| Wilmslow High School | |
|---|---|
){kind=logo} | |
| Address | |
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Holly Road , , SK9 1LZ | |
| Coordinates | 53°19′20″N 2°13′45″W / 53.3221°N 2.2293°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Community school |
| Established | 1960 |
| Local authority | Cheshire East |
| Department for Education URN | 111443 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Chair | Mr J Caulkett[2] |
| Head teacher | Dr J Pullé[1] |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 2,000+ |
| Houses | Bollin Harefield Norcliffe Thorngrove |
| Colour(s) | Maroon and Black |
| Former name | Wilmslow County Grammar School |
| Website | http://www.wilmslowhigh.com |
Wilmslow High School is a mixed-sex 11–18 comprehensive secondary school in Wilmslow, Cheshire,[3] and a designated Centre of Excellence.[4] 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.[5][6]
History
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
Wilmslow Boys' Grammar School (Holly Road) became Harefield County High School when it became a sixth form-entry comprehensive in 1978, gradually becoming more comprehensive. Wilmslow Girls' Grammar School (Dean Row Road) became Dean Row County High School. In the mid-1980s it became Wilmslow County High School, then Wilmslow High School in 1991.[7] The school was designated a Specialist Sports College in September 2003 (and subsequently re-designated in 2008),[8] but the specialist schools programme ended in 2010;[9] therefore the school is no longer a Specialist Sports College, despite still being advertised as such.
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. Later, all schools closed, leaving Wilmslow with one high school on the site of the original boys' grammar school.
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.[10]
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.[5][6] 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.[11] This means that while its students make less progress than the national average, due to starting at a higher level they still achieve better than average results.
Learning support
The school's Learning Support provision includes an 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 the Autism Resource Provision Team won the Inspirational Education Provision award at the 2020 Autism Professional Awards.[1]
Notable former pupils
- The 1975 – English Alternative/Indie Rock Band, met and started performing while attending here.
- Seren Bundy-Davies - Manchester-born Welsh/UK 400m runner[12]
- Lee Dixon – former professional footballer.
- Doves – English Indie Rock Band, formed within Wilmslow High School. Their most popular song "Black and White Town" is a song referenced to that of Wilmslow town.[13]
- Richard Fleeshman – Coronation Street actor and singer-songwriter.
- Ben Jones, current professional golfer on the PGA and European Tour
- Dan Green, former England lacrosse captain[14]
- Johnny Gorman – Northern Ireland international footballer.
- William Hale - entrepreneur and mental health advocate; starred in Channel 5 documentary My Extreme OCD Life.
- Sarah Hadland – actress.[15]
- John Harris – Guardian columnist.
- Sam James - Sale Sharks and England Saxons rugby player
Wilmslow County Grammar School for Boys
- Andy Fanshawe, mountaineer
- Jem Finer, musician, and founding member of The Pogues who co-wrote Fairytale of New York, and son of Prof Samuel Finer (at Keele University and the University of Manchester)
- Rt Rev Michael Hill, Bishop of Bristol since 2003
- David Michaels, actor
- Chris Nicholl, footballer
- John Waite, Radio 4 investigative broadcaster, notably for Face the Facts
Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls
- Fionnuala Ellwood, TV actress who played Lynn Whiteley in Emmerdale
- Jo Wheeler (not the sixth form), Sky News weather forecaster
- Barbara Wilshere, actress
Wycliffe Avenue School
- Terry Waite (for two years)
References
- ^ Pullé, James. "Cirriculum". wilmslowhigh.com. Wilmslow High School. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Governing Body". wilmslowhigh.com. Wilmslow High School. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Schools in Wilmslow". SchoolsSearch. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "IQM". wilmslowhigh.com. Wilmslow High School. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ a b Ofsted: Wilmslow High School (Retrieved 30 November 2014)
- ^ a b Ofsted report
- ^ Schools in Wilmslow: Recent Schools (Retrieved 20 November 2014)
- ^ "About Us | Wilmslow High School". Wilmslow High School.
- ^ "Specialist schools programme: Michael Gove announces changes". GOV.UK. Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ Reeves, Lisa (18 November 2016). "Wilmslow High School amongst the best at sport". Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Wilmslow High School". Department for Education.
- ^ "Seren Bundy-Davies makes her choice - she's off to Estonia!". Wilmslow Guardian.
- ^ Doves fly to top Wilmslow Express – 16 March 2005
- ^ Dan Green (8 February 2006). "Lacrosse requires skill - not just rough stuff". Telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Sarah's big break as star of Confetti Wilmslow Express – 24 May 2006