Dormston School

History

Dormston School was established in 1935. The original site consisted of a single two-storey building that contained 19 classrooms as well as a dining hall, gymnasium, assembly hall and library. This building remains in existence to this day, although substantial alterations have taken place since the mid 1990s and several completely new buildings have been added since the late 1960s. The school was built by Sedgley Urban District council, but since 1966 has existed within the Borough of Dudley

In July 1996, the National Lottery granted the Dormston School £4 million to build the Arts and Sports Center, which was completed nearly four years later. The construction of this complex saw the demolition of the old staff room and toilets, as well as the loss of a playground.

The Dormston Centre, which joins onto the Dormston School, was opened in March 2000. It includes a theatre, sports hall, art gallery and gymnasium. It cost £5.5 million to build. £4 million of the cost came from a lottery grant in August 1996.

Money was also raised for the Children's Liver Disease Trust in aid of a pupil suffering from the condition in late 2002.

In July 2000, it raised a huge sum of money which went towards a new minibus - the previous school minibus had been destroyed by arsonists. The new minibus was destroyed once again by arson a few days later and never replaced.

In 2000, Dormston School was credited with the Charter Mark in recognition of its excellent standards. Mrs O'Connor's last day (19 December) was marked with a farewell assembly, presented by her long-serving deputy Mr Wally Francis - who retired four years later. Mrs O'Connor was headteacher at Dormston from September 1983 until December 2000, when she retired to make way for Mrs Stephanie Sherwood - who was previously head-teacher at the Buckpool School in Stourbridge. During Mrs O'Connor 17 years as head teacher, school leaver exam pass rates more than tripled, regularly exceeding 50% throughout the 1990s, and the school was credited with the Charter Mark just before her retirement.

During December 2001, the school raised well over £1,000 for the Birmingham Children's Hospital Cancer Unit - where a 14-year-old pupil, Luke Edwards, was receiving treatment for lymphatic cancer. He died nine months later after contracting an infection.

A memorial staff garden was created at the back of the main assembly hall in 2007 in memory of former school caretaker Mr John Hopson, who died on 26 September 2005 after a short illness having collapsed in school grounds. He supposedly wore the same red boiler suit every day he worked at the school and he was there for about 30 years. Was known as SHOVEL by the schools pupils.

In 2010, it was the 11th best performing of 21 secondary schools in the Dudley borough for GCSE results, with 53% of pupils leaving the school that year with 5 or more grades at C or above.

In the summer of 2012, the school achieved the worst GCSE grades in the Dudley Borough. The school was inspected by Ofsted a year later and placed under Special Measures. Stephanie Sherwood retired at the end of the school year in July 2013 and her successor Ben Stitchman took charge in September 2013. The school's move into Special Measures was the result of a long period of decline which can be traced back up to 15 years before. A high turnover of staff, declining pupil behaviour and growing complaints from local residents about incidents involving Dormston pupils in and an out of school hours became increasingly commonplace from the late 1990s. Complaints to the school and complaints to the police that was.However the school's standard has improved dramatically under the leadership of Mr Stitchman.

The school holds a presentation evening every year for the previous summer's leavers, with a range of awards being given to pupils for their achievements at the school. Several awards are named after pupil Thomas Walker, who died in tragic circumstances at home in January 2005. The Physical Education subject prize is named after another pupil, Neil Skidmore, who collapsed and died while playing football out of school in December 1994.

Timeline

School buildings

Art, Science and Technology blocks were added in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These were expanded in the early 1990s. A fourth block, housing music, drama, dance and English classrooms was built in 1990/91, followed shortly afterwards by three Modern Languages classrooms, two mobile classrooms (mostly for teaching English) and two Art rooms were added. These expansions took place to accommodate the extra pupils following the local authority's decision to reduce the secondary school starting age from 12 to 11, as well as an increase in the school's capacity to hold more than 1,100 pupils. It had provided capacity for some 700 pupils during its days as a 12-16 school. That figure had risen to more than 900 when the age of admissions was reduced, but high demand for places saw it increased beyond 1,000 by the mid 1990s.

