Bilton School Formerly Herbert Kay and Westlands School, and most recently Bilton High School is a major secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 situated within the village of Bilton

Bilton, Warwickshire

Bilton is an area of Rugby in Warwickshire and a ward of the Borough of Rugby. It comprises much of the western half of the town.Historically a village in its own right , Bilton's name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Beolatun , and it was mentioned in the Domesday Book as both Beltone and...

 within Rugby

Rugby, Warwickshire

Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

. It is a specialist Maths and Computing College. Bilton school is planning a sixth-form in time for September 2012, if not, it will be ready for September 2013. This will positively allow further education for 16-18 year olds.

Uniform

The new intake in 2011 was the first to wear Bilton's new uniform, this consists of a Black Blazer with the Bilton School lion emblazed upon, a light grey jumper or cardigan, a white shirt and black trousers or skirt(knee-length or longer). Also, the students have to wear a tie to finish off this smart uniform. Boys and girls in years 7-9 wear light blue ties. In year 10-11, boys wear navy and girls wear rasperry red.
In summer, students will be told when non-blazer days are. Usually they are not allowed to take their blazers off unless told in lessons. Non-blazer days will enable students to take them off when going around and to/from school.

Herbert Kay and Westlands School

While named as such, the school was split into two segments, one containing a girls only school the other for male pupils. As the school is now co-ed it retains a sense of nostalgia by keeping the original terms as classroom titles, thus each side is now simply titled Kay Side and West Side which originate from the old school name, Herbert Kay and Westlands School.

Bilton High School

While named Bilton High School, the School ran into confusion with the simple logo that was emblazoned upon its jumpers. The emblem B.H.S was criticised for its similarity to the logo of popular department store British Home Stores. Thus the school acted quickly to change its School symbol to the Bilton Lion with Bilton written underneath.

The consequence and award/achievement system

In around 1999 the school adopted its "consequence" system, part of the Bilton "Achievement" and Recognition System, within which pupils would be issued with certain consequences for bad behaviour during slavery or form time. The consequences or "Cs" as they were known with pupils were as follows:

• C1 - A Verbal warning
• C2 - A further verbal warning
• C3 - Lines, which were completed and placed in a small postbox outside the year head's office the next day
• C4 - Detention and lines
• C5 - Immediate isolation with detention and lines. If this consequence was issued, the teacher would immediately call (often via phone) for a senior member of staff, who would escort the pupil to a top floor room on Kay side filled with empty filing cabinets.

In 2004 the system changed again. No longer using the concept of Cs (although very similar) to represent different levels of consequences a new set of punishments was derived:

• Warning
• Formal warning
• Referral (an SMS text home to parents)
• Detention after school
• Straight isolation or removal into another classroom

Detentions and isolations are also accompanied by an SMS text home to parents to inform them of what had taken place. The SMS text system is also used to inform parents of other incidences such as the pupil not registering during form time, or an exceptional piece of work being handed in.

In 2010 a 'stamp' system was introduced. The students are issued with a planner at the beginning of the year with spaces for stamps which are given at the end of each lesson. The stamps reflect the student's behaviour during each lesson:

• Subject/Faculty stamp - if the student has performed well and completed the tasks set.
• You Can Do Better - if the student has been told off several times or not completed the work to the best of their ability.
• NIL - if the student is removed from lesson, has done very little/no work.
• No Homework - if they haven't appropriately done homework/done none at all.
• No Equipment - if the student has none/ fogotten some of their subject equipment.
• No PE Kit - if the pupil has forgotten their PE Kit (they can borrow a kit, but still have to get the stamp)
• Uniform - if the pupil has chewed gum or their uniform is not appropriate.
• Late(pupil's fault) - issued with this stamp if they arrive less than 5 minutes/later than the lesson starts.
• Late(by bus) - issued with a special coloured late stamp, if it is the bus that has made them late. {The student will get their form stamp at the end of the day, as it wasn't their fault, providing they haven't got any bad stamps}

• Merits - The teachers are allowed to give 3 merits out per lesson, these may go to several or one person.

At the end of the school day, each student goes to their form room. Here, they receive a tutor stamp if they have had all subject stamps. If not, they get a you can do better (even if they have had all subject stamps but behaved inappropriately during tutor time).

School times and timetable

In 2010, the school time changed to 8:45–15:05 instead of 9:00–15:30. That will mean that students have to get to school a little earlier, break is 15 minutes instead of 20, lunch is half an hour instead of 40 minutes and form time is at the end of the day, taking up 20 minutes instead of thirty.

Also, to make things easier, there is now a 1 week timetable opposed to two. This all means that the school day is simplified and made shorter, having school clubs in form time. Extracurricular clubs are after school.

Trivia

- The School's Teachers regularly produce a music video for the students that are leaving at the end of the year. the Teacher's rendition of "don't stop believing" was so popular, it became a YouTube hit and was featured on FOX News in America.

2010: "Don't Stop Believing"

2011: "Firework"