The Priory Academy LSST

History

The school is on the site of South Park Girls' Grammar School which had originally opened in May 1922 as an all-girls grammar school for the south of the city. New buildings were added in October 1938 and extensions in 1962 and between 1974 and 1977. It became co-educational in September 1974. The school was closed on 27 July 1989 due to falling numbers.

The school was reopened as The Lincoln School of Science and Technology in September 1992, admitting only year seven pupils in its first year, growing in size each year as a new year group joined. Its name changed at the end of 1999 to the Priory LSST, after the nearby St. Katherine's Priory.

In 2008, the school transferred to academy status under the newly formed Priory Federation of Academies, changing to its current name, The Priory Academy LSST.

Headteachers

The current Headteacher is Jane Hopkinson, a former Assistant Head at the school and Director of Student Standards for the federation who was previously the Head of The Priory City of Lincoln Academy before assuming the headship of LSST.

Campus

The large School Campus consist of twelve main buildings. Two buildings lie at the main entrance and exit of the school which act as the school reception and Academies' administration offices.

Main Site

The Priory LSST Quad, as seen from the Science Section of the School. This is the original part of the School (once South Park Girls School), showing the Languages Department (first floor) and Mathematics Department (bottom floor).

On the main school site, there is large central garden "the Quad", as well as individual gardens for the use of specific year groups. There are also three courts situated in front, used by Year 9, 10 and 11 pupils at break and lunchtimes which also serves the purpose of a large carpark.

At the main entrance of the lower hall is situated the "Old Hall", which hosts a large variety of events ranging from lower school assemblies, to examinations, to the school production and talent show. There are modern sound and lighting facilities that can be controlled from the balcony used to enhance these events.

Two canteens are situated on the lower floor, alongside the Mathematics Department and small recording and transmission studio for the school's radio group. There is a further lower floor which leads to the "Old Sports Hall", the location of the school's Department of Physical Education before the building of The Priory Sports Centre. There is a teacher training suite located here, as well as gardens and courts for the use of Year 7 and 8 students and a large staff carpark.

Attached to the original school buildings is the school's large Department of Technology which is based around a large central concourse containing computers as well as a laser cutting machine. There are workshops used for woodwork, electronics, textiles, engineering and product design as well as a recently-added £110,000 state of the art robotics lab opened in 2015 by MARC (Multi-Actuated Robotic Companion) from the University of Lincoln.

Along a sloping corridor (the former location of a swimming pool) is the School's Science Department, containing a large number of laboratories, an IT concourse, as well as a lecture theater. Administrative offices are situated above, as well as the Student Reception.

Above the Mathematics Department, there is the Department of Modern Languages- currently teaching French, German, Spanish and Latin. The upper floor also houses the Departments of IT and Business.

Newark Road Site

The main site is linked to the other side of the school by a large walkway, alongside which there is the Swimming Pool, Boathouse, Pavilion (containing classrooms, a study room, as well as housing the Psychology Department), Year 11 garden, and a non-denominational chapel- which stands alongside the school's own version of the Chartres Labyrinth. There are separate housing the Religious Education Department, History Department, Geography Department (Rawson Geography Centre) and the Music Department (which contains a sound-proofed recording studio).

At the end of the walkway, there is a large block which houses the English, Performing Arts and Art Departments. The "New Hall", which serves as a location for assemblies, awards presentations, various events as well as the primary location for formal examinations. This block also houses a lecture theatre, gallery, the Sixth Form reception, and a food outlet- "The Shed". A shooting range is situated just outside for the use of the school's Combined Cadet Force. There are also several gardens for the use of pupils at break and lunchtimes.

Sixth Form Centre

The Sixth Form of over 500 pupils is centred around the sixth form block, which contains a large Common room, canteen, study areas, as well as offices and a multipurpose classroom.

Newton Centre

Officially opened on 29 June 2011, the Newton Centre is a Sixth Form Science centre on the school campus, accessible from a separate walkway that leads from behind the Geography block. The centre is named after one of Lincolnshire's most famous scientists, Isaac Newton. The centre contains a planetarium, laboratories for use by Sixth Form science pupils, a study room for Year 12 pupils, and a debating chamber (the Gagarin Debating Chamber) which is used by the school's debating society, for presentations and hosts a variety of external speakers.

