St Aldhelm's Academy

Last updated

St Aldhelm's Academy
Address
St Aldhelm's Academy
Herbert Avenue

,
BH12 4HS

England
Coordinates 50°44′33″N1°56′01″W / 50.7425°N 1.9335°W / 50.7425; -1.9335
Information
Type Academy
MottoHigh expectations lead to high achievers
Established1938
Local authority Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
TrustAmbitions Academies Trust
Department for Education URN 136206 Tables
Ofsted Reports
PrincipalNeil Murphy
Staff130+
Gender Co-educational
Age11to 16
Enrolment791
Website www.staldhelms-academy.co.uk

St Aldhelm's Academy is a co-educational secondary school serving the Rossmore, Parkstone, Newtown, Wallisdown and Alderney areas of Poole, Dorset, England. [1]

Contents

School history

The school opened in October 1938 as Kemp-Welch Senior Council School and taught both boys and girls —the boys were housed in the west side of the building, while the girls were housed in the east. This was typical for a school of its time. There was a 'quad' in the middle of the school which divided the two schools.

The school became a secondary modern after the Second World War and expanded rapidly in 1963 to house 600 students in both schools. An East Block was built onto the girls' school, housing additional classrooms, art rooms and a music room. The West Block was built across the boys' playground and housed classrooms, science labs and the boys' music room. Prior to this, new workshops and kitchens had been built. The boys' gym was built onto the rear of the boys' half of the main block (now the technology block) and the girls' gym was built on the school field and is now part of the leisure centre.

In 1974 the two schools merged to form one large school and the age was changed from 11–16 to 12–16. Not a great deal changed at the school over the next 15 years and the school fell into a state of disrepair. Pupil numbers dropped in the 1980s and 1990s leaving the school with empty classrooms. The leisure centre first opened onto the former girls' gym in 1992 and the second phase opened in 1998. In 1994 the school opened its sixth form. Despite this, the school was being seen as a 'rough school' with many parents in the local area sending their children to other schools.[ citation needed ] In 1999 only half of the children from Branksome Heath Middle School (largest in catchment) went to Kemp-Welch with the remainder going to either Poole or Parkstone Grammar School, Poole High or St Edwards Schools [ citation needed ].

In 2000 the school was put into 'special measures' by Ofsted [2] and the school aimed to improve itself in time for its next Ofsted visit or face closure. The school changed its name to Rossmore Community College and underwent a major building program to reinvent itself. [3]

In September 2003 the school became a sports college, one of two in Poole[ citation needed ]. On 1 September 2010, the school opened as St. Aldhelms Academy under the new Academies Act 2010. [4] [5] The school also came under the jurisdiction of the Church of England.

In 2013, the school's new £9.8 million new buildings opened. [6]

In recent years, the school has faced a number of issues; it became national news in 2012 when it was reported that the school had achieved the worst GCSE results in England. [7] In 2014, the school became national news again when it lost £1,000,000 in an online banking scam; this was the second time that then-headteacher Cheryl Heron has been victim of scamming, as her previous school in Portsmouth were conned in a charity golf event. [8] Another issue under Cheryl Heron's time as headteacher, according to a 2015 article in The Independent, was building work that had occurred in the school, which involved "open-plan classrooms" that housed up to five different classes at a time. [9] This was reported as one of Heron's several failed ideas; in previous schools, she had tried implementing "ability over age" classes, wherein students were streamed based on ability regardless of age, [10] and devised a plan for students with poor attendance to have more flexible school hours. [11] The school achieved mainstream media recognition again in 2015, when it was forced to close after a significant number of staff members called in sick and cover staff could not be found. The school's closure coincided with a surprise inspection by OFSTED, who later described the school as "dysfunctional and unsafe".[ citation needed ]

As of 1 June 2015, the school's new sponsor, Ambitions Academdies Trust, took over the running and management of the school. [12]

Leisure centre

Rossmore Leisure Centre is located next to the school. This facility is used for Physical Education lessons, and is also open to the public. It comprises a sports hall, gym, fitness suite and a swimming pool, and is adjoined by a sports field and tennis courts.

The original Leisure Centre was built in 1992 onto the sports block and included the gym, sports hall, fitness studio and a new canteen for the school (used for parties for the public). In 1998 the centre was extended further with a new swimming pool (the Herbert Ballam pool), new fitness studio (the old studio became a bar) and a gymnastics hall which has trained Olympic contestants. The centre was original Kemp-Welch Leisure Centre, but became Rossmore Leisure Centre in January 2003.

