Littlehampton Community School
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| Littlehampton Community School,The | |
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| Type | Comprehensive |
| Headteacher | Mrs Jayne Wilson |
| Chair of Governors | Richard Davies |
| Specialism | Business and Enterprise College |
| Location | Hill Road Littlehampton West Sussex BN17 6DQ England |
| LEA | West Sussex |
| Ofsted number | 126082 |
| Staff | 125 |
| Students | 1756 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11 to 19 |
| School colours | Blue, Red and Yellow
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| Learning Teams | Larch, Chestnut and Sycamore |
| Website | School Website |
| Coordinates: | |
Littlehampton Community School (normally abbreviated to simply LCS) is a large, mixed gender comprehensive school located at the edge of Littlehampton, in West Sussex, England, and is the main secondary school in the Littlehampton area. It is surrounded by housing and provides easy access for the children around the area. It is one of the largest secondary schools in both West Sussex and England.
[edit] Campus and Buildings
The school is located on a split campus site, named 'Hill Road' and 'Elm Grove' respectively due to their proximity to neighbouring roads. The main 'Hill Road' campus consists of the English, Science, Humanities, Languages, Core Curriculum, Learning Support, Performance and Physical Education departments, whilst 'Elm Grove' campus consists of the Design Technology department and a now disused Maths block. The two campuses are linked by a single pathway, dubbed 'The Flight Path' due to its sheer length which many believe resemble an airport runway.
In recent years, largely due to the ageing nature of the school, many new buildings have been built, including a separate sixth-form college, a specialist business and enterprise centre, and a 'Maths Village'. The latter building, which was originally opened in December 2007, has been subject to widespread ridicule within the school, originally due to its rushed construction following the discovery of asbestos in the original maths block, first built more than seventy years ago as a military hosptial in World War 2. The building was then, just days after its opening, raided by thieves who stole a multimedia projector [1]. The library and science block meanwhile is also relatively new in comparison to the rest of the school, being rebuilt in 1993 following a devastating arson attack on the school.
[edit] Student Organisation
In recent years, the school has left it's historical house system in favour of a year-based system. The house system involved students being sorted into one of five houses (all named after hills located in West Sussex; Amberley, Bignor, Chantry, Highdown and Rackham). In contrast to this, students are now sorted into one of three 'learning teams' (all named after species of trees; Larch (Red), Chestnut (Yellow) and Sycamore (Blue), (the initials subsequently spelling 'LCS')). The main change in the new system is the establishment of five 'Head of Year' posts. The current 'year' structure is in full operation in years seven, eight, nine and ten, with year eleven only on a partial 'year' system. This difference is because the current year eleven began their school life in the house system, and it was therefore decided that original tutor groups would remain, and they would randomly be split into three unnamed teams. The current uniform is strongly based on the learning teams system, with students wearing sweatshirts and polo shirts in their own team colour (Larch - Red; Chestnut - Yellow; Sycamore - Blue). In addition to this, all students are required to wear smart black trousers and shoes. The school has made use of these teams in the annual Athletics Morning which is held on the final day of each academic year. Each year, the teams from the four remaining year groups join together to compete, with the Chestnut learning team winning the 2007 competition.
[edit] Management Team
Due to the large number of students, the school's management team currently consists of 13 members of staff, many with specific responsibilities. The current senior management team is as follows:
- Jayne Wilson - Headteacher
- Sarah Pringle - Deputy Headteacher (Teaching and Learning)
- Heather Ward - Deputy Headteacher (Student Welfare)
- Geoff Davis - Deputy Headteacher (Specialist School Status)
- Nigel Warr - Assistant Headteacher (Data and Information)
- Shaun Allison - Assistant Headteacher (Staff Development)
- Jane Ratclife - Assistant Headteacher (14-19 Learning)
- Heather Burles - Assistant Headteacher (Student Services)
- Peter Mantin - Assistant Headteacher (Literacy)
- Duncan Jack - Assistant Headteacher (AFL)
- Sarah Welsh - Assistant Headteacher (Numeracy)
- Sue Gwinnel-Smith - Assistant Headteacher (BfL)
- Patty Harris - Business Manager
[edit] Structure of the Day
08.00 - Breakfast Club
08.30 - Registration/Assembly
08.45 - Period 1
09.45 - Period 2
10.45 - Break
11.00 - Period 3
12.00 - Period 4
13.00 - Lunch
13.40 - Registration
13.45 - Period 5
14.45 - End of Lessons
15.00 - Clubs/Meetings/Detentions
[edit] Achievements
The school has gained several notable achievements including the Sport England sportsmark award, the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Award for Young Children and the Dyslexia friendly school mark. In terms of academic achievements meanwhile, 30% of the class of 2007 achieved 5A*-C GCSE grades, including English and Maths, representing a 3% increase on 2006.
