The Kings of Wessex School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kings Of Wessex School
Established	1976
School type	State school
Headteacher	Chris Richardson
Location	Cheddar, Somerset, England
Website	[1]

The Kings of Wessex School is a secondary school located in Cheddar, Somerset, England. It has 1,100 students aged 13-18, of both genders and all ability levels. It is run as a Church of England foundation school. It was awarded the specialist status of Technology College in 2001, enabling it to develop its IT facilities and improve courses in Science, Mathematics and Design Technology. The school has in its grounds a leisure centre and swimming pool with sports facilities that are used by its students and the pupils of other schools in the surrounding area. Its grounds also contain the ruins of an ancient Saxon palace and chapel.

Contents 1 Ofsted report 2 Technology College status 3 Foundation status 4 Controversy 5 Historic links 6 Future 7 Alumni 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Ofsted report

A 2002 OFSTED report ^[1] found that Kings of Wessex was a "good school with a very good sixth form" and enabled its students to do well in examinations and tests. It described the school as a "friendly, harmonious community" and praised the way students took responsibility for their own learning.

Its criticisms included the complaints that religious education was not adequate for older students, and that not all students could take part in daily collective worship.

[edit] Technology College status

Being in a rural area with few large local manufacturers, the school had some difficulty in raising the £54,000 of sponsorship necessary to gain Technology College status ^[2], but many small donations from local employers and charities enabled it to reach the target. The headmaster claimed that the process of soliciting funds helped the school to refine its focus and gave local businesses more of a stake in the school. He also stressed that the new status of Technology College would not lead to any reduction of its strength in the arts.

[edit] Foundation status

In 2006 the school governors voted for foundation status. This was well supported despite some vocal opposition from a minority of parents in the local press. Foundation status has not changed the school's Christian ethos. It still maintains close ties with the village's St Andrews Church and the vicar remains as one of the school governors.

[edit] Controversy

In 2003, 22 children who were said to be wearing unsuitable uniforms were isolated in the school's learning unit and forbidden to talk to each other ^[3]. Some had been wearing plain blazers purchased at supermarkets, instead of the more expensive blazers with badges available only from the school outfitters. Although parents soon complied with the regulations, they compared the measures to Dickensian strictness and formed an action committee which protested to the local education authority and to Education Secretary Charles Clarke. The headteacher justified the action, saying it had the desired effect. The schools pointed out that financial help is available for parents with modest means.

In January 2007 the school featured in TV and national newspaper reports following the punishment of a year 11 pupil for eating an apple in an area of the school where the consumption of food is forbidden. The pupil chose to ignore the 30 minute detention that he was given as punishment. As a result he was given an after school detention which he again ignored. The school then placed the pupil in the supervised learning unit for a day. The pupil's parents took the story to local TV station ITV West News, but then the story was picked up by the BBC ^[4] and local and national newspapers ^[5][6]. The school defended its action and issued a press statement which said "For health and safety reasons students are only allowed to eat in designated areas (the school hall and gym). All students are aware of this rule and the consequences of not adhering to it." and "The Kings of Wessex is a high performing school and has high expectations of all students both in terms of academic work and behaviour. Kings is currently oversubscribed in all year groups. It is unfortunate this student and parents chose to escalate a relatively minor disciplinary incident by repeatedly refusing to accept the punishment." Subsequent press coverage praised the school for taking a firm stance on discipline ^[7].

[edit] Historic links

The school is located within a conservation area and all building work is supervised in case excavations reveal any significant archaelogical finds.

The school's grounds contain the remains of a Saxon palace ^[8]. A wooden "great hall" was constructed around the reign of King Alfred the Great (died 899AD). It was rebuilt around 930 AD and a chapel and other buildings were added. The palace hosted the Witenagemot, an assembly of powerful figures, in AD 941, 956 and 968. The remains were excavated during the construction of the school, but have since been re-buried. The layout is marked with concrete plinths.

In 2006 during the building of a new languages block at the school a grave, believed to be Roman, was uncovered ^[9]. The grave contained the skeleton of a man, believed to be around 50 years old and pagan rather than Christian due to the north-south orientation of the grave.

At least one member of staff has been found to have genetic links to stone age inhabitants of the area ^[10]. Scientists compared DNA taken from a 9,000 year-old skeleton known as "Cheddar Man" with that of 15 school pupils and 5 adults from Cheddar village. A match was found, appropriately enough with the school's history teacher, Adrian Targett. This is claimed to be the longest human lineage ever to be traced, and supports the theory that the Britons were descended from ancient hunter-gatherers who later turned to agriculture, rather than a from more recent wave of immigrant farmers.

[edit] Future

In 2006 the school opened a new languages block. It has also received planning permission for a new drama block which should be completed by October 2007. Unfortunately there is no prospect of government money being made available under the Building Schools for the Future initiative to rebuild the main fabric of the school within the next 10 years.

[edit] Alumni

Famous alumni include:

• Comedian Richard Herring whose father Keith Herring was the school headteacher for many years.
• Musician Jack Bessant who is the bass player in Reef

[edit] References

1. ^ Summary of the Inspection Report. Ofsted. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
2. ^ Specialist schools bring concerns. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
3. ^ Pupils in cheap blazers isolated. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
4. ^ Boy's detention after apple snack. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
5. ^ Taking the pip?. The Weston Mercury. Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
6. ^ Hardline head punishes boy for eating an apple. The Daily Mail. Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
7. ^ Head wins top praise. The Weston Mercury. Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
8. ^ Cheddar History. Vince Russett - South West Archaeological Services. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
9. ^ School dig uncovers Roman grave. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
10. ^ DNA sample links 2 men, 9,000 years apart. CNN. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.

[edit] External links

• School website