Notable former pupils

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poole</span> Coastal town in Dorset, England

Poole is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is 21 miles (34 km) east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. The town had an estimated population of 151,500 making it the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset. Together with Bournemouth and Christchurch, the conurbation has a total population of nearly 400,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brockenhurst College</span> Further education school in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, United Kingdom

Brockenhurst College is a large tertiary college situated in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. Co-educational since the 1920s, Brockenhurst College accepts students over the age of 16 or year 12 students, whichever occurs first due to safeguarding policies.

Magna Academy is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located on Canford Heath area of Poole in the English county of Dorset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Branksome, Dorset</span> Human settlement in England

Branksome is a suburb of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The area consists of residential properties and also a number of commercial and industrial areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poole Grammar School</span> 11–18 boys academy grammar school in Poole, Dorset, England

Poole Grammar School is an 11–18 selective boys grammar school and academy in the coastal town of Poole in Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is a member of the South West Academic Trust (SWAT). The school was a mathematics and computing school, with an additional specialism, cognition, added in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Sidney</span> British actress and beauty queen

Ann Sidney is a British actress, tv host and beauty queen who won the 1964 Miss World contest representing the United Kingdom.

The Deepings School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located on Park Road in Deeping St James in Lincolnshire, England. As of April 2022, the school is attended by almost 1,500 pupils aged 11 to 18 taught by 90 teaching staff. It includes pupils from Stamford, Spalding, Langtoft, Baston, Bourne and the Deeping area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worthing College</span> Sixth form college in West Sussex, England

Worthing College is a sixth form college. The College is situated in Broadwater, in the town of Worthing on the south coast of England.

Lytchett Minster School is a comprehensive school, with about 1,400 students aged 11 to 18, and 100 teachers, in Lytchett Minster, just outside Upton, 4 miles (6 km) from Poole, Dorset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morecambe Bay Academy</span> Academy in Morecambe, Lancashire, England

Morecambe Bay Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. It was founded as Morecambe Grammar School in 1919, moving to its current site on Dallam Avenue in 1938 on a former golf links course. In 2019, it was renamed to Morecambe Bay Academy during the process of becoming an academy.

Poole High School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in the centre of Poole, in the English county of Dorset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkstone</span> Human settlement in England

Parkstone is an area of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone - "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in local parlance - is so-called because it is largely on higher ground slightly to the north of the lower-lying area of Lower Parkstone - "The Village" - which includes areas adjacent to Poole Harbour.

Chesterton Community College is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in Chesterton, Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It was established in 1935 as two separate schools for boys and girls, which merged in 1974 to form a mixed comprehensive school and adult centre. Chesterton was granted Community College status in 1983, and became an academy in 2011.

The Hastings Academy, formerly known as Hillcrest, is a secondary school in Hastings, East Sussex, England. The Hastings Academy opened on 1 September 2011 moving into a new building during February 2013. The school has around 900 students and over 100 staff. The Principal is Mr Simon Addison. It is run by the University of Brighton Academies Trust.

Oak Academy is a co-educational secondary school located in the northern outskirts of Bournemouth in the English county of Dorset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alderney, Dorset</span> Suburb of the town of Poole in Dorset, England

Alderney is a suburb of the town of Poole in Dorset, England with a population of 11,196, increasing to 11,423 at the 2011 Census. Alderney is south of Wallisdown and west of Alder Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rossmore, Dorset</span>

Rossmore is a suburb of Poole, Dorset. Rossmore is close to Alder Hills, Newtown and Parkstone.

References

  1. Ofsted Communications Team (25 September 2021). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  2. "Ten schools give borough concern". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  3. "£90m grant to create '21st century schools'". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  4. "'We are not just changing the name – everything is changing' St Aldhelm's Academy".
  5. Bournemouth Echo, Rossmore Community College to reopen as St Aldhelm's Academy in 2010, 1 October 2009
  6. "Media".
  7. Bournemouth Echo, St Aldhelm’s Academy named worst school in GCSE league tables, 26 January 2012
  8. "Outrage as charity conwoman walks free - Portsmouth News". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  9. "Team is parachuted in to raise morale and marks at St Aldhelm's" . Independent.co.uk . 18 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
  10. "Age is no barrier as switch to classes based on ability gives school a lift". TheGuardian.com . 14 December 2005.
  11. "Truants Told: Turn Up When You Like". news.sky.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  12. "St Aldhelm's Academy confirms new sponsor Ambitions Academies Trust". BBC News. 26 February 2015.