Kingsmead School, Hednesford

Kingsmead School
Address
Kings Avenue Hednesford , Staffordshire , WS12 1DH England
Coordinates	52°42′08″N1°59′42″W / 52.7023°N 1.99513°W / 52.7023; -1.99513
Information
Type	Academy
Established	1938
Local authority	Staffordshire
Department for Education URN	142313 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Headteacher	Maria Mincher
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11to 18
Enrolment	1'122
Houses	4 Drakon, Phoenix, Gryphon, Pegasus
Colour(s)	orange, green, blue, purple,
Website	http://www.kingsmeadschool.net/

Kingsmead School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form. Established in 1938, it is located in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. The head teacher is Maria Mincher..

Approximately 1,300 mixed gender pupils are educated here. The school's intake is from 11–18 (Years 7–13), including a sixth form.

History

Since its establishment in 1938, the school has had several name changes. ^[1] Originally it was known as Littleworth School. In the early days there were separate boys' and girls' schools. During World War II, the school accommodated children who had been evacuated. ^[2]

Subsequently, the title changed to Kingsmead Comprehensive School and then to Kingsmead High School. It was renamed Kingsmead Technology College when it became a specialist school in 2002. ^[3]

The school was one of those selected in 2004 to test out a new Geography GCSE aimed at moving away from learning facts to understanding the big issues. ^[4] Also in 2004 the then headteacher Julia Almond was appointed as Staffordshire's new deputy education director. ^[5]

A student and teacher exchange programme were introduced in 1999 with teacher exchange visits with two Zambian schools – Helen Kaunda High School and Mukuba High School in Kitwe. This started a series of partnerships between Zambian and UK schools and there are now over 30 such school partnerships. Students from Kingsmead paid a visit to the Kitwe schools in 2005. ^[6]

An investigation was held in September 2006 after leaflets promoting a series of 'adult' club nights for 11- to 16-year-olds, at Cannock's Civic Suite, were distributed outside the school. ^[7]

After the ending of the specialist schools programme the school's name changed to Kingsmead School, though the school often now brands itself simply as 'Kingsmead'.

In September 2015 the school converted to academy status. In addition, they also ended their Sixth Form partnership agreement with Norton Canes High School, with the last students of this consortium completing their studies at both schools in May 2015.

Recently, Ian Bryant has stepped down as headmaster of the school, after eleven and a half years, to take up the headship at Aldridge School, and will be replaced by Mrs Maria Mincher from September 2017 onwards. She teaches science and was previously Vice Principal at Ormiston Forge Academy in Cradley Heath.

Academic standards

Absenteeism, authorised and unauthorised, is below both the local and national average by about a quarter. ^[8]

In their report following the January 2006 inspection Ofsted rated the school as Satisfactory, point three on a four-point scale. ^[3] In a special visit, in October 2007, to look at the provision of Religious Education, overall effectiveness for this subject was considered to be Good. ^[9]

In 2015, OFSTED rated Kingsmead school Good. In 2018, OFSTED rated Kingsmead School Requires improvement.

Sport

In April 1998, it was announced that a gymnasium would be built at the school to serve the whole of the West Midlands. ^[10]

In September 2003, the school received £60,000 of lottery cash to improve the surfaces of its playing fields. ^[11]

Extracurricular activities

The school performed Macbeth on 3 July 2005 at The Prince of Wales Centre in Cannock as part of the nationwide Shakespeare festival organised by the BBC. ^[12]

Awards

The school has obtained Investor in People status. ^[13]

Notable former pupils

• Glamour model Jakki Degg was voted the nation's favourite Page 3 model and has also appeared on television shows including Fear Factor and The Weakest Link .
• Chris Overton played the Young Phantom in Joel Schumacher's 2004 The Phantom of the Opera . ^[14] He subsequently took the part of Noah Claypole in Roman Polanski's 2005 remake of Oliver Twist . ^[15]
• Liam McAlinden is a footballer for Wrexham A.F.C.
• Hannah Hampton, professional footballer for Aston Villa and the England national football team.
• Lily Walker, professional Hockey player for Great Britain Hockey and winner of Gold Medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games - Birmingham

References

1. "About Us" Archived 7 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine , Kingsmead Technology College, accessed 13 December 2007
2. "Memories of evacuation and Bevin Boy War Service", BBC, 8 December 2005
3. "Kingsmead Technology College" ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Ofsted, 20 February 2006
4. "Geography teachers urged to inspire pupils", Matthew Taylor, The Guardian , 25 November 2004
5. "Almond delight", Birmingham Evening Mail, 10 June 2004
6. "Zambia/UK student partnerships fostering multi-cultural relations" Archived 12 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine , Gethsemane Mwizabi, Times of Zambia, 2005
7. "Explicit flyers given to children", BBC News, 22 September 2006
8. "Kingsmead Technology College", BBC News, 11 January 2007
9. "Ofsted survey inspection programme – Religious Education" ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Ofsted, 18 October 2007
10. "School gets gym for region", Birmingham Evening Mail, 14 April 1998
11. "Schools' £5m sports cash award", BBC News, 16 December 2003
12. "Pupils' Shakespeare treat", Birmingham Evening Mail, 2 June 2005
13. "Home" Archived 9 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Kingsmead Technology College, accessed 13 December 2007
14. "Chris Overton", IMDb
15. "Chris is Aiming for the Stars; Boy wins film role", Lisa McCarthy, Birmingham Evening Mail, 16 July 2004

External links

• Official site