Thornden School
Encyclopedia
Thornden School is a secondary school Chandler's Ford
, Hampshire
. It is an 11-16 (no sixth form), mixed comprehensive specialist Arts College
with Science
as the second specialism. There are 1400 pupils on roll and 10 tutor groups of around 300 pupils in each year. The head teacher is Dr R A Sykes, who has held the position for over 20 years.
each year:
Year 7 (Mr Howard), Year 8 (Mr Kelly), Year 9 (Miss Emmett), Year 10 (Mrs Welch), Year 11 (Miss Morris)
The Chair of Governors is Mr O'Connell
Each year group has their own head of year who stays with them as they progress through the school. Students are also sorted into tutor groups, headed by members of staff to enable students to be monitored throughout their time at Thornden.
The naming convention for the tutor groups dates back from former house system that was scrapped in 1995. Since then houses only held relevance during the annual Sports Day, with the difference houses competing. The houses are Albatross, Falcon, Kestrel and Merlin. At this time there were only French and German sides of the houses. FX and GX were additional tutor groups added, with the X standing for Extension.
In Year 9, pupils choose their options for GCSE. At Thornden, all pupils are strongly advised to select at least one modern foreign language from either French, German or Spanish. Some pupils are offered to take up a second language at the end of year 8, although this is not compulsory, and the pupil may not sit the language at GCSE.
There is now only two MG tutors left in the school as spanish can now be introduced in year seven.
. It is a concert hall designed with acoustics for music performances, with a stage large enough to accommodate a full orchestra and an audience capacity of 388 people. The venue can be adapted for other dance and drama events, presentations and lectures. In addition to the concert hall there are two specialist drama studios, two music rooms and a dance studio, as well as foyer and bar area.
Thornden Hall is the home of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, Eastleigh Area Schools Orchestra, Thornden Community Wind Band, TOMS, Stagecoach Theatre Arts
, and Tribe Community Arts, who all rehearse or hold classes in the performing arts centre throughout the week. The concert hall is also used for meetings and presentations such as the Hampshire Sports Awards, Blake Lapthorn Linnell Challenge Lecture and Women's Institute "Evening with Kate Adie
".
, Follies
, Aladdin
, Oliver!
, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
and Fiddler on the Roof
. Controversy was sparked however with the performance of Joseph.. because of the licensing conditions only allowing the performance to be by a school group when, going against the contract illegally, TOMS decided to use outisde performers. Summer of 2007 was when the outstanding success of Smike
took place, which for the first time used only the talented young singers, actors and dancers of Thornden School. Aladdin
took place just after Christmas 2007 and The Diary of Anne Frank
took place in early April 2008. It starred pupils from year groups 9 and 10.
Other performances take place throughout the year for example, Teachers Got Talent and Thornden's Got Talent in aid of charity and the yearly Star for a Night which takes place over 2 nights, featuring a medly of talented singers and performers at Thornden. Auditions were held on 10 September 2008 for Oliver!
and Dracula, the Musical
, and it had one of the biggest responses Thornden has ever seen. Oliver!
(Last Years Performance) has arguably been the school's biggest success to date. Then again in 2010 Thornden produced another successful production: Wizard of Oz (1939 film).
July 2011 has seen Thornden School put on what was has widely been reviewed by audience members as it's most successful performance ever, playing Disney's Beauty and the Beast to sellout audiences on most nights, and receiving standing ovations after all performances.
grades in the Summer of 2011 . The most recent inspection was in July 2007, when Thornden achieved an 'outstanding' grade from OFSTED
inspectors. Including English and Maths, the figure was 98% - the best state comprehensive school in Hampshire.
Thornden's results were already at a very high level. The corresponding figures for 2010 were 97% and 98%. To have secured improvement even at these very high levels is a fantastic achievement. The provisional figures also indicate that the value added results (which take account of the level of achievement of the pupils when they entered the school) will also be very high again. There is a distinctive ethos at Thornden which combines a relatively informal and friendly approach with a prime focus on achievement of each individual student.
Chandler's Ford
Chandler's Ford is a largely residential area and civil parish in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England, with a population of 20,071 in the 2001 UK Census....
, 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...
. It is an 11-16 (no sixth form), mixed comprehensive specialist Arts College
Arts 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...
with Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
as the second specialism. There are 1400 pupils on roll and 10 tutor groups of around 300 pupils in each year. The head teacher is Dr R A Sykes, who has held the position for over 20 years.
Heads of Year
There are heads of year at Thornden to manageeach year:
Year 7 (Mr Howard), Year 8 (Mr Kelly), Year 9 (Miss Emmett), Year 10 (Mrs Welch), Year 11 (Miss Morris)
Senior Staff
At Thornden School, there are 5 senior staff. (This is not inc head of years etc) The 5 most important senior staff are:- Dr Sykes - Head Teacher
- Miss Whelan- Deputy Head Teacher
- Mrs Braithwaite- Deputy Head Teacher
- Mr Hicks- Assistant Head Teacher
The Chair of Governors is Mr O'Connell
Classes
The tutor groups consist of French, Spanish and German sides. There are ten tutor groups in each year, (AF, FS, AG, FF, KF, MS, MF, MG, KS, FX and GX) after the yearly intake increased and nine was no longer enough. The last year group to have nine tutor groups left in the Summer of 2007.Each year group has their own head of year who stays with them as they progress through the school. Students are also sorted into tutor groups, headed by members of staff to enable students to be monitored throughout their time at Thornden.
