St. Bartholomew's School
Encyclopedia
St Bartholomew's School (colloquially St Bart's) is a co-educational comprehensive school
founded in 1466 in Newbury
, Berkshire
in the United Kingdom
. It accepts students aged 11–18 and currently has approximately 1,600 students on roll including a sixth form of around 400. The school is regarded as the 42nd oldest school in the UK, still in existence.
It is one of only a few comprehensive schools to participate in the Combined Cadet Force
(a programme sponsored by the Ministry of Defence
), with around 200 cadets between the ages of 14 and 18 taking part in weekly training sessions and annual residential trips.
It is also one of the few state schools to play the sport of women's lacrosse. The school has produced many talented players who have represented Berkshire at U15 and U19 level. Some have also gone on to represent England and Wales.
The school recently made history by becoming the first ever state school to triumph in the prestigious Schools and Universities Polo Association Cup.
, whereby students are divided up into four houses, each of which is named after a former pupil who was killed in the First World War:
, whilst purple
is used occasionally in conjunction with the main colour. The fourth house in the boys' school formerly always used purple, but switched to the gold of the girls' school's fourth house when the schools merged in 1975.
.
Each house also has a house charity, students try to raise as much money as possible for the charity through sponsored events.
St Bartholomew's sixth form students were previously based on the Wormestall site. In November 2010, students moved into the new building, situated on the site previously called "Luker". The new building brought the sixth form and lower school students together. These improvements were thought to be efficient as reduced the changeover time between lessons; students and teachers now no longer have to make the 5 minute walk between sites.
suites.
The two information technology classrooms are situated on the ground level, on opposite sides of the building. There are around 30 computers in each room, as well as an interactive whiteboard in each. Situated in the centre of the ground floor is a conference room that can be split in to two rooms that displays artwork. The Lifelong Learning Centre (including the computer rooms) are available to hire for conferences, training and seminars to members of the public and is used for school meetings at other times.
On the first floor is a library, with a range of books as well as 16 computer terminals, some reserved for sixth form. On the south-eastern end of the libraries is a sixth form study area, as well as a small careers room.
: Kennet School
, Theale Green Community School and John O'Gaunt Community Technology College
. The rebuild project was intended to be completed by September 2009 but is now expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Work began in the early spring 2009, under the name The Ad Lucem Project. Contractors Mace Plus Ltd. have been appointed to run the project. Whilst several proposals were considered, the final application involved completely rebuilding the school, with access provided through Fifth Road. This application was approved by a West Berkshire Council Planning Committee on 20 February 2008. Wilmott Dixon, who have been appointed in place of Mace Plus, started preparation works on the site on 30 March. After completion the school was officially opened on 30 March 2011 by The Countess of Wessex
in December 2009 and was rated 'good'.
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...
founded in 1466 in Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It accepts students aged 11–18 and currently has approximately 1,600 students on roll including a sixth form of around 400. The school is regarded as the 42nd oldest school in the UK, still in existence.
It is one of only a few comprehensive schools to participate in the Combined Cadet Force
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
(a programme sponsored by the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
), with around 200 cadets between the ages of 14 and 18 taking part in weekly training sessions and annual residential trips.
It is also one of the few state schools to play the sport of women's lacrosse. The school has produced many talented players who have represented Berkshire at U15 and U19 level. Some have also gone on to represent England and Wales.
The school recently made history by becoming the first ever state school to triumph in the prestigious Schools and Universities Polo Association Cup.
House system
The school operates a house systemHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
, whereby students are divided up into four houses, each of which is named after a former pupil who was killed in the First World War:
| Colour(s) | House | House Head | Deputy House Head | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Davis | Mrs. Duly | Mrs. Hodgkin | ||
| Robert Patterson | Mr. Brennan | Mrs. Pritchard | ||
| George Ashwin Curnock | Mrs. Mounsey | Mrs. Kempster | ||
| Bertram SaxelbyeEvers | Mr. Metcalfe | Ms. Evans | ||
Patterson House colours
Patterson house uses the colour goldGold (color)
Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
, whilst purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
is used occasionally in conjunction with the main colour. The fourth house in the boys' school formerly always used purple, but switched to the gold of the girls' school's fourth house when the schools merged in 1975.
