Sunderland High School
Encyclopedia
Sunderland High School is an independent junior school
and senior school in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
, England
.
The school lays stress on the creation of a Christian
atmosphere. The school welcomes pupils of all faiths or none. The curriculum is broad and, from Year 10, is built around pupil choice. Examination results are amongst the best in the area at all levels from Key Stage 1 to A Level. In 2009 the school's A Level results were the best in the city with 63% of all entries at A or B grade.
The Senior School, Junior School and Nursery have all gained national quality awards. For example, in March 2006 it was - according to the national awarding body, BECTA - "one of the first schools in the country to achieve the BECTA ICT Mark".
The Junior School was the first school in the country to be awarded the Investors in People Leadership and Management Award.
The school was praised in the 2005 Independent Schools Inspectorate report, notably for its pastoral care and the quality of its extracurricular provision.
There is a good range of sports and extracurricular activities including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and Young Enterprise
, as well as World Challenge Expeditions - to Madagascar (2000) and Malawi (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009).
Junior school
A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....
and senior school in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
, 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...
.
The school lays stress on the creation of a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
atmosphere. The school welcomes pupils of all faiths or none. The curriculum is broad and, from Year 10, is built around pupil choice. Examination results are amongst the best in the area at all levels from Key Stage 1 to A Level. In 2009 the school's A Level results were the best in the city with 63% of all entries at A or B grade.
The Senior School, Junior School and Nursery have all gained national quality awards. For example, in March 2006 it was - according to the national awarding body, BECTA - "one of the first schools in the country to achieve the BECTA ICT Mark".
The Junior School was the first school in the country to be awarded the Investors in People Leadership and Management Award.
The school was praised in the 2005 Independent Schools Inspectorate report, notably for its pastoral care and the quality of its extracurricular provision.
There is a good range of sports and extracurricular activities including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and Young Enterprise
Young Enterprise
Young Enterprise is a not-for-profit business and enterprise education charity in the United Kingdom. It is made up of 12 regional organisations, each operating individually under a license agreement...
, as well as World Challenge Expeditions - to Madagascar (2000) and Malawi (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009).
School Timeline
The current school results from a merger in 1992 between Sunderland Church High School for Girls and Tonstall School for Boys.- 1884 - Sunderland Church High School founded
- 1914 - Tonstall School founded
- 1987 - Centenary Building opened on Mowbray Road
- 1992 - Sunderland High School founded from the merger of Sunderland Church High School and Tonstall School
- 1994 - Tonstall House opened by The Princess RoyalAnne, Princess RoyalPrincess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
- 1995 - Floodlit all-weather pitch opened
- 1996 - Carlton House Sixth Form Centre opened
- 1998 - The development programme for the future expansion of Sunderland High School continues with the acquisition of Sunderland UniversityUniversity of SunderlandThe University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....
Buildings - 2000 - Clifton Hall opened
- 2006 - Langham Tower opened by Kate AdieKate AdieKathryn "Kate" Adie , OBE , is a British journalist. Her most high-profile role was that of chief news correspondent for BBC News, during which time she became well known for reporting from war zones around the world...
- 2008/9 - 125th Anniversary year
Notable former pupils
- Kate AdieKate AdieKathryn "Kate" Adie , OBE , is a British journalist. Her most high-profile role was that of chief news correspondent for BBC News, during which time she became well known for reporting from war zones around the world...
- journalist and broadcaster - Marjorie ArnfieldMarjorie ArnfieldMarjorie Helen Arnfield, MBE was an English artist who specialised in both industrial and rural landscapes, painting in oil, acrylic and watercolour. Her landscapes, particularly her paintings of Provence and Spain, are characterized by vivid colours and an impressionistic style...
- artist - Jane GrigsonJane GrigsonJane Grigson was a notable English cookery writer.-Life and writings:...
- cookery writer - Lucinda LambtonLucinda LambtonLady Lucinda Lambton, Lady Worsthorne is a British writer, photographer and broadcaster on architectural subjects, born 10 May 1943, in Newcastle upon Tyne.Her father was the Conservative government defence minister Lord Lambton She is married to the journalist Peregrine WorsthorneShe left school...
- writer, photographer, television presenter and producer - Eileen O'ShaughnessyEileen O'ShaughnessyEileen Maud O'Shaughnessy was the first wife of British writer George Orwell.O'Shaughnessy was born in South Shields, County Durham, in the north-east of England, the only daughter of Marie O'Shaughnessy and Lawrence O'Shaughnessy, who was a customs collector...
