Peter Symonds College

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.

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. The college is also somewhat unusual amongst state sixth form colleges in offering Latin at both AS and A level.

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

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's Lodge). The College also has a separate site in Winchester where it provides courses for some 2000 adult students.

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. There is also a student produced college radio station, 7Radio.

All students at the college must take part in at least one activity, 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, 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.

7Radio

There was a student produced college radio station, 7Radio, founded in 2007. The '7' or 'Seven' of 7Radio, as well as relating to broadcasting 7 days a week when first set up, refers to Symonds Events and Entertainment Network radio. The station could currently only be heard around the college via their network. This station has recently not been active however the infrastructure remains.

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. The college also enters individual players and teams into competitions for the following sports: Golf, table tennis and trampolining.

Student Union

The 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 until recently end of year balls. The SU consists of the executive committee (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary) and other officers (Environment, Charity, Communications, Equality and Diversity, LGBT). The SU also has a history of organising and coordinating protests and demonstrations on behalf of the student body.

The President of the SU also serves on the board of governors as a student governor, along with one other student governor who is not a member of the SU but is nonetheless democratically elected by the student body. Amongst the roles of the President is to chair the executive committee, and to organise and chair the Student Parliament.

The SU officers are elected at the start of the academic year with the executive committee elected at the year's end. 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. The electoral system works on a single transferable vote system, with a re-open nominations option available.

The Student Union is at present affiliated with the National Union of Students (United Kingdom) (NUS).

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 Island's 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.

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

Oxbridge

Peter Symonds College sends a significant number of students to both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge each year. In 2013, 53 Peter Symonds students were placed at Oxford or Cambridge. 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.

Grammar school

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 its big brother 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 department.

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.

Notable alumni