The Lafford High School | |
---|---|
Address | |
Fen Road , , N4 4HU England | |
Information | |
Type | Community school |
Established | 1963 |
Closed | 31 August 2010 |
Department for Education URN | 120637 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports |
Chairman of the Governors | Derek Daniels |
Headteacher | Paul Watson (resigned 2008) (Mrs N. Irvine as acting headteacher) |
Gender | Mixed |
Age | 11to 16 |
Enrolment | 40+ (2010) |
Capacity | 365 (2010) |
The Lafford High School, Billinghay was a secondary-level, co-educational Community School in Billinghay, a village in the English county of Lincolnshire. Opened in 1963 to serve several villages near Billinghay, it serving pupils aged 11 to 16 before closing in 2010. [1] The school used a secondary modern admissions system and had a capacity for 365 pupils at the time of its closure. [2]
The Education Act 1944 made secondary education available to all children up to the age of 15; a 'tripartite system' of secondary schools was established to provide curricula based on aptitude and ability: grammar schools for "academic" pupils, secondary moderns for practical studies, and technical schools for science and engineering. Pupils were allocated to them depending on their score in the eleven-plus examination. [3] There was no dedicated secondary school in the district around Billinghay, so the village schools continued to take pupils up to the age of 14; [4] because they lacked capacity to teach 14 to 15 year olds as well, a temporary HORSA school (Billinghay HORSA Centre) was opened at Billinghay after the Second World War. [4] [5] In 1946, the local education authority, Kesteven County Council, considered proposals to build a new secondary modern school at Billinghay; [6] these plans were approved in 1947, with the school expected to be coeducational and take up to 450 pupils aged 11 to 16 when it opened (planned for sometime between 1952 and 1957). [7]
The construction of the new school was delayed and, after it and two other proposed rural secondary schools (at Billingborough and at Corby Glen) were absent from the Ministry of Education's 1959–60 funding programme, a contingent of Kesteven County Councillors travelled to the ministry to make their case. They received commitments that the Billinghay school would be included in the 1960–61 programme. [8] By 1961, funding had been approved for the Billinghay school and work was underway. [9] The Sleaford Standard was optimistic about the benefits afforded by consolidating secondary education in larger dedicated schools, writing that "new heights of educational prowess will be achieved by the children ... There is a nostalgic regret in the thought of all the consequent decline that may ensue for the smallest village schools, but that will be a short-lived thing that cannot stand by comparison with the opportunities in life a fuller education may bring for the schoolchildren." [9]
The secondary modern at Billinghay was completed in 1963, with teaching commencing on 23 April. [10] The school did not have an official opening ceremony. [11] The new building was a three-storey block built by Messrs H. H. Adkins (Contractors) Ltd, of Boston; it included a hall with stage and sound and lighting equipment; a gymnasium and changing rooms; a large kitchen; a library; administrative rooms; an art room; a general science laboratory; a needlework room; a domestic science room; a woodwork and metalwork room; and a rural science laboratory with a greenhouse. It was officially named The Lafford School. Accommodating boys and girls aged 11 to 16, there were 137 pupils on roll on the opening day, with the number expected to grow to between 270 and 300 by approximately 1967. The children came from the villages of Billinghay, North Kyme, South Kyme, Anwick, Walcott, Martin, Timberland and Witham Bank; those from Martin and Timberland had previously been sent to Ruskington Secondary Modern School, but existing pupils there had the option to chose to move over to Lafford, which some did. The first headmaster was J. T. Padgett and Dr D. Horton was the inaugural chairman of the governors. [12] There were seven teaching staff (other than Padgett) on roll at the school's opening, plus a secretary, caretaker and assistant caretaker, a cook and four kitchen staff. [13] [14]
