Bishop Stopford School
Encyclopedia
Bishop Stopford CofE School is an academy
school in Kettering, England. It exists primarily to meet the needs of parents who wish their children to be educated by a system which encourages pupils to continue their understanding of life based on the Christian Faith as taught by the Church of England
.
The school is located in the Headlands. The Headteacher is Mrs. Margaret Holman, who replaced Mr. James Colquhoun in 2001. The deputy heads are Rob King, Frances Ward, Gerry Kirke, Arthur Harwood and Jill Silverthorne.
This old town school survived until 1965 when a purpose-built Secondary Modern institution was opened in Headlands as a much needed replacement. The late Robert Stopford, who was Bishop of Peterborough at the time, agreed to the new School being named after him and thereby endorsed the continuity of Church-inspired education in Kettering and throughout the diocese. Bishop Stopford School quickly established itself, soon introduced a Sixth Form and eventually admitted its first full Comprehensive intake in 1976. It has been oversubscribed almost ever since. The School has also benefited from an extensive programme of new buildings and refurbishment over the years to meet the demands of modern-day students and a changing curriculum.
In recent years various additional building projects have been undertaken, in particular major expansion and refurbishment of the design and technology department, library, science department, the subsequent construction of the sixth form centre, Octagon building and sports hall. Subsequently, Bishop Stopford School has been nominated for Midlands School Of The Year four-years running.
In 2008 Bishop Stopford opened its newly re-developed Library. It is named after the late teacher Ian Smith, who lost his battle with cancer in 2007.
The number-on-roll has more than doubled since 1965 to approximately 1450 students, with a Sixth Form of over 350 (one of the biggest in Northamptonshire). Exam results tend to be well above county and national averages.
Since 1965 the number of pupils attending the school has doubled, with approximately 1450 students on the roll. This includes one of the largest sixth forms in the county, with over 350 pupils.
There are generally eight houses in each year group, each with approximately 37 students; students each wear a tie depicting their house colour and coat of arms. In 2009 clip-on ties were made part of the school uniform. These are named after great Church of England cathedrals: Canterbury (white), Durham (light blue), Ely (orange), Gloucester (emerald green) - collectively known as Band A; and Peterborough (purple), Salisbury (grey), Winchester (red) and York (yellow) - collectively known as Band B. This division is based on the alphabetical placing of the house name. In 1997, due to a large intake, an extra house was created for that year group only, named Lincoln (mint green).
The school has a series of residential trips available during key stage three; students have previously visited various countries including Hawaii
, Italy
, New Zealand
, Brittany
, Isles of Scilly
, South Africa
and Austria
. In 2006, the school made news worldwide when students were attacked and held hostage during a sports trip to South Africa.
In addition, many subject-related day and residential trips are available throughout the school, including fieldwork for subjects such as geography
and geology
.
and LEA Faith School. The school is also an Anglican Foundation in the Diocese of Peterborough, as well as being a member of the Woodard Corporation
; a collection of Church of England Schools. Bishop Stopford was awarded the School Achievement Award in 2002 and the Artsmark
Silver. An Artsmark is awarded to schools who show a commitment to the full range of arts - music, dance, drama and art & design. It is a national award scheme and is managed by Arts Council England
. The school also has the Sportsmark
Status. A Sportsmark is awarded to schools who show a commitment to the full range of Sport, managed by Sport England
. The school also achieved ICT Mark status in 2008.
, the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and donations from associates of the school. In addition to use for physical education lessons, the facility is intended for use by the wider community. A community Sports Development Officer works in tandem with the school to encourage participation in sport within the community, and promote an ethos of "Sport for All". In particular the effort focuses on eight target sports; badminton, tennis, netball, trampolining, cricket basketball, football and table tennis. The centre is used by local sports clubs, an aerobics group, and hosts holiday sport and art activities. Mr Paul Rice manages the School Sports Centre along with a team of Sixth Formers
Charity Raisers (CR) was the school's charity group from 2008 - 2010 led by Gary L Johnson. The groups main focus was “getting the whole school, working together to raise money for charity in new and fun exciting ways. CR main money raisers were from its live charity shows, starring staff and students. All money raised from these events went strait to the chosen charity at the time including RND, Children in Need, Donna's Dream House Blackpool, Povertee Day and Trusts set up in memory for past students.
Past CR Productions include:
Charity Raisers raised over £8,000 in the two years at Bishop Stopford and they whole team would like to thank everyone who have supported them over the two years.
The Sixthform regularly holds mock elections, in the last one in 2010 the Conservative Party
, the Labour Party
, the Green Party
took part as well as the Liberal Democrats
who won the poll.
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
school in Kettering, England. It exists primarily to meet the needs of parents who wish their children to be educated by a system which encourages pupils to continue their understanding of life based on the Christian Faith as taught by the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
.
The school is located in the Headlands. The Headteacher is Mrs. Margaret Holman, who replaced Mr. James Colquhoun in 2001. The deputy heads are Rob King, Frances Ward, Gerry Kirke, Arthur Harwood and Jill Silverthorne.
History
The school was founded in 1535, when the rector of St Peter and St Paul directed one of his curates to "instruct boys of the parish". The Church of England established four more schools in Kettering over the years, including the parochial school which was opened in 1819 in the Horsemarket.This old town school survived until 1965 when a purpose-built Secondary Modern institution was opened in Headlands as a much needed replacement. The late Robert Stopford, who was Bishop of Peterborough at the time, agreed to the new School being named after him and thereby endorsed the continuity of Church-inspired education in Kettering and throughout the diocese. Bishop Stopford School quickly established itself, soon introduced a Sixth Form and eventually admitted its first full Comprehensive intake in 1976. It has been oversubscribed almost ever since. The School has also benefited from an extensive programme of new buildings and refurbishment over the years to meet the demands of modern-day students and a changing curriculum.
