Birkenhead Park School
 | |
| Motto | Hold Fast That Which Is Good |
|---|---|
| Established |
2011 (Rock Ferry High School 1925, Park High School 1926) |
| Type | Academy |
| Trust | Wirral Academy Trust |
| Headteacher | Helen Johnson |
| Location |
Park Road South Birkenhead Merseyside CH43 4UY England Coordinates: 53°23′26″N 3°02′34″W / 53.39063°N 3.04270°W |
| DfE URN | 136411 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Website |
birkenheadparkschool |
Birkenhead Park School is a co-educational 11-16 secondary school with academy status located in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula in England. The school is located near Birkenhead Park. The school was formed in 2011 from the merger of Park High School and Rock Ferry High School, and is based at the former Park High School site. It was initially named University Academy Birkenhead.
University Academy Birkenhead was sponsored by the University of Chester, the University of Liverpool, Birkenhead Sixth Form College, Wirral Metropolitan College and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.[1] In April 2015 the school transferred to the control of Wirral Academy Trust, with Birkenhead Sixth Form College as sole sponsor, and took its current name.
History
Park High School for Girls opened in Park Road South in 1926 and Park High School for Boys was established in 1925 at a site on Park Road North. Both schools were amalgamated in 1972, with Park High School becoming an 11-18 co-educational comprehensive school. Following the establishment of Birkenhead Sixth Form College in 1988, the upper age of students was reduced to 16.
In June 2001, work began to bring the school onto one site. An extensive building programme involved demolishing the boys gym, the caretakers house, the old canteen and fourteen mobile classrooms. This allowed for the construction of a new circular canteen, large sports hall and dance studio, as well as building extensions to older parts of the main building. When the new school year began in September 2003, Park High School was opened on one site for the first time.
At the end of December 2010, Park High School formally closed, as did Rock Ferry High School (another co-educational comprehensive school in Birkenhead). University Academy Birkenhead opened in their place in January 2011.
After merging the two schools, the principal and his deputy resigned "after failing to unite staff from the two former schools". [2]
On 20 April 2015 the school changed its name to Birkenhead Park School under Wirral Academy Trust formed from the neighbouring Birkenhead Sixth Form College.
Notable former pupils
Park High School
- Hilda Ellis Davidson, academic and antiquarian
- Sir Leslie Froggatt, chairman of Shell Australia
- Peter Johnson, food entrepreneur, former owner of Everton FC and owner of Tranmere Rovers FC.
- Tom Palin, artist
- David Pearson, Computer Scientist, architect of the CADES software engineering system, computer graphics pioneer and philanthropist.
- George Withy, journalist and President of the Chartered Institute of Journalists
Stephen F. Kelly, writer and broadcaster, former producer Granada Television, Visiting Professor Manchester Metropolitan University.
References
- ↑ Marles, Leigh (17 January 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Top teachers resign from Birkenhead's new academy school". Wirral Globe. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ↑ Turner, Ben (18 January 2012). "University Academy Birkenhead principal and deputy resign amid lack of staff unity". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 28 October 2015.