- poet, wife of writer George OrwellGeorge OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist... - Denise RobertsonDenise RobertsonDenise Robertson MBE is a writer and television broadcaster in the United Kingdom...
- writer - Rachel HowardRachel HowardRachel Howard is a British artist.-Early life and career:Rachel Howard grew up in County Durham. She attended a Quaker school from the age of sixteen, and the stories, concerns and questions raised by religion have certainly had a profound effect on her work throughout her career. Howard graduated...
-artist
Buildings
The senior school comprises five main buildings including Main School (the original building), Centenary Building, Clifton Hall, Carlton House and Langham Tower. The purpose-built junior school is close by. Pupils from all parts of the school share the sports facilities which include a sports hall and all-weather pitch.- Main School - Purpose built in 1886-8, has many of the original features of the time. Now houses the large main assembly hall, form rooms, English, Art and the school's main library. The use of this building is slowly being transferred to the newer ones. This site also houses History, the Design Technology and Food and Nutrition departments, as well as a canteen.
- Carlton House - The oldest of all the buildings. Formerly Nicholson House, built in 1851 for William Nicholson, who ran a highly successful copper and ships’ metalware business. Main School and Langham Tower were both built in the grounds of this building. It houses the VI Form common room, VI Form ICT facilities and independent study rooms. It boasts a grand staircase.
- Centenary building - Built for the school's centenary (1984), it now houses the science labs, reasonably well equipped and of suitable size. Also situated there is the Business Studies Department, main ICT facilities and the Geography Department. This building is unusual from the outside, shaped in a large arch, with a road leading to the car park.
- Clifton Hall - Originally two pairs of semi-detached villas, joined together in a conversion to training college in a design by the local authority’s education architect Oliver Hall Mark in 1933. It had teaching facilities on the ground floor and residential accommodation above. When the school acquired this building in 2000, the First floor was totally redesigned. The Basement and Second floors are out of bounds and unused. The second floor, in fact is still separated into dorm rooms, some still complete with wardrobes, sinks and period carpet. Clifton Hall is now a pastoral base for Year 7 and Year 8. It accommodates Year 7 and 8 form rooms, the Mathematics Department and music and drama facilities. This site also encompasses the nearby Bede gym, formally a university canteen, used for healh related fitness. The design of the gym means that major indoor sports take place in the school's large sports hall on the junior school site. Precisely when the original Clifton Villas went up is not known. However, according to research by planner John Tumman, the estate owner Anthony John Moore, solicitor, water company chairman and mayor, lived next door in Bede Tower from 1852, and is known to have had grandiose plans for villas there as part of the estate development which included grand terraces like Park Place, St Bede’s Terrace, Douro Terrace, and Mowbray Villas and Carlton Villas. And Clifton Villas were certainly in existence by 1880, when the tenant at No 1 was John Tillman, who with his brother Thomas, designed Sunderland Museum. Nearby Bede Tower, Moore's Italianate home, was formerly part of the University of Sunderland. It now houses the school's examination hall. The school also uses the large auditorium in this building for theatrical performances.
- Langham Tower - Most recently acquired by the school, Grade I listed and by far the most attractive of the school's buildings. Built in the grounds of Carlton House, it boasts a large and beautiful main staircase with large stained glass windows. It was designed by renowned architect William Milburn, built in 1889-1891, for William Adamson, trader in ships' provisions and oil, and son of the well-known shipbuilder who lived in Fawcett Street. Later Langham Tower was occupied by Major Cuthbert Vaux, of Vaux BreweriesVaux BreweriesVaux Breweries was a major brewer based in Sunderland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.-History:The Company was founded by Cuthbert Vaux in Sunderland in 1837 and for nearly 170 years was a major employer in the town....
, and later by Robert Thompson (1850–1908), Shipbuilder. It now houses the Modern Languages Department, Religious Studies, P.E. Theory, Media Sudies and a Sixth Form Study, as well as a number of offices.
- Junior School - Built a little way from the main school site in 1994 next to the previous building with the same function. This large building now houses the entire Junior school and all of their facilities, with a large assembly hall and a very large sports hall. The Second floor, originally unused has recently been refurbished and some classrooms have been added. The maintenance in this building is very good. The sports hall, sports field and all-weather pitch is shared with the senior school for PE lessons. The sports hall is also used for the annual Speech Day.