Two science laboratories were opened in the autumn of 2003, as was a Sixth Form Centre (owned by Dudley College) in September 1996. The sixth form block was demolished in about 2007 and transferred to the mobile classrooms which had been erected more than a decade earlier.

The school blocks A to E

A Block

On the school's completion in 1935, this was the sole building, containing 19 classrooms, offices, a library, assembly hall and gymnasium.

The offices for the Heads of Year and Isolation Room were added in 1999 after a remodelling of the former girls changing rooms and the Careers office. The former boys changing rooms and a neighbouring office were remodelled at the same time to create an ICT suite, and the former multigym was divided into the PE Department office and a storage room.

A Block originally contained the offices for the senior management, but on the relocation of these facilities to D Block during the 1990/91 academic year this area was converted into the Learning Support department as well as a Resources centre.

By the 1960s, however, the growing population to Sedgley meant that expansion of the school was necessary.

The library was relocated to the new Personal Learning Centre in October 2008 and the original library was divided into two ICT suites.

Classrooms in A Block are used for the teaching of Mathematics, Geography, History,R.E, English and ICT.

B Block

B Block was added in about 1972. It houses six Science laboratories as well as two Food Technology suites. Two further B Block classrooms - actually within C Block - were added in 1992 and house the Art department, which was previously accommodated in two downstairs B block rooms which were then converted into Science laboratories.

It has not been substantially altered since its construction, although all of the laboratories have been refurbished, as have both of the Food Technology suites.

C Block

C Block was built a few years before B Block in the late 1960s. The downstairs of the building includes two Science laboratories, a CAD/CAM centre as well as workshops for Graphic Design, Resistant Materials (which was opened in 1992 to replace a downstairs workshop in A Block) and Systems & Control. The upstairs of the block is given over to a Textiles suite, and two classrooms which have been used for the teaching of ICT since the 1980s.

The two Science laboratories were refurbished in 2001.

D Block

D Block houses the senior management offices, reception area, music studio, drama studio, dance studio, one music classroom and five Modern Languages classrooms. Its construction was given the go-ahead in 1989 and took place the following year as the school looked to improve its performing arts facilities and provide additional classroom space due to a growing demand for pupil places and the increased pupil numbers that the reduction of the secondary transfer age would see.

It was opened during the 1990/91 school year and was detached from the rest of the school until the Dormston Centre was opened a decade later.

Being a modern structure, no substantial alterations have yet been made to D Block, although major redecoration has taken place since 2003 due to vandalism and general wear and tear of the building's fabric.

E Block

E Block was completed in September 2003 and houses two classrooms used for Art and Science.

Further building work on E Block was completed in October 2008 and a second floor was completed five years later. This houses the new Personal Learning Centre.

Mobile classrooms

There were mobile classrooms at the school from the 1970s, but all of these were removed by 2015. A single-storey temporary building was also opened n September 1996 for the teaching of sixth form students, with a second storey added the following year, but this was removed in 2010.

Dormston Centre

The Dormston Centre includes a sports hall, fitness centre, art gallery, theatre and cafe. It cost nearly £6 million to build, £4 million of which was provided by a grant from the National Lottery. The go-ahead for the centre was given in July 1996 when the Lottery grant was given, and the facilities were in use by March 2000 - six months behind schedule. The official opening took place on 1 December 2000.

The ground floor of the Dormston Centre is known to students and visitors as The Atrium or White Area, in which student's art work used to be exhibited. It now holds the new cafe for Year 11 students. The staff room for Dormston School is also located in the ground floor of the Dormston Centre.

The theatre in the Dormston Centre has hosted pupil's productions of West Side Story (March 2000), Oliver! (March 2001), Macbeth (July 2001) and We Will Rock You (March 2009). Pupils worked and are working on a series of new productions including, Hairspray (9–12 February 2010), The Blues Brothers was shown in February 2011, Our House in February 2012, Grease in February 2013, We Will Rock You in February 2014, Fame in February 2015 and the upcoming Return to the Forbidden Planet for 2016.

On 5 March 2009 the Dormston Centre hosted an edition of the BBC's 'Question Time' television programme hosted by David Dimbleby.