The Priory Sports Centre

The £8m Sports Centre is used for PE sessions and extracurricular activities. Facilities include a 400m synthetic Olympic-standard running track outside the sports centre, and a 60m indoor running track next to a multipurpose sports hall. There are classrooms and a state of the art gymnasium, available for use by pupils during PE lessons and outside school hours through Priory Leisure. On 15 October 2013 The Priory Sports Centre was officially opened by Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE. There is also a rugby pitch situated past a slope behind the running track, as well as a large field used for PE lessons and Sports Events. Within the running track, there are areas for shot putt and hammer throw. There is also a long-jump pit.

Robert de Cheney Boarding House

Next to the sport centre is The Robert de Cheney Boarding House, opened in 2011. The boarding house admits international pupils yearly. It has 60 full-time boarding places in single, ensuite study bedrooms. It was given an outstanding rating by Ofsted in 2014.

Curriculum

An Ofsted inspection in November 2010 rated the school as Grade 1 (outstanding) overall and in most areas. The inspection report stated that the school should promote community cohesion and improve the use of assessment in teaching; both areas were rated Grade 2 (good).

Pupils undergo an accelerated curriculum at Key Stage 3, and begin their GCSE courses in all subjects in Year 9. The subjects taken include the core English Baccalaureate as well as pupils being able to choose from a range of options. Pupils take all of their GCSE examinations at the end of Year 11, with a few exceptions such as a pupil taking a Foreign Language GCSE early if they are already fluent in that language.

In 2015 the Department for Education stated that the school had an 89% GCSE A*-C pass rate, a fall of 10% from 2013 (including English and Maths). This made it the 15th most successful school at GCSE level in the Lincolnshire Learning Authority and the top-performing school in Lincoln.

Sixth Form

The school has a Sixth Form of around 540 pupils, the sixth form alone is therefore larger than most schools in Lincolnshire. It offers an extensive range of over 40 subjects, making it one of the largest in England. With the introduction of new, linear A Levels (with examinations taking place at the end of the course), students now study three subjects for the two years, with some limited scope for students to take a fourth subject, as well as the opportunity to undertake an Extended Project Qualification. Students will only take the AS exams at the end of Year 12 (which have now been decoupled, and do not count towards the overall A Level grade) in individual cases; for example, if they are leaving at the end of Year 12.

Due to the school's membership of The Priory Federation of Academies, Sixth Form students are able to study occupational courses at the federation's two other schools in Lincoln, The Priory City of Lincoln Academy and The Priory Witham Academy. In the same way, students from those schools may study some subjects at LSST that their school does not have the capacity to offer. For example, all students studying A Levels in science subjects at the other two academies in Lincoln take lessons at LSST.

In 2014, 93% of Priory students obtained places at their first or second choice universities, 42% of which were within the Russell Group.

Over half the school's recent alumni are now taking degrees in Medicine, Science, Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering, and the rest include Law, Accountancy, Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts.

Several students each year gain places at Oxbridge colleges and UK medical schools, as well as some going to study abroad- from Europe to the USA. Extensive support is given to students who seek to make an application to Oxbridge, and the school hosts the Lincolnshire Schools' Oxbridge Conference each spring where several hundred students in Years 11 and 12 from around Lincolnshire come to hear admissions advice from Oxbridge outreach representatives and past Priory students who are studying at Oxbridge. Specialised support is also given to students who seek to study Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Sciences, including coaching for admissions tests from Year 12. Students take extra classes in Year 13 for any admissions tests required for their university course (e.g. the History Admissions Assessment in order to study History at the University of Cambridge). Advice is also given to students who do not wish to go to university and instead pursue apprenticeships or other forms of higher education.

Extracurricular activities

The Priory offers the Duke of Edinburgh's Award to Gold level and has its own Combined Cadet Force- one of only 62 state schools. There is also a huge variety of after school clubs available to students. School trips take place to all over the world, for both education and purely extracurricular purposes.

The school runs an annual theatre production, and a talent show.

House system

In 2001, the Academy introduced a House System with competitions and events. The four houses are Sempringham (yellow), Avalon (green), Alexandria (red) and Castille (blue).

All members of a form group are part of one house.

There is a regular programme of House events, with participation resulting in points gained for houses.

House assemblies are held each module, with all of the form groups from all years belonging to that House attending and taking part in a large task as a whole House.