| Established | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Type | State Comprehensive |
| Head Master | Stephen Prandle |
| Specialism | Language College |
| Location | Callerton Lane Ponteland Northumberland England |
| Local authority | Northumberland County Council |
| Staff | 350 [1] |
| Students | 1,113[2] |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 13–19 |
| Website | www.pchs.northumberland.sch.uk |
Ponteland Community High School, previously Ponteland County High School, is a large secondary school in the village of Ponteland, Northumberland. Operating under the three-tier system in Northumberland the school takes pupils from ages 13–19.
Contents |
The school opened in purpose-built accommodation in September 1972. It was the first state school in the country to gain Language College status in 1995. In 2001, as a result of changes introduced in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, the school changed from being a County High School to a Community High School offering courses and activities to the local community. Since 2000 there have been significant additions to and refurbishment of the school buildings including new science laboratories, a new sixth form centre and a four-classroom block added to the humanities area.
The school has high academic achievement. At GCSE Level its proportion of A*-C grades including English and Maths is 71%. At A Level its pass rate is 98% with 57% of students receiving A or B grades.[3] Eighty percent of the school's Upper 6th Form Pupils go on to university.[4]
The school won the Bar National Mock Trial in 2002[5] and 2009.[6]
The school has a vast range of international activities in which pupils may participate and for which the school was awarded International School Award for 1999–2001 and 2002-2004.[7]
The School intends to free itself from Local Authority control and become a Foundation School with Trust status. The original plan was to effect this change by 1 January 2010 involving four local partners namely Northumberland County Council, the Co-operative Group, Newcastle Airport and the Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University.
The plans were delayed after opposition from the local community and staff who submitted as petition against it containing 76 signatures.[8] Following this a new implementation date of April 2010 was announced. However this was further delayed by the decision of two of the four potential partner organisations in the trust, Newcastle Airport and the Newcastle Business School, to pull out in January 2010.[9]
The Governors remain committed to the trust plan and have stated that they could have gone ahead without the two organisations, but have agreed to use their withdrawal as an opportunity to find new prospective partners.[10]