Peter Symonds College

Peter Symonds College
Motto Counting in Ones
Established 1897
Type Sixth form college
Day & boarding
Principal Sara Russell
Location Owens Road
Winchester
Hampshire
SO22 6RX
England
51°04′12″N 1°19′12″W / 51.0701°N 1.3201°W / 51.0701; -1.3201Coordinates: 51°04′12″N 1°19′12″W / 51.0701°N 1.3201°W / 51.0701; -1.3201
Local authority Hampshire County Council
DfE URN 130708 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Staff Approx. 200 teaching staff & 150 non-teaching staff[1]
Students c.4000
Gender Coeducational
Ages 16–18
Colours           Navy blue and yellow
Former pupils Old Symondians [2]
Website psc.ac.uk

Peter Symonds College is a sixth form college in Winchester, Hampshire, in the south of England. Founded as a boys' grammar school, it is one of the few specialist sixth form colleges which is also a boarding school.

Peter Symonds College entrance

Curriculum

Most students at Peter Symonds take four AS levels in their first year and then three A levels in their second year. General Studies was taken as a compulsory AS and A level on top of this until 2014, when the school dropped the subject. However some students take five or more AS levels in their first year and continue with either four or five A levels in their second year. Both the Level 3 Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and Critical Thinking are offered at the college.[3]

Amongst the subjects on offer at the college are Fine Art, Photography, Textiles, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Classics, Computing, Dance, Drama, Economics, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Studies, Film Studies, French, German, Geography, Politics, Graphics, Health & Social Care, History, ICT, Law, Italian, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, PE, Physics, Product Design, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology and Spanish.[3] The college is also somewhat unusual amongst state sixth form colleges in offering Latin at both AS and A level.[3]

Courses are available at AS Level, A2 Level, BTEC Level 2 National Certificate, GCSE, AS (Double Award) and A2 (Double Award) at the college.[3]

Admissions

It has some 4000 students aged 16–18 mainly from central Hampshire, but also British Forces teenagers from Germany and Cyprus, and residents of the Falkland Islands, who live on campus in one of the two boarding houses (Falkland Lodge and School House). The College also has a separate site in Winchester where it provides courses for some 2000 adult students.

College life

Extra-curricular activities

At one time the college produced an online magazine named "The BUZZ", written and edited by students, which replaced "Converse" in 2008 but has since ceased to circulate.[4] There is also a student produced college radio station, 7Radio.

All students at the college must take part in at least one activity,[5] including sports and societies. There are also some accredited activities offered by the College. Students also must take part in a set number of "workshops" each year - these are additional time spent doing work in each subject outside of lessons with teachers. In addition, all students attend the "Symonds Lecture Programme", a replacement for General Studies, in which information is delivered in university-style lectures.

The UK Rock Challenge, Duke of Edinburgh's Award,[6] First Aid, Practical Wildlife Conservation, Choir, Harry Potter Appreciation Society, Libra Foundation, Fencing, Debating and Fantasy Football are all activities on offer at Peter Symonds College.[7]

Sports

The college has teams in the following sports: Athletics, American Flag Football, badminton, basketball, cricket, cross country, equestrian, football, hockey, lacrosse, netball, rugby, squash, swimming, tennis, skiing, sailing and volleyball.[8] The college also enters individual players and teams into competitions for the following sports: Golf, table tennis and trampolining.

Students' Union

The Peter Symonds College Student Union works in conjunction with Student Services to promote student interests alongside organising events for the student body, such as diversity festivals, guest speakers, charity events, concerts and end of year balls.[9] The SU consists of the Executive Committee (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary) and other officers (Canteens and Environment, Entertainments and Charity, Communications, Equality and Diversity, Officer without Portfolio and others). The Students' Union also has a history of organising and coordinating protests and demonstrations on behalf of the student body.[10]

The President of the SU also serves on the Board of Governors as a student governor, along with one other student governor who need not be a member of the Executive Committee.[9] Amongst the roles of the President is to chair the executive committee, and to organise and chair the Student Parliament.

The Students' Union officers are elected at the start of the academic year with the executive committee elected at the year's end.[9] Participation in the elections has been boosted in recent years through the use of an online system accessible through the student intranet, this system was introduced for the first time in the executive committee election of April 2012.[9] The electoral system works on a single transferable vote system, with a re-open nominations option available.

