Wootton Upper School
| Type | Academy |
|---|---|
| Principal | Michael Gleeson |
| Location |
Hall End Road, Wootton Bedford Bedfordshire MK43 9HT England 52°05′43″N 0°32′27″W / 52.09532°N 0.54086°WCoordinates: 52°05′43″N 0°32′27″W / 52.09532°N 0.54086°W |
| DfE URN | 137522 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1212 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 13–18 |
| Colours | Blue |
| Website |
homepage |
Wootton Upper School is an academy school located on Hall End Road, in Wootton, England. It teaches years 9–11 in compulsory education and years 12–13 in post-16 education. Approximately 75% of students previously in compulsory education stay on to the sixth form. The school specialises in performing arts, such as music, drama and dance.[1]
History
Wootton Upper School started in 1975. As the school buildings were not quite ready, it shared a site with Stewartby Middle School. The first intake was 213 students and they moved onto the Wootton site in November, with 16 teaching staff.
The first headmaster was Stanley Clews, with Deputy Head John Bonerton. The school was complete by 1978. Clews retired in 1987. Catherine Mackenzie took over until 1999, when Anthony Withell became head. In 2014 Michael Gleeson became principal of the school.
The Upper School catchment area covers far more villages than just Wootton. Having achieved Beacon Status in 2001, it is regarded as one of the top upper schools in the county.
The main feeder schools are Holywell and Marston Vale middle schools.
Magazines
There are currently two school magazines for Wootton Upper School.
The official school magazine is Wootton Insight, an A4 booklet which is distributed to students, teachers, parents, supports and sponsors of Wootton Upper School. In 2007 a team of students were given creative control of Insight. The purpose of this was to give the reader a students' perspective of how they experience life at Wootton Upper School and the activities they participate in. Before 2007, Wootton Insight was written by teachers, and occasionally students were invited to write specific articles. Wootton Insight has been passed on to new students as they mature through the years, becoming a generational magazine.
Wootton Insight's format and overall appearance change and are unique to each issue. Since the 2007 changeover, Wootton Insight has kept to a standard appearance and layout with regular features: Staff Interview, PopVox and front page article, normally a drama or musical performance.
The school's second magazine is an unofficial publication called Wootton Outsight. There has been one issue since its start-up in 2009. Wootton Outsight's format is usually a single black and white A4 sheet.
"Upload"
"Upload" is a school-produced video about the students and activities at Wootton Upper School. It is produced by a team of student and teachers every half term. Each video features school clubs, trips, charity events and achievements by students and teachers.
Facilities
- Sports hall
- Dance studio
- Activities studio
- Drama studio
- Theatre hall
- 7 music practice rooms
- Recording booth and editing room
- 8 science labs
- 5 ICT suites
- Post 16 study area
- Student support centre (SEN)
- Art rooms and kiln room
- Year 11 and sixth form café
Achievements
Wootton achieved its best-ever A level results in the summer of 2012, coming out as one of the highest achieving schools in Bedfordshire.
Kimberley College
Kimberley College is a new free school sixth form centre that opened in Stewartby in September 2013. The college is operated by Wootton Academy Trust, and the two centres share facilities for their sixth form students.[2]
References
- ↑ "Bedfordshire league tables". BBC News.
- ↑ "New Sixth Form College | University of Bedfordshire | Bedford College & Schools in Bedfordshire". Bedfordshire-news.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2013.