[edit] OFSTED
The school's most recent OFSTED inspection was carried out in February 2008, with the school as a whole receiving a 'satisfactory' grading [2]. However, the sixth-form college received the higher grade of 'good', whereas the school was deemed to be 'inadequate' in terms of students' behaviour and attendance. The report saw very little improvement from the school's previous inspection which was carried out in November 2004, which also saw the school receieve a 'satisfactory' grading and the sixth form a 'good' grading.
[edit] Future Plans for Academy Status
The future of the school is currently unclear, largely due to the current plans to become an Academy School. These plans have caused discussions within the school, with some arguing for the plans, and some arguing against them.
Plans for an academy developed on October 2nd 2007, when the DCSF accepted the submitted 'expressions of interest', and asked LCS to develop a feasibility study, including the academy plans in much greater detail. The main sponsor of the proposed academy is Woodard Schools, who already operate schools in both the private and state sector, including Lancing College, also in West Sussex. Littlehampton would become one of three West Sussex Woodard academies, along with Kings Manor Community College and Boundstone Community College. Following the the death of the local entrepreneur Dame Anita Roddick, a friend of the school, it has been suggested that any future academy should be named in her memory.[3]
The school has recently held a series of consultation events with staff, students and parents, the first of which took place on Thursday 7th February 2008, in the Library. However, the event was very poorly attended, probably because the National Union of Teachers also held a consultation evening on the proposed academies in the nearby town of Worthing. This NUT meeting was prompted after affiliated staff announced that they were "not impressed" by the way unwillingness of the Woodard Trust to discuss the plans with either staff or parents. They are also angry because there are a number of issues which have not been addressed by Woodard or the senior management team within the school. [4]
The second, and better attended, consultation evening was held on Thursday 13 March at 7pm for parents and members of the local community to learn more about the proposal. Parents, members of the local community, staff and students all voiced their opinions to a panal that included, the Headteacher, Chairman of the School Governors, a West Sussex County Council Representative, head of the consultation process and representatives from the Woodard Trust. One of the main concerns raised at the event was the possibility of any Littlehampton Academy becoming a faith-designated establishment, a suggestion widely denied by Woodard. The results of this consultation were largely negative, a reaction that 'surprised' the school. Feedback from the evening showed that seven staff were in favour of academy plans with fifty against, whilst 36 parents said they supported the move, compared to 141 who opposed it [5].
[edit] Business and Enterprise Status
In 2003, the school successfully applied to become a Business and Enterprise specialist school. Much of the money that was required was donated by Anita Roddick, the then owner of The Body Shop. As a result of this donation, a new building that was built with this money was named 'The Roddick Enterprise Centre' (normally abbreviated to 'REC').
To help develop Business and Enterprise amongst students, all must participate in the annual 'Business and Enterprise Week', held towards the end of the academic year in July. In addition to this, all Year 9 students must choose a 'business-related' option to study at GCSE, these include ICT, Media Studies, Leisure & Tourism or Business Studies.
The successful installation of Business and Enterprise specialism has meant that the school now often enters teams into national competitions. Some are run within the school and others compete against other schools. The most successful being their entry into the 2005 Yell Challenge which the school won, and as a result set up a new school radio station called "Revamp Radio". It launched on Tuesday 18th September 2006, with help from Arun District Council Chairman Stephen Haymes and kids TV presenter Dave Benson-Philips. [6]
The school successfully reapplied for, and was subsequently redesignated a Business and Enterprise specialist school in November 2007, following the completion of the schools original four year plan.
[edit] Specialist Services
The school provides many specialist services that are targeted to assist the most needy within the school, these include the 'Learn2Learn Centre' and 'Bully Busters'.
[edit] The Learn2Learn Centre
Formally known as 'The Bridge', the Learn2Learn Centre is a building based in the oldest part of the school. It was set up five years ago to help students with behavioural problems in the classroom. When a student is placed into the centre, they are set tasks in order to help control anger issues and behaviour. Students that complete tasks successfully are rewarded with activity days. Initial findings show that the work from the centre has proved very successful.
The project was widely criticised by students, parents, carers and the outside community due to the way that it was run. This is because the students were regularly rewarded for doing work that they should actually be doing. The rewards ranged from trips to Thorpe Park to day outings to activity centres. This prompted anger with students as it was viewed to be unfair to those who work hard without making any problems.
However, with the recent OFSTED report criticising the school for not properly dealing with disruptive students by using the awards scheme above, the school has now stopped any day trips and rewarding activities. Students are now set tasks and classwork in rooms in the Learn2Learn Centre with constant supervision.
