The Piggott School

Last updated

The Piggott School
The Piggott School Logo.png
Address
The Piggott School
Twyford Road

, ,
RG10 8DS

England
Information
Type Academy
MottoSursum Corda(Lift your hearts up) and “Go and do likewise” (Luke, 10:37)
Religious affiliation(s) Church of England
Established1940
FounderRobert Piggott
Local authority Wokingham
Department for Education URN 136891 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Head TeacherDerren Gray
GenderMixed
Age11to 18
Enrolment1,523 (296 in Sixth Form)
Houses Thames - Loddon - St Patrick's - Kennet
Colour(s)Royal Blue  
Website http://www.piggott.wokingham.sch.uk

The Piggott School is a Church of England academy secondary school in Wargrave [1] in Berkshire, England. The school has approximately 1,516 pupils and around 185 teaching staff. The school specialises in Modern Languages and Humanities. It has been awarded International school status by the British Council. The most recent inspection from Ofsted achieved an overall effectiveness rating of 'Good'. [2]

Contents

The Piggott School has a long established exchange programme with the Ville-Gymnasium School [3] der Erftstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and other programmes with I.E.S. Las Canteras [4] in Collado Villalba near Madrid, Spain, and with Lycée Jean Guéhenno, France. It is a partner school of the EU organised Comenius project. The Piggott School is also the only church of England secondary school in the Reading, Twyford area. The Piggott School is one of the best performing secondary schools in the Wokingham District. [5]

History

The Piggott School was founded by Robert Piggott, a philanthropist, to cater for 20 poor boys and 20 poor girls in separate schools. The foundation stone was laid on 12 October 1939 it was officially opened on 17 September 1940. [6] The school was originally built for 320 children. When was opened in 1940, it was already too small because war had broken out and an evacuation programme was underway (two million children were moved from London to the countryside within three days). This caused a doubling of the local population of children and far more pupils had to be accommodated by the school. Morning school was therefore organised for 'home' children. Afternoon school was for the 'visitors'.

Recent and future changes

Since becoming an academy, there have been changes to the new site. In 2011, a new sixth form block was opened to replace the old sixth form block (now used as a drama studio and extra classroom). A purpose-built gym was constructed on the site of the old Maths and Business Studies terrapins. [7]

Houses

Piggott School sweatshirt. Note: Pupil is in Thames house hence the colour. Piggott sweatshirt.JPG
Piggott School sweatshirt. Note: Pupil is in Thames house hence the colour.

The four houses are:

St Patricks Thames Kennet Loddon 

Loddon house is named after the River Loddon in Berkshire and Hampshire. The emblem is a Lion. Thames house is named after the River Thames which runs through several cities and towns, the emblem is a dragon. Kennet house is named after the River Kennet which runs through Reading, the emblem is a green dragon. St Patrick's house is named after St Patrick's Stream, a backwater of the Thames that flows into the Loddon, the emblem is a harp. The current school sweatshirt (since 2011) comes with the school house; the logo can be red for Thames, blue for St Patricks, green for Kennet, and yellow for Loddon. There are competitions between the houses, including rugby, football, netball, hockey, sports day and the governors' cup.

Church Status

The Piggott School is a school with a Church Foundation. [8] [ citation needed ]

Ofsted

The school is high-achieving in results, OfSTED and SIAMS inspections. [9] [ citation needed ]

In its latest Ofsted inspection, [2] carried out 29–30 November 2017, the school achieved the following ratings:

Overall effectivenessGood
Effectiveness of leadership and managementOutstanding
Quality of teaching, learning and assessmentGood
Personal development, behaviour and welfareOutstanding
Outcomes for pupilsGood
Early years provisionGood
16 to 19 study programmesOutstanding

