| SprIngwest Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Browells Lane , , TW13 7EF | |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Local authority | London Borough of Hounslow |
| Trust | Tudor Park Education Trust |
| Department for Education URN | 137618 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Headteacher | Simon Hart |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11to 18 |
| Enrolment | 903 |
| Website | springwestacademy |
Springwest Academy, formerly Feltham Community College, is a Secondary school in Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow.
In addition to the mainstream school, FCC incorporates two specialist units: the Autism Resource Centre (ARC), and the PD Centre for students with physical disabilities.
In the 1960s three schools, Tudor Grammar, De Brome (Boys Secondary Modern) School and Lafone (Girls Secondary Modern) School, were amalgamated to form Feltham Comprehensive School, known as "The Feltham School". The school ran from three sites, Upper School, Browells Lane (former Tudor Grammar site), and East and West Buildings located in Boundaries Road on the opposite side of the busy A312 Uxbridge Road. The Boundaries Road buildings were the former De Brome and Lafone sites respectively.
When Feltham School opened, the former Lafone building had 12-form entry at age 11,("Lower School") with pupils transferring to the De Brome building ("Middle School") for what were then known as the third and fourth years of secondary school (years 9 and 10 under the current year name system). In later years, prior to the move to a single site, both these buildings accommodated 11-14 year olds, i.e. present school years 7-10, with an equal number of forms in each building.
During the late 1970s the school had a poor reputation. The first head teacher of Feltham School, Percy Bambury, encountered many difficulties related to the adjustment to a non-selective comprehensive system while trying to retain many of the high standards of achievement of the former Tudor Grammar, of which he had also been Head Teacher. Separate Deputy Heads for each of the individual buildings attempted to encourage pupils to aim high and "seize the day" (the English translation of the new school's motto, still in use today). The catchment area for the school is often described by media commentators as a tough working class suburb of London, though in reality children at the school come from a wide range of backgrounds in an area with Heathrow Airport as the principal employer, but many other service, IT and retail industries operating in the area too.
The poor reputation may not have been entirely justified, however. The school achieved considerable success with musical productions and individual achievers such as Michael Collins and Wilfred Penny-Worth-Smythe. Also during this period, starting in November 1975, Deputy Head Brian Tyler (later featured in a BBC TV series about another comprehensive of which he became head) instituted what became a regular exchange programme for a number of years between students in the upper years of the school and Eton College in nearby Windsor. Feltham students stayed in the Eton College houses, went to lessons and generally entered into Eton's extra-curricular activities, while their Eton counterparts of similar age attended classes and social activities at Feltham while staying with the families of their exchanges.
The appointment of Paul M. Grant as Head Teacher on the retirement of Percy Bambury in 1976 led to improvements in both discipline and standards. There was also a large investment in the school by the London Borough of Hounslow. A sixth form centre and additional facilities for pupils of 15–16 years, necessitated by the raising of the school leaving age in 1973, had led to the construction of what became known as the ROSLA block on the Browells Lane site. This was followed with the opening in 1983 of the Art, Design and Technology Building, and the construction of the first astroturf pitches in the borough.
With the completion of this building, the former Lafone Girls School site (by now known as Lower West) was closed, with the exception of the separate gymnasium building. The main school building had been diagnosed with concrete cancer and was scheduled for demolition, which was completed by 1985.
Through the mid to late 1980s, the school became more involved in community education, no longer restricting use of the school for those between the ages 11 to 19. This led to the school changing its name to Feltham Community School. Popular evening classes even enabled former less successful students of the school to re-take A Levels in adult life and in many cases to go on to mature age entry to higher education.
The school continued working on two sites, i.e. the old De Brome ("Lower East") building and the Browells Lane (Tudor) complex, with pupils having to move between both via a purpose-built footbridge across the main road during breaks until the new Maths, Science, IT, and Library building was opened in 1985. Once open the former De Brome Boys School or East Building was closed, again with the exception of the gym. The De Brome building as a whole has however since remained in largely educational and Youth Service use, initially as a Road Safety Centre for the borough of Hounslow, and now as the Feltham campus of West Thames College, which offers mainly tertiary and technical education for the 16-19 year age group, though some provision is also now being made for younger pupils post-14 to study technical subjects here. Noteworthy.
In April 1986 the new state of the art Library was officially opened as the Russell Kerr Library, by the Labour Party leader at the time, the Right Honourable Neil Kinnock. Australian-born Kerr had been the area's Labour MP for many years. A time capsule was also buried with contemporary items to be unearthed 50 years later.
The final stage of development, a new sports complex, was delayed due to council cuts. This left sports and Physical Education still on three sites. In the early 1990s the new sports complex was built and completed. This finally brought the school on to one site.