The Student Union is affiliated with the National Union of Students (United Kingdom).[9] The College is entitled to send two voting delegates to the Union Conference.

Boarding

Around eighty students board at the two houses; School House and Falkland Lodge. Boarders are typically from British Armed Forces families or the Falkland Islands. The college and the Falkland Islands government made an agreement for the college to accommodate students from the Falkland Islands. A second boarding house, Falkland Lodge, was built as part of this agreement, and was funded by the Falkland Islands.

There were more boarding houses when the college was a boys' grammar school: Wyke Lodge, which is now the environmental studies block, and Kelso, which is home to the music department.

Academic achievement

In 2009 Peter Symonds was placed sixth in The Times top 50 state sixth forms. In the same year the college was ranked 85th in the country (only including institutions with at least 30 exam entrants) based on Average Points Score. And in 2011 the college was placed 4th top 50 state sixth forms in the country. [11]

A2 Results 2015[12]
EntriesA*ABCDEUXA*-BA*-CA*-E
Summary5169622119414641058541243460328143395123
Percentage12.023.128.320.510.54.70.90.063.583.999.1
AS Results 2015
SummaryEntriesABCDEUXA-BA-CA-E
Summary713218731579151210396524734345249646655
Percentage26.322.121.214.69.16.60.148.469.693.3

2015 results showed the pass rate remained at 99% and students performed better than last year, with 83% achieveing A*-C at A Level.

Headmasters and principals

  • Revd Telford Varley III, 1897 to 1926
  • Dr Percy Tom Freeman, 1926 to 1956
  • Charles Simpson (acting), 1956 to 1957
  • John Shields, 1957 to 1963
  • John Ashurst, 1963 to 1972
  • John Cooksey, 1972 to 1973
  • Stuart Nicholls, 1973 to 1993
  • Neil Hopkins, 1993 to 2013
  • Stephen Carville, 2013 to 2018
  • Sara Russell, 2018-

Life after college

Oxbridge

Peter Symonds College sends a significant number of students to both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge each year.[13][14][15] In 2013, 53 Peter Symonds students were placed at Oxford or Cambridge.[16] The college has its own dedicated Oxbridge Tutor who supports students through the application process.

Russell Group admissions record

The Sutton Trust published a report looking at entry statistics across the thirty most competitive universities in the United Kingdom. Peter Symonds College students have significantly higher entry rate into this group than students coming from any other Hampshire sixth form college. 41% of students gained places at Russell group universities in 2011. By comparison, nationally only 18.5% of sixth form college students achieved that in this year.[15]

History

Grammar school

CCF training in front of Northbrook building, Peter Symonds c. 1944

The college was founded as a boys' grammar school in 1897 and became a coeducational 16-19 college in 1974, although its roots go back to charities established in the 16th century at the bequest of Peter Symonds, a wealthy merchant. From 1944 it was a voluntary controlled grammar school.

Sixth form college

The school, along with the Winchester County Girls' High School, also a grammar school, became a comprehensive in 1974, becoming a sixth-form college while WCHS became a comprehensive under the name of The Westgate School. The last grammar school intake left in 1978.

Apostrophe

In the late 1990s or early 2000s, for reasons unknown (but possibly because of the difficulty students and correspondents had in spelling the College's name correctly), the College dropped the possessive apostrophe from its founder's name in its official title, and is now known as Peter Symonds College.

New buildings

In 2004, the John Shields Building was unveiled, providing classrooms for the computing, psychology and environmental science departments. Also in that year the Varley Sports Café was rebuilt.

The £4.2M Ashurst Learning Resources Centre was completed in the spring of 2007. Ashurst contains five computer suites, housing over 170 computers (three suites double as classrooms, but remain open access when not in use), a library and silent study areas.

The Conlan building was completed in the summer of 2014, this building is used for a variety of subjects including Photography and Business. It includes a green screen which is used by photography and media students.

The Hopkins Building, named after previous principal Neil Hopkins, was previously known as the Ashurst Quad. It sits alongside the Ashurst (LRC) was opened in September 2015, creating more study space for students. The ground floor of the building is dedicated to the provision of computers and student workspaces, whilst the top floor is occupied by the Geography and Latin departments.

