The Westgate School
Encyclopedia
The Westgate School is a comprehensive school
in Winchester
, Hampshire
, United Kingdom. It has science
specialist
status.
which is only a few hundred metres away to the east. The school lies in the parish of St Paul, Winchester, towards Weeke.
grades A* to C, 70-80% including Maths and English. According to the BBC league tables, Westgate is one of Hampshire's top state schools.
It had been a grammar school
for girls only, until September 1973 when the first intake of comprehensive boys and girls entered the first year. At this point the school was renamed as The Westgate School. Many of the old grammar school teachers left in July 1974 to work in the neighbouring newly-established sixth form college, the former Peter Symonds boys' grammar school. The Deputy Head, Miss Barbara Taylor, was one who made the move, but the Headmistress, Miss Muriel Rowe, remained for several more years.
The last grammar school intake left in July 1977, leaving The Westgate School entirely comprehensive and co-ed from then on.
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 Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, United Kingdom. It has science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
specialist
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.
Admissions
Westgate is quite a large school with about 1,250 pupils. A large proportion of its pupils continue to Peter Symonds CollegePeter Symonds College
Peter Symonds College is a sixth form college in Winchester, Hampshire, in the south of England. It is one of the largest sixth form colleges in Britain.-Admissions:...
which is only a few hundred metres away to the east. The school lies in the parish of St Paul, Winchester, towards Weeke.
Achievements
In recent years between 75 and 80% of 15-16 year olds have achieved five or more GCSEGeneral Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
grades A* to C, 70-80% including Maths and English. According to the BBC league tables, Westgate is one of Hampshire's top state schools.
Catchment area
Westgate has a large catchment covering Winchester and some of the surrounding villages. Unusually for a state comprehensive, Westgate also features a girls' boarding house, Rotherly. The Peter Symond's College also has boarding facilities.History
The school was founded in the early 1900s as the Winchester County School for Girls, becoming Winchester County High School for Girls (WCHS) in 1936. By the 1970s it had 900 girls.It had been a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
for girls only, until September 1973 when the first intake of comprehensive boys and girls entered the first year. At this point the school was renamed as The Westgate School. Many of the old grammar school teachers left in July 1974 to work in the neighbouring newly-established sixth form college, the former Peter Symonds boys' grammar school. The Deputy Head, Miss Barbara Taylor, was one who made the move, but the Headmistress, Miss Muriel Rowe, remained for several more years.
The last grammar school intake left in July 1977, leaving The Westgate School entirely comprehensive and co-ed from then on.
Current Staff
| Name | Occupation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mr Paul Nicholson | Headteacher | Formerly Deputy Head |
| Miss K. Marshall | Deputy Head | |
| Mr. P. Hurley | Deputy Head | |
| Mrs. C. Fyvie Rae | Year 7 Leader | |
| Mrs. Anne Merluk | Year 8 Leader | |
| Mr. C. Damant | Year 9 Leader | |
| Mr. J. Sambrook | Year 10 Leader | |
| Mrs. C. Haughton | Year 11 Leader | |
| Mrs. C. E. Baker | Subject Leader English | |
| Mr. A. Copland | Subject Leader Humanities | |
| Mr. V. Sharma | Subject Leader Science | |
| Ms. C. Rose | Subject Leader Maths | |
| Mr. P. Girling | Subject Leader Art | |
| Mrs. M-H. Smith | Subject Leader MFL | |
| Mr. D. Marshall | Subject Leader ICT | |
| Miss J. Squibb | Subject Leader Business Studies | |
| Ms. F. Dean | Subject Leader Media Studies | |
| Mr. P. Mills | Subject Leader Drama | |
| Mrs. J. Harris | Subject Leader Music |
Former pupils
- George Sorby (British actor)
- Andy BurrowsAndy BurrowsAndrew William Burrows is a British musician. He first began his musical career as a percussionist in the Hampshire County Youth Band. He was the drummer the Razorlight from 2004 to 2009, and as guest drummer We Are Scientists from 2009 onwards.-Razorlight:He joined the band in May 2004...
(former drummer for the band RazorlightRazorlightRazorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
) - Lucy PinderLucy PinderLucy Katherine Pinder is an English glamour model, from Winchester, Hampshire.-Modelling career:In the summer of 2003, Pinder was spotted by a freelance photographer while sunbathing on Bournemouth beach...
(British model) - Philippa ForresterPhilippa ForresterPhilippa Forrester is an English television and radio presenter, producer and author. Having presented shows such as Tomorrow's World, The Heaven and Earth Show and Robot Wars, she now makes wildlife programmes with her husband, Charlie Hamilton James.-Education:Forrester was educated at Westgate...
(British TV presenter and co-producer)
Winchester County High School for Girls
- Gillian Ashmore, Chief Executive from 2001-2 of the Equal Opportunities CommissionEqual Opportunities CommissionThe Equal Opportunities Commission was an independent non-departmental public body, in the United Kingdom, which tackled sex discrimination and promoted gender equality...
, and Regional Director from 1994-8 of the Government Office for South East EnglandSouth East EnglandSouth East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex... - Diane Corner, High Commissioner to Tanzania since 2009
- Dame Myra Curtis, Principal from 1942-54 of Newnham College, CambridgeNewnham College, CambridgeNewnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
- Julia DarlingJulia DarlingJulia Darling was an award-winning British novelist, poet and dramatist.-Biography:Julia Darling was born in Winchester in 1956 in the house Jane Austen died in...
, novelist - Jane Gray, classical music concert organiser
- Dame Julie MellorJulie MellorDame Julie Thérèse Mellor, DBE was the former chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission between 1999 and 2005.Mellor is now a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She is a non executive board member of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and of the Green Alliance...
, Chair from 1999-2005 of the Equal Opportunities CommissionEqual Opportunities CommissionThe Equal Opportunities Commission was an independent non-departmental public body, in the United Kingdom, which tackled sex discrimination and promoted gender equality... - Winifred Moberly, Principal from 1919-28 of St Hilda's College, OxfordSt Hilda's College, OxfordSt Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
- Marion RichardsonMarion RichardsonMarion Richardson was British artist, educator and author who published workbooks on penmanship and handwriting.-Biography:...
, artist - Prof Jocelyn ToynbeeJocelyn ToynbeeJocelyn Mary Catherine Toynbee was an English archaeologist and art historian. "In the mid-twentieth century she was the leading British scholar in Roman artistic studies and one of the recognized authorities in this field in the world."-Biography:Jocelyn Toynbee was the daughter of Harry Valpy...
, Laurence Professor of Classical ArchaeologyLaurence Professor of Classical ArchaeologyThe Laurence Professorship of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University was established in 1930 as one of the offices endowed by the bequest of Sir Perceval Maitland Laurence.-Laurence Professors of Classical Archaeology:* Arthur Bernard Cook...
from 1951-62 at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...