Competitions
Each house enters into annual competitions in sports, music and drama versus the other houses, where pupils represent their house. Examples of these are the house netball, house football, house rugby, house lacrosse, house hockey, house tennis, house rounders, house dance, house choir, house instrumental, and many others. There are also house plays which are written by year 12 students (age 16 and 17) and performed by year 10 students (age 14 and 15). There is a great sense of competition between houses, with students forming loyalties to their respective house. The winning house in each competition is awarded a certain number of points, which are accrued during the academic year. The house with the most points at the end of the year will win the House Championship. Junior/Senior House Colour Awards, in the form of ties for boys and sashes for girls, are awarded at the end of Years 10 and/or 12 to students who excel in a certain field, either academic or extracurricular. The ties are distinct from the normal school tie, in that they are solely the colour of the owner's house. The sash is white, with the house's colour striped through, and is worn by females on the waistWaist
The waist is the part of the abdomen between the rib cage and hips. On proportionate people, the waist is the narrowest part of the torso....
.
Other House Events
Each house holds a house evening once a year, where students entertain parents and staff through music, dance, drama and comedic sketches.Each house also has a house charity, students try to raise as much money as possible for the charity through sponsored events.
Facilities
- St Bartholomew's is based on two sites. The Luker site, at one end of Buckingham Road was formerly Newbury County Girls' Grammar School. The Wormestall site, at the opposite end of Buckingham Road, was formerly St Bartholomew's Boys' Grammar School. The two grammar schools merged in 1975 to form a large comprehensive.
- Both sites have large playing fields, tennis courts and sports changing rooms. However much of this "green space" will be lost with the construction of a new school building and flats which is expected to open in 2010.
- Across the Luker site, there are five dedicated ICT suites, as well as computer terminals in the library and other classrooms. Every student and teacher has a unique username/passwordPasswordA password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
combination to access their own area of the network; as of 2007, every permanent teacher has a laptopLaptopA laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
provided by the school, and all registration throughout the day is controlled through the student information systemStudent information systemA student info system is a software application for education establishments to manage student data. Student information systems provide capabilities for entering student test and other assessment scores through an electronic grade book, building student schedules, tracking student attendance, and...
.
- Each site has a large hall with stage. The Wormestall stage has a trapdoorTrapdoorA trapdoor is a door set into a floor or ceiling .Originally, trapdoors were sack traps in mills, and allowed the sacks to pass up through the mill while naturally falling back to a closed position....
. The Luker site has a drama studio in which some lessons take place.
- Wormestall hall houses a completely new mirror, for dancing opportunities which replaced the climbing wall in 2008.
- St Bart's is one of around 55 schools in England with facilities for playing Eton FivesEton FivesEton Fives, one derivative of the British game of Fives, is a hand-ball game, similar to Rugby Fives, played as doubles in a three-sided court. The object is to force the other team to fail to hit the ball 'up' off the front wall, using any variety of wall or ledge combinations as long as the ball...
. The facilities were cleaned up in 2006, and the school now has a functional team for the game.
- The school demolished its swimming pool in Summer 2009.