Facilities

The Piggott School has a soldering works area, clay area, modelling areas such as DIY, a Arts Studio and a large sports field which runs alongside the railway tracks towards Wargrave railway station. In 2011 a new sixth form block was opened. A new block, similar to that of the sixth form building, was constructed in mid 2013. This contains a mixture of Maths and science facilities and a gym.[ citation needed ]

Subject GCSE A level
Art and Design YesYes
Biology YesYes
Business Studies YesYes
Chemistry YesYes
Child Development --
Computer ScienceYesYes
Design and Technology YesYes
Drama YesYes
Economics -Yes
English Language YesYes
English Literature YesYes
FrenchYesYes
Further Mathematics Yes (Level 2)Yes
Geography YesYes
GermanYesYes
Government & Politics
History YesYes
Computer Science YesYes
Mathematics YesYes
Media Studies YesYes
Music YesYes
Psychology
Physical Education YesYes
Physics YesYes
Religious Education YesYes
Science (double award)Yes-
Statistics Yes-

Curriculum

In Years 7 and 8 (Key Stage 3) students study the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science (Year 9 start GCSE Science) plus the following foundation subjects: French, Design and Technology, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), History, Geography, Religious Education, Art, Music, Drama and Physical Education. [10] Lessons are offered in Personal, Social and Health Education and Citizenship. In addition to French, pupils either study German, Spanish or Mandarin Chinese as a second language. The following Design and Technology options are offered at GCSE: Food and Nutrition; Graphic Products; Resistant Materials; Systems and Control; Textiles.

AS Art, Craft and Design is also available as a fast track course for students in year 10 and 11. In Years 9, 10 and 11 students are able to specialise in Catering, Graphic Products, Textiles, Resistant Materials, Electronic Products or Food. Sixth formers can study the following courses in AS & A2 are food technology, AQA theatre studies, music, AQA geography, OCR history, AQA maths and languages (French, Spanish or German). Students can also study at AS and A level which are ICT, product design (graphic products or textile technology), economics, science (students are able to take one or more of the three separate sciences, these are biology, physics, chemistry), business studies, art and photography.

In addition, a number of vocational courses are available including the new Key Skills Qualifications in Application of Number, Communication, and Information Technology, and the National Diploma in Business (Level 2). The Piggott School's participates in the Cisco Networking Academy Programme and is one of the relatively few schools in the UK to offer this globally accepted professional course in networking.[ citation needed ] Pupils on this course have networked the computers in the school's IT suite and also those of the neighbouring primary school Robert Piggott Junior in Wargrave, Berkshire.[ citation needed ]

The Piggott School's has pioneered a science buddy scheme, which was featured on Teachernet.[ citation needed ] The scheme involved around 30 pupils from the top three sets in Year 11 helping the younger children in Year 7 to conduct experiments and investigations in a lunchtime club.

Sports

Pupils at the school participate in the following sports: cross-country, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, health-related fitness, hockey, netball, rounders, rugby, athletics, table tennis and tennis. There are school teams which play regular fixtures with other local schools in rugby, football, hockey, netball and basketball. Pupils also participate in the Reading Cross Country League. A number of pupils play at county level.

Extracurricular activities

Pupils can learn to play instruments such as woodwind. There is also a School Band and Choir. Drama productions have ranged from well-known musicals to exam performances presented by students studying GCSE and A levels.[ citation needed ]

Admission

In common with all other schools in Wokingham Borough, school places are allocated by the LEA based on designated catchment areas and feeder primary schools. Around 200 places are available at Piggott every year. The feeder primary schools for Piggott are:

Note: St. Johns C of E Aided Primary School is no longer a feeder school for the Piggott School.

Academy

On Friday 1 July 2011, The Piggott School became an academy after being approved by the Department of Education. The letter sent out to parents saying the school would become an academy on 1 July was sent out on Monday, 4 July.

