Larkmead School
Larkmead School is a coeducational Academy for students aged 11 to 18 situated on Faringdon Road, in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK. It became part of the Vale Academy Trust in January 2017.
| Larkmead School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
Faringdon Road , , OX14 1RF England | |
| Coordinates | 51.677°N 1.300°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Established | 1956 |
| Local authority | Oxfordshire |
| Department for Education URN | 123255 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Chair of Governors | Mr Iain Littlejohn |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | c. 800 |
| Website | http://www.larkmead-school.com/ |
It collaborates with Abingdon's two other state secondary schools and the Further Education College to provide a wider range of sixth form options.
Larkmead was rated by Ofsted as "Good" in February 2015. The current Ofsted report for Larkmead can be downloaded through the school's web site by selecting the Ofsted Report link provided on its About Us page.
The school maintains a Twitter feed to provide information on current events and notifications, including publication of Open Days, on its Welcome page.
History
At the close of the war in 1945, and the introduction of primary and secondary education under R.A. Butler's Education Act 1944, Abingdon borough decided that a larger school was desperately needed. The names Larkhill and Willowside were originally suggested for the school, but in the end the name 'Larkmead' was settled upon.
The school's buildings were completed by Easter 1956, and on Friday 8 June the school was officially opened by Sir John Douglas Cockcroft. Several additions were made to the school over the coming years, including a Kitchen (1958), a Caretaker's bungalow and Swimming Pool (1960) and a new Design Technology building (1969).
In 1972, with the school preparing for comprehensive status, it was deemed necessary to update and extend the school's buildings. A new collection of buildings were built away from the main teaching areas to house the administrative centre of the school, where the Office and Learning Resource Centre were situated.
Since its inception the school has made several new additions to its buildings, including a Music Centre with a performance room and several practice and technology rooms, which is now shared by the Abingdon Music Centre.
Following an electrical storm and consequent lightning strike in the summer of 2017, the school's infrastructure sustained notable damage, and there are a number of parallel initiatives ongoing to both repair and improve the facilities at the school.
Performance
The performance of a school is officially determined by government policy as it stands at any point in time. The Government has a web site dedicated to comparing school performance, and the links are below.
As an Academy, the school performance since its conversion in 2017 can be found here.
As a state secondary school, the 2017 results and prior performance can be found here.
It is a government requirement that each school publishes details about its results on its own website. The Larkmead results and accompanying commentary provided by the school can be found on its Exam Results page here.