The Forest School, Winnersh

The Forest School
School badge The Forest School building
Location
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
Motto	Esse Quam Videri
Established	1957
Founder	Walter G. Jackson
Department for Education URN	139853 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair	Alison Loveland
Headteacher	Shirley Austin [1]
Staff	210
Gender	Co-educational
Age	11to 18
Enrolment	1189
Houses	Ashdown, Bramshill, Kielder, Langdale, New, Sherwood, Windsor
Colour(s)
Formerly named	Forest Grammar School
Gender of sixth form	Boys and girls
Website	The Forest School

The Forest School is an 11-18 co-educational secondary school located in Winnersh, Berkshire, England. It is located on Robin Hood Lane, the B3030 road, next to Winnersh railway station. ^[2] The Forest School changed its status from all boys 11-16 and mixed sixth to co-educational from year 7 September 2024. Since September 2012, the Forest has educated academy players from local Football League Championship football club Reading FC. ^[3]

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". ^[8]

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. ^[9] A comprehensive PSHE programme is run within the school for 20 minutes each day, following a 5 minute registration. ^[10]

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. ^[11]

Subjects taught

Curriculum subjects

Subject	Taught at KS3	Taught at GCSE	Taught at A level
Art	Compulsory	Yes	Yes
Biology	Part of Science	Compulsory	Yes
Business Studies	No	Yes	Yes
Chemistry	Part of Science	Compulsory	Yes
Computer science	Yes	Yes (and ICT)	Yes
Design Technology	Compulsory	Yes^	Yes
Drama	Compulsory	Yes	Yes
Economics	No	Yes	Yes
English	Compulsory	Compulsory	Yes
French	Compulsory	Yes	No
Geography	Compulsory	Yes	Yes
History	Compulsory	Yes	Yes
Law	No	No	Yes
Mathematics*	Compulsory	Compulsory	Yes
Media Studies	No	Yes	Yes
Music	Compulsory	Yes	No
Photography	No	Yes	Yes
Psychology	No	No	Yes
Physical education	Compulsory	Yes	Yes
Physics	Part of Science	Compulsory	Yes
PSHE	Yes	Yes	Yes
Religious Education	Compulsory	Compulsory	Not timetabled
Sociology	No	Yes	Yes
Spanish	Yes	Yes	No
Travel & Tourism	No	No	Yes

* 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

• Jake Cooper, footballer, defender at Millwall F.C.
• Tyler Frost, footballer, midfielder at Aldershot Town ^[12]
• Daniel Howell – YouTube personality and former BBC Radio 1 DJ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Danny Kingston – European Judo Champion 1996
• Steven Lewington – former professional wrestler, known for performing as DJ Gabriel on ECW
• Mark Littlewood – political commentator and director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs
• Danny Loader, footballer, forward at FC Porto ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Rhodri McAtee – ex-England school boy and former winger for Wales Sevens
• Gabriel Osho, footballer, defender at Luton Town F.C. ^[12]
• Ian Parton – lead singer and founder of the Go! Team
• Steve Seddon, footballer, defender at Birmingham City F.C.
• Johnny Williams – rugby union player at Scarlets
• Marcus Willis – tennis player
• Joshua Zeller – athlete

Forest Grammar School

• Ivor Goodson, academic and educationalist ^{[13] [ failed verification ]}

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. "'All Rounder' Will Head Forest School" (PDF). www.newall.org.uk. Reading Mercury. 3 August 1968. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 July 2024.
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.^{[ dead link ]}
9. "CURRICULUM & PASTORAL OVERVIEW". The Forest School. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
10. "CURRICULUM & PASTORAL OVERVIEW". The Forest School. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
11. Sixth Form | The Forest School
12. "Royals visit Forest School Open Evening: Youngsters return to their old stomping ground..." Reading FC. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
13. Ivor Goodson

External links

• Official website
• Ofsted: The Forest School (pre-Academy)
• Ofsted: The Forest School (Academy)