History
The school was founded in 1466 from the legacy of Henry Wormestall who set aside £12 2s 4d annually for "teching gramar scole of the whiche that toune hath grete nede".| Date | | Event |
|---|---|
| 1466 | Male-only St Bartholomew's Boys' Grammar School founded in a building near the junction of Pound St and Bartholomew St Moved to Wormestall around 1880. |
| 1904 | Female-only Newbury County Girls Grammar School founded at the Luker site. |
| 1966 | The school celebrates quincentenary. School Pageant attended by Agatha Christie |
| 26 May 1972 | Visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,... . She opens Luker Hall. |
| 1975 | Newbury County Girls' Grammar School and St Bartholomew's Boys' Grammar School merge to form the present-day comprehensive school |
| September 2002 | School designated as a Business and Enterprise College Business and Enterprise College Business and Enterprise Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields... - a 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 |
| October 2010 | Projected completion of the Ad Lucem Project |
| 22 November 2010 | Opening of the new St Bartholomew's School building for academic purposes |
| 30 March 2011 | Official opening of the new St Bartholomew's School building |
Alumni
The alumni of St Bartholomew's are referred to as Old Newburians.- Herbert Akroyd StuartHerbert Akroyd StuartHerbert Akroyd-Stuart was an English inventor who is noted for his invention of the hot bulb engine, or heavy oil engine.-Life:...
- inventor - Charles Neufeld - inventor
- Robert NewtonRobert NewtonRobert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
- actor - Sir Denys PageDenys PageSir Denys Lionel Page was a British classical scholar at Oxford and Cambridge.-Early life:Born at Reading, Page was the son of Frederick Harold Dunn Page, a chartered civil engineer of the Great Western Railway, and his wife Elsie Daniels. He was educated at St...
- classicist - Brian PikeBrian PikeBrian Pike is a British artist.In 1988 he was awarded a PhD in Philosophy by Cambridge University. Shortly thereafter he moved to Richmond, North Yorkshire, where he set up as a professional artist...
- artist - Lucy WorsleyLucy WorsleyDr Lucy Worsley is a British historian and curator.Worsley was born and grew up in Reading. Her father is a geologist and Emeritus Professor at Reading University. Before going to University she attended St Bartholomew's School, Newbury...
- historian and curator
Sixth Form
The Lifelong Learning Centre
The Lifelong Learning Centre, built in the summer of 2002, is a purpose-built library, conference and training facility that includes two large information technologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
suites.
The two information technology classrooms are situated on the ground level, on opposite sides of the building. There are around 30 computers in each room, as well as an interactive whiteboard in each. Situated in the centre of the ground floor is a conference room that can be split in to two rooms that displays artwork. The Lifelong Learning Centre (including the computer rooms) are available to hire for conferences, training and seminars to members of the public and is used for school meetings at other times.
On the first floor is a library, with a range of books as well as 16 computer terminals, some reserved for sixth form. On the south-eastern end of the libraries is a sixth form study area, as well as a small careers room.
The Ad Lucem Project
On 23 November 2006, St Bartholomew's was awarded a government grant to be used to rebuild its premises. The school was chosen ahead of three other schools in BerkshireBerkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
: Kennet School
Kennet School
Kennet School is a secondary school in Thatcham, Berkshire, England. Formerly a comprehensive school run by the West Berkshire Education Authority, the school became an independently-run academy on 1 April 2011. In 2006, Kennet was the highest achieving comprehensive school in West Berkshire using...
, Theale Green Community School and John O'Gaunt Community Technology College
John O'Gaunt Community Technology College
John O'Gaunt Community Technology College is a comprehensive and Technology College of approximately 633 pupils in Hungerford, Berkshire, England. It was Berkshire's first community school. The school was built in 1962 and is a fusion of 1960s decor and 1990s pre-fabricated buildings...
. The rebuild project was intended to be completed by September 2009 but is now expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Work began in the early spring 2009, under the name The Ad Lucem Project. Contractors Mace Plus Ltd. have been appointed to run the project. Whilst several proposals were considered, the final application involved completely rebuilding the school, with access provided through Fifth Road. This application was approved by a West Berkshire Council Planning Committee on 20 February 2008. Wilmott Dixon, who have been appointed in place of Mace Plus, started preparation works on the site on 30 March. After completion the school was officially opened on 30 March 2011 by The Countess of Wessex
Ofsted Inspections
The school was last inspected 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 December 2009 and was rated 'good'.
See also
- List of schools in the United Kingdom
- List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom
- Specialist schoolSpecialist schoolThe 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...