Corfe Hills School

Corfe Hills School

Motto	Comprehensive Excellence
Established	1976
Type	Academy
Headteacher	Phil Keen (Acting Head)
Location	Higher Blandford Road Broadstone Dorset BH18 9BG England 50°46′11″N 2°00′22″W / 50.76962°N 2.00600°W / 50.76962; -2.00600Coordinates: 50°46′11″N 2°00′22″W / 50.76962°N 2.00600°W / 50.76962; -2.00600
DfE URN	136574 Tables
Ofsted	Reports Pre-academy reports
Students	1,584
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	13–18
Website	www.corfehills.net

Corfe Hills School is a secondary school in the urban fringe between Poole and Wimborne, located in Broadstone, Poole, Dorset, England. The school became an academy in 2011^[1]. The school has 1,584 students and over 100 teaching staff.^[2] It serves Corfe Mullen, Broadstone, Wimborne, Merley and Sturminster Marshall. It also has a small sixth form centre.^[3] The school was established in 1976^[4] and has since grown every decade, with a periodical expansion of buildings. The current Acting Headteacher is Phil Keen, following Gary Clark who was Headteacher between 2012 and 2016. Alan Hinchliffe had led the school from 2003 to 2012.^[5] Mr Hinchliffe succeeded Andrew Williams who left in 2003.^[6] Mr Williams had succeeded Dr Brian Harper, who was the first headteacher when Corfe Hills was built.^[7]

Productions

For over 25 years the school has produced a musical for a week at the Poole Lighthouse theatre, a regional arts centre. Further music and drama productions take place in the spring and summer terms - a Christmas carol service is held at Wimborne Minster and as a spring concert at the St. Nicholas church in nearby Corfe Mullen. The school also enters a team into the annual Rock Challenge Dance competition, coming second at the 2006 southern finals. Recent productions include Crazy for You, Godspell, Tommy, In to the Woods, Hot Mikado,^[8] "Anything Goes" and Sweet Charity, Fiddler on the Roof,^[9] Oliver Twist and more.^[10]

Sports tour

The school has international links, of which its rugby, hockey and Netball tours are the best known. In recent years the teams have travelled to South Africa, New Zealand and Fiji, led by coaches Lyn and Di Lewis, Lyn being the chairman of the English Schools Rugby Association. The school sporting facilities include an indoor sports hall, gym, and outside area, including football and rugby pitches, a cricket strip, an all weather clay hockey pitch, a 400m running track and four tennis courts.

Ofsted attendance inspection, summary

Date of Inspection: September 2006

• The school has sustained an attendance rate over a number of years which compares very favourably with the local authority average. The modest increase in absence in 2005/6 is mainly reflected the application by the school of stricter rules for the registration of pupils arriving late.
• For the few pupils tracked on the inspection, levels of engagement and achievement were at least satisfactory and in many cases good.
• Academically the school GCSE results are above the LEA and the national average.^[11]

Quality of teaching and learning

• The school uses a good range of measures to emphasise to pupils and parents the links between attendance and achievement.
• The pupils interviewed who had been supported by the “TOPS” facility within the school spoke particularly positively about the help they had received.
• However, most reported variations between members of staff across the school in terms of support when returning to lessons after a period of absence.
• The quality of teaching and learning in the few lessons seen on this visit were satisfactory.

Quality of curriculum

• The quality of the curriculum in supporting attendance is good.
• The school has substantially expanded the range of activities offered at Key Stage 4 and this has enabled more customised packages to be put together to meet pupils’ individual needs.

Leadership and management of attendance

• Leadership and management in relation to attendance are outstanding.
• Attendance is an integral part of the school’s overall development planning and is given high priority within this.
• The school makes good use of its very detailed registration information to analyse patterns of attendance for both individual pupils and groups.
• Attendance is monitored regularly and planning and review for individual cases is detailed and rigorous.
• Appropriate use is made of rewards and sanctions, both for pupils and parents.
• There is effective collaboration with other agencies and schools.

Inclusion

• The provision for inclusion in relation to attendance issues is good.
• All the pupils interviewed said that there was at least one member of staff who took a particular interest in their well-being and progress.
• All said similarly that there was at least one person who they could approach with confidence about any problems.
• There are a number of sources of individual support for pupils with problems.

County top

Corfe Hills seen from Barrow Hill. The highest point is near the foot of the transmission mast.

Mobile phone mast on the summit of Corfe Hills by the school entrance

The school is located on the county top for Poole unitary authority, called Corfe Hills, hence the name. The actual summit of the hill is on the Higher Blandford Road near the mobile phone tower by the school entrance. At 78 metres, Corfe Hills is the highest point in Poole.^[12]

References

External links

• School website
• Ofsted Report