The Mill Theatre is also used for most house and year assemblies.

The centre's changing rooms and toilets were remodeled in 2009 due to continued vandalism which had already led to the previous changing rooms being refurbished in 2006.

Dormston School's lottery grant

The Dormston School received a National Lottery grant in July 1996 to contribute towards the cost of building a high quality sports and arts centre on its site. Work began in early 1998, with the facilities opening in March 2000 and being officially opened on 1 December that year. Two years later, the Dudley News criticised the project as a "failure" as few people in the local area were making use of it and a number of people did not even know where it was. The centre was first proposed in the late 1980s along with D Block, but had to be postponed for several years due to the lack of funding.

The local Youth Club project

The Youth Club is run by volunteers several evenings a week. It closed in September 2001 following an extensive vandalism attack by several pupils and a member of the public. It was re-opened in 2004 following a refurbishment and the replacement of a mobile building.

Notable pupils

Notable Staff

Senior staff

Gifted and Talented policy

Year 7 pupils take a series of "MIDYIS" tests which give the teachers an insight into each pupil's potential. Each pupil's progress in then closely monitored, and some students will be given the option of attending Summer Schools - an event organised by the National Academy at University of Warwick. They can also attend a Science club which is open to Key Stage 3 pupils. There is also an optional day visit to Oxford University for some of these pupils.

Since September 1999, certain pupils entering Key Stage 3 could have been selected for accelerated Key Stage 4 courses which had seen them complete a GCSE in Year 10 and an AS Level in Year 11. There usually are normally 20 pupils per subject in every year group who take each course, but this system has now been made redundant since September 2014.

Mrs Fiona Moseley, Head of English and now one of the school's longest-serving teachers since her appointment in September 2000 initially as a year head, is consultant for the "Gifted and Talented" policy. The previous consultant was Mrs Elaine James.

There is also an annual presentation evening, held every December, for the previous academic year's school leavers. Subject prizes as well as several achievement and effort awards are awarded to students nominated by staff.

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities include:

There are after-school clubs for subjects including Science and Technology.

With access to the state-of-the-art Dormston Centre, the school has regularly performed drama productions; the first of these was West Side Story in March 2000. Each key stage gives an annual Performance Arts Evening for pupils to display their various talents.

Year 10 pupils are involved in the Young Enterprise initiative and in 2005 received a local award for being the "Most Enterprising Company".

Year 9 and GCSE pupils have the opportunity to attend revision and coursework support classes.

Pupils with individual educational needs are encouraged to attend small group or one-to-one sessions organised by the Learning Support Department.

Year 10 pupils have the opportunity to apply to become part of their houses 'Leadership Team', which gives them extra responsibility during their final year of compulsory education. This system has long been in place, although with just four pupils as Head Boy and Girl, and their deputies, having originally been pioneered during the days of Mrs O'Connor's stewardship. New to the policy since September 2014 has been the appointment of a "Head Boy" and "Head Girl" (who each have deputies) and an eight person Leadership Team to help with certain duties around the school grounds and outside of it.

There is also an active School Council, and each year pupils are encouraged to vote for a pupil in their year group to be elected as their councillor. The school council raises concerns of students in the school to staff. The school also participates in the annual UK Youth Parliament elections.

The '1999 Short skirts débâcle'

In March 1999, the school made the headlines when 41 girls were either sent home, made to put on baggy trousers or isolated from lessons for wearing excessively short skirts as part of a local crackdown on sexily dressed school pupils. 21 female pupils aged from 11 to 16 were suspended and the rest segregated away from the other pupils. The school's then head-teacher, Mrs Barbara O'Connor, was supported by most people connected to the school when she made this decision. The girls were sent home or removed from lessons for wearing short skirts which were more than 2 inches (51 mm) above the knee. This action was taken after several complaints from various sources, including some male pupils and members of the local community, who had expressed their concern about the rude and sexy way some of the girls were dressing. It became known locally as the '1999 Short skirts débâcle'. A similar, but less spectacular situation occurred soon after due to a purge of jeans and tight trousers.

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