Alderwood School

Last updated

Alderwood School
Alderwood School Aldershot logo 2017.jpg
Address
Alderwood School
Belle Vue Road

Aldershot
,
Hampshire
,
GU12 4RZ

England
Coordinates 51°14′12″N0°44′25″W / 51.2368°N 0.7404°W / 51.2368; -0.7404
Information
Type Community school
Established1964
Local authority Hampshire
Department for Education URN 116234 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Head teacherClare de Sausmarez
Gender Coeducational
Age5to 16
Website www.alderwood.hants.sch.uk

Alderwood School is a coeducational all-through school located over three sites in Aldershot in Hampshire, England. [1] It was formed in September 2017 from the merger of Belle Vue Infant School, Newport Junior School and The Connaught School.

Contents

History

Heron Wood County Secondary School for Boys c1970 Heron Wood School c1970.jpg
Heron Wood County Secondary School for Boys c1970

The secondary department of the school started life as Heron Wood County Secondary School for Boys in 1963. In 1987, with the closure of the nearby Manor Park Girls' School, it became coeducational and was renamed The Connaught School.

In 2011 The Connaught School, in partnership with Aldershot Town FC won the National LiteracyActionNet Award for Double Club, an after-school provision for pupils and parents that teaches skills in both Literacy and Sport. [2]

Alderwood Senior School in 2018 Alderwood School Aldershot 2018.jpg
Alderwood Senior School in 2018

In June 2013 an Ofsted inspection was made of English and Literacy across The Connaught School, the outcome of which was ‘Good’ with outstanding features. Ofsted remarked on the “excellent provision” for pupils and also on “commitment across the curriculum” to raising standards. It was also noted in the report that “pupils across the school are making good progress.” A further Ofsted inspection of the school in 2015 rated it as "Requires Improvement". [3] Recent years have seen a large increase in the numbers of students with English as an additional language (EAL) with 30% of students being EAL in 2019 compared to a national average of 16.9%. [4]

Young Sherlock Holmes author Andrew Lane meeting students of Alderwood School in December 2018 Andrew Lane Alderwood 2018.jpg
Young Sherlock Holmes author Andrew Lane meeting students of Alderwood School in December 2018
Actor Gerald Dickens performing A Christmas Carol at the school (2019) Gerald Charles Dickens Alderwood 2019.jpg
Actor Gerald Dickens performing A Christmas Carol at the school (2019)

In 2017, as a result of these Ofsted reports and considering that The Connaught School had "performed relatively weakly on attainment measures for the previous three years" (in 2015 29% of students attained 5 good GCSEs including English and mathematics compared to a national average of 57% placing the school well below the minimum Government Floor Standard of 40%) Hampshire County Council decided to merge The Connaught School with the Federation of Newport Junior School and Belle Vue Infant School from September 2017, to create a single all-through (age 4 to 16) school to collectively be called Alderwood School. [5] A further Ofsted inspection across all three sites in January 2020 rated the school as "Good". [6]

Children's author Tom Palmer speaking to students in May 2023 Tom Palmer Alderwood 2023.jpg
Children's author Tom Palmer speaking to students in May 2023

In 2018 Young Sherlock Holmes author Andrew Lane gave a talk to students at the school while in 2019 the actor Gerald Charles Dickens, the great-great grandson of Charles Dickens, performed his one-man show of A Christmas Carol in the school hall. Dickens returned to the school to give a repeat performance in October 2021. The author Tom Palmer visited the school in May 2023.

Today

Recent visits in support of learning include: the Natural History Museum; the Imperial War Museum; the Old Operating Theatre Museum and St Thomas' Hospital; Portsmouth Dockyard, the Mary Rose and HMS Victory while theatre trips include Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare's Globe, The Tempest and An Inspector Calls at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. In addition, the Physical Education department organises an annual sporting tour of Europe during which students play matches against local teams while at the same time experiencing local culture and customs.

Students at the secondary school are involved in an annual performance in the school hall. These include the musicals School of Rock (2018), The Addams Family (2019), Grease (2020) Hairspray (2022) and Sister Act (2023).

Alderwood School is a partner school of the Sixth Form College in nearby Farnborough. [7] Since 2018 the school has been home to Aldershot Town F.C. Academy which has the use of classrooms in the school in addition to the 24-hour astroturf and gymnasium. [8]

Houses

Until the summer of 2021 pupils were affiliated to one of four houses:

Given the town's strong military connection, the houses were named after former barracks in Aldershot which in turn were named after great military leaders and a Secretary of State for War.

In 2021 the houses were renamed to reflect a more inclusive range of historical figures:

Notable pupils

As Heron Wood

As Connaught School

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References

  1. ↑ website, Alderwood School. "Home". Alderwood School. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Alderwood School - 404 Error". www.alderwood.hants.sch.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Ofsted Communications Team (1 January 2018). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "English as an additional language in schools in the United Kingdom - Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2019 - Department for Education database" (PDF). Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  5. ↑ The Future of Connaught School, Aldershot - Hampshire County Council website
  6. ↑ Ofsted Communications Team (25 July 2022). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Partner Schools - Sixth Form College, Farnborough website
  8. ↑ Academy Move To Alderwood School For 2018-19 - Aldershot Town F.C. website
  9. ↑ Fox, Killian, Sleep scientist Russell Foster: ‘I want to take the anxiety around sleep away’ The Guardian , 25 June 2022
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