In the late 1970s, Lincolnshire County Council (Kesteven County Council's successor authority) debated proposals for comprehensivising Sleaford's schools, with the possibility of consolidating its three schools into two; opponents of the three-school approach argued that it would require closing Lafford to make it viable, unless the council expanded Lafford's catchment area, though the closure of Lafford was considered to be unpalatably expensive. [15] In 1979, the County Council voted to preserve the three schools in Sleaford, [16] and in the following September it increased the size of Lafford's catchment area as part of a policy of protecting the county's smaller rural schools. The catchment changes, which also affected the secondary modern schools at Ruskington and Billingborough, caused controversy amongst parents in affected areas and governors at the Sleaford Secondary Modern School, where the roll was expected to fall (along with the range of courses) to enable this policy. [17] [18] [19] This led to more pupils being enrolled at Lafford, [20] whose catchment now included Anwick, Billinghay, Dogdyke, Martin, Metheringham, North Kyme, South Kyme and Walcott. [19] In 1982, Lincolnshire County Council approved funding for a £105,000 extension at Lafford, to be built in 1983, which added a science laboratory, design and technology room and cloakrooms to accommodate the increasing number of children on roll and deficiencies in the existing science and technology facilities. [20] [21] [22] In 1984, the local authority also granted permission for the addition of a mobile classroom at Lafford. [23]
The issue of its small roll returned again in October 1986, when a study commissioned by the County Council predicted that Lafford's roll would fall by 17% by 1996, and proposed closing the school in several options for consolidating schooling in the wider Sleaford area; doing nothing was assessed as being the most expensive option. [24] In November that year, the County Council's schools sub-committee voted to retain Lafford and the other small schools, [25] though there were concerns that the Education Reform Act 1988's provisions to enhance parental choice would reduce the roll at Lafford because more parents would be able to send their children to Sleaford's secondary modern school. [26] In 1989, the local authority opened new buildings for Billinghay Church of England Controlled Primary School on a site adjacent to Lafford, and Lafford then shared its playing fields with the primary school. [27] To accommodate the technology teaching requirements in the National Curriculum (introduced in 1988), a new design and textiles room was built at Lafford (costing £75,000) and the existing food technology room renovated in the mid-1990s; they were opened officially by the chef Prue Leith in January 1995. [28] Lafford became a comprehensive school on 1 September 1995. [28] [29]
Between 1996 and 2001, the school's roll decreased "significantly" so that it sat at 183 pupils at the start of the 2001–2 year. [30] In 2002, Ofsted recommended that Lincolnshire County Council review schools with under 600 pupils. Two years later, the Council's education officers suggested that some of these schools merge, close or federate to make them more economical. They included Lafford, [31] which had been under-performing in GCSE and A-level league tables. [32] St George's College of Technology in Sleaford became federated with Lafford in 2005 (St George's also federated with Aveland High School in Billingborough in 2006). [33] [34] A plan to merge them into an Academy was announced the following year; Coteland's School in Ruskington was allowed to opt-in, [34] and joined the federation in 2007; [35] [36] with that, Paul Watson, principal at St George's, became executive head of all four schools. [37]
Despite improvements, [35] [38] the village schools continued to perform below the national average. [39] [40] The County Council began consulting parents in 2008 about closing Lafford due to falling numbers. Despite denials from Watson, parents complained that he had lost "passion" for the school and that St George's "cherry-picked" the most able pupils. [41] [42] After a heated meeting with them in March 2008, Watson resigned as Principal at Lafford. [33] By that time, the school had 250 pupils on roll (despite capacity for 400) and only 27 new starters in 2007–08. It was deemed unviable by the county council. A phased closure took place over the next two years, with pupils moving to schools in Sleaford, Ruskington and Branston. [43] By 2010, the school roll had fallen to "over 40" pupils. [44] Lafford closed on 31 August 2010. [45] [46] Its buildings were subsequently demolished. [47]
Years | Name | Notes |
