Downend School

Downend School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, situated on Westerleigh Road in the suburban village of Downend in South Gloucestershire, England.

Downend School
Address
Westerleigh Road

Downend
,
South Gloucestershire
,
BS16 6XA

England
Coordinates51°29′32″N 2°29′36″W
Information
TypeAcademy
Established2013
Department for Education URN139345 Tables
OfstedReports
Head teacherMrs Howell
GenderMixed
Age11 to 18
Enrolment1,016
Capacity1,425
Websitehttp://www.downend.com/

About

The school has four houses: Carpenter (green), Brunel (red), Grace (blue) and Muller (yellow), each named after a different famous person from Bristol. Students are sorted into these house somewhat at random, though some allowance is made for siblings and friendships. Each house has house captains, which can consist of four house captains or two house and two vice. Generally these are two girls and two boys. The house is shown via the tie that each student wears, which has three stripes repeating down it, one thin white stripe, one thick navy stripe and one medium stripe which is the house colour. There is also the school logo on the tie (a shield with small images representing the houses).

In addition to the tie, the uniform consists of a navy blazer, the school logo situated on a pocket on the left. A white shirt is worn, along with dark grey tailored trousers and black leather shoes. There is also the option of wearing a dark grey skirt instead of trousers.

Facilities

The school is accessed through two sets of two gates, at the front and back of the school. Students, when entering and exiting the school, must pass through both gates.

The exception to this is at the front gates, in which visitors (and late students) may enter through the reception, and the sixth form, which is entered by passing only through the first front gate. The reason for these double gates is so that the inner gates can be closed to keep students in, while visitors are still able to enter and exit through the outer gates.

The school has several buildings. To the back and left it has PE (physical education) facilities, including a sports hall and several sports courts. This PE hall is run by the Circadian Trust.

The school has a canteen in roughly the middle, and just behind it is a major classroom block, which includes maths, English and DT (design and technology).

To the left of the canteen is the science labs, which is also situated behind the drama hall. The fire assembly point is behind the science block on another court.

CSET

Downend is part of an educational trust called Castle School Education Trust, named after Castle School.

Sixth Form

Downend and Mangotsfield share a sixth form, concentrated at the Downend School premises.

The logo of this sixth Form is a 6 made up of various green shapes, including squares and a smaller 6.

Students at this sixth form are mainly from Downend or Mangotsfield, though some come from other schools.

The building is to the right of someone as they pass through the main school's front gate, and the entrance is just past the main school's secondary (side) gate. To enter this building, students must have a keycard, marked with their name and a picture of them, though knocking on the window of the reception immediately next to the entrance can occur if a student forgets their keycard. This card expires when the student leaves the school at the end of year 13.

Inside the building there are eight smaller classrooms, as well as a more normal sized one. These are marked as P(number). One of these classrooms is a computer room, though the students also have access to laptops, available in the common room, which is to the left of the entrance and is by far the largest room in the building. This common room contains many chairs and tables, as well as leaflets for universities and the like, drawers for students, a kettle and a microwave. There is a whiteboard where announcements are written, and students are allowed to write there as well. A quote of the day, which is sometime serious and sometimes less so, is often written here.

There are also toilets, and a few staff offices, and these are all the rooms.

Most rooms have a lime green colour scheme.

Lessons like maths and english generally take place within the sixth form building itself, while more specialised lessons, for example the sciences, take place within the main school. There is an exit at the back of the sixth form building into the main school, which does not require a key card.

History

Page School for Girls

Staple Hill Senior School for Girls was established in 1933, and in 1947 became Staple Hill Secondary Modern School, having separate departments for boys and girls. After the Chase Comprehensive School had been built for the boys in about 1966, the girls stayed in the buildings in North View, and it was renamed Page School for Girls.[1]

Establishment

In September 1982, Page School for Girls merged with the coeducational Stockwell Hill Comprehensive School, and the new school was called Downend Comprehensive School.[1]

Later years

It was renamed Downend Community School. In 2005, it moved to Westerleigh Road.[1]

Tamryn Savage, was instated as head teacher for the school year beginning 2006 and onwards after the acting head teacher Ray Lockey retired. She left at the end of the academic year 2010-2011 and was replaced by Will Roberts. The buildings of Page School for Girls were demolished in 2007-8.[1]

The school converted to academy status on 1 March 2013.

Notable former pupils

References
  1. "Gloucestershire Archives: Online Catalogue - Reference D10824". Gloucestershire County Council. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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