Westholme School

Last updated

Westholme School
Westholme logo update.png
Address
Westholme School
Wilmar Lodge
Meins Road

Blackburn
,
Lancashire
,
BB2 6QU

England
Coordinates 53°45′11″N2°31′52″W / 53.75295°N 2.53108°W / 53.75295; -2.53108
Information
Type Independent school
Motto MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO
(A healthy mind in a healthy body)
Religious affiliation(s)Christian
Established1923
FounderEmily Singleton
Department for Education URN 119826 Tables
PrincipalMr. Paul Taylor
GenderBoys and girls
Age3to 18 years
Enrolment767
HousesCalder, Longridge, Bowland, Pendle
Colour(s)   Purple and green
Website http://www.westholmeschool.com

Westholme School is a coeducational private school in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.

Contents

Founded in 1923, [1] the school caters for boys and girls aged from 4 to 18 years. The school became fully coeducational in 2018.

Mr. Paul Taylor took office as the principal in September 2024. [2]

History

Westholme School was founded in Blackburn, Lancashire, England by Miss Emily Singleton on 19 April 1923. Originally from Blackburn, Miss Singleton decided to form a small primary school during the Great Depression due to the lack of alternatives in the local area. She began with offering space and education to a small group of local children in her parents' house, Westholme, located on Preston New Road in Blackburn.

By 1948, the school increased enrollment to around 135 pupils and was officially recognized by the government as a formal place of education. This growth led to the formation of a secondary school and a move to larger premises in the area. As Miss Singleton approached retirement age, she sought a new owner who could continue her work at the school. She agreed with World War I veteran Mr. Arthur Rouse, who became the new school principal and joined the school from the University of Salford.

In 1968, the school became a charity administered by a board of governors, and a sixth form was established with a ten-acre site-building program that included an assembly hall, laboratories, a swimming pool, a sports hall, playing fields, a music center, and art studios. The school now consisted of a primary school, secondary school, and sixth form, based at separate locations just down the road from each other.

Entrance to the school premises at Wilmar Lodge The entrance to Wilmar Lodge - geograph.org.uk - 150046.jpg
Entrance to the school premises at Wilmar Lodge

The school's expansion continued in the late 1990s with a new principal, Lillian Croston. New facilities and extensions were built onto the existing school structures, and each location was modernized and equipped with contemporary teaching technology.

Mrs. Croston led the school for 25 years before retiring in 2013. Mrs. Lynne Horner became principal of the school in September 2013. In January 2021, Dr. Richard Robson became principal as the school approached its centenary year. [3]  As of October 2024, Mr. Paul Taylor is the current principal of the school.

Present day

Westholme became fully coeducational in September 2018 and currently accepts boys and girls between the ages of 3 years to 18 years. At present, over 700 girls and boys attend the school from areas throughout Lancashire. [4]

The school is independently run and charges tuition fees. Scholarships are available to pupils in various areas. Scholarship entry into Year 3, Year 7, and Year 12 are at the principal's discretion. Bursaries can be applied for before entry into Year 7 and Year 12, in line with the school's charitable status. The value of the Bursary is related to the financial resources of the student's family and the School's available funds. [5]

The Infant and Junior schools, previously located in Billinge House and Beardwood Bank, were relocated to a new modern prep school which opened in September 2022, and is now on the same site as the Senior School and Sixth Form campus situated at Wilmar Lodge. [6]

Sports and extracurricular activities

Westholme School offers sports including football, rugby, cricket, hockey, netball, cross-country, and swimming. Students use on-site facilities and local amenities such as the athletics track at Witton Park and cricket grounds at Cherry Tree Cricket Club. [7]

Facilities include:

Indoor

Outdoor

The school promotes inter-house competitions where students compete against each other throughout the year at events such as Sports Days, swimming galas, and music and reading competitions. Music and drama programs are also offered, with teaching and productions in multipurpose facilities on the school campus. Theatrical productions take place every year at the school and often involve the cooperation of the school orchestra. Past productions undertaken at the school include Beauty & the Beast, Miss Saigon, and Phantom of the Opera. For the last 20 years, members of the school choir have undertaken a performing tour during the summer holidays and have performed in different international locations, including Salzburg, New York, Monte Carlo and Paris. [8]

Westholme are partnered with several sports clubs and local organizations. These include partnerships with Accrington Stanley FC, [9] Blackburn Rovers FC, [10] Preston Grasshoppers RFC, [11] Blackburn Rugby Club and Blackburn Cathedral, where the schools carol services are held annually.

Notable former pupils

Related Research Articles

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

Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, 8 miles (13 km) north of Wigan, 11 miles (18 km) south west of Blackburn, 11 miles (18 km) north west of Bolton, 12 miles (19 km) south of Preston and 20 miles (32 km) north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry.

Millfield is a public school located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Framlingham College</span> Public school in Suffolk, England

Framlingham College is a public school in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school and nursery at Brandeston Hall, it serves pupils from 3 to 18 years of age.