The former Lafone Girls School (West Building) site has since become a small housing estate, the names of which include De Brome Road, Slattery Road (after a former local councillor) and Wyatt Close. The former school gym still exists and is now used by Sportac 76, a Sports Gymnastics club which began life in the year of the Montreal Olympic games and the success of Jeff Davis, a former Tudor and Feltham pupil who was a talented gymnast.
The Browells lane site stands on part of Hanworth Park, also known as Hanworth Air Park which was one of London's first aerodromes. These were once the grounds of Hanworth Palace, a former hunting lodge for King Henry VIII of England, hence the original grammar school's name of "Tudor Grammar" with the Tudor rose as its emblem.
The school converted to an academy in 2011, but remained Feltham Community College, until it was renamed in 2016, as the current Springwest Academy.
While named Feltham Community College, Ms Smith remained headteacher until Ms Victoria Eadie was in the post in 2010. Mr Simon Hart is the current Principal of Springwest Academy. The actor, Martin Freeman, officially opened the new school library on 4 November 2021.
Hounslow is a large suburban district of West London, England, 10+3⁄4 miles west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan centres in Greater London.
The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council.
Feltham is a town in West London, England, 13 miles (21 km) from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party MPs since 1992. In 2011, the population of the combined census area of Feltham, Bedfont and Hanworth was 63,368.
Hanworth is a district of West London, England. Historically in Middlesex, it has been part of the London Borough of Hounslow since 1965. Hanworth adjoins Feltham to the northwest, Twickenham to the northeast and Hampton to the southeast, with Sunbury-on-Thames to the southwest.
Whitton is an area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically, it was the north-western part of Twickenham manor, bounded by the River Crane and the Duke of Northumberland's River.
Feltham railway station serves Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It was opened on 22 August 1848 by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway.
Feltham and Heston is a constituency in Greater London created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Its Member of Parliament (MP) since 2011 has been Seema Malhotra of the Labour and Co-operative Party, in political union with the Labour Party.
Hatton including Hatton Cross is a small settlement and locality in the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Hounslow, on the south-eastern edge of London Heathrow Airport and straddling the A30 road. Prior to 1965 it was in the county of Middlesex.
Feltham was an urban district in the former county of Middlesex, England from 1904 to 1965. As Middlesex was disbanded is 1965, Feltham now is a part of Greater London.
The A316, known in parts as the Great Chertsey Road, is a major road in England, which runs from the A315 Chiswick High Road, Turnham Green, Chiswick to join head-on the M3 motorway at Sunbury-on-Thames. Its initial London section Chiswick Lane heads south – following this it is a mostly straight dual carriageway aligned WSW.
Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders Richmond upon Thames. The public open space, which covers 200 acres (80 ha), is all that remains of the historic Hounslow Heath which covered more than 4,000 acres (1,600 ha). The present day area is bounded by A315 Staines Road, A3063 Wellington Road South, A314 Hanworth Road, and the River Crane.
West Thames College is a medium-sized college of further and higher education in West London, England. It was formed in 1976, originally named Hounslow Borough College, having gained its current name in 1993. The college has two campuses in the London Borough of Hounslow: a main campus in Isleworth and a smaller Skills Centre in Feltham. As of 2014 there were over 5,200 enrolled students at the college. The college offers a wide range of A Levels and specialist vocational courses up to higher education level: BTECs, NVQs, City & Guilds, Foundation Degrees and HNDs.
Q3 Academy Tipton is a coeducational secondary school located in Tipton in the West Midlands of England.
Chiswick School is an English secondary school with academy status in Chiswick, West London. It educates more than 1,300 pupils, aged 11 to 18 years.
Hardenhuish School is a large mixed secondary school and sixth form in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, for students aged 11 to 18. Together with Abbeyfield School and Sheldon School, it is one of three secondary schools in the town with academy status. The school's headteacher is Lisa Percy.
London Air Park, also known as Hanworth Air Park, was a grass airfield in the grounds of Hanworth Park House, operational 1917–1919 and 1929–1947. It was on the southeastern edge of Feltham, now part of the London Borough of Hounslow. In the 1930s, it was best known as a centre for private flying, society events, visits by the Graf Zeppelin airship, and for aircraft manufacture by the Whitehead Aircraft Company during World War I and General Aircraft Limited (GAL) 1934–1949; in total over 1,650 aircraft were built here.
Alfred Lafone of Hanworth Park, Feltham, Middlesex, was a British leather merchant and Conservative Party politician in London. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bermondsey from 1886 to 1892, and from 1895 to 1900.
This article details a number of defunct schools that were once located in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. For details of currently operating schools in the area, please see: List of schools in Dudley.
This article details a number of defunct schools that were once located in Sandwell in the West Midlands of England. For details of currently operating schools in Sandwell, please see: List of schools in Sandwell.
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