to the latest names. The houses compete in both physical and academic events, competing in sports such as cricket, football and rugby.

Feeder schools

The majority of pupils enrolling at the school are former pupils at Bramford Primary School, Foxyards Primary School, Hurst Hill Primary School, Cotwall End Primary School and, until its closure in 2006, Sycamore Green Primary School. It has also been a popular destination for former Tipton Green Junior School pupils since 1990.

Sport

The school also takes much pride in its continued good performance in competitions against other schools, in various sporting competitions.

Stephanie Faulkner Tragedy

The school endured a tragedy in August 2007 when 14-year-old pupil Stephanie Faulkner died after suffering an anaphylactic shock. A subsequent inquest revealed that the fatal shock was caused by a nut allergy which had been aggravated by a chicken tikka masala.[1] A series of fundraising events have since taken place at the school and a memorial garden is set to be erected in Stephanie's memory.

Timeline

Alumni

External links