In recent years various additional building projects have been undertaken, in particular major expansion and refurbishment of the design and technology department, library, science department, the subsequent construction of the sixth form centre, Octagon building and sports hall. Subsequently, Bishop Stopford School has been nominated for Midlands School Of The Year four-years running.
In 2008 Bishop Stopford opened its newly re-developed Library. It is named after the late teacher Ian Smith, who lost his battle with cancer in 2007.
The number-on-roll has more than doubled since 1965 to approximately 1450 students, with a Sixth Form of over 350 (one of the biggest in Northamptonshire). Exam results tend to be well above county and national averages.
School life
The school places an emphasis on a Christian ethos of education of school values, the Christian Union and the school Chaplain, Revd Josh Jones, playing an integral role in school life. Running alongside curricular lessons are Eucharists, some of which are of mandatory attendance for all pupils in the school, with more frequent voluntary services held for those who wish to pursue their faith more rigorously.Since 1965 the number of pupils attending the school has doubled, with approximately 1450 students on the roll. This includes one of the largest sixth forms in the county, with over 350 pupils.
There are generally eight houses in each year group, each with approximately 37 students; students each wear a tie depicting their house colour and coat of arms. In 2009 clip-on ties were made part of the school uniform. These are named after great Church of England cathedrals: Canterbury (white), Durham (light blue), Ely (orange), Gloucester (emerald green) - collectively known as Band A; and Peterborough (purple), Salisbury (grey), Winchester (red) and York (yellow) - collectively known as Band B. This division is based on the alphabetical placing of the house name. In 1997, due to a large intake, an extra house was created for that year group only, named Lincoln (mint green).
The school has a series of residential trips available during key stage three; students have previously visited various countries including Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In 2006, the school made news worldwide when students were attacked and held hostage during a sports trip to South Africa.
In addition, many subject-related day and residential trips are available throughout the school, including fieldwork for subjects such as geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
.
Affiliations and awards
Bishop Stopford is a DfES Technology CollegeTechnology College
Technology College is a term used in the United Kingdom for a secondary specialist school that focuses on design and technology, mathematics and science. These were the first type of specialist schools, beginning in 1994. In 2008 there were 598 Technology Colleges in England, of which 12 also...
and LEA Faith School. The school is also an Anglican Foundation in the Diocese of Peterborough, as well as being a member of the Woodard Corporation
Woodard Schools
Woodard Schools is a group of Anglican schools affiliated to the Woodard Corporation which has its origin in the work of Nathaniel Woodard, an Anglo-Catholic clergyman....
; a collection of Church of England Schools. Bishop Stopford was awarded the School Achievement Award in 2002 and the Artsmark
Artsmark
Artsmark is a national award scheme managed by Arts Council England. The scheme, that is open to all schools in England, recognises schools with a high level of provision in the arts.There are three levels of award:* Artsmark Gold* Artsmark Silver...
Silver. An Artsmark is awarded to schools who show a commitment to the full range of arts - music, dance, drama and art & design. It is a national award scheme and is managed by Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
. The school also has the Sportsmark
Sportsmark
Sportsmark is Sport England's accreditation scheme for secondary schools. The scheme recognises a school's out of hours sports provision.Sportsmark awards are given to secondary schools for provision for sport and physical education. They are currently being reviewed along with Activemark awards...
Status. A Sportsmark is awarded to schools who show a commitment to the full range of Sport, managed by Sport England
Sport England
Sport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The school also achieved ICT Mark status in 2008.
Sports facilities
The school's Community Sports Centre opened in 1999, funded by Sport EnglandSport England
Sport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and donations from associates of the school. In addition to use for physical education lessons, the facility is intended for use by the wider community. A community Sports Development Officer works in tandem with the school to encourage participation in sport within the community, and promote an ethos of "Sport for All". In particular the effort focuses on eight target sports; badminton, tennis, netball, trampolining, cricket basketball, football and table tennis. The centre is used by local sports clubs, an aerobics group, and hosts holiday sport and art activities. Mr Paul Rice manages the School Sports Centre along with a team of Sixth Formers
Charity work
Bishop Stopford School has always lead the way in helping raise money for many different charities around the world. Bishop Stopford School has its own charity group led by a group of students from all years. The group organises all the non-uniform days to raise money for the school chosen charities.Charity Raisers (CR) was the school's charity group from 2008 - 2010 led by Gary L Johnson. The groups main focus was “getting the whole school, working together to raise money for charity in new and fun exciting ways. CR main money raisers were from its live charity shows, starring staff and students. All money raised from these events went strait to the chosen charity at the time including RND, Children in Need, Donna's Dream House Blackpool, Povertee Day and Trusts set up in memory for past students.
Past CR Productions include:
- FOR ONE LUNCH TIME ONLY (Children In Need)
- A LUNCH TIME CABARET (RND'09)
- OPEN MIC (PoverTee Day 2009)
- THE BIG BISHOP CIRCUS (Children In Need)
- THE BEST FROM GOGO AND MISS RINGMASTER (Earthquake Appeal)
- THE MAD HATTER'S CHARITY TEAPARTY (Hannah Payne Trust)
Charity Raisers raised over £8,000 in the two years at Bishop Stopford and they whole team would like to thank everyone who have supported them over the two years.
The Prime Minister's Global Fellowship
The school had its first student attain a place on the prestigious Prime Minister's Global Fellowship programme in 2009.School Council
Bishop Stopford has several school councils in which its students represent the views of their peers. There are individual councils for each year group from Year 7 to Year 11 and a school council which has representatives from each year group.The Sixthform regularly holds mock elections, in the last one in 2010 the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, the Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
took part as well as the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
who won the poll.