Willowridge High School is a public English co-educational high school situated in the suburb of Die Wilgers in Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The school was established in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chetwynde School</span> Free school in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England

Chetwynde School is a Free school in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. It includes a kindergarten, primary school and secondary school. It is a member of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls Sport Victoria</span>

Girls' Sport Victoria (GSV) was established in 2001, and is one of the largest independent school sporting associations in Victoria, Australia, with 24 member schools from around Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princethorpe College</span> Independent day school in Princethorpe, Warwickshire, England

Princethorpe College is a Catholic private day school located in Princethorpe, near Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Princethorpe College opened in September 1966 after the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSCs), purchased the site to use as the senior school for their already established boys’ school, St Bede’s College in Leamington Spa. It occupies a former Benedictine monastery surrounded by 200 acres (0.81 km2) of parkland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Anglican Girls' School</span> Independent, day and boarding school in Karrinyup, Western Australia, Australia

St Mary's Anglican Girls' School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in Karrinyup, a suburb north of Perth.

The Mall School is an independent preparatory school and nursery for boys and girls, in Twickenham, London. The nursery can take up to 75 children aged 6 months to 4 years and the school welcomes pupils from Reception at the age of 4, before leaving for senior schools at the age of 11.

Jeppe High School for Girls is a public English medium high school for girls situated in the suburb of Kensington in Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa, The school's address is 160 Roberts Ave, Kensington, Johannesburg, 2094, South Africa. The school boasted a 100% matric pass rate in 2014. It was once part of the oldest public school in Johannesburg, Jeppe High School for Boys until 1919, when a separate premises for the girls was built. The brother school is Jeppe High School for Boys.

The Angmering School is a coeducational community secondary school and sixth form located in Angmering, West Sussex that opened in 1975. The school has Specialist Sports and Science College status. The headteacher is Simon Liley. There are approximately 1389 children on roll and a capacity of 1451, with an age range of 11 to 18 years. There is a Sixth Form college on the site which offers an array of Level 3 qualifications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westbourne Grammar School</span> Independent, co-educational school in Truganina, Victoria, Australia

Westbourne Grammar School is an Australian independent co-educational day school in Truganina, a western suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Westbourne has two campuses. The larger campus, opened in 1978, is located on Sayers Road in Truganina and offers classes for students at all levels, kindergarten to the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). A smaller campus is situated in nearby Williamstown and provides education for students up to and including Year 4. Amici ELC provides childcare and kindergarten at the Truganina campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Packwood Haugh School</span> School in near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England

Packwood Haugh School is a co-educational private preparatory school for pupils from the ages of 4 to 13, offering places for both day and boarding pupils. It is located in Ruyton-XI-Towns, midway between Oswestry and Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. Fees are around £6 000 a term.

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

Colchester High School is a coeducational independent school located in Colchester in Essex, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group. Colchester High is the only coeducational independent school in Colchester to offer secondary education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Buckenham Hall School</span> Preparatory day and boarding school in Brettenham, Suffolk, England

Old Buckenham Hall School is a day and boarding preparatory school with pre-prep for boys and girls in the village of Brettenham, Suffolk, England.

Diamond school, diamond model, diamond shape and diamond structure are similar terms that apply to a type of independent school in the UK that combines both single-sex and coeducational teaching in the same organisation. Typically, the establishment will be all-through, often with a nursery setting, and boys and girls are taught together until the age of 11 and separately from 11 to 16, before returning to coeducation in a joint sixth form.

Turton School is a mixed comprehensive secondary school and sixth form in Bromley Cross, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranford House School</span> Private day school in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England

Cranford School is a co-educational private day school for students aged 3-18 in Moulsford, a village in South Oxfordshire near Wallingford, England. In September 2020, a sixth form was added and boys were admitted into years 7–12, with a view to the school gradually becoming fully co-educational. Established in 1931 by a Moulsford resident, Winifred E Laurence, for the education of Boris Higgs. The school now numbers approximately 500 pupils.

St Hugh's School is a coeducational, preparatory school in the village of Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England, founded in 1925. It was originally known as a boarding school, although a significant proportion of its students are now day pupils or flexi-boarders. The headmaster is Jeremy Wyld, who has been in post since September 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount House School, Tavistock</span> Independent school in Tavistock

Mount House was a coeducational independent school situated in the outskirts of Tavistock, Devon; there was an associated preparatory school for primary school children. In June 2014, the school formally merged with Kelly College to form Mount Kelly School.

References

  1. ↑ "Centenary Day". Westholme School. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Walmsley, Tedd (16 October 2024). "New Chapter…". Live Magazines. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  3. ↑ "School History". Westholme School. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "Westholme School - ISC". www.isc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Bursaries and Scholarships". Westholme School. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Westholme 2021". Westholme School. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Sports". Westholme School. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Music". Westholme School. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Thank You to club Partners & Sponsors". www.accringtonstanley.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "Ladies secure Westholme partnership". www.rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  11. ↑ "Mini, Junior and Colts". PGRFC. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.