Wildern Secondary School
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| Motto | Care, Opportunity, Quality |
|---|---|
| Established | 1933 |
| Type | Academy |
| Head Teacher | Ms M L Litton |
| Location | Wildern Lane Hedge End Hampshire England |
| Local authority | South East England LSC (although in Hampshire LEA) |
| Students | 1900 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Houses | Alba, Bedford, Driscoll, Jubilee, Paxton & Sovereign |
| Colours | Strawberry Red & Dark Green |
| Website | Wildern School |
Wildern School is an 11–16 co-educational academy school serving the Botley, Hedge End, West End and Eastleigh areas of Southampton, Hampshire. It currently has in excess of 2000 students on roll.
The school is a Specialist Arts College and is currently the holder of many accolades including The Charter Mark, Investor in People and Investor in Careers certifications alongside the Schools Curriculum Award, School Achievement Award, Artsmark Gold accreditation, Sportsmark accreditation, Becta ICT accreditation and National Training Award 2004. In the 2008 and 2012 reports, Ofsted found the school to be judged "outstanding" in every category.[1]
Contents
Academic performance
As part of a Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative, the majority of pupils at the school complete the Key Stage 3 curriculum in two years rather than three, with a large number going on to complete a similar ‘accelerated’ course at GCSE level.
In 2013, 72% of students achieved 5+ A*-C GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and Maths, higher than the National average of 59.2%.[2]
History
The school was originally built in 1933, opened by its first Headmaster Mr H. S. Shelley who upheld his role until retirement after the Second World War. He was succeeded by a Mr. Simmons and his assistant Mr J. Shirley, (who eventually left his post to become a teacher himself). During Mr Simmons' time as Headmaster, plans were drawn for the construction of new larger school. Building work on this project began in May 1960, finishing in 1963 before the new building was opening by Lord Ashburton on 19 September.
It was at this time, that the school was first divided into its four houses – Duke, Bedford, Paxton and Sovereign. Contrary to popular belief, the names of these houses were not derived from different types of strawberry, but rather arose from the time at which the Duke of Bedford owned land nearby to the school and lent this land to Joseph Paxton, the man who developed the Royal Sovereign strawberry.
In 1971, the school officially became Wildern Comprehensive School and saw significant development in the form of the purchase of a second minibus and construction of a new art block that was completed in 1974. Development of the school site continued through the 1970s.
In 1976, Head of the Lower School – retired and, as a final gesture, raised a large sum of money for the school which he donated to it in aid of construction of an on-site swimming pool; this pool was built in the subsequent years and opened 1979.
Mr, Owen was then replaced by a Mr Durnell, who was at the school in 1977 when it saw increasing vandalism around the site cumulate in an explosion in one of the biology laboratories. Mr Rocket succeeded him.
Threlfall came to the school in 1996, firstly qualified as a maths teacher, and was head of the school until he died of cancer in 2007. Throughout his time as head of the school, numerous developments were made through his tireless effort to raise funds, examples including the Dart center (a state of the art building centered on performing arts), a cinema, and a new science block. GCSE grades improved dramatically, and while he was head, an Ofsted report found the school to be 'outstanding' in every category. In 2006 he was awarded the Royal Air Force award for secondary headteacher of the year.
In 2011 the school attained academy status.
Performing arts
Wildern school is officially a Performing Arts School and has always strived to give students to perform to large audiences. The students get to perform in year-round productions and concerts, in the main hall or the new council owned Berry Theatre, built on the schools premises. The school's facilities include 3 drama classrooms each equipped with cutting edge lighting and sound equipment, 2 music rooms one with a classic grand piano, the other with a recording studio sporting industry-standard software and hardware. Additionally the school has 3 practice rooms which have recently been refurbished with new Yamaha Digital pianos. The designated dance studio has mirrors, curtains, sprung floor and again the standard high quality PA system. Students may also volunteer to help out with the student tech team, who get to use latest technology moving heads as well as a variety of source four fittings. Sound wise, the main theatre is also fitted with a state of the art PA system.
House system
There used to be four houses, all with names inspired by Strawberries, as the school was built on known strawberry fields. Sovereign has the house colour of red. Duke had the house colour of yellow. Paxton's house colour was blue. Bedford had the house colour of green.
The house system was revamped and relaunched for the start of the academic year 2012–13. The new system launched with two new houses (Alba and Jubilee) and Duke having been renamed to Driscoll. The school has a much more emphasised feel about each student's contributions toward a house point total, with each student's individual "eRef" score adding or taking from the house's total. The house colours were changed too, with Alba being orange, Bedford becoming green, Driscoll a mild yellow, Jubilee a medium purple, Paxton a dark blue and Sovereign's red became deeper and more "Royal".
The school elects Vice House Captains in Year 10 which go on to become House Captains in Year 11. The school faculty also choose a Head-Boy and Head-Girl from Year 11, who are supported by a council of Year 11 senior prefects and general prefects.
House competition results
Paxton won the inaugural 2012-13 championship, with 65818 points. Alba came second (64350), Bedford third (62742), Driscoll fourth (61279), Sovereign fifth (59192) and Jubilee finished last (58977).
In 2013-14, Sovereign won the house championship with 70029 points, knocking reigning champions Paxton down to second on 68278. Alba came third on 67960, ahead of Bedford (66454), Driscoll (66186), and finishing bottom again, Jubilee, on 63414.
The third house championship (2014-15) was won by Alba with 67442 points followed Bedford in second on 66794 points. Jubilee avoided finishing last for the first time, coming third on 65002 points, ahead of last year's champions Sovereign who finished on 64473 points. Paxton were fifth on 63987, leaving Driscoll to finish bottom on 63139.
Digital technology and Apple Training Centre
Wildern School is known for its extensive development of the use of digital technology, much of which involves the use of Apple technology. The school was at one point known for being that with the most Apple Mac computers in the country- currently home to over 300.
The school is also a regional Apple Training Centre,[3] giving it the opportunity to coach primary and secondary school teachers in the use of Apple's award-winning software packages.
Alongside Apple technology, the school uses an array of other devices including roughly 300 Windows based computers and has - in recent years - seen the construction of a new "wireless technology centre" (Block 9). It has also become a pioneer of mobile learning in education through the launch of its Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) a few years after the wireless centre.
Punnet
A less well known side to the school is the subsidiary Punnet,[4] run by a section of the IT team. Working with staff and students they build software and provide consultancy for schools. The group pioneered the use of digital registers, eRefs (a digital behaviour tracking system), and video tools in lessons. They have made Wildern one of the most technically advanced schools in the country,[5][6] as well as supporting other schools who wish to make advances with their use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.
References
- ↑ Ofsted Reports
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- ↑ Wildern Apple RTC
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