The naming convention for the tutor groups dates back from former house system that was scrapped in 1995. Since then houses only held relevance during the annual Sports Day, with the difference houses competing. The houses are Albatross, Falcon, Kestrel and Merlin. At this time there were only French and German sides of the houses. FX and GX were additional tutor groups added, with the X standing for Extension.
In Year 9, pupils choose their options for GCSE. At Thornden, all pupils are strongly advised to select at least one modern foreign language from either French, German or Spanish. Some pupils are offered to take up a second language at the end of year 8, although this is not compulsory, and the pupil may not sit the language at GCSE.
There is now only two MG tutors left in the school as spanish can now be introduced in year seven.
Thornden Hall
Thornden Hall is part of a performing arts centre, which was awarded a Commendation in the Civic Trust Awards 2005. Thornden Hall was opened in May 2003 in the presence of percussionist Evelyn GlennieEvelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, DBE is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She was the first full-time solo percussionist in 20th-century western society.-Early life:Glennie was born and raised in Aberdeenshire...
. It is a concert hall designed with acoustics for music performances, with a stage large enough to accommodate a full orchestra and an audience capacity of 388 people. The venue can be adapted for other dance and drama events, presentations and lectures. In addition to the concert hall there are two specialist drama studios, two music rooms and a dance studio, as well as foyer and bar area.
Thornden Hall is the home of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, Eastleigh Area Schools Orchestra, Thornden Community Wind Band, TOMS, Stagecoach Theatre Arts
Stagecoach Theatre Arts
Stagecoach Theatre Arts plc is a professional theatre arts school, operating in thousands of locations around the world, with over 600 schools in the United Kingdom...
, and Tribe Community Arts, who all rehearse or hold classes in the performing arts centre throughout the week. The concert hall is also used for meetings and presentations such as the Hampshire Sports Awards, Blake Lapthorn Linnell Challenge Lecture and Women's Institute "Evening with Kate Adie
Kate Adie
Kathryn "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...
".
Productions
As Thornden is a performing Arts College, many productions take place inside Thornden Hall involving Thornden Pupils and the wider community. The Thornden Operatic and Musical Society have performed dozens of musicals, most notably Les MisérablesLes Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
, Follies
Follies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
, Aladdin
Aladdin (musical)
Aladdin, is a musical/pantomime written by Sandy Wilson for the inaugural Christmas Pantomime at the newly refurbished Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith...
, Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
and Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
. Controversy was sparked however with the performance of Joseph.. because of the licensing conditions only allowing the performance to be by a school group when, going against the contract illegally, TOMS decided to use outisde performers. Summer of 2007 was when the outstanding success of Smike
Smike
Smike is a pop musical adaptation of a small part of Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby, that was televised for the BBC in 1973. The musical is based on the character Smike from that novel. The TV production starred Beryl Reid as Mrs Squeers, Andrew Keir as Mr Squeers, Leonard Whiting as Nicholas,...
took place, which for the first time used only the talented young singers, actors and dancers of Thornden School. Aladdin
Aladdin (musical)
Aladdin, is a musical/pantomime written by Sandy Wilson for the inaugural Christmas Pantomime at the newly refurbished Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith...
took place just after Christmas 2007 and The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank (play)
The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl. The play is a dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It opened at the Cort Theatre, Broadway, on October 5, 1955, in a production by Kermit Bloomgarden, directed by Garson Kanin and designed by Boris...
took place in early April 2008. It starred pupils from year groups 9 and 10.
Other performances take place throughout the year for example, Teachers Got Talent and Thornden's Got Talent in aid of charity and the yearly Star for a Night which takes place over 2 nights, featuring a medly of talented singers and performers at Thornden. Auditions were held on 10 September 2008 for Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
and Dracula, the Musical
Dracula, The Musical
Dracula, the Musical is a musical based on the original Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton....
, and it had one of the biggest responses Thornden has ever seen. Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
(Last Years Performance) has arguably been the school's biggest success to date. Then again in 2010 Thornden produced another successful production: Wizard of Oz (1939 film).
July 2011 has seen Thornden School put on what was has widely been reviewed by audience members as it's most successful performance ever, playing Disney's Beauty and the Beast to sellout audiences on most nights, and receiving standing ovations after all performances.
Academic performance
98% of pupils at the school achieved at least 5 A*-C 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 in the Summer of 2011 . The most recent inspection was in July 2007, when Thornden achieved an 'outstanding' grade from OFSTED
Office for Standards in Education
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 ....
inspectors. Including English and Maths, the figure was 98% - the best state comprehensive school in Hampshire.
Thornden's results were already at a very high level. The corresponding figures for 2010 were 97% and 98%. To have secured improvement even at these very high levels is a fantastic achievement. The provisional figures also indicate that the value added results (which take account of the level of achievement of the pupils when they entered the school) will also be very high again. There is a distinctive ethos at Thornden which combines a relatively informal and friendly approach with a prime focus on achievement of each individual student.