Five Islands School

The Five Islands School
Established 2002
Type federated voluntary controlled comprehensive
Religion Church of England
Headteacher Mr Wilby
Location Carn Thomas
St Mary's
Isles of Scilly
TR21 0JY
England Coordinates: 49°54′58″N 6°18′37″W / 49.9162°N 6.3104°W
Local authority Isles of Scilly
DfE number 420/3005
DfE URN 133554 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Students 280
Gender Mixed
Ages 4–16
Website 5pfl.com
Carn Thomas Secondary School, St. Mary's
Tresco and Bryher School, Tresco
St Agnes School

The Five Islands School is the first federated school in the United Kingdom, providing primary and secondary education for children from 3-16 at five sites across the Isles of Scilly. The primary school bases are:

Carn Thomas Secondary Base, on St Mary's, provides secondary education up to GCSE. Secondary pupils from the other islands are given free board at Mundesley Hostel from Mondays to Thursdays, returning home on the weekends.[1]

These were formerly five separate schools. While the smaller schools were praised by inspectors, the two larger schools on St Mary's were judged as inadequate. In response, the government forced a fresh start as a federated school, which opened in April 2002 and subsequently the other off islands bases were also federated. An inspection in June and July 2003 again found the standard of education at the St Mary's sites to be inadequate, and the school was placed in special measures until 2005. Under a succession of heads, the school has become a successful and cohesive federation, judged "outstanding" by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in 2007.[2][3] The school's GCSE results are now the highest in South West England.[4]

In 2008, the school was given funding of £13 million to rebuild a new 3-16 school on a site adjacent to Carn Gwaval Primary School.[5]

References

  1. "The Five Islands School". Council of the Isles of Scilly. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
  2. The Five Islands School, Office for Standards in Education.
  3. "Case study: Five Islands school, Scilly". Cambridge Education. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  4. William Stewart (29 August 2008). "The ferryboat federation". TES connect. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
  5. "Scillies school to get £13m makeover". Western Morning News. 30 August 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2008.