| Type | Co-educational secondary school |
|---|---|
| Religion | 1947 Education Act |
| Headteacher | Julie Tridgell |
| Specialism | Science College, Mathematics and Computing College |
| Location | Akers Way Moredon, Swindon Wiltshire SN2 2NQ England |
| Local authority | Swindon |
| DfE URN | 126465 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1,146 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Colours | Navy blue and white |
Nova Hreod College is a comprehensive school in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, educating children between the ages of eleven and sixteen. The school is a dual specialist Science College and Mathematics and Computing College, designated as such in September 2006.[1]
Hreod is the Anglo Saxon word for a reed. The small stream that runs along the bottom of the field where the school was built is called the Hreod Burna, from which the first school got its name. It is a term found in the Domesday Book entry for the locality and describes a minor tributary of the River Ray which still runs through the valley in which Nova Hreod lies.
Hreod Burna High School was opened in 1966. The children who attended were aged 14 to 18 years, which means it had a VIth form. Initially, children were drawn from Moredon Secondary, and Ferndale Secondary .
The Head Teacher of Hreod Burna was Dr Blackwell, who remained at the school until 1984 when schools in Swindon stopped taking VIth form students, and New College was opened to educate them all together. Hreod Burna High School was then amalgamated with Moredon Secondary School and re-named Hreod Parkway School, under the headship of Mr Cleall. Both Ferndale and Pinehurst Secondary Schools were closed, and their buildings used for other activities by the local council.
Hreod Parkway School received children from the same area covered by Hreod Burna; the new age range of pupils being 11 to 16 years. However, it is widely acknowledged that council under-funding, combined with a catchment area with a high number of low-income families who could not pick up the shortfall, were significant factors in Ofsted putting the school into special measures as a failing school in April 1996. In 1997, Andrew Fleet took over as Head Teacher and set about repairing the school’s academic reputation and rebuilding the campus, which had fallen into serious disrepair.
The inspectors identified a number of areas of improvement since the last inspection in 1996. The school was re-organised in 1998 so that the lower and upper schools were split either side of Akers Way. Plans have now been drawn up to completely rebuild the school. Mr Fleet has introduced many new systems and procedures to try to raise standards, but these measures are yet to be applied consistently across the school by all teachers. "We have not suddenly started work on these problems since Ofsted visited," he said. "We have been addressing our problems ever since I arrived, but in some areas progress has been slower than we'd hoped. Being in special measures will actually help us accelerate certain changes that we need to make, as it will enable greater intervention by the school and the LEA to address the problem areas." [2]
After the Easter of 2007, Fleet achieved his goal of a new campus when Hreod Parkway was vacated and everyone moved into the new campus built on an adjacent green field site. The new school was re-named Nova Hreod College; Nova (supernova) being the name a dying red star re-born into brightness, as well as the Latin word for “new”.
However, the dilapidation of the old buildings and the disruption of the move affected GCSE results and the school achieved a poor score on the contextual value added (CVA) tables [3]and for truancy; however the GCSE results that followed Fleet’s retirement and the appointment of Julie Tridgell as Headteacher in September 2008 put Nova Hreod College on the list of the most improved schools in the country.
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