Norton Hill School
Encyclopedia
Norton Hill School is a state school with academy status in Midsomer Norton
, Somerset
, England. It was formerly the Midsomer Norton Grammar School.
The school has approximately 1,470 students from the age of 11 to 18. It is situated in the Norton Hill area of west Midsomer Norton
, north of Radstock
. It is between Silver Street (B3355) and Fosseway (A367) near the former Midsomer Norton railway station
, being nearer to Silver Street and just east of the railway centre.
In the 1950s, Midsomer Norton Grammar School teacher David Penrose and pupils from the school explored the newly-discovered Hillier's Cave
in the Mendip Hills
, naming it after Gordon Hillier, headmaster at the school from 1926 to 1958.
Norton Hill became a comprehensive school
in September 1970. Seondary Modern schools at Paulton
and Timsbury
were also closed and their catchment areas and historical documentation transferred to Norton Hill.
In 1999, it gained specialist school
status as a Technology College
. In 2007, the specialism was changed to Maths and Computing College. In 2006, Norton Hill was awarded a second specialism as a Language College
.
The school has received both the Sportsmark
Award by Sport England and Artsmark
Silver Award.
in 2007 as outstanding in every respect.
Its GCSE results place it seventh overall and fourth in the state schools in Bath and North East Somerset. At A-Level it is 12th in the area for points per pupil score, just below the average.
Midsomer Norton
Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, north-east of Wells, north-west of Frome, and south-east of Bristol. It has a population of 10,458. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. It was formerly the Midsomer Norton Grammar School.
The school has approximately 1,470 students from the age of 11 to 18. It is situated in the Norton Hill area of west Midsomer Norton
Midsomer Norton
Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, north-east of Wells, north-west of Frome, and south-east of Bristol. It has a population of 10,458. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton...
, north of Radstock
Radstock
Radstock is a town in Somerset, England, south west of Bath, and north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset and had a population of 5,275 according to the 2001 Census...
. It is between Silver Street (B3355) and Fosseway (A367) near the former Midsomer Norton railway station
Midsomer Norton railway station
Midsomer Norton railway station was a station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway between and Shepton Mallet. It served the town of Midsomer Norton. The station was immortalised in 1964 in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann...
, being nearer to Silver Street and just east of the railway centre.
Grammar school
Some of the current school buildings date back to its original foundation as Midsomer Norton Grammar School in 1911.In the 1950s, Midsomer Norton Grammar School teacher David Penrose and pupils from the school explored the newly-discovered Hillier's Cave
Hillier's Cave
Hillier's Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry, near Stoke St Michael in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.It falls within the St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest....
in the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
, naming it after Gordon Hillier, headmaster at the school from 1926 to 1958.
Norton Hill became a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in September 1970. Seondary Modern schools at Paulton
Paulton
Paulton is a large village and civil parish, with a population of 4,896, located to the north of the Mendip Hills, in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset , England....
and Timsbury
Timsbury
Timsbury is a village located in Hampshire, England, near the town of Romsey. It lies mainly along the A3057 road running north from Romsey towards Stockbridge. It has a population of around 400. Timsbury has grown from a traditional village centred on the Manor House and the Church of St Andrew...
were also closed and their catchment areas and historical documentation transferred to Norton Hill.
In 1999, it gained specialist school
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
status as a Technology College
Technology 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...
. In 2007, the specialism was changed to Maths and Computing College. In 2006, Norton Hill was awarded a second specialism as a 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...
.
The school has received both 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...
Award by Sport England and 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 Award.
Academic performance
The school was described by OfstedOfsted
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 ....
in 2007 as outstanding in every respect.
Its GCSE results place it seventh overall and fourth in the state schools in Bath and North East Somerset. At A-Level it is 12th in the area for points per pupil score, just below the average.
Midsomer Norton Grammar School
- Prof Christopher Foster, George Holt Professor of Pathology since 1994 at the University of LiverpoolUniversity of LiverpoolThe University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
- Prof Leslie Rowsell MooreLeslie Rowsell MooreProfessor L.R. Moore, , was Sorby Professor of Geology at Sheffield University, where under his leadership its geology department became one of the largest in the country. He also made significant advances in the study of palaeobotany and palynology. He was called as an expert witness at the...
, Sorby Professor of Geology from 1949 to 1977 at the University of SheffieldUniversity of SheffieldThe University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities... - Sir Kenneth Warren (briefly), Conservative MP for HastingsHastings (UK Parliament constituency)Hastings was a parliamentary constituency in Sussex. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1885 general election, when its representation was reduced to one member....
from 1970 to 1983 and Hastings and Rye from 1983 to 1992
Norton Hill School
- Duncan SteelDuncan SteelDr Duncan I. Steel, BSc, MSc, DIC, PhD, FRAS , is a British/Australian scientist born in Midsomer Norton, Somerset. He is a world-renowned space science authority who has worked with NASA to assess the threat of comet and asteroid collisions and investigate technologies to avert such impacts...
, world authority on space science and asteroid collisions.