Primary school

In 2013 it was announced that the Piggott school will be opening a primary school in Charvil. This has now been opened and named Charvil Piggott Primary.[ citation needed ]

Controversy

In 2015, 57 year old teacher Mark Betram Wade, (Head of 6th form maths) was fired by the school following allegations of an inappropriate relationship and a harassment case with a 6th form female student from 2013-2015. In August of 2016, he was banned from teaching for life by the National College for Teaching and Leadership after their investigation concluded that he had consensual sex with a female former student, and had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with her, which included kissing while she was still a student, and offering to be her “Sugar daddy” towards the end of the relationship. [11] The entire case can be found here.

In 2017 the school gained national attention after outlining a range of cost-cutting measures intended to achieve savings of £200,000. These included staff redundancies, phasing out of some subjects, and increasing fees for school trips. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Wokingham</span> Unitary authority area in Berkshire, England

The Borough of Wokingham is a local government district with borough status in Berkshire, England. It is named after its main town, Wokingham. Other places in the district include Arborfield, Barkham, Charvil, Earley, Finchampstead, Hurst, Sonning, Remenham, Ruscombe, Shinfield, Twyford, Wargrave, Three Mile Cross, Winnersh, Spencers Wood and Woodley. The population of Wokingham is 177,500 according to 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International General Certificate of Secondary Education</span> English language based academic qualification

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainment. It was developed by Cambridge Assessment International Education. The examination boards Edexcel, Learning Resource Network (LRN), and Oxford AQA also offer their own versions of International GCSEs. Students normally begin studying the syllabus at the beginning of Year 10 and take the test at the end of Year 11. However, in some international schools, students can begin studying the syllabus at the beginning of Year 9 and take the test at the end of Year 10.

Bishop Luffa School, named after a former Bishop of Chichester, Ralph de Luffa, is a co-educational Church of England secondary school located in Chichester, West Sussex, England. The number of enrolled pupils was around 1,400 in 2010, in eight 'Year' house-forms and the sixth form. The school, formerly a 'Technology College', is now a 'CofE Teaching School', holding Leading Edge status, with national Artsmark and Sportsmark also having been awarded. From its foundation to 2013 the school was a Voluntary Aided establishment, on 1 December 2013 the school successfully converted to Academy status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennet School</span> Academy in Thatcham, Berkshire, England

Kennet School is an academy secondary school in Thatcham, Berkshire, England. In 2011, Kennet was the highest achieving state school in West Berkshire using contextual value added results and third-highest using five good GCSEs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wargrave</span> Town in Berkshire, England

Wargrave is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many old listed buildings, two marinas with chandlery services for boats, a boating club and rises steeply to the northeast in the direction of Bowsey Hill, with higher parts of the village generally known as Upper Wargrave. In Upper Wargrave is a Recreation Ground with a cricket club, bowls club, football pitch and tennis club.

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

Charvil is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is 3 miles (5 km) east of the centre of Reading on the A4 road to Maidenhead, between Sonning and Twyford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 3,042. The area was mostly farmland until the 1950s, since which time the population has increased significantly. Charvil is bisected by the new A4 Bath Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Priory Academy LSST</span> Academy in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England

The Priory Academy LSST is a co-educational non-selective academy school and teaching school situated on Cross O'Cliff Hill, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. It specialises in science, technology and teaching, and is the lead school of the Lincolnshire Teaching Schools Alliance. It is also the lead member of The Priory Federation of Academies.

Treorchy Comprehensive School is an English language, comprehensive school in the village of Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The school is situated on the southern side of the valley, and is 500 metres in length from the main gate on Conway Road, Cwmparc, to the rear gate at Tylecoch Bridge, Treorchy.

Archbishop Temple Church of England High School is a voluntary aided Church of England secondary school, situated in the city of Preston in Lancashire, England. The Headteacher is Ivan Catlow. It has 782 pupils and 48 teachers.

