The badge of Kennet School |
|
| Motto | Excellence through endeavour |
|---|---|
| Established | 1957 |
| Type | Academy |
| Executive headmaster | Paul Gerard Dick BA OBE JP |
| Deputy headteachers | Michael Loveridge BSc (ciricular) and Peter Jenkins BSc (school development) |
| Assistant headteacher | Dr Stewart West |
| Associate headteacher | Paul German BA |
| Specialisms | Technology Language Arts |
| Location | Stoney Lane Thatcham Berkshire RG19 4LY England |
| Local authority | West Berkshire |
| DfE URN | 110055 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 2,000 total |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | 4 |
| Colours | Navy blue and gold |
| Publication | Kennet News (1975-1990) Kennet Chronicle (2002-2004) |
| GCSE test score | 388.4 points/student[1] |
| National ranking | 303rd at GCSE 101st at A-level |
| Official prospectus | Prospectus |
| Website | Official website |
Kennet School is a secondary school in Thatcham, Berkshire, England. Formerly a comprehensive school[2] run by the West Berkshire Education Authority, the school became an independently-run academy on 1 April 2011. In 2006, Kennet was the highest achieving comprehensive school in West Berkshire using contextual value added results.[3] In the same year it was also rated as one of the highest achieving schools in England, ranking as the 101st best comprehensive in the Guardian's league table, based on A-level results[4] and 303rd based on GCSE results.[5]
Kennet is also one of very few schools in England to have three specialisms, Technology College,[6] Arts College,[7] and most recently Language College.[8][9][10]
The school opened on 11 September 1957 as a secondary modern, which then converted into a comprehensive in 1971.[11] The school has 1,720 pupils on roll in years 7 to 11, 280 pupils attending sixth form (years 12 and 13) with 121 teachers and 78 non-teaching staff. The headmaster is Paul Gerard Dick OBE[12] JP[13] and the school has a student council.
In September 2000 the school was given Technology College status. In February 2002 a new technology block was built on the north of the site to replace dispersed classrooms. In March 2005 the school received Arts College status[9]
Contents |
Kennet was awarded the Artsmark Gold by the Arts Council England in 2001,[14] 2004[15] and 2007.[16] It was also awarded the Sportsmark by Sport England in 2001.[17] The school was also awarded the Challenge Award by National Association for Able Children in Education on 22 November 2006 as recognition for its efforts to support Able, Gifted and Talented students.[18] Kennet was only the 16th school in the country to receive the award at the time.[11]
The headmaster, Paul Gerard Dick, was awarded an OBE for Services to Education in the 2000 New Year's Honours List.[12] Paul Dick was also the Category Winner in 2001 in The Leadership Trust Award for School Leadership in a Secondary School in South of England.[19][20]
Members of staff receiving teaching awards:
There is a sixth form at Kennet for students who wish to continue their education after the age of 16. The students have their own block that was constructed for the start of the 2007 academic year, which consists of a common area, where the sixth formers can socialise, a computer suite and the sixth form offices. There is also a section of the library provided for sixth form use only. There is no set uniform; instead a dress code is set. Boys must wear a shirt and tie, and girls must dress in smart office wear.[26] The European Computer Driving Licence qualification can be studied with any sixth form course. Some sixth formers are appointed house captains after an application and selection process by the heads of houses. The captains organise teams for inter-house sports, music, drama and art competitions.
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head of 6th Form | Gaby Case |
| Head of Year 12 | Andy Wood |
| Head of Year 13 | Mary-Jane Gibson |
| 6th Form Office Manager |
When students join the school they become a member of a house. The house system provides a structure for pastoral care, with the Head of each house responsible for the students in that house. The house system is an integral part of extracurricular activities in the school. The houses compete against each other in sports, athletics, music, drama and outstanding academic excellence.
There are four houses at the school: Saint Patrick, Saint Michael, Saint Francis, and Saint David. Now defunct houses are Saint George and Saint Andrew, which were dissolved in the early 1980s. Each house is associated with a colour: St. Patrick with green, St. Michael with red, St. Francis with purple and St. David with yellow.
| House | Head of House | Deputy Head of House | Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. David | Robin Ireland | Cheree Kelleher | |
| St. Francis | Rachael Jubb | Nick Bampton | |
| St. Michael | Tania Langley | Paul Cameron | |
| St. Patrick | Peter Amblin |
Each year the school organises exchanges to France and Germany. The pupils can go to France in year 9 and Germany in year 10. The foreign pupil staying with their exchange partner's family for 7–12 days, then vice-versa later on. In 2011, Kennet School celebrated 30 years' twinning with the German school Melibokusschule, in Alsbach-Hähnlein, South Germany.
