The Howard School
Encyclopedia
The Howard School is the only Bi-lateral school
in Kent
and Rainham and one of the five bi-laterals in the whole of the United Kingdom
. The school holds Sports College
status.
, not far from the A278
roundabout. The school has Sports College status and is a foundation school. The current Principal is Paul Morris, who has been in this post since September 2007. The school, a male-only school, is adjacent to Rainham School for Girls
.
The Howard School became a grant maintained School in 1994 when it left the control of Kent County Council. Following a change of Central Government it became a Foundation School in 1998. Although a Foundation School, the school works very closely with Medway Council who, since being set up in 1998 a Unitary Authority, control education in the Medway Towns. The school became a Specialist Sports College in 2007. In 2008 it received a good rating from the Ofsted inspectors. This is a big change considering that in 2002, the Ofsted inspectors gave a "Serious weaknesses" rating.
s.
Partially selective school (England)
In England, a partially selective school is one of a few dozen state-funded secondary schools that select a proportion of their intake by ability or aptitude, permitted as a continuation of arrangements that existed prior to 1997....
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and Rainham and one of the five bi-laterals in the whole of 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...
. The school holds Sports College
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
status.
Admissions
A bi-lateral school is one where admission to the grammar school section is by 11 plus selection and admission to the high school section is non-selective. The school has approximately 1500 pupils, between the ages of 11-18. It is located in Derwent Way, Rainham. It is close to the A2A2 road (Great Britain)
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...
, not far from the A278
A278 road
The A278 is a road running north-south in north Kent, England. The whole length of the road is dual carriageway, within Medway Council but is a non-primary route.- History :...
roundabout. The school has Sports College status and is a foundation school. The current Principal is Paul Morris, who has been in this post since September 2007. The school, a male-only school, is adjacent to Rainham School for Girls
Rainham School for Girls
Rainham School for Girls is a secondary non-denominational all-girls school in Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, England. It is next to the all-boys school, The Howard School. It is a Technology College with 1554 pupils aged 11–18. It is joined with The Howard School for its sixth form...
.
Principals
Since opening there have been five principals.- John Hicks: 1975 - 1987
- Alan Jarrett: 1987 - 1997
- Maurice Barry: 1997 - 2001
- David Smith: 2002 - 2007
- Paul Morris: 2007 - Present
History
The school was named after Dorothy Howard who played a major part in the local community and was established in 1975 by amalgamating Rainham Boys' Secondary School and Gillingham Boys' Grammar School to form a bi-lateral school.The Howard School became a grant maintained School in 1994 when it left the control of Kent County Council. Following a change of Central Government it became a Foundation School in 1998. Although a Foundation School, the school works very closely with Medway Council who, since being set up in 1998 a Unitary Authority, control education in the Medway Towns. The school became a Specialist Sports College in 2007. In 2008 it received a good rating from the Ofsted inspectors. This is a big change considering that in 2002, the Ofsted inspectors gave a "Serious weaknesses" rating.
Sports College status
The school has achieved Sports College status. Since gaining the Sports College status, the school has made developed its sporting facilities and offering substantially including:- Building 5 A Side football complex in partnership with playfootball.com
- Building a Library and improving its ICT facilities
- Renovating the sports blocks, changing facilities and sports halls.
- Developing a world class table tennis complex at the top of the school grounds.
Media
The BBC has visited The Howard on many occasions, but most recently about their GCSE results, in which 91% of students got C-A in English.Academic performance
It gets GCSE results slightly below the England average; with grammar schools (attracting those who passed the 11+) nearby in the district this is to be expected. At A level, results are well below average, but the best for non-grammar schools in Medway. Again, having grammar schools nearby has an effect on the school's performance. Only two schools in Medway LEA do not have sixth forms, and both of these are secondary modern schoolSecondary 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...
s.
Gifted and Talented
The school offers a "gifted and talented" programme for students with exceptional educational achievement. This is nourished throughout all departments in the curriculum.Rainham Boys Secondary School
- Gary RhodesGary RhodesGary Rhodes OBE is an English restaurateur, cookery writer, and chef, known for his love of British cuisine and distinctive spiked hair style ....
, chef - Steve Grant, dancer and singer with 1980s pop group Tight FitTight FitTight Fit are a British pop group who had a number of hits in the early 1980s, including a UK No.1 with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1982...
See also
- Gillingham SchoolGillingham SchoolGillingham School is a coeducational school situated in Gillingham in North Dorset. Gillingham Grammar School can trace its foundation back to 1516, making it probably the oldest surviving school in Dorset. It was founded as a Free School, paid for out of the proceeds of land gifted to the school...
(also former Gillingham Grammar School) in Gillingham, DorsetGillingham, DorsetGillingham is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is the most northerly in the county. It is 3 miles south of the A303 lying on the B3092 and B3081. It is near to the town of Shaftesbury which lies 7 miles to the south east. Neighbouring hamlets included Peacemarsh, Bay...