Philip Morant School and College

Philip Morant School and College
Motto Aspiration, Success, Kindness (formerly: "Hold fast to that which is good")
Established 1965
Type Academy
Executive Headteacher Scott Holder
Chair of Governors Lorna Kean
Location Rembrandt Way
Colchester
Essex
CO3 4QS
England
51°52′53″N 0°52′18″E / 51.881423°N 0.871590°E / 51.881423; 0.871590Coordinates: 51°52′53″N 0°52′18″E / 51.881423°N 0.871590°E / 51.881423; 0.871590
DfE URN 137619 Tables
Ofsted Reports Pre-academy reports
Students 1,700
Gender Coeducational
Ages 11–18
Houses Aylward, Ryder, Churchill, Nuffield, Faraday, Mandela
Colours Dark green
Website www.philipmorant.essex.sch.uk

Philip Morant School and College (originally known as Norman Way School) is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status. The school is located within the Prettygate suburb of Colchester, Essex, England. The name Philip Morant was chosen a few months later, after the 18th-century local historian and archaeologist.[1] The school became an academy in November 2011. The school was a founding member of the Thrive Partnership, however Philip Morant ceased to be a member of the Thrive Partnership in 2018, joining the Sigma Trust.[2]

History

The school was founded in September 1965 as a comprehensive secondary school. For the first two years it was located in the Greyfriars area of Colchester and took on only first and second year pupils (nowadays termed Year 7 and Year 8). During this time the current House Block, Hall and Gym were built in the Prettygate. The school expanded in several stages – the main work took place in 1974 and 2003. In 1993 the school became a specialised Technology College. In 1996 a sixth-form college was added to the school. The school converted to academy status in 2011 but continues to have technology as a specialism.

Philip Morant

Philip Morant was born in 1700 and died in 1770. His chief claim to fame was as the author of a detailed History of Essex which remains a standard work of reference. A copy of Morant's History, in two volumes dated 1768, is on permanent loan to the School by the Essex Archaeological Society.[3]

Badge

The school badge is surrounded by a design of brickwork as a reminder of the parish (St Marys-at-the-Walls) in which Morant lived and worked for over thirty years and in which the school stands. The quartering of the badge is formed by the representation of a cross signifying both Morant's work as a churchman and also the School's spiritual life. The emblems in the quarters are:

  • A crown from the arms of the Borough of Colchester (on which the crown of the Three Kings appear to commemorate the work of Helena, patron saint of Colchester).
  • A torch, to signify learning and endeavour in games and sports.
  • A chevron (part of the arms of the Morant family)
  • An open book (both to commemorate Morant's great interest and achievements in the field of history and to represent the academia within the school)[4]

"Aspiration, Success, Kindness" is the new motto that replaced "Hold fast to that which is good" and the school has also created a logo to go with it, which comprises a circle with a thought box and the text of 'ASK' inside the thought box.

Campus

There are several main buildings at Philip Morant. There is the two-floored 'House Block' where English, Humanities, Drama, Science and Media Studies are taught.

There is a single-floored Technology Block nearby where all forms of technology are taught. Connected to this block are the Gymnasium, Main Hall, the three floor Mathematics Block and the Music Block. Attached is the Sports Hall and the Sports Hall Annex. Additionally, there is the 'L Block', where Geography, History and some general-purpose teaching rooms are located, as well as a computer room. There are also computer rooms situated around the school. The College is self-contained in a separate building, but occasionally frequented by school students. The Resource Base for Hearing Impaired Students (RBHIS) can be found behind the House Block. Around these buildings are tennis courts and a car park.

The newest building named 'The Q Theatre' at Philip Morant contains Drama, Computer Studies and Science rooms as well as a theatre and a café. The theatre's name was chosen by a vote taken by staff and students.

Building work

There are periodic changes and improvements to the school's buildings. In recent times there has been: a new roof between the house block and the main building (2013), conversion of the upper floor of the House Block to laboratories (2015), and the construction of "The Q Theatre" (2015-18).

