Arrow Vale High School
Encyclopedia
Arrow Vale High School is a co-educational comprehensive school for pupils aged 13–18, located in Redditch
, Worcestershire
, England
. It currently has around 700 pupils on roll with 120 in the sixth form. In 1999 the school was the first in Worcestershire to be designated as a Sports College
.
The school is equipped with 16 IT rooms, providing a total of 460 computers for student use. After undergoing major construction to the site, the school now has dedicated areas for specialist vocational subjects such as hairdressing and construction. A small cafe called the Olympus Cafe is in operation for staff and students from 9–3 every day.
In June 2008, an Ofsted
inspection gave the school a much improved report, awarding it a Grade 3 (satisfactory).
In September 2008, Head teacher
Peter Woodman announced his decision to move on to The Weald School
in West Sussex
in January 2009. He was replaced in January 2009 by Mark Creasy, who subsequently left the school in May 2010. Alun Williams was appointed the role of 'executive headteacher' in May 2010, in order to raise achievement in the school while the governors attempted to find an appropriate candidate for headteacher. In January 2011, Guy Shears was appointed the new headteacher of Arrow Vale High School.
Arrow Vale students generally come from Church Hill Middle School, Ipsley Middle School, and previously came from Moatfield Middle School and St. Peters Middle School, both of which merged to form Ipsley Middle School in 1999.
Jacqui Smith
, MP
for Redditch and former British Home Secretary
, taught Economics at Arrow Vale in the 1980s.
Redditch
Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It currently has around 700 pupils on roll with 120 in the sixth form. In 1999 the school was the first in Worcestershire to be designated as a Sports College
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
.
The school is equipped with 16 IT rooms, providing a total of 460 computers for student use. After undergoing major construction to the site, the school now has dedicated areas for specialist vocational subjects such as hairdressing and construction. A small cafe called the Olympus Cafe is in operation for staff and students from 9–3 every day.
In June 2008, an Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection gave the school a much improved report, awarding it a Grade 3 (satisfactory).
In September 2008, Head teacher
Head teacher
A head teacher or school principal is the most senior teacher, leader and manager of a school....
Peter Woodman announced his decision to move on to The Weald School
The Weald School, Billingshurst
The Weald School is a maintained comprehensive secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18. It caters for around 1500 pupils in years 7 to 13, including over 200 in its sixth form. It is now a specialist Technology school and a sports college. The school opened in 1956, and celebrated its 50th...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
in January 2009. He was replaced in January 2009 by Mark Creasy, who subsequently left the school in May 2010. Alun Williams was appointed the role of 'executive headteacher' in May 2010, in order to raise achievement in the school while the governors attempted to find an appropriate candidate for headteacher. In January 2011, Guy Shears was appointed the new headteacher of Arrow Vale High School.
Arrow Vale students generally come from Church Hill Middle School, Ipsley Middle School, and previously came from Moatfield Middle School and St. Peters Middle School, both of which merged to form Ipsley Middle School in 1999.
Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Redditch and former British Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, taught Economics at Arrow Vale in the 1980s.
Notable alumni
- Jimmy DavisJimmy Davis (footballer)James Roger William "Jimmy" Davis was a footballer who played for Manchester United, Royal Antwerp, Swindon Town and Watford, as well as the England youth teams, who was killed in a car crash on the M40 in Oxfordshire on 9 August 2003, aged 21, when twice over the drink-drive limit.-Career:Davis...
, footballer, was a pupil at the school from 1994 until 1999. He began his career with Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, playing his only first-team game for them in November 2001, and had just been loaned to WatfordWatford F.C.Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
when he died in a car crash in August 2003.