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

Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains 4,313 acres (17.45 km2) and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District. Shinfield Park is the northern part of the parish, becoming physically separated from Reading when the M4 motorway was constructed in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady's Catholic College</span> Voluntary aided school in Lancaster, Lancashire, England

Our Lady's Catholic College (OLCC) is a mixed sex secondary school for pupils aged 11–18. It is located in Skerton, just off the A6 road, north of the River Lune, Lancaster in the North West of England. Formerly Our Lady's Catholic High School, it changed its name after being awarded Specialist Sports College status in September 2003. The college teaches Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, and Sixth Form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Crispin's School</span> Academy in Wokingham, Berkshire, England

St Crispin's School, founded in 1953, is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school and sixth form located in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. There were 1,164 students at the school in 2017, of whom 234 were in the Sixth form. The school is on the London Road, just outside Wokingham town centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selston High School</span> Academy in Nottinghamshire, England

Selston High School is a mixed secondary school that educates students aged 11–16. It is located in Selston, Nottinghamshire, England. The headteacher is Mr David Broomhead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derby High School, Derbyshire</span> Private day school in Derby, England

Derby High School is a private day school for children aged 3 to 18 in the suburb of Littleover in Derby. Formerly girls only in the Senior School, from September 2019 Derby High accepted boys into Years 7 and 12. In 2022 the school will be fully co-educational with boys in all year groups. The Primary School is co-educational, taking boys and girls from age 3 to 11. The school is a member of IAPS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skipton Girls' High School</span> Grammar school in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England

Skipton Girls' High School, founded in 1886 by the Petyt Trust, is an all-girls selective grammar school situated in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. The school is a founding member of Northern Star Academies Trust, and leads Northern Lights Teaching School Alliance and Northern Lights SCITT. The school has over 800 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity School, Belvedere</span> Academy in Belvedere, Greater London, England

Trinity School is a Church of England Secondary Academy located in Belvedere in the London Borough of Bexley. It is a mixed non-selective school located within a selective borough.

Shoeburyness High School is a coeducational secondary academy school in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. The school is larger than the average sized secondary academy, with almost 1800 students on roll. 275 of the enrolled students are in the sixth form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ridgewood School</span> Academy in Scawsby, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England

Ridgewood School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status in Scawsby, Doncaster, England. The school gained academy status in October 2011, and was a specialist Engineering College prior to September 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driffield School</span> Academy in Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Driffield School & Sixth Form is a coeducational comprehensive school which is situated on Manorfield Road in Driffield, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The school has nearly 1400 pupils aged 11–18, who come from rural communities in the Yorkshire Wolds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UTC Reading</span> University technical college in Reading, Berkshire, England

UTC Reading is a university technical college (UTC) that opened in Reading, Berkshire, England in September 2013. The University of Reading, Reading College and Oxford and Cherwell Valley College are the lead education sponsors of the UTC, while business partners include Agilent Technologies, CGI Group, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Peter Brett Associates LLP and Network Rail. In 2023, Ofsted marked the college as "Inadequate".

References

  1. "Contact Us - The Piggott School". Piggott School Website. 9 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Inspection report: The Piggott School". 29–30 November 2017. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  3. "Ville-Gymnasium". ville-gymnasium.de. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  4. "IES LAS CANTERAS | centro.ies.lascanteras.colladovillalba | EducaMadrid". external.educa2.madrid.org. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  5. "Overall performance at end of key stage 4 in all schools and colleges in Wokingham". UK Government school comparison service for England. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  6. "Piggott School to celebrate 70 years". 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  7. "The Piggott School - Facilities". Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  8. "The Piggott School - Church Foundation". Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  9. "SIAMS Report- The Piggott School". Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  10. https://www.piggottschool.org/attachments/download.asp?file=4758&type=pdf
  11. "The Piggott School reassures parents after teacher sex scandal". 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  12. "School in PM's backyard has to cut staff to plug £200k black hole". Daily Mirror . 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.

Further reading

51°29′24″N0°52′19″W / 51.490°N 0.872°W / 51.490; -0.872