The Cotswold School

The Cotswold School
Motto Friendship - Knowledge
Established 1988
Type Academy
Principal Will Morgan
Location The Avenue
Bourton-on-the-Water
Gloucestershire
GL54 2BD
England
Coordinates: 51°53′19″N 1°45′31″W / 51.88861°N 1.75861°W / 51.88861; -1.75861
DfE URN 136292 Tables
Ofsted Reports Pre-academy reports
Students 1,287
Gender Coeducational
Ages 11–18
Houses      Poseidon
     Artemis
     Seus
     Apollo
Colours Blue and Yellow
Website www.cotswold.gloucs.sch.uk

The Cotswold School is an 11 to 18, academy school, located in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, Great Britain. The school achieved Academy status in September 2010. The Principal from 2012 is Mr Will Morgan. The school roll in 2014 sits at 1230 (with approximately 250 of those students in The Cotswold School's Sixth Form).

In 2012 the Secretary of State for Education recognised, in a formal letter to the school, the consistent improvement in GCSE results. In November 2015 The Sunday Times ranked The Cotswold School 12th in the Top 20 Comprehensive Schools in England and Wales for both A Level and GCSE, subsequently naming it their ‘Comprehensive School of the Year 2015/16’.[1] In August 2014, 34.6% of examinations at A-Level were awarded A* or A and 69.4% were awarded grades at A*, A or B. This achievement saw The Cotswold Sixth Form ranked 1st in Gloucestershire and 21st in the country in published League Tables (Daily Telegraph, Aug 2014). Meanwhile, over one third of all GCSE entries were at A* and A grades and 41% of students achieved the EBacc.

Department for Education – School and Performance Tables (15 January 2015), The Cotswold School http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/school.pl?urn=136292

History

The Cotswold School opened in 1988 following the controversial amalgamation of Bourton Vale Secondary Modern (in Bourton on the Water) and historic Westwood's Grammar School (Northleach). The first Head Teacher was Mr Sanders and first Chair of Governors was Mavis, Viscountess Dunrossil. The roll was just over 400 students and 35 staff. The school emblem, comprising tree, dry stone wall and river was devised in 1988 by Gareth Harris (then 10 years old) and fellow pupils at Chedworth Primary School who entered the competition to design a new school crest for the new "The Cotswold School".

Former Head Teachers were Mr Sanders (September 1988 - August 1995) and Mrs Holland (September 1995 - December 2011).

Under the leadership of Head Teacher Mrs Holland (1995–2011) the school doubled in size to 1,226 students in 2011 (603 students in 1995), with a similar improvement in exam results - at A-Level A*/B rates exceed 60% and A*-C rates exceed 80%; whilst at GCSE in 2011 over one third of all entries were A*/A grades with 91% of students achieving 5-15 A*-C grades (38% in 1995).


Today

The school roll in September 2014 stands at 1230 students and 180 staff and the last 20 years have seen an extensive programme of building, particularly during Mrs Holland's headship, with the construction of The Cotswold Leisure Centre, a Humanities block/Atrium, Language block, Sixth Form Centre, Astro turf pitch, Tennis courts, Sports Hall, a new English block, Science laboratories, a Music Centre and Design rooms. In 2012, a new 10-classroom Mathematics block opened, followed by a new 4-classroom Geography block in 2014.

The school gained specialisms for Languages (2002) and Science (2006) as part of the now defunct specialist schools programme.

The extension to the sixth form and science blocks was officially opened by Nigel Twiston-Davies in April 2009.[2] The new £1.5 million Sports Hall, with changing rooms and a community room alongside, opened its doors for the first time in November 2009 - the four badminton court-sized sports hall has been at the heart of the school's plans for sports development for many years; it was officially opened by the former England cricket captain Mike Gatting in July 2010.[3]

The Mathematics Block was officially opened by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP and Mavis, Viscountess Dunrossil as part of the school's 25th Anniversary Celebrations during the academic year 2013/2014. [4]

During the building of the extensions, it was discovered that the school is situated on a Roman cemetery which was found to also contain Iron Age graves.[5]

Ofsted reports and accolades

A 2009 Ofsted report found that: "Students flourish in this 'outstanding' and 'truly exceptional' school. It is the close attention to the needs of individual students that marks the school out. Despite an increasing roll, students are valued as individuals and staff are driven by a passionate belief that all can achieve. This culture of mutual respect and trust ensures students, and indeed staff, excel, confident that success will be treasured and mistakes used as stepping stones for further learning. The school, judged outstanding in its last inspection report, remains ambitious. This ongoing pursuit of excellence is led by the headteacher (Mrs Holland) with exceptional vision and wisdom." [6]

Alumni

Westwood's Grammar School

The Cotswold School


References

  1. ↑ "Sunday Times Comprehensive of the Year". cotswold-homes.com. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "£1.8m sixth form opened". thisisgloucestershire.co.uk. April 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  3. ↑ "Batting success". thisisgloucestershire.co.uk. July 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  4. ↑ "School marks 25th anniversary with Maths block opening". cotswoldjournal.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "Roman cemetery found under school field". Archaeology. Cotswold Archaeology. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "ofsted" (PDF).

External links

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