Art centre

The college plans to open a new art complex to replace the current art classrooms. More than 150 local residents have backed a campaign to prevent the construction of the new building. The new complex will be open to the public, and local residents have expressed concerns of a potential safety problem due to the location of a planned new entrance to the college site.[17][18]

Notable Old Symondians

  • Ben Ainslie[19][20]—British sailor and four-time (00',04',08',12') Olympic gold medalist, five-time Olympic medalist (4G,1S) - most decorated sailor of all-time. Britain's flag-bearer for London 2012 Closing ceremony

References

  1. ↑ http://intranet.psc.ac.uk/dms/files/www/reports/fstatement2015.pdf
  2. ↑ http://www.symondiansassociation.com/
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Course Directory". Peter Symonds College. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Converse Student Magazine
  5. ↑ "Peter Symonds College - Prospectus 2016" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "Peter Symonds College - Duke of Edinburgh's Award". Duke of Edinburgh, Peter Symonds College. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "Activities at the College". Peter Symonds College. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Peter Symonds College - Sports Teams". psc.ac.uk.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Student Union". Peter Symonds College. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "Hundreds join tuition fees protest in Winchester". Daily Echo.
  11. ↑ "Top A-level results in school league tables". BBC News. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  12. ↑ "Peter Symonds College | College Results 2015". www.psc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
  13. ↑ Napier, Andrew (15 February 2010). "Peter Symonds College pupils get opportunity to study Oxford or Cambridge". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  14. ↑ Murray, Janet (30 March 2010). "When Oxbridge is an option". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  15. 1 2 "University Destinations". Peter Symonds College. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  16. ↑ "More than 50 Symonds students gain Oxbridge offers". Hampshire Chronicle. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  17. ↑ "Anger over 'unsafe' Symonds art centre plan". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  18. ↑ "Labour Calls for Better Engagement Over Peter Symonds Plans". Winchester and Chandler's Ford Labour. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  19. ↑ "Ben Ainslie". Sailor Biography. ISAF UK. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  20. ↑ "Ben Ainslie, the making of...meet the people who made him a star and keep him king of the seas". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  21. ↑ "Peter Symonds College | College History". www.psc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  22. ↑ Kevin Ashman (10 October 2013). The Ultimate Eggheads Quiz Book. Simon & Schuster Ltd. ISBN 1471131556.
  23. ↑ "Ex-Peter Symonds ace in England squad". Southern Daily Echo. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  24. ↑ Janet Murray. "College days". the Guardian.
  25. ↑ Murray, Janet (2007-06-26). "College days". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  26. ↑ "Laura Carmichael | The Maids | Projects | The Jamie Lloyd Company". thejamielloydcompany.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  27. ↑ Murray, Janet (2007-05-01). "College days". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  28. ↑ Murray, Janet (2007-05-22). "College days". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  29. ↑ "You're Hired! Jack Dee takes over Apprentice spin-off". Daily Echo. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  30. ↑ "Peter Symonds College | What's New". www.psc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  31. ↑ Morton, James (9 October 2014). "Sir Edward Eveleigh obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  32. ↑ Smallbone, Kevin (2001). Brushes with the Greats – The Story of a Footballer/Cricketer (Biography of Bernard Harrison). Sportingmemoriesonline.com. ISBN 0-9537880-2-4.
  33. ↑ Vaughan, Liam; Finch, Gavin (2016-11-22). The Fix: How Bankers Lied, Cheated and Colluded to Rig the World's Most Important Number. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118995730.
  34. ↑ How Holby City Changed Me Southern Daily Echo 4 June 2013
  35. ↑ "Air Chief Marshal Sir Patrick "Paddy" Bardon Hine GCB, GBE".
  36. ↑ "Player profile: Phil Hughes". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  37. ↑ "Gidley goes as Tories win Romsey". Southern Daily Echo. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  38. ↑ Shimmon, Katie (2006-07-18). "College days". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  39. ↑ "Lucy Pinder backed by Winchester civic chiefs". Hampshire Chronicle. Newsquest Media Group. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  40. ↑ "My First Job: Christian O'Connell, Virgin Radio's breakfast DJ, who". The Independent. 2006-04-13. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  41. ↑ "Summary Bibliography: John Christopher". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  42. ↑ "Hampshire rising star Joe Marchant called into senior England squad for first time". Daily Echo. Retrieved 2017-09-09.

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