The Forest School, Winnersh

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The Forest School
ForestCrest.png
School badge
SU7870 - The Forest School, Winnersh.jpg
The Forest School building
Address
The Forest School, Winnersh
Robin Hood Lane

Winnersh
Wokingham
,
Berkshire
,
RG41 5NE

England
Coordinates 51°25′54″N0°52′40″W / 51.43174°N 0.87773°W / 51.43174; -0.87773
Information
Type Academy
MottoEsse Quam Videri
Established1957
FounderWalter G. Jackson
Department for Education URN 139853 Tables
Ofsted Reports
ChairAnna McMenamin
HeadteacherShirley Austin [1]
Staff210
GenderBoys
Age11to 18
Enrolment1189
HousesAshdown, Bramshill, Kielder, Langdale, New, Sherwood, Windsor
Colour(s)  
Formerly namedForest Grammar School
Gender of sixth formBoys and girls
Website The Forest School

The Forest School is an 11-18 boys secondary school located in Winnersh, Berkshire, England. It is located on Robin Hood Lane, the B3030 road, next to Winnersh railway station. [2] Since September 2012, the Forest has educated academy players from local Football League Championship football club Reading FC. [3] Whilst being an all boys school, girls are admitted into the sixth form.

Contents

History

The Forest School began as Woodley Hill Grammar School in 1957, becoming the Forest Grammar School. The school was founded by Walter G. Jackson (also the mayor of Wokingham in 1953 [4] ), the first headmaster of the school. Jackson retired in 1968, to be replaced by J.F.F. (Jack) Pearcy. [5]

In November 1965, the Nestlé company donated an Elliott 405 computer to the school, which was a first generation valve computer. The BBC science television programme Tomorrow's World broadcast a story on 5 February 1969 about how the school used this computer to teach the pupils. [6] [7]

The Forest School became a comprehensive school in 1974. It has been a Business and Enterprise College since 2003 and was appointed by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust as the "Enterprise Hub School for Berkshire" in 2006. On 1 July 2013 Forest School formally converted to academy status.[ citation needed ]

School Structure

House system

There are currently seven houses at The Forest School, all named after large forests in England. Boys are given a house upon entry in Year 7, and any future siblings are placed in the same house. The houses were assigned animals in September 2015. [8]

The school deems the house system to be an integral part of school life, providing opportunities for boys attending the school to "engage in a wide range of activities in which they can experience friendly competition and rivalry". Commendations received by boys from school staff constitute to "ASPIRE House Points" which are recognised individually at House in Celebration assemblies at the end of each term. Boys are awarded additional points by staff for outstanding punctuality, attendance levels above the school’s 96% target, receiving zero discredits and working at or exceeding academic target grades. [9]

Competitions are provided for boys to "experience camaraderie and a sense of belonging to their House and school". The school advocates that such competitions provide practice in essential life skills of managing “success with humility and defeat with dignity". [10]

The seven houses and their animals are:

 AshdownAntelope

 BramshillBear

 KielderKite

 LangdaleLion

 NewNighthawk

 SherwoodShark

 WindsorWolf

Pastoral care

Whenever possible, students keep the same Form Tutor and Head of Year throughout Years 7–11. The school currently has a 'Drop In Centre' which consists of the Pastoral Support Officer's office, confidentiality boxes[ clarification needed ], support rooms and the school counsellor's office for each year group. [11] A comprehensive PSHE programme is run within the school for 20 minutes each day, following a 5 minute registration. [12]

Business and Enterprise specialism

As a Business and Enterprise specialist, the school encourages pupils to develop their own businesses. Students are involved in managing a business, talking to potential clients, producing quotes and providing goods and services to both internal and external clients.

Forest Sixth

The school won a bid in early 2014 to build a new sixth form centre. The planning application was approved on Monday 19 January 2015. The building has ten classrooms, ICT work space, a lecture theatre and a cafe. [13]

Subjects taught

Curriculum subjects

SubjectTaught at KS3 Taught at GCSE Taught at A level
Art CompulsoryYesYes
Biology Part of ScienceCompulsoryYes
Business Studies NoYesYes
Chemistry Part of ScienceCompulsoryYes
Computer science YesYes (and ICT)Yes
Design Technology CompulsoryYes^Yes
Drama CompulsoryYesYes
Economics NoYesYes
English CompulsoryCompulsoryYes
French CompulsoryYesNo
Geography CompulsoryYesYes
History CompulsoryYesYes
Law NoNoYes
Mathematics*CompulsoryCompulsoryYes
Media Studies NoYesYes
Music CompulsoryYesNo
Photography NoYesYes
Psychology NoNoYes
Physical education CompulsoryYesYes
Physics Part of ScienceCompulsoryYes
PSHE YesYesYes
Religious Education CompulsoryCompulsoryNot timetabled
Sociology NoYesYes
Spanish YesYesNo
Travel & Tourism NoNoYes

* Further Maths is optional at A Level. ^ Students can opt for one of the following: Electronics, Graphics or Product Design.

Sports

In 2006 the school's under 15s (U15) football team won the National Cup. In 2007 the school's under 16s (U16) football team were runners up in the National Cup, losing narrowly to the opposition. In 2009 the school's under 14s (U14) football team were runners up in the National Cup, losing 2–1 to Audenshaw School. The match took place at Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium in front of over 600 Forest School supporters.[ citation needed ]

The school has also produced several rugby players,[ citation needed ] the most notable being Rhodri McAtee, ex-England school boy who is now consistently selected for the Welsh International Sevens team, whilst playing for Cornish Pirates in National League One.[ citation needed ]

Notable former pupils

The Forest School

Forest Grammar School

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References

  1. ↑ "Key Information". The Forest School. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "The Forest School, Winnersh". Geograph. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "Academy deal done". Reading FC. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Past Mayors". www.wokingham-tc.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014.
  5. ↑ http://www.newall.org.uk/files/2016/03/Reading-Mercury-Article.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  6. ↑ Higgins, Chris (4 June 2017). "Watch Nellie, the British School Computer of 1969". Mental Floss. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  7. ↑ Nellie: School Computer. Tomorrow's World. BBC. 5 February 1969. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Our House System". The Forest School. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Our House System". The Forest School. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Our House System". The Forest School. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "CURRICULUM & PASTORAL OVERVIEW". The Forest School. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "CURRICULUM & PASTORAL OVERVIEW". The Forest School. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  13. ↑ Sixth Form | The Forest School
  14. ↑ Martin Chalkley
  15. ↑ Ivor Goodson
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