Hummersknott School
Encyclopedia
Hummersknott Academy is a secondary school
in Darlington
in the north east of England
. It schools approximately 1250 pupils aged eleven to sixteen. It has specialist Language College
status. Although situated in a fairly affluent area, the school serves students from across Darlington, including areas of high social and economic disadvantage.
It was redesignated as a specialist language college in 2005 and holds accreditations for Artsmark Silver, Eco-schools Silver, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
silver award for Health and Safety and an International School Award. An Ofsted
report in November 2009 detailed the 'overall effectiveness of the school' as grade 2 , which is classified as 'good'. The Ofsted report also concluded that 'Hummersknott is a good school with a number of outstanding features' and 'the curriculum is good and improving'.
. It was officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 15 November 1955. In 1968 it was reorganised by the then Darlington County Borough to form one of six 11-16 co-educational comprehensive schools, with the Boys' Grammar School becoming a Sixth Form college
nearer the town centre and near to the College of Technology.
In July 2006 these were phased out and replaced by a system of colleges.
and the wider north east of England:
Each college is divided up into two forms, using the first letter from the name of the college, followed by the form tutor's code number. The alpha numeric code starts with the year at which the pupil is currently in, followed by one of the college first initial. E.g. A pupil who is in a year eight class and belongs to college Quaker would have '8Q' at the beginning. To follow on, the latter part of the code has the numbers derived from which ever subject that form tutor teachers; for example, English constitutes an 'E' at the start of the code, and from two letters from the teacher's surname. Staying with the former example of an year eight pupil in Quaker college, and said pupil has a history teacher called Robert Smith, as their form tutor; then the code would follow '8Q-HRB'.
A change to the College Music Festival within the past few years has been the introduction of a theme, examples include colour and the Olympics.
. Pupils and teachers are working together to raise money for the country. The school has helped to provide equipment, such as computers and contraceptives to a school in Lesotho. Pupils studying GCSE Religious Studies have the opportunity to visit Lesotho and the linked schools, at a time during the course.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
in the north east of 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 schools approximately 1250 pupils aged eleven to sixteen. It has specialist Language College
Language College
Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages...
status. Although situated in a fairly affluent area, the school serves students from across Darlington, including areas of high social and economic disadvantage.
It was redesignated as a specialist language college in 2005 and holds accreditations for Artsmark Silver, Eco-schools Silver, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is a British charity which aims to promote safety. It is particularly known for its vocal campaigns on issues of road safety, including Tufty the road crossing squirrel, the Cycling Proficiency Test and the Green Cross Code, as well as on issues of...
silver award for Health and Safety and an International School Award. 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 ....
report in November 2009 detailed the 'overall effectiveness of the school' as grade 2 , which is classified as 'good'. The Ofsted report also concluded that 'Hummersknott is a good school with a number of outstanding features' and 'the curriculum is good and improving'.
History
The school began life as the Darlington High School for Girls in 1955, a girls' grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
. It was officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 15 November 1955. In 1968 it was reorganised by the then Darlington County Borough to form one of six 11-16 co-educational comprehensive schools, with the Boys' Grammar School becoming a Sixth Form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
nearer the town centre and near to the College of Technology.
New build
In July, 2007 a £15 million scheme to demolish and replace some school buildings and renovate others was initiated. The bulk of the funding was provided by national government, with the local council providing £2.7m, and the school £0.7m. Work began on the school building during the Summer of 2007, although plans for the new design were drawn up a year earlier. The work was completed in 2010 and the refurbished school was 'reopened' by the Duke of Gloucester in September 2010.Academy Trust
The school became a self-governing Academy, under the name Hummersknott Academy on 1 July 2011. It is operated by the Hummersknott Academy Trust, a company limited by guarantee.House and college reform
Originally, when a grammar school for girls the School had six houses into which all pupils were distributed and these houses competed against each other in sporting and music competitions for the honour of winning the House Shield. The shields of each house can be seen above the doorways on the front of the school building. These houses were: Barret, Bede, Caedmon, Carroll, St. Hild and Wycliffe. The house system was changed in the late 1980s and the school played host to four houses: Dunelm, Edinburgh, Starmer, and Trinity.In July 2006 these were phased out and replaced by a system of colleges.
Colleges
Pupils are divided into five colleges named after a variety of cultural and local aspects of life, across DarlingtonDarlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
and the wider north east of England:
- Cuthbert (college colour - yellow), was named after St. Cuthbert whose cross can be seen on the school badge.
- Ketton (college colour - purple), was named after the famous Ketton OxDurham OxThe Durham Ox was a castrated bull which became famous in the early 19th century for its shape, size and weight. It was an early example of what became the Shorthorn breed of cattle, and helped establish the standards by which the breed was to be defined....
- Quaker (college colour - green), was named after the Religious group Quakers who were inhabitants of Darlington.
- Stephenson (college colour - red), was named after George StephensonGeorge StephensonGeorge Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
. - Wyvern (college colour - blue), was named after the famous WyvernWyvernA wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...
dragon, which is also visible on the school badge.
Each college is divided up into two forms, using the first letter from the name of the college, followed by the form tutor's code number. The alpha numeric code starts with the year at which the pupil is currently in, followed by one of the college first initial. E.g. A pupil who is in a year eight class and belongs to college Quaker would have '8Q' at the beginning. To follow on, the latter part of the code has the numbers derived from which ever subject that form tutor teachers; for example, English constitutes an 'E' at the start of the code, and from two letters from the teacher's surname. Staying with the former example of an year eight pupil in Quaker college, and said pupil has a history teacher called Robert Smith, as their form tutor; then the code would follow '8Q-HRB'.
| College | Departments | Head of College |
|---|---|---|
| Cuthbert | Humanities | Mr Bailey |
| Ketton | Science and PE | Mrs Farry |
| Quaker | Languages,ICT and Business | Mrs Farnell |
| Stephenson | Maths and Design Technology | Mr Janes |
| Wyvern | English and Performing Arts | Mrs Still |
The College Music Festival
Each year the College Music Festival is held within the first six weeks of returning to school. The College Music Festival comprises three sections:- dance,
- choir and
- ensemble.
A change to the College Music Festival within the past few years has been the introduction of a theme, examples include colour and the Olympics.
The Lesotho project
The school is currently linking with the less economically developed country of LesothoLesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
. Pupils and teachers are working together to raise money for the country. The school has helped to provide equipment, such as computers and contraceptives to a school in Lesotho. Pupils studying GCSE Religious Studies have the opportunity to visit Lesotho and the linked schools, at a time during the course.