Established 1960 Headteacher Dr J Pullé DfE URN 111443 Tables | Chair Mr D Bennett Phone +44 1625 526191 Colors Black, Maroon | |
Location Holly RoadWilmslowCheshireSK9 1LZEngland Houses Bollin; Harefield; Norcliffe; Thorngrove | ||
Wilmslow high school
Wilmslow High School is a mixed-sex 11–18 comprehensive secondary school in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and a designated Centre of Excellence. The school began in 1960 as a grammar school and gradually became a comprehensive school, becoming Wilmslow High School in 1991. Dr. James Pullé is the head teacher. The school is designated "good" by Ofsted.
Contents
- Wilmslow high school
- Grammar school
- Comprehensive
- Curriculum
- Non academic work
- Extracurricular activities
- Academic performance
- Admissions
- Learning support
- Notable former pupils
- Wilmslow County Grammar School for Boys
- Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls
- Wycliffe Avenue School
- References
Grammar school
Wilmslow High School began life as the co-educational Wilmslow County Grammar School in September 1960 with 900 pupils. The new county grammar school was opened by Sir James Mountford, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool on 24 March 1961. A girls' grammar school was built on 14 acres (57,000 m2) of the former Colshaw Hall Farm, and situated on Dean Row Road. It opened in 1965 and had 750 girls. The school on Holly Road became an all-boys' school.
Comprehensive
The school changed name to Harefield County High School when it became a sixth form-entry comprehensive in 1978, gradually becoming more comprehensive. In the mid-1980s it became Wilmslow County High School, then Wilmslow High School in 1991. The school was designated as a specialist Sports College in September 2003.
Other former schools in Wilmslow included Wilmslow County Secondary School for Girls on Wycliffe Avenue in Wilmslow. When the Wycliffe Avenue Secondary Modern School closed the girls moved to Thorngrove County High School, which was until that point the Hough Secondary Modern School for Boys, having previously opened in 1965 on Thorngrove Road – the land now occupied by the A34 bypass. The girls' grammar school became Dean Row High School and later all schools closed, leaving Wilmslow with one high school on the site of the original boys' grammar school.
Curriculum
The school's curriculum offers a wide range of programmes that meet National Curriculum requirements. Students progressing through the school are able increasingly to tailor programmes to meet their particular learning needs with a wide range of GCSE and BTEC programmes, as well as GCE and AS/A2 programmes. Alternative accredited programmes are also available.
Non-academic work
The school places particular emphasis on personal, health, social and citizenship education and operates a system that links curricular activity, tutorial activity and three "Personal, Health, Social & Citizenship Education" (PHSCE) Days. All Year 10 students have a one-week work experience placement, with further course-related work experience in Year 12.
Extracurricular activities
The school operates the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, and a bi-annual "World Challenge" expedition is available to older students, which for the last three years has been run through Camps International. Competitive sport is a feature of the school's extracurricular programme "Sports Xtra". In 2016, School Sport Magazine ranked the school 6th best sporting state school in the country.
Academic performance
The school is currently designated "good" by Ofsted, who reviewed the school in 2013; this is a drop from their previous position of "outstanding" in 2011. As of 2016, 75% of students achieve a C or better in both English and maths (compared to a national average of 59.3%), and the average A level grade attained by students is a C (equal to the national average). Although the school is below national average according to the government's "Progress 8" metric, they have an "Attainment 8" score above national average.
Admissions
Wilmslow High School works in partnership with the twelve primary schools in Wilmslow, Handforth and Alderley Edge, from where the majority of its students come. The school has 300 places available in each year and a Sixth Form that has the capacity to provide programmes for some 500 students. In 2011, 3.4% of students have statements of special educational need, the proportion of students on roll with SEN statement or on School Action Plus was 7.8% and 6% of students were entitled to free school meals.
Students wishing to enter the sixth form must obtain a minimum of five GCSEs with grades A* – C (or equivalent), including at least a C grade in English Language and any subjects they wish to study at A-level.
Learning support
The school's Learning Support team caters for students who have special educational needs (SEN). Provision includes a fully integrated 8-place unit for children who have impaired hearing. The school is leading a Local Education Authority (LEA) project relating to provision for autistic students and a member of staff based at the school has responsibility for supporting such students.