Bicester Community College

Bicester Community College

Motto	Achieve and Inspire
Established	1966
Type	Community Comprehensive
Headteacher	Mr Tony Rushworth
Specialism	Technology College
Location	Queen's Avenue Bicester Oxfordshire OX26 2NS England Coordinates: 51°54′03″N 1°09′39″W / 51.900813°N 1.160806°W / 51.900813; -1.160806
Local authority	Oxfordshire
DfE URN	123233 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Students	963
Gender	Co-educational
Ages	11–18
Colours	Burgundy
Website	Bicester Community College

Bicester Community College is a mixed, multi-heritage, comprehensive school, with around 963 students (including a sixth form) and has been a Government-designated specialist Technology College since 1998. It is situated in Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, and occupies a 32-acre (130,000 m²) site leading off Queens Avenue.

Following an Ofsted inspection on 6–7 December 2012 the performance of the school was deemed "Inadequate" in all four of the key areas of assessment, resulting in the school being categorised as one that "requires special measures".

The school's sports facilities are used by Bicester Athletic Club, which has been awarded National Lottery funding to add all‑weather surfaces to the sports field's jumping and throwing event areas.^[1]

The college has finished refurbishment of the kitchens and new Cafe area.

History

Bicester Community College, formerly known as Bicester School, was formed as a new comprehensive school in 1966. It was created by the merger of Highfield Secondary Modern School and Bicester Grammar School, who had shared the current site since 1963. Bicester Grammar School had previously been situated at the junction of London Road and Launton Road.^[2][3]

Most Improved School Award In May 2011 Bicester Community College received the Most Improved Award from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) for improving its GCSE results by 20 percentage points from 2007–2010. The college received congratulations for significantly improving its 5+ A*–C results including GCSE English and Mathematics.

Performance

Bicester Community College students achieved their best-ever results in 2010.

GCSE

Examination Performance 2010

• Students achieving at least five A* to Cs GCSEs 69%
• Students achieving at least five A* to Cs GCSEs including English and Maths 55%
• Students achieving at least five A* to Gs GCSEs 99%

Sixth Form 2010 Success

• A Level Grades awarded at A–E 98%
• A Levels awarded at A or B grades 31%

The college gained School Achievement awards in 2001 and 2002 in recognition of the significant improvements in its examination results.^[4][5] In 2006 Bicester achieved membership of the Most Improved Specialist Schools Club after the number of pupils getting five or more A**ndash;C grades at GCSE rose from 40 per cent in 2002 to 50 per cent in 2005.^[6] The results dropped in 2006 with only 36 per cent achieving the benchmark five or more GCSE passes at A*–C,^[7] but the 2007 results were a significant improvement with 52 per cent gaining five or more GCSE passes at the appropriate grades.^[8]

The last Ofsted Inspection in October 2007 judged that "The quality of education provided by the college in Years 7 to 11 and in the sixth form is satisfactory with good and outstanding features". The inspectors commented that the school offered an outstanding curriculum and "an exceptionally wide-ranging choice of after-school activities". The report also noted "the clear direction of the headteacher and the effectiveness of the relatively new senior leadership team".^[9]

There have been successful Oxbridge applications from the school in the last ten years, and the school has sent students to other top UK universities, including King's College London, the London School of Economics and Political Science, University College London, the University of Warwick, the University of Bristol and the University of Nottingham. The University of Reading, Coventry University, the University of Southampton, Oxford Brookes University and Nottingham Trent University are also popular destinations for former students of the school.^{[citation needed]}

Performing arts

In 2008 the college was awarded the Artsmark Gold Award in recognition of its achievements in the arts.

Bicester Community College has a performing arts department, with a jazz band, choirs, wind band, string orchestra, chamber ensembles, a boys' dance company and dance clubs.^[10]

The orchestra and jazz band went on a trip to Germany in July 2007, performing three concerts.^[11]

The orchestra and jazz band also visited Belgium in July of 2009, performing at various venues and events, including The Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate, Ypres.

Music and dance groups from the school performed at the MAD about Waddesdon festival in June 2010.^[12]

The department has put on shows, including Grease in 2006,The Sound of Music in 2007 and High School Musical in February 2008, Les Miserables in 2009 and Bugsy Malone in 2010.^[13]

2012-13 Ofsted Report

At the previous inspection in October 2010 the 963-pupil school was deemed satisfactory. The latest Ofsted inspection that took place on the 6th and 7th of December in 2012 has revealed that Bicester Community College, overall, falls under the inadequate category. Inadequate is the lowest of all four tiers ranked by Ofsted, with the other tiers being "Requires improvement" ( previously "Satisfactory"), "Good" and "Outstanding."

Achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils and leadership and management were deemed level four on the scale of one to four, with four being the worst category (inadequate). Principal Jason Clarke has responded to the report, stating that "[the school is] very disappointed by the outcome of the inspection and the impact it may have on hard work undertaken since the last inspection two years ago. The report acknowledges the recent positive impact of many initiatives currently in place and under way. My greatest disappointment is the grade for behaviour, which does not truly reflect the positive attitude and pride the vast majority of our students have for their school.”

The school is now in special measures.^[14]

Oxfordshire county council subsequently asked the Department for Education for permission to remove the board of governors, with the request being granted on Thursday 21st February 2013. A new five person interim executive board (IEB) was put in place to oversee the school.^[15]

On Monday 18th March 2013 the Principal Jason Clarke left the school by mutual agreement with the IEB. The IEB announced the appointment of neighbouring Cooper School head Ben Baxter as interim head from Monday April 15.^[16]

References

External links

• School profile from Schoolsfinder
• Department for Education – Performance Tables – School Details
• Bicester Community College at Axcis