The Petersfield School

History

The school first opened on 20 June 1958 with an original enrolment of 400 pupils. This has since increased to an enrolment of 1200 pupils in 2010. It received Arts College status in September 2004 with the opening of a new studio called The Studio @ TPS.

The school was inspected by Ofsted in September 2002, and has been inspected three more times since then. In 2002 Ofsted praised the school's results in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) qualifications, which were above the national average, as well as the school's development plan to improve. Concerns were however raised about the gap in performance between boy and girl students in GCSEs, inconsistency in dealing with "the unsatisfactory behaviour of a small but influential minority of pupils", and the school timetabling system which resulted in many pupils having more than one teacher per subject. In March 2007 the school was re-inspected with Ofsted rating the school's overall effectiveness as grade 3 ("satisfactory"). The relationship between pupils and teachers was described as "outstanding" and it was stated that the school had "good capacity to improve further". Criticism was given about the lack of "progress" from pupils in Years Ten and Eleven. In June 2010 The Petersfield School was assessed as grade 1 ("outstanding"). Ofsted concluded that the school had improved significantly due to the introduction of a "departmental review system", including "pupil panels". The School was most recently inspected in the 2014 - 2015 school year and was assessed as "good".

In 2007 the school revealed plans to create an all-weather AstroTurf pitch for association football and rugby, as well as two tennis courts, four hard courts, three cricket pitches, two cricket nets, and new changing rooms. The plan formed part of a sale of school land to Tesco, to allow expansion of its store next to TPS. Tesco planned to increase the store's floor space by 1,550 square metres and to create a new loading area for lorries as part of its online shopping service. One joint application for planning permission was made for both the sports pitch and the store expansion. This decision was described as "manipulation and blackmail" by Kenneth Hick, a member of the Petersfield Town Council. East Hampshire District Council however defended the joint application by arguing that:

The two parts of the application are inextricably linked. Without the sale of part of its playing fields, the school would be unable to progress the sports facility improvements, and without the land, the extension to the Tesco store cannot be brought forward.

Planning permission for the new development was granted on 5 June 2008. Permission was also later given to remove an ancient oak tree as part of the development, and consent was made by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for the sale of school land to Tesco. The AstroTurf pitch was completed in March 2010, with the expectation that all the new facilities were to be complete and open for use by September 2010.

On 20 June 2008 the school celebrated its 50th anniversary by inviting the class of 1958 to a day at the school. Ninety people attended the event which included a tree planting ceremony.

The passing of the Academies Act 2010 by the United Kingdom coalition government has allowed schools graded as "outstanding" by Ofsted, including The Petersfield School, to apply for academy status. In November 2010 the governors of the school voted unanimously for the school to apply to the Department for Education to become an academy. Academy status would allow the school to become independent from the local education authority (Hampshire County Council), and would as a result get an extra £500,000 of direct funding per year. The school announced that it aimed to have become an academy by the summer term of 2011. In May 2011 it was announced that permission had been granted for The Petersfield School to become an academy from 1 July 2011.

In January 2011, the school was reported to have suspended a pupil two days after he joined as it was suspected that he was an adult. A statement from Nigel Poole, the head teacher, stated that the suspension had been carried out due to the school's "child safeguarding policies", and that the pupil would be allowed to return if it could be "reassured" that he is fourteen years old, as claimed. The pupil was later allowed to continue attending classes when his age was proven through a birth certificate, and Nigel Poole apologized for the incident.

On 2 June 2012, over thirty pupils from the school were present when gunman Christopher Husbands opened fire in the Eaton Centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, causing two fatalities and several injuries. The pupils, none of which were injured, were in Canada as part of a two-week association football and rugby football tour, which was allowed to continue despite the incident.

Rock Challenge

The Petersfield School was named the Rock Challenge UK south overall winner for 2008 with a performance illustrating the American AMBER Alert system. This has given it "premier school" status which resulted in the school competing in the Rock Challenge Premier League in 2009. In 2011 the school was again named the Rock Challenge UK south overall winner with a performance based on the The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas novel.

Motto

The school's motto is "The Performing School", adopted after receiving Arts College status. Its previous motto was "Try, Persevere, Succeed". Both use the school's initials due to the school's name generally being abbreviated to TPS by both pupils and Petersfield residents.

Campus

The Petersfield School campus includes multiple detached blocks of buildings dedicated to different subjects or groups of subjects. Pupils in Year Seven have their tutor rooms around the school, with each teacher, with the exception of Head of Houses having their own tutor group which they stay with until their pupils leave or they leave.

The Studio @ TPS

After receiving Arts College status, the school opened a new purpose-built arts venue called The Studio @ TPS. It includes an auditorium with a dance floor, various performance features and retractable seating for approximately 175 people. The studio also has changing and kitchen facilities for use by visiting parties, as well as a gallery for artistic exhibitions, known as The Gallery @ TPS. The studio is used for both internal school-based and external company-based performances, which are usually music, dance, or drama-based.

Houses

The school introduced a new house system from September 2008. Eight houses were introduced and they are all named after contemporary British performing artists. They were:

The houses contain pupils from mixed age groups. In 2014, the Glennie and Thompson houses were removed and merged with other houses.

Demographics

Pupils at the school are mostly of a White British background, with a minority from other ethnic groups. The percentages of pupils in the school who are eligible for free school meals, or have special education needs, are below the national average.

Curriculum

Pupils choose their "learning pathways" for Key Stage 4 during Year Nine. As part of the "core curriculum" all pupils must complete a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) course in English, English literature, mathematics, and science, plus enrol on a National Certificate course in information communication technology (ICT) or religious studies (RS). A physical education (PE) course must also be completed, though these may not contain an end qualification.

Beyond the "core curriculum" pupils can then choose four further options to study. These courses can contain a GCSE, National Vocational Qualification (NVQ), or a Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualification. Some courses are run externally at Sparsholt College Hampshire, Mill Chase Community Technology College, Bohunt School, Alton College, and Staunton Park School. Further optional "after school" courses are available at Havant College.

The Petersfield School's GCSE exam results has improved from 2007 to 2010. In 2007 the number of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs with the grades C to A* was at 64%, which had risen to 85% by 2010. The number of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs with the grades C to A*, including English and mathematics, has risen from 54% in 2007 to 67% in 2010.

Since the school has been granted academy status, it has been permitted to deviate from the National Curriculum. Nigel Poole, the head teacher, had commented that “The National Curriculum is about to change and not necessarily for the better, in my opinion".

Awards

The school has been awarded the Artsmark, Sportsmark, and National Healthy Schools status.

The King's Arms

The local youth project The King's Arms has a close working relationship with TPS. It provides services including a homework area, Internet access, and counseling to participants.