The Kennet News school newspaper was first issued in May 1975 at the price of two new pence and ran until the late eighties. Its original slogan was News as it happens - and sometimes before it happens!. It reported the departure of George Hurford[27] and the arrival of Terrence Enright[28] in 1978 and later the arrival[29] and departure[30] of Dr. Nicholas Wheeler-Robinson. The main editor was Mr. Wilkinson aided by students. Introductions were occasionally written by the headmasters and Keith Iles wrote a column 'Round the Iles'.
Each house chooses its own charity to support, and throughout the year each tutor group fundraises towards their house's target amount of money. For example one of Saint Michael chosen charity was the Rwanda appeal. The senior staff sometimes plan one-off events, such as the Kennet (World) Cup to raise money for charity.
The Kennet (World) Cup was a football event that occurred on 19 June 2006 in aid of the Bobby Moore Cancer Appeal. The event was designed to coincide with the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
In 2005 the school was criticised in the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) report for lacking 'a daily act of collective worship'[31] and not reporting pupils' ICT progress in years 10 and 11,[31] both of which are statutory requirements. The collective worship must be wholly or mainly of Christian religion, although parents may request for their children to be withdrawn from the collective worship.[32] The report also found that not all subject department heads have good enough monitoring systems to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
The Risman Library was opened on 23 September 1997 by Councillor Ann Risman, the Chairman of Berkshire County Council, who was accompanied by Chris Woodhead, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools. The library is designed to be a low energy environment by incorporating high levels of natural light and ventilation.[33] It has shelving space for 25,000 books, and stocks around 23,000.[34] It has seating for 80 pupils and has a separate sixth form study section. The library has 12 workstations and 30 laptop computers which are connected to the network.The Current Librarians are Mrs.Ledger and Mrs.Rance.
Kennet's headmasters and headmistress, starting from establishment in 1957, are.
| Years | Name |
|---|---|
| Kennet Modern School | |
| September 1957 to December 1960 |
T.S.B. Howe |
| January 1961 to July 1971 |
George Hurford |
| Kennet Comprehensive School | |
| September 1971 to July 1978 |
George Hurford |
| September 1978 to July 1982 |
Terrence Enright |
| September 1982 to December 1982 |
Keith Iles (acting) |
| January 1983 to July 1987 |
Nicholas Wheeler-Robinson |
| September 1987 to December 1988 |
Keith Iles (acting) |
| January 1989 to 31 January 2009 |
Paul Gerard Dick |
| 1 February 2009 to 31 August 2010[35][36] |
Paul Gerard Dick (executive) Susan Croft (associate)[37] |
| 1 December 2010 to 31 March 2011[35][36] |
Paul Gerard Dick (executive) Paul German (associate)[37] |
| Kennet School (Academy) | |
| 1 April 2011 to 31 August 2011[35][36] |
Paul Gerard Dick (executive) Paul German (associate)[37] |
Kennet is the highest achieving comprehensive school for both: Level 2 GCSEs (5 A*-C grades) including English and Maths and A-levels (based on average points) in the West Berkshire area.[38]
| Year | Students achieving five A*-C grades at GCSE | Average point score per student at A-level |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 77.0%[39] | 926.3[40] |
| 2009 | 72.0%[41] | 891.0[42] |
| 2008 | 68.0%[43] | 868.8[44] |
| 2007 | 72.0%[45] | 843.5[46] |
| 2006 | 71.0%[47] | 813.8[48] |
| 2005 | 71.4%[49] | 317.0[50] |
| 2004 | 70.0%[51] | 284.6[52] |
| 2003 | 59.0%[53] | 273.9[54] |
| 2002 | 66.0%[55] | 257.5 (New system)[56] |
| 2001 | 63.7%[57] | 19.3[58] |
| 2000 | 61.4%[59] | 21.1[60] |
| 1999 | 59.0%[61] | 16.4[62] |
| 1998 | 61.0%[63] | 16.3[64] |
| 1997 | 60.0%[65] | 14.9[66] |
| 1996 | 59.0%[67] | 15.2[68] |
| 1995 | 58.0%[69] | 12.7[70] |
| 1994 | 54.0%[71] | 10.9[72] |
| 1993 | 52.8% | No data |
| 1992 | 47.5% | No data |
| 1991 | 37.7% | No data |
| 1990 | 35.0% | No data |
| 1989 | 28.0% | No data |
Note:The irregularity in A-level scores is due to changes in the way the points are made.