King's Wood School

King's Wood School was a secondary school in Harold Hill near Romford, Essex, England. It was a mixed school of non-denominational religion. The School's last Headteacher was Mrs Marian Spinks, who had been the Headteacher since January 2008, returning from a secondment as Senior Inspector (Performance) with Havering Inspection and Advisory Service.

History

The school was originally opened in 1953-54 as Harrowfield Secondary Modern School (there were separate boys' and girls' schools). Because of falling roll numbers, in 1973 Harrowfield was merged with the nearby Quarles School to form the Neave Comprehensive School; by 1976, all Quarles pupils had moved to the Harrowfield site.^[1]

King's Wood School was under special measures in 2004, but with the hard work of staff and students the school came out of special measures six months ahead of schedule and became a specialist technology college September 2007. Ofsted revisited the school to monitor progress and in March 2009 reported that sustained progress had been made across the school; results have risen rapidly over the last two years and the overall progress made by students was good. This was due to the strong leadership across the school and a community team ethos which continued to drive standards upwards.

Exam results

In 2009, 27% of students achieved 5 A* to C passes at GCSE including English and Maths.^[2] In its final year, 2010, 42% did so.^[3]

Sports

King's Wood School was known for its success in sports, particularly basketball, in which they were second in the borough. The school came joint first in the borough for outdoor hockey and second in the borough for indoor hockey.

Closure

In September 2010, King's Wood School closed, being replaced by Drapers' Academy on the same site.

References

1. ↑ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42821
2. ↑ Havering 2009 GCSE League Tables
3. ↑ http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2011/jan/11/havering-gcse-alevel-tables