Sunderland High School
Sunderland High School is an independent junior school and senior school in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England.
The school lays stress on the creation of a Christian atmosphere. The school welcomes pupils of all faiths or none. The curriculum is broad and, from Year 10, is built around pupil choice. Examination results are amongst the best in the area at all levels from Key Stage 1 to A Level. In 2009 the school's A Level results were the best in the city with 63% of all entries at A or B grade.[1]
The Senior School, Junior School and Nursery have all gained national quality awards. For example, in March 2006 it was - according to the national awarding body, BECTA - "one of the first schools in the country to achieve the BECTA ICT Mark".[2] The Junior School was the first school in the country to be awarded the Investors in People Leadership and Management Award.[3] The school was praised in the 2005 Independent Schools Inspectorate report, notably for its pastoral care and the quality of its extracurricular provision.[4]
There is a good range of sports and extracurricular activities including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and Young Enterprise, as well as World Challenge Expeditions - to Madagascar (2000) and Malawi (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009).
School Timeline
The current school results from a merger in 1992 between Sunderland Church High School for Girls and Tonstall School for Boys.
- 1884 - Sunderland Church High School founded
- 1914 - Tonstall School founded
- 1987 - Centenary Building opened on Mowbray Road
- 1992 - Sunderland High School founded from the merger of Sunderland Church High School and Tonstall School
- 1994 - Tonstall House opened by The Princess Royal
- 1995 - Floodlit all-weather pitch opened
- 1996 - Carlton House Sixth Form Centre opened
- 1998 - The development programme for the future expansion of Sunderland High School continues with the acquisition of Sunderland University Buildings
- 2000 - Clifton Hall opened
- 2006 - Langham Tower opened by Kate Adie
- 2008/9 - 125th Anniversary year
Notable former pupils
Buildings
The senior school comprises five main buildings including Main School (the original building), Centenary Building, Clifton Hall, Carlton House and Langham Tower. The purpose-built junior school is close by. Pupils from all parts of the school share the sports facilities which include a sports hall and all-weather pitch.
- Main School - Purpose built in 1886-8, has many of the original features of the time. Now houses the large main assembly hall, form rooms, English, Art and the school's main library. The use of this building is slowly being transferred to the newer ones. This site also houses History, the Design Technology and Food and Nutrition departments, as well as a canteen.
- Carlton House - The oldest of all the buildings. Formerly Nicholson House, built in 1851 for William Nicholson, who ran a highly successful copper and ships’ metalware business. Main School and Langham Tower were both built in the grounds of this building. It houses the VI Form common room, VI Form ICT facilities and independent study rooms. It boasts a grand staircase.
- Centenary building - Built for the school's centenary (1984), it now houses the science labs, reasonably well equipped and of suitable size. Also situated there is the Business Studies Department, main ICT facilities and the Geography Department. This building is unusual from the outside, shaped in a large arch, with a road leading to the car park.
- Clifton Hall - Originally two pairs of semi-detached villas, joined together in a conversion to training college in a design by the local authority’s education architect Oliver Hall Mark in 1933. It had teaching facilities on the ground floor and residential accommodation above. When the school acquired this building in 2000, the First floor was totally redesigned. The Basement and Second floors are out of bounds and unused. The second floor, in fact is still separated into dorm rooms, some still complete with wardrobes, sinks and period carpet. Clifton Hall is now a pastoral base for Year 7 and Year 8. It accommodates Year 7 and 8 form rooms, the Mathematics Department and music and drama facilities. This site also encompasses the nearby Bede gym, formally a university canteen, used for healh related fitness. The design of the gym means that major indoor sports take place in the school's large sports hall on the junior school site. Precisely when the original Clifton Villas went up is not known. However, according to research by planner John Tumman, the estate owner Anthony John Moore, solicitor, water company chairman and mayor, lived next door in Bede Tower from 1852, and is known to have had grandiose plans for villas there as part of the estate development which included grand terraces like Park Place, St Bede’s Terrace, Douro Terrace, and Mowbray Villas and Carlton Villas. And Clifton Villas were certainly in existence by 1880, when the tenant at No 1 was John Tillman, who with his brother Thomas, designed Sunderland Museum. Nearby Bede Tower, Moore's Italianate home, was formerly part of the University of Sunderland. It now houses the school's examination hall. The school also uses the large auditorium in this building for theatrical performances.
- Langham Tower - Most recently acquired by the school, Grade I listed and by far the most attractive of the school's buildings. Built in the grounds of Carlton House, it boasts a large and beautiful main staircase with large stained glass windows. It was designed by renowned architect William Milburn, built in 1889-1891, for William Adamson, trader in ships' provisions and oil, and son of the well-known shipbuilder who lived in Fawcett Street. Later Langham Tower was occupied by Major Cuthbert Vaux, of Vaux Breweries, and later by Robert Thompson (1850–1908), Shipbuilder.[6] It now houses the Modern Languages Department, Religious Studies, P.E. Theory, Media Sudies and a Sixth Form Study, as well as a number of offices.
- Junior School - Built a little way from the main school site in 1994 next to the previous building with the same function. This large building now houses the entire Junior school and all of their facilities, with a large assembly hall and a very large sports hall. The Second floor, originally unused has recently been refurbished and some classrooms have been added. The maintenance in this building is very good. The sports hall, sports field and all-weather pitch is shared with the senior school for PE lessons. The sports hall is also used for the annual Speech Day.
References
External links
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