Oaklands Catholic School

Oaklands Catholic School and Sixth Form College
Motto United by the Cross
Established 1966
Type Academy
Religion Roman Catholic
Headteacher Matthew Quinn MA,Bed(Hons),DipQS,NPQH
Chair of Governors Andrew Hastilow
Location Stakes Hill Road
Waterlooville
PO7 7BW
England
50°52′06″N 1°01′18″W / 50.86836°N 1.02158°W / 50.86836; -1.02158Coordinates: 50°52′06″N 1°01′18″W / 50.86836°N 1.02158°W / 50.86836; -1.02158
Local authority Hampshire
DfE URN 137345 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Staff >200
Students 1296
Gender Coeducational
Ages 11–18
Houses St Catherine, St Clare, St Dominic, St Margaret, St Martin, St Stephen, St Teresa, St Vincent.
Website www.oaklandscatholicschool.org

Oaklands Catholic School/Academy is a Roman Catholic voluntary (Aided) coeducational school and sixth form college with academy status located in Waterlooville, Hampshire, United Kingdom.[1] It opened in 1966, although its history can be traced back to 1902. Around 1400 students attend the school with over 150 in the Sixth Form. The school's primary input of pupils is St. Peter's Catholic Primary, which is only a few hundred yards away.

Oaklands has been a specialist humanities college since September 2005.

Senior management

The Senior Leadership team is led by Mr Matthew Quinn MA the Head Teacher since 2007. Deputy Head Teachers: Dr Anette Howson, Mrs Julie Oldroyd, Asst Head Teachers: Mr Mark Bamford, Mrs Sadie Whyte and Mrs Belinda Ludlam (Head of Sixth Form Learning) and the School Business Manager Mr Tim Finch, who also acts as Company Secretary to the Academy Trust Company.

The Chair of Governors and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Academy is Commander Marc Evans RN who has been Chair since September 2017 in succession to Mr Andrew Hastilow who was Chair from September 2013 and before him Captain Paul Quinn OBE RN who was Chair from September 2000 and Chair of the Board of Directors from September 2011. The Vice Chairs are Mr Aldo Navato and Mr Ian Colley.

The Members of the Company are: Mr A Hastilow; Dr D Grey and Msgr McGrath VG.

Buildings

The school consists of 7 different blocks, mainly separated into different subject groups. There have been an extensive site improvement programme seeing the replacement of prefabricated buildings with purpose designed brick-built buildings. The three new blocks consist of a new music block, Humanities block (Formerly C block, now John Paul II block) and Sixth Form Block. Each of these blocks has been built in a similar style, often incorporating a cross in different coloured bricks. 2012 has seen a major refurbishment of the Maths/Science block with Maths moving to A Block and the labs being update in 3 phases (Phase 2 to complete in Summer 2012).

The extensive grounds incorporate many mature oak trees, giving the site its name.

The White House, which houses admin and RE, is a beautiful paladian structure built for General Napier.

In 2016-17 N block that 'teaches' english food tech and MFL had a exterior refurbishment where a new roof was installed, the block was cladded with natural wood and the block also had new insulation installed. There are also plans to renovate the inside of 'N' block during 2018. The project has been called projectOCS. Other blocks such as the white house interior have been restored to. The school constantly seeks to improve the school in many ways.

During the summer holidays (July-September) Oakland's exterior refurbished N block will see more restorations, the whole of the inside of the block including classrooms toilets kitchens staff rooms and staff toilets will be renewed. Plans vary from re plastering walls to patching. It is thought the total cost for this will be between £1-3 million GBP. The school has plans to update heating and lighting systems in the school for energy efficiency.

Ofsted

The school received a 'good with many outstanding features' Ofsted report in 2017.[2]

Music

The music department, led by Miss Estelle Flood, offers not only GCSE and A level music, but also private instrument tuition in a large number of instruments ranging from piano, flute and oboe to electric guitar, saxophone and double bass. There are currently three school bands, the Oaklands band, the Concert band, and the Big band.

Geography

The geography department is situated in the top of new John Paul block. The team teach for GCSE and A level and is now led by Mrs U. Broadway. They offer many ways to support students through learning with after school revision sessions booklets revision sheets etc. The Geography department also runs an internationals club that works with the EU to show students around the world how UK schools work and visa versa.

Technology

The technology department also known as A (Angelico) block accommodates Art, Electronics, textiles, metal work, photography and resistant materials. The head of this block is Mrs C. Gemmell they offer GCSE and A levels in all mentioned Topics. The tech 'section' of the block has many pieces of specialised equipment varying from wood turners to 3d and 2d printers. The block has seen multiple extensions to accommodate the various subjects taught.

Alumni

There are currently three Members of Parliament (MPs) who are alumni of Oaklands School:

Uniform

The school uniform was redesigned for the September 2009 academic year, now fully implemented. The uniform, which is a different colour scheme from the previous one, now includes a blazer made from recycled plastic bottles, a new striped tie and a choice of long or short-sleeved jumper.

The expense of the uniform caused controversy in 2009,[3] as a large girl's uniform will cost £97 without PE kit. A press release was submitted on the school website[4] claiming many of the facts written by the newspaper articles are incorrect, and that many of the products are available for less in different stores.

Non-branded items (trousers skirts etc.) can all be bought from main supermarkets.

There is an extensive used uniform scheme run by the Oaklands Parents Association.

For parents struggling to meet the cost of the uniform there is help available from the Governors Fund.

References

  1. ↑ BBC NEWS | Education | League Tables | Performance results for Oaklands Catholic School
  2. ↑ Ofsted | Find an inspection report
  3. ↑ Comprehensive defends new school uniform costing nearly £100 | Education | The Guardian
  4. ↑ http://www.oaklands.hants.sch.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=0&Itemid=32
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