St Bedes Inter-Church comprehensive school
Encyclopedia
St Bedes Inter-Church School with Humanities Status (formerly St Bedes Inter-Church Comprehensive School) is the only Christian state secondary school
in Cambridgeshire
. It is predominantly funded by the Cambridgeshire County Council Local Education Authority with support from both the Roman Catholic
Diocese of East Anglia
and Anglican Diocese of Ely
. The school currently has around 750 pupils and around 50 staff.
housed in one central building, under the leadership of headmaster K.G. Kent and around 18 nuns teaching and running the school. Over the years, the school began to admit students from other Christian denominations, notably the Anglican Church. In the light of the increasing ecumenical co-operation between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches the school was closed, re-opening in 1988 as a joint Catholic/Anglican foundation, St Bedes Inter-Church Comprehensive School, retaining most of the original staff, including the nuns, but with a new management. Gradually, the nuns disappeared, the last two leaving the school in 2001.
Since then the school has expanded and additional buildings have been added; first a technology block, housing Food Technology, Textiles Technology and Design Technology, although now also hosts Information Technology; then the St Etheldreda block, a suite of 12 general-purpose classrooms (the "B Block") in 1995. Three science laboratories were refurbished in 2001; in 2003, four new English classrooms, a purpose built drama and dance studio and purpose built music rooms were added and in 2005 a state of the art Sports Hall including teaching rooms and tennis courts brought the school to its present state. However, due to the increasing popularity and expansion of the school the site continued to need mobile classrooms to cope with the demand for teaching space. The latest £4m development began in August 2008, aiming to replace all mobile classrooms with six teaching rooms, two new art rooms and a digital media centre, a chaplaincy and more refurbished science labs. These include the latest developments such as geothermal heating and wireless internet access. The new Art and Chaplaincy building has been conntected to the technology and English/music/drama building to create one large building which can be walked through when raining; covered walkways will be added between the main block and "B" block, the only building which now stands alone.
It was originally two-form entry, with a total of 300 students, 60 in each year group. In response to increasing popularity and over-subscription it has gradually grown, the final stage of planned growth taking place between 2003 & 2007 when it grew from four-form to five-form entry.
In 2004 the school had its last full OFSTED inspection, and was designated as mainly satisfactory, but served with notice to improve subjects such as music and food technology.
The school gained Humanities Specialist Status in September 2005 with History as the lead subject and Geography/Religious Education in support. This has meant increased funding for those departments, providing them with two extra teachers and new resources. In 2009 the school was invited to apply for a second specialism in light of the school's success in the Humanities department. The choice was Maths & Computing: the Maths department had previously been nominated as a consultant Maths department.
The school's 2007 OFSTED
inspection judged it to be "a good school with outstanding features". However RE, Resistant Materials and ICT were noted to have lower achievement than other subjects in the school. After the inspection, Resistant Materials lost its status as an independent subject and, in 2008, new heads of department were appointed for RE and ICT.
In 2011, the school was re-inspected by OFSTED and designated as Outstanding in all areas except behaviour and overall quality of teaching, which it was advised to improve. .
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 Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. It is predominantly funded by the Cambridgeshire County Council Local Education Authority with support from both the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Diocese of East Anglia
Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia
The Diocese of East Anglia is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church covering the counties of Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk and also Peterborough in eastern England. The East Anglia diocese makes up part of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage....
and Anglican Diocese of Ely
Diocese of Ely
The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now covers Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk...
. The school currently has around 750 pupils and around 50 staff.
History
St Bede's opened in 1962 as a small Roman Catholic secondary schoolCatholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
housed in one central building, under the leadership of headmaster K.G. Kent and around 18 nuns teaching and running the school. Over the years, the school began to admit students from other Christian denominations, notably the Anglican Church. In the light of the increasing ecumenical co-operation between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches the school was closed, re-opening in 1988 as a joint Catholic/Anglican foundation, St Bedes Inter-Church Comprehensive School, retaining most of the original staff, including the nuns, but with a new management. Gradually, the nuns disappeared, the last two leaving the school in 2001.
Since then the school has expanded and additional buildings have been added; first a technology block, housing Food Technology, Textiles Technology and Design Technology, although now also hosts Information Technology; then the St Etheldreda block, a suite of 12 general-purpose classrooms (the "B Block") in 1995. Three science laboratories were refurbished in 2001; in 2003, four new English classrooms, a purpose built drama and dance studio and purpose built music rooms were added and in 2005 a state of the art Sports Hall including teaching rooms and tennis courts brought the school to its present state. However, due to the increasing popularity and expansion of the school the site continued to need mobile classrooms to cope with the demand for teaching space. The latest £4m development began in August 2008, aiming to replace all mobile classrooms with six teaching rooms, two new art rooms and a digital media centre, a chaplaincy and more refurbished science labs. These include the latest developments such as geothermal heating and wireless internet access. The new Art and Chaplaincy building has been conntected to the technology and English/music/drama building to create one large building which can be walked through when raining; covered walkways will be added between the main block and "B" block, the only building which now stands alone.
It was originally two-form entry, with a total of 300 students, 60 in each year group. In response to increasing popularity and over-subscription it has gradually grown, the final stage of planned growth taking place between 2003 & 2007 when it grew from four-form to five-form entry.
In 2004 the school had its last full OFSTED inspection, and was designated as mainly satisfactory, but served with notice to improve subjects such as music and food technology.
The school gained Humanities Specialist Status in September 2005 with History as the lead subject and Geography/Religious Education in support. This has meant increased funding for those departments, providing them with two extra teachers and new resources. In 2009 the school was invited to apply for a second specialism in light of the school's success in the Humanities department. The choice was Maths & Computing: the Maths department had previously been nominated as a consultant Maths department.
The school's 2007 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 ....
inspection judged it to be "a good school with outstanding features". However RE, Resistant Materials and ICT were noted to have lower achievement than other subjects in the school. After the inspection, Resistant Materials lost its status as an independent subject and, in 2008, new heads of department were appointed for RE and ICT.
In 2011, the school was re-inspected by OFSTED and designated as Outstanding in all areas except behaviour and overall quality of teaching, which it was advised to improve. .