Bideford College

Bideford College
Type Academy
Trust Launceston College Multi Academy Trust
Principal Mrs Lyndsey Kane
Bideford College
Location Abbotsham Road
Bideford
Devon
EX39 3AR
England
51°00′57″N 4°13′09″W / 51.01591°N 4.21919°W / 51.01591; -4.21919Coordinates: 51°00′57″N 4°13′09″W / 51.01591°N 4.21919°W / 51.01591; -4.21919
Local authority Devon
DfE URN 142540 Tables
Ofsted Reports Pre-academy reports
Capacity 1,744
Students 1,446 as of July 2015[1]
Gender Mixed
Ages 11–18
Website School website

Bideford College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Bideford in the English county of Devon.[2]

History

It is the only state-funded secondary school in Bideford. In 2003, the college was awarded specialist science status as part of the specialist schools programme.[3] Due to its specialist status, it received extra funding from the government for extending its educational activities.

On June 28, 2014, the then Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, visited the college.[4]

Previously a foundation school administered by Devon County Council, the school converted to academy status in March 2016. The school is now part of the Launceston College Multi Academy Trust, but continues to coordinate with Devon County Council for admissions.

Site

The artificial grass sports pitch at Bideford College.

In January 2006, the college won its bid to build a new multimillion-pound school site. Construction began in the summer of 2008 and the first phase was completed in 2010, ready for the start of the academic year in September. The second phase of the building, the outdoor sport pitches, was completed in July 2011.[5] The £55 million new school was built on the old site and includes a media suite, library, sports hall, a hall known as 'The Devon Hall', and an artificial grass sports pitch. £32 million was funded from the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.[6]

The new buildings are:[7]

  • Abbotsham - English, Library, SEN and offices
  • Brunel - History, Geography, Languages, RE, PSHE, Law and Sociology
  • Chichester - Art and Technology
  • Da Vinci - Art and Technology
  • Elgar - Music
  • Franklin - Science, Maths, ICT and Health & Social Care
  • Galileo - Science, Maths, ICT and Health & Social Care

Academics

Bideford College offers GCSEs and BTECs as programmes of study for pupils, while students in the sixth form have the option to study from a range of A Levels, OCR Nationals and further BTECs.[8]

Performance

Figures published by the UK Government in February 2008 showed Bideford College had made significant improvements in the key stage 3 exams taken by 14-year-old students. Over the previous four years (2004 to 2007) the school’s aggregate score for the exams in English, Maths and Science has risen from 177 to 237 out of 300. This placed Bideford College joint 21st nationally in the table of most improved secondary schools published by the DCSF. Bideford was also in the top 20 percent of schools nationally based on the progress made from year 7 to year 9.

The school's latest OFSTED inspection took place on January 14–15, 2015. The overall judgement of the school was that it is in an inadequate state and requires special measures.[9][10] The principal, Veronica Matthews, and chairman of governors, Doug Bushby, resigned a week prior to the report's release, which had raised suspicions over the result.[11] An interim principal, Andrew Kilpatrick, was appointed until current principal Lyndsey Kane took over.[12]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/establishment/summary.xhtml?urn=113516&myListCount=0
  2. ↑ http://bidefordcollege.org/
  3. ↑ http://bideford.devon.sch.uk/bid_ssc_index.htm
  4. ↑ "MP Michael Gove visits Bideford College and meets the governors of Route 39", North Devon Journal, 2015-20-24. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  5. ↑ "Demolition signals growing pace of £55m school rebuild", Express & Echo, 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  6. ↑ ":: Bideford College Online :: Welcome To Our Home On The Web ::". Bideford.devon.sch.uk. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120703120659/http://www.bideford.devon.sch.uk/pdf_files/Newsletter_Feb_2010.pdf
  8. ↑ ":: SF@BC :: | How To Make Your Choices". Frog.bideford.devon.sch.uk. 2012-11-30. Archived from the original on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  9. ↑ http://bideford.devon.sch.uk/home/pdf/ofsted.pdf
  10. ↑ "Bideford College placed in special measures by Ofsted: Full report", North Devon Journal, 2015-03-07. Retrieved 2015-07-20.
  11. ↑ "Bideford College head steps down before Ofsted report released", North Devon Journal, 2015-20-24. Retrieved 2015-07-20.
  12. ↑ http://bideford.devon.sch.uk/newsletter/
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