Cottesloe School
Encyclopedia
About the School
The Cottesloe School, formerly known as Wing County Secondary School, is a co-educational secondary school located on the outskirts of Wing, Buckinghamshire. It occupies a very large rural site with views of the countryside in one direction and overlooking Wing village and its Saxon church in the other. The school is a secondary school, which takes children from the age of eleven through to the age of eighteen. The school has 1146 students, of which over 170 are in the Sixth Form. The school population has grown rapidly over the last few years and serves a large rural catchment in the north of Buckinghamshire, as well as parts of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Since 2009 the School has been oversubscribed at Year 7.The last Ofsted report in 2009 stated; “A high proportion of parents responded to the parental questionnaire. The majority are positive about the work of the school, in particular the recent improvements. Parents value the support provided by the school for students.”
Uniform
Below Sixth Form, the School has a strict uniform policy which students must adhere to at all times. The Sixth Form Dress Code asks students to dress appropriately for a place of work. Most students choose smart casual clothes, not jeans and t-shirts, which include trousers and jackets, skirts and blouses/jumpers.Expansion
The Cottesloe School has grown rapidly over the last ten years with the building of three new teaching blocks. The latest build is that of a dining room. Work on the dining room and its kitchens were completed in February 2011. The school is still expected to increase in size because of the building of new houses in the nearby town of Leighton Buzzard.Examination Results
Examination results at The Cottesloe have shown significant improvement in recent years. In 2010, two thirds of students gained at least 5 A*-C grades at GCSE and 40% of the year group achieved 10 or more A*-C passes. A Level pass rates rose from 87% to 96%.Sixth form
The School’s Sixth Form has increased considerably over the last five years. In 2005 fewer than 70 students attended the Sixth Form but in 2010 there are over 170 on roll. This has impacted on facilities but with the new dining hall in place as of February 2011, more space has been freed up.Each year there is a Head Boy, Head Girl and Deputies appointed and these help constitute the Sixth Form Committee. Other members include the Head Boy and Head Girl, plus two deputies, from each of the four Houses (Austen, Churchill, Nightingale and Shakespeare).
Houses
The Cottesloe School believes that the House System enhances our extra-curricular programme, encourages healthy competition and promotes greater interaction between senior and junior students. As already mentioned, there are four main Houses, Austen; Churchill; Nightingale and Shakespeare, each led by a member of staff and a Head Boy, Head Girl and two deputies. In 2010 Churchill won the overall House Competition.Specialism
In September 2006 the school was awarded Specialist Status as an Arts College, by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) The Specialism is with the Arts, made up of Art and Photography, Drama and English. This has recently been re-designated (July 2010).Since the School was awarded Arts College Status, we have worked tirelessly to establish the School’s arts programme. In addition to the many arts projects introduced during the first year, we introduced Arts Week. The aim was that for one week each year the school would offer its students the opportunity to experience as many creative, exciting and motivational arts experiences as possible
Developments
In January 2008, the School was awarded Sports mark status by the English Sports Council.During the last academic year (2009-10), The Cottesloe School was presented with its Healthy Schools award. Healthy Schools is intended to deliver real benefits in respect of:
- Improvement in health and reduced health inequalities;
- Raised pupil achievement;
- More social inclusion; and,
- Closer working between health promotion providers and education establishments
The Summer Term of 2010 ended on a very high note with the School being awarded the top grade of ‘outstanding’ for our programme of staff professional development. The Cottesloe is the first school in the area of Buckinghamshire (grammar or upper) to receive the CPD Mark.
The School has also been fortunate enough to receive funding from the local council to build a much needed dining hall. This was completed and opened in February 2011. The dining hall seats 250 students at any one time. In addition to this, the kitchen operates as a satellite kitchen to feeder schools in the area.
Working with the Local Community
Over the last few years, the School has worked closely with some feeder schools in particular, providing support through its Arts Specialism. Two local feeder schools have been involved in last year’s School productions of ‘Joseph’ and the performance of ‘Oliver’ (Dec 2010). As part of their Sixth Form study, students participate in an Enrichment Programme. For the last three years this has involved a number of students working with MacIntyre School and Carey Lodge, Wing.MacIntyre School, Wingrave, is an independent special boarding school which meets the needs of 36 young people who are described as having complex learning difficulties. Many of the students have Autism, severe learning disabilities, epilepsy, behavioural problems, communication difficulties, sensory impairments and may exhibit challenging behaviour if frightened or confused. The Cottesloe School students support them in the classrooms when their enrichment programme.
Carey Lodge is a 75-room residential and dementia care home built on the site of the old ‘Wing Lodge’. The students have been involved in one off projects, such as designing a sensory garden for the residents, as well as visiting on a weekly basis and reading to the residents, playing cards and board games and just communicating with the residents.