St Laurence School
Encyclopedia
St Laurence School is a state secondary
comprehensive school
in Bradford on Avon
, Wiltshire
, UK.
, formerly in the district of West Wiltshire
. The current headteacher is James Colquhoun. It takes pupils also from Atworth, Monkton Farleigh, Winsley, Limpley Stoke South Wraxall, and Trowbridge. It is situated in the north-west of Bradford-on-Avon on the road out towards Little Ashley.
and Trinity Secondary Modern school
, opening on the Trinity site. In 2000 it became a Performing Arts College, resulting in extra investment in drama
, music
and dance
facilities. It is named after the historically-important saxon St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon
.
The school's teaching departments are spread across numerous buildings on the school site. The school site also includes a large sports hall and several sports courts, pitches and playing fields. A lecture theatre was built in 2007 and was joined last year by a state of the art independent learning centre.
In October 2005, a helium balloon launched at a school fete on 24 September 2005, was found by 53 year old Isak Toyra in Karesuando
, Sweden
who sent it back to the school, and claimed a £10 prize. Karesuando is 1,430 miles from the school, and information about the school was also sent to him.
opened in 1998. Private and curriculum-based music lessons are held in the classrooms and teaching rooms in this building; and school assemblies, exam presentations, and other special events are held in its main auditorium. The Music Centre also contains a recording studio.
underneath the school's sports fields. A more major excavation in 2003 uncovered Roman era
floor mosaic
s and walls once belonging to this villa, along with a stone structure believed to have once been part of an early Christian baptistery
.
. The school's inaugural MUN conference was held in November 2007, and was attended by delegates from state and private schools across the south west of England. The MUN conference is now a routinely run conference, hosting up to 150 students, over two days of debating. It is deemed as a conference of learning how the MUN debating system works, and thus does not hand out prizes (best delegate etc). It is highly regarded as a fun, but serious conference but the schools who attend.
s 3-5.
It gets the third best GCSE results for comprehensives in Wiltshire with very creditable results, and the seventh best for comprehensives at A level, with results above the England average. Most schools in Wiltshire achieve good results at A level: which is not always the case in other rural English counties.
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...
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 Bradford on Avon
Bradford on Avon
Bradford on Avon is a town in west Wiltshire, England with a population of about 9,326. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists....
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, UK.
Admissions
The school is also a specialist Arts CollegeArts College
Arts Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, the performing, visual and/or media arts...
, formerly in the district of West Wiltshire
West Wiltshire
West Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, further to the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the former urban districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury, along with Bradford and Melksham Rural District and...
. The current headteacher is James Colquhoun. It takes pupils also from Atworth, Monkton Farleigh, Winsley, Limpley Stoke South Wraxall, and Trowbridge. It is situated in the north-west of Bradford-on-Avon on the road out towards Little Ashley.
History
The school was founded in 1980 on as a result of the merger of Fitzmaurice Grammar SchoolFitzmaurice Grammar School
The Fitzmaurice Grammar School was a Grammar School in Bradford on Avon, England.. The school opened as the County School in 1897 with financial support from Edmond Fitzmaurice, 1st Baron Fitzmaurice. It was renamed Fitzmaurice Grammar School in 1936 after the death of Lord Fitzmaurice...
and Trinity Secondary Modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
, opening on the Trinity site. In 2000 it became a Performing Arts College, resulting in extra investment in drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
facilities. It is named after the historically-important saxon St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon
St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon
St Laurence's Church, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, is one of relatively few surviving Saxon churches in England that does not show later medieval alteration or rebuilding....
.
The school's teaching departments are spread across numerous buildings on the school site. The school site also includes a large sports hall and several sports courts, pitches and playing fields. A lecture theatre was built in 2007 and was joined last year by a state of the art independent learning centre.
In October 2005, a helium balloon launched at a school fete on 24 September 2005, was found by 53 year old Isak Toyra in Karesuando
Karesuando
Karesuando is the northernmost locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 313 inhabitants in 2005....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
who sent it back to the school, and claimed a £10 prize. Karesuando is 1,430 miles from the school, and information about the school was also sent to him.
Wiltshire Music Centre
The Wiltshire Music CentreWiltshire Music Centre
Wiltshire Music Centre is a unique contemporary building in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. It has a first class 300 seat concert hall with superb acoustics plus nine other teaching and workshop spaces of various sizes....
opened in 1998. Private and curriculum-based music lessons are held in the classrooms and teaching rooms in this building; and school assemblies, exam presentations, and other special events are held in its main auditorium. The Music Centre also contains a recording studio.
Roman villa remains
Aerial photographs and minor archaeological excavations in 1976 indicated the presence of the remains of a Roman VillaRoman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
underneath the school's sports fields. A more major excavation in 2003 uncovered Roman era
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
floor mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s and walls once belonging to this villa, along with a stone structure believed to have once been part of an early Christian baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
.
Model United Nations
St Laurence is one of only a handful of state-sector schools in the country to take part in Model United NationsModel United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
. The school's inaugural MUN conference was held in November 2007, and was attended by delegates from state and private schools across the south west of England. The MUN conference is now a routinely run conference, hosting up to 150 students, over two days of debating. It is deemed as a conference of learning how the MUN debating system works, and thus does not hand out prizes (best delegate etc). It is highly regarded as a fun, but serious conference but the schools who attend.
Academic performance
In 2008 65% of the school's GCSE pupils achieved grades 5 A* to C including English and Mathematics. Currently there are 1,215 pupils attending the school, across key stageKey Stage
A Key Stage is a stage of the state education system in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the British Territory of Gibraltar setting the educational knowledge expected of students at various ages...
s 3-5.
It gets the third best GCSE results for comprehensives in Wiltshire with very creditable results, and the seventh best for comprehensives at A level, with results above the England average. Most schools in Wiltshire achieve good results at A level: which is not always the case in other rural English counties.
Alumni
- Ed MckeeverEd McKeeverEd McKeever in Bath, Somerset is a British kayak athlete and current World and European Champion...
World and European Kayak 200m Champion studied at St Laurence between 1994-2001 - Nathan DyerNathan DyerNathan Antone Jonah Dyer is an English footballer who plays for Swansea City A.F.C. as a midfielder.-Southampton:Dyer was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, and joined the Southampton F.C. Academy as a teenager...
Professional footballer currently plying his trade for Swansea City - Laurence Ovens Professional rugby player for Bedford BluesBedford BluesBedford Blues is a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a league football club, and one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The...
- Emma PiersonEmma PiersonEmma Jane Pierson, better known as Emma Pierson, is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Anna Thornton-Wilton in the BBC television drama Hotel Babylon....
Actress - Charlotte LongCharlotte LongThe Honourable Charlotte Helen Long was a young British actress, the youngest daughter of the 4th Viscount Long...
Actress