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1963–1981 | James Thomas "Jim" Padgett | A native of Nottinghamshire, Padgett was educated at Magnus Grammar School in Newark-on-Trent, the Coventry Training College and the University of Nottingham. [48] He had been in the RAF in the Second World War, serving in the UK and Middle East. [48] He then taught in Nottinghamshire schools until 1960, [48] when he was appointed deputy headmaster at the Sir William Robertson School in Welbourn. [48] [49] He was appointed head of Lafford School in October 1962 and took up the position in January 1963. [48] He retired from Lafford in August 1981 [50] and died on 8 August 1988 at Lincoln. [51] |
1981–1997 | John Hockin | A Cornishman, [52] Hockin came to Kesteven in 1971 as a schools inspector. He subsequently taught at an approved school, [53] before being appointed headmaster at the Lafford School in September 1981. [52] He retired in April 1997. [54] A member of the Sleaford Rotary Club since 1975, Hockin was elected vice-president of Rotary International British Isles for the 1998–99 year, [53] and then served as president for the 1999–2000 year. [55] [56] |
1997–1998 | Kathy Farmer (acting) | Farmer served as acting headteacher for the 1997–98 academic year. [57] [58] |
1998–2001 | Paul Kern | Kern attended Loughborough University from 1971 to 1975, graduating with a BSc in chemistry and management. He then trained to be teacher at Loughborough College of Education. He was deputy head at St Wulfram's School, Grantham, when he was appointed headteacher at Lafford in July 1998. [59] Kern had left Lafford in 2001. [30] [60] |
2001–2002 | Julie Woolley and Colin Saywell (acting) | Woolley was acting headteacher after Kern's departure in 2001 and was in post that October. [61] [62] Colin Saywell subsequently took over the role, and latterly shared it with Woolley before Taylor's arrival in 2002. [62] |
2002–200? | Martyn Taylor [63] | Taylor taught American history at the University of Massachusetts before teaching in London, Hull and Lincolnshire. He was first deputy headteacher at The Thomes Cowley High School in Donington from 1998 to 2002. He was appointed headteacher at Lafford in June 2002. [64] |
2005–2008 | Paul Frederick Watson [65] | Educated at Nottingham and Leicester Universities, Watson then taught in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. [66] He helped to establish the Lincoln School of Science and Technology and was appointed its deputy headteacher in 1992, before he was seconded to Middlefield School of Technology in Gainsborough as acting deputy headteacher; he eventually became the school's head. [67] He became principal at St George's College of Technology in Sleaford in 1998, [68] and headteacher at Lafford after it federated with St George's in 2005. [32] [33] He resigned as headteacher at Lafford in 2008, remaining in post at St George's and the other schools in the federation. [33] He retired from teaching in 2014. [69] |
2008–2010 | Mrs N. J. Irvine (acting) | Irvine became acting headteacher after Watson's resignation in 2008. [70] She was still acting headteacher when the school closed in 2010. [44] |
Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the north and Old Sleaford to the east. The town is on the edge of the fertile Fenlands, 11 miles north-east of Grantham, 16 mi (26 km) west of Boston, and 17 mi (27 km) south of Lincoln. Its population of 17,671 at the 2011 Census made it the largest settlement in the North Kesteven district; it is the district's administrative centre. Bypassed by the A17 and the A15, it is linked to Lincoln, Newark, Peterborough, Grantham and King's Lynn.
North Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The council is based in Sleaford. The district also contains the town of North Hykeham, which adjoins the neighbouring city of Lincoln, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
Sleaford and North Hykeham is a parliamentary constituency in Lincolnshire, England which elects a single Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented since 2016 by Dr Caroline Johnson, who is a member of the Conservative Party. The seat was created in 1997 and has always been represented by Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Conservative Party; like all British constituencies, it elects one candidate by the first-past-the-post voting system. Johnson became the MP for the constituency after a by-election in December 2016, following the resignation of the previous MP for the seat, Stephen Phillips. The constituency is considered a safe seat for the Conservatives.
