Lea Manor High School

Lea Manor High School Performing Arts College is a secondary school in Luton, Bedfordshire which opened in 1974. The most recent OFSTED Inspection Report graded the school as "Good" with good capacity to improve further.^[3] The school was awarded with Performing Arts specialism in 2007.

Performing Arts Specialism

Lea Manor High School is a specialised Performing Arts college, dedicated to showing off the talent in each of its students. Each year, the school performs numerous musicals or plays which include We Will Rock You, Anything Goes, Oliver!, Grease, Annie, The Wizard Of Oz, Billy Elliot and was the first school in Bedfordshire to successfully perform The Diary of Anne Frank.
The specialism has funded many school trips to West End Theatres to see shows such as The Lion King, Chicago, The Woman In Black and Wicked.

Building Schools For The Future Programme

Currently, Lea Manor High School is undergoing building and refurbishing work under the government's Building Schools for the Future Programme (BSF) and is one of the first schools in Luton to be transformed. The building firm Wates Group won the contract to rebuild or remodel every secondary school in Luton. The school will be more student-friendly and modern, including a brand new community library and community theatre which will become the biggest in Luton.

Phase one of the remodelling has been completed and was opened to students in Autumn 2009. This phase included state-of-the-art technology rooms and three new science laboratories.

Furthermore, in April 2010, the first section of phase two opened which included a Science 'Heart Space' with six laboratories leading off from it. The space is used as a flexible teaching area and has new Apple Inc. iMacs, interactive whiteboards and a plasma TV. In May 2010, the Adult Education facilities relocated from the existing building to its brand new area in the new school.

Due to delays, it is predicted that the second part of phase two of the remodelling was scheduled to open in September 2010, ready for the then-new school year. This will see the opening of Lea Manor's newly constructed entrance, dining facilities, community theatre, music studios and drama rooms.^[4]

Headboy/Headgirl election 2009

For the 2009/2010 school year, Lea Manor High School decided to select a Headboy and a Headgirl through a student and staff ballot vote after a campaign by candidates. This included a leaflet and poster campaign, speeches in assemblies and speaking to students. Candidates were also visited by North Luton MP Kelvin Hopkins who gave the students some tips on how to present themselves and their ideas.^[5]

Normandy School Trip Incident

Whilst on a school trip, 4 students and 2 members of staff fell ill with Swine Flu, resulting in the trip to be cut short and for them to return to England. The party were told to wear masks and draw the curtains on the coach because "the French would have been shocked by it".^[6] The four pupils and two staff affected are said to have recovered quickly.^[7]

R.E GCSE error Incident

Between September 2009 and May 2010 students in year 10 were taught the wrong modules for their RE GCSE exam which took place in late May 2010. Luton Borough Council said in a statement: "This was as a result of human error for which the member of staff concerned takes full responsibility."^[8]
Once the error was spotted by a pupil, all of the students were given a two-day 'crash course' in the modules they were supposed to be studying. One parent said "Crash course, it was more like a car crash. You can't teach nine months syllabus in two days. It's impossible!".

Gallery

• 
  The front of Lea Manor High School which was under construction. It is now complete

References

External links

• School website
• School YouTube Channel