The Downs School (Berkshire)
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| Motto | 'Learning Together, Learning For Life' |
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| Type | Comprehensive foundation school |
| Religion | Secular |
| Headteacher | Valerie Houldey |
| Specialism | Language College, Science College and Maths College |
| Location | Manor Crescent Compton Berkshire RG20 6NU England |
| Local authority | West Berkshire |
| DfE URN | 110102 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 944 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Aldworth, Beechwood, Lowbury, Perborough, Ridgeway. |
| Colours | Yellow, Purple, Red, Green, Blue. |
| Website | www.thedownsschool.org |
The Downs School is a comprehensive secondary school in rural Compton, Berkshire, England. It is a state school run by West Berkshire Education Authority.
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[edit] Overview
The Downs has approximately about 1150 pupils, including 260 in the sixth form. It starts for students in year 7, who are aged 11. For the past 2 years it has been the highest attaining school in West Berkshire using the measure of 5A*-C GCSEs including higher passes in English and mathematics. The school is located on Manor Crescent. The nearest major town is Newbury which is 8 miles away. Other neighbouring towns include Wantage, Didcot, Thatcham and Reading. Within a short walk of the school is the Compton village shop and the large Compton recreation ground. It is just over 2 miles from the East Ilsley junction of the A34.
The headteacher is Valerie Houldey.
It is also the last remaining West Berkshire Authority secondary school to retain its own swimming pool after St Bartholomew's School demolished theirs in Summer 2009.
[edit] Specialist status
The school is a specialist language college. This means that pupils are required to study at least one foreign language until they finish GCSEs, with the opportunity of learning others. The school has exchange visits to France, Germany and Spain. Sports tours are also annually organised. Teams have been to Spain, Holland and in 2007 went to Cyprus.
The Downs recently became a science and maths specialism school to match its language college status.
[edit] 6th form
The school has a sixth form centre of about 260 students. It is located on the ground floor of the new Graham Taylor building (GT). Subjects range from all the sciences to politics, economics, law and media studies. The current head of sixth form is Andrew Hartley. Its results at A-Level are exceptional for a non-selective state school.