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Aunsby and Dembleby is a civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 125. The parish includes Aunsby and Dembleby, which were separate parishes until 1931, and the hamlet of Scott Willoughby.
Billingborough is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Bourne and 10 miles south of Sleaford, and on the B1177 between Horbling and Pointon just south of the A52.
Billinghay is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-east from Sleaford, and lies on the B1189 Walcott road near its junction with the A153. Just south of the village towards Sleaford is North Kyme. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,808, increasinging to 2,190 at the 2011 census, increasinging to 2,203 at the 2021 census.
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Kesteven and Sleaford High SchoolSelective Academy, commonly known as Kesteven and Sleaford High School (KSHS), is a selective school with academy status in Sleaford, an English market town in Lincolnshire. It caters for girls aged between eleven and sixteen in Years 7 to 11, and girls and boys aged sixteen to eighteen in its coeducational Sixth Form.
Heckington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Sleaford and Swineshead Bridge, and south of the A17 road. Heckington, with 1,491 households, is one of the largest villages in Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish including Boughton was 3,353 at the 2011 census.
Samuel Pattinson was a British businessman and Liberal politician.
St George's Academy is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school based in the English market town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, with a satellite school at nearby Ruskington.
Sleaford Joint Sixth Form (SJSF) is a partnership in Sleaford, England, between Carre's Grammar School, Kesteven and Sleaford High School and St George's Academy. It enables sixth-formers based at them to study individual courses offered at any of the schools. This makes provision more economical and gives students a choice of approximately 60 A-Level or Level 3 vocational courses.
Quarrington is a village and former civil parish, now part of the civil parish of Sleaford, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The old village and its church lie approximately 1 miles (2 km) south-west from the centre of Sleaford. Suburban housing developments at New Quarrington and Quarrington Hill effectively link the two settlements. Bypassed by the A15, it is connected to Lincoln and Peterborough, as well as Newark and King's Lynn. At the 2011 census, Quarrington and Mareham ward, which incorporates most of the settlement, had an estimated population of 7,046.
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The Deanery of Lafford is an historic deanery in the Anglican Diocese of Lincoln in England. Located around the market town of Sleaford, it covers an area of c.200 square miles and serves a population of c.36,000.
St Andrew's Church is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church dedicated to Andrew the Apostle, in Billingborough, Lincolnshire, England. The church is 7 miles (11 km) south-east from Sleaford, and at the western edge of the Lincolnshire Fenlands.
Westholme House is a historic building in the English market town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, set in 32 acres of parkland and school grounds. Built around 1849 in the style of a French Gothic mansion by Charles Kirk for his business partner Thomas Parry, it was privately owned until the 1940s, when Kesteven County Council acquired the house and its grounds. It subsequently served as the county library and part of Sleaford Secondary Modern School. The stone house follows an asymmetrical layout and incorporates a range of Gothic elements in its design. In 1974, it was recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building, recognising it as of "special interest".
The fifth set of elections to Kesteven County Council were held on Thursday, 7 March 1901. Kesteven was one of three divisions of the historic county of Lincolnshire in England; it consisted of the ancient wapentakes of Aswardhurn, Aveland, Beltisloe, Boothby Graffoe, Flaxwell, Langoe, Loveden, Ness, and Winnibriggs and Threo. The Local Government Act 1888 established Kesteven as an administrative county, governed by a Council; elections were held every three years from 1889, until it was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972, which established Lincolnshire County Council in its place.
Coteland's School Ruskington was a secondary-level community school in the village of Ruskington, Lincolnshire, accommodating pupils aged 11–16 through years 7 to 11. It formally opened as Ruskington Secondary Modern School in 1957, although teaching had begun the previous year. It federated with St George's College of Technology in nearby Sleaford in 2007, and then closed at the end of 2009 to allow the schools to merge into St George's Academy. The buildings and grounds were significantly redeveloped in 2012–2015 to serve as a satellite school for the academy.