A logo competition was held to design a new logo for the former 'Bridge', promoting the business and enterprise spirit. The old logo can still be seen at the bottom of letterheads and other school documents that go out to parents.
[edit] 'Bully Busters'
Police in West Sussex teamed up with pupils in a bid to stamp out cyber-bullying among teenagers. The school put together a "Bully Buster" website, explaining what bullying is and giving victims advice on how to deal with it. Pupils can also report bullying concerns.
The website came as a government study revealed more than a third of 12 to 15-year-olds have faced some kind of bullying over the internet or via mobile phones.
The website was set up with the help of community support officer Bob Purcell, who wanted to raise awareness and educate pupils about the growing problem. He also works with pupils and their families to "soothe situations and prevent them from escalating".
The website and school have had praise from the police and many feeder schools about the project and also appeared on the BBC South Today evening news program because of it.
[edit] Forced Action taken by the School
[edit] Forced Closures
The school has recently been twice forced to close its doors to all students. The first enforced closure occurred on January 23rd 2008, when a cleaner discovered a gas leak which left two-thirds of the school without central heating [7] [8]. Meanwhile the school will also be closed on Thursday 24th April 2008 as a result of the National Union of Teachers' strike action over pay [9]. The senior management team had originally planned to open the school to years 9 and 11, however this was quickly changed once it emerged that there would simply not be enough teachers, given the high number of NUT members at LCS.
[edit] Behaviour Policy Changes
Due to the recent OFSTED report not improving significantly since the previous one, the school has stepped up and made major changes to their behavioural policy. The school have increased the amount of space in the 'reintegration' rooms, students are placed into these if they constantly break the rules where they are set work for one day to complete. During this time, students are not allowed to leave the room unless they need to visit the toilet, no food or drink are allowed to be brought into the room by students, water and fruit are available during breaks. Also, students are brought into the room from 8am until 4pm. Further action being taken by staff is frequent patrols by senior management staff at both main entrances, Hill Road and Elm Grove, at break, lunch and at the end of the school day in order to stop anti-social behaviour outside of the school gates.
[edit] The Littlehampton College
The school has a separate sixth-form college building which is located within the school grounds, to the west of the main buildings. The college offers students a range of qualifications, including GCSE's and BTEC awards, however by far the most popular is the AS and A2 'A' Level. Most students attend the college for two years, however a limited number of students opt to stay on for a further year in order to attain additional qualifications.
[edit] Recent Events and Incidents
- The school is officially recognised as a Dyslexia Friendly School.
- In 2007, 30% of students achieved 5 A*-C GCSE Grades including English and Maths, a three percent increase on 2006.
- On the last day of every academic year, students participate in the annual Athletics day. The 2007 Athletics Morning took place on Wednesday July 18, 2007, and was won by the Chestnut learning team. The previous year it had been called off due to hot weather.
- The school often produce drama productions and talent shows, the most recent being a Christmas production, aptly named "Beau White and the seven Dwarves" and "The LCS Factor".
- In 1991, the entire library and science faculty had to be rebuilt following an arson attack on the school.
- In October 2007, a new maths block entitled 'Maths Village' (although it's a Hamlet) was opened, designed to provide a temporary replacement of the seventy year old maths department until the new academy is completed.
- The new building was raided by thieves during the Christmas holidays who stole a multimedia projector.[10]
- The school was forced to close to all students and staff on Wednesday 23 January 2008 following a gas leak on the campus. The leak was discovered by a cleaner, in Hill Road, and left two thirds of the school with no central heating. The school's critical incident team made the decision the night before. An A Level Biology exam went ahead as planned.[11] [12]
- The school set up CCTV in January outside toilets in the school in attempt to stop vandalism, these cameras do not film inside the toilets.
- The school will be closed to all Years on Thursday 24 April 2008 following a ballot from the NUT that will go on strike over pay. Many at LCS are NUT members, Year 9 and 11 classes were due to go ahead as planned with non-union members or supply staff due to exams approaching but this has proved 'unworkable.'
- The school is currently planning a project to Sri Lanka, where selected students will get the opportunity to help victims of the Asian Tsunami. They will spend time building services like toilets and other buildings as well as teaching basic ICT skills and giving books and general school equipment to them. The students had to go through an interview process in order to try and compete for a place on the trip, successful students were announced on Monday 9th June 2008.
[edit] External links
- The Littlehampton Community School Website
- OFSTED Report of Inspection in February 2008
- The Littlehampton College Website
- College Students Pay Tribute at the Anita Roddick Memorial Service
- The Littlehampton Community School's Profile from Direct.gov
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