Students

There are around 1600 students (as of 2008) who are divided into 6 houses: Aylward, Churchill, Faraday, Nuffield, Ryder and Mandela (2018). Each house has around 300 students. A certain day of the week is allocated to each house for when Prefect duties are undertaken. Each house also has a 'House Manager' to provide pastoral support to students alongside their tutor.

Houses

Name Motto Namesake
     Aylward "We are the best house - Be True" Gladys Aylward, missionary
     Churchill "Service before Self" Sir Winston Churchill, former PM
     Faraday "To thine own self be true" Michael Faraday, scientist
     Nuffield "Out of Difficulties grow Miracles" Lord Nuffield, motor manufacturer and philanthropist
     Ryder "It takes courage to care" Sue Ryder
     Mandela "It always seems impossible until it's done" Nelson Mandela

Headteacher

Mr. Scott Holder is the Interim Executive Headteacher of Philip Morant (since September 2018).

The following table is an incomplete list of Headteachers of the school.

Tenure Fate Headteacher Notes
1998 - 2005 Susp. Russell Moon Allegations of unprofessional conduct led to suspension.[5]
2005 - 2011 Ret. Sue Cowans M.Sc.
2011 - 2013 Ret. Roger Abo Henriksen
2013 - 2014 Temp. Rob James Acting Headteacher while permanent replacement sought
2014 - 23 March, 2018 Susp. Catherine Hutley Instigator of the no homework policy. Suspended together with Nardeep Sharma, CEO of Thrive Partnership[6]
23 March 2018 - August 2018 Temp. Colin Green & Michele Myers Acting Heads during investigation
September 2018 - Scott Holder B.A. School joined Sigma Trust

Ofsted report

The Ofsted inspection in 2001 rated the school as level 1, "outstanding". In 2006 the school received an overall level 2, rating the school as "good" but "with some outstanding features".[7] In early 2015 Ofsted rated the school as level 2 "good" which was an improvement to the previous year of mainly level 3s 'requires improvement'. [8] In the summer of 2018 the academy dropped from a rating of "good" to a rating of "inadequate" following the suspension of its headteacher and the abolishment of homework, Ofsted also brought to attention "safeguarding" issues. [9]

Notable alumni

Controversies

Planning

Norman Way was originally planned in the 1960s to be an inner ring road for Colchester with the "Norman Way School" (and several neighbouring schools) facing onto the road. Instead the metalled road was truncated a short distance before the school for safety reasons, and a footpath set on the original route. The alternative vehicular route requires driving through narrow residential streets. Several times since then the school has applied to have Norman Way extended along part or all of the original route so that pupils and visitors would not have to walk the extra 100m, but each time this was vetoed by the Council after vigorous protests against the increased traffic expected by the local residents.

In the summer of 2009, the school again applied to extend the road through fields in the southern residential area, but this time it was to be linked to a £130m government-funded expansion of the school which would allow it to take on pupils from other two schools. Council policy was set in October 2009 to allow the road extension if it can be proven that the grant is genuinely conditional on the altered road access.[10] In mid-2010 it was announced that there would be no cash for the school expansion from Building Schools for the Future programme. However, Colchester council has not announced that it will halt its road building programme, in spite of local demands to preserve the green space.[11]

In July 2015, the school once again caused controversy when it erected a metal fence across a stretch of the Norman Way footpath without consulting residents.[12]

Homework policy

In 2016, Philip Morant decided to ban traditional homework and take a different approach to out-of-school learning. [13]

At the start of the 2016/2017 academic year, the school implemented their new homework policy: 'Prove It +'. The idea 'Prove It +' is to give students the opportunity to make their own decisions concerning what tasks they complete as a substitute to traditional homework. Students can select tasks from the Prove It + website, [14] and then submit the task to their teacher either using a 'digital postcard' which is sent directly to the member of staff's email inbox, or complete a Prove It + card along with the task completed.

The decision to ban traditional homework has caused mixed views on the idea. Some parents describe the move to ban traditional homework as "creating a generation who will flunk their GCSE's" [15], however others agree with the move from traditional homework and continue to support the idea of "Prove It +".

In 2018 homework was reintroduced by the Acting Headteachers.[16]

See also

References

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