Riddlesdown Collegiate: Difference between revisions
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{{Cleanup|date=July 2007}} |
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[[Image:Riddlesdown.jpg|thumb|350px|A photo of the School]] |
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[[Image:ShieldRDHS.jpg|thumb|100px|The School's embelem, a shield]] |
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'''Riddlesdown High School''' is a [[secondary school]] located in the [[Riddlesdown]] area of the [[London Borough of Croydon]], [[England]]. Riddlesdown is a mixed school, of about 1700 pupils and students (about 250 of those are Post 16 Students). The School takes its pupils mainly from the [[Sanderstead]], [[Selsdon]], [[Purley]], [[South Croydon]] and [[Tandridge, Surrey|Tandridge]] areas, and recently gained [[Specialist school|Specialist Science College]] status. Its current motto, as of 2007, is ''"Learners of today, Leaders of tomorrow"'' as voted for by the schools student body. |
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At Riddlesdown High School they strive to provide a pleasant and motivational environment in which students can excel to the best of their ability. Although critics (mainly [[students]] and [[pupils]] would argue that this isn't always true). although the school will tell it to the parents of [[potential]] the new intake. |
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The London Bourgh of Croydon has the largest youth population in London and there are many state run High schools, so competition for better grades between them can be fierce at times. |
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==History== |
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===Introduction=== |
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The school has changed a lot throughout the years. Although it is surrounded by a [[Green Belt]], it has been able to expand greatly. |
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Recent notable extensions; |
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*School foyer built with 3 new classrooms above. |
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*Glass corridor built on the side of the school Dining Hall/Canteen. |
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*An extension to the Science department was built, with 16 new classrooms. This building is mainly used for the increased focus on it's sixth form students although other years do use downstairs rooms. |
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*A bridge was built to join the two buildings of Humamities Facualty. |
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*The technologies facualty is extended so it is now conjoined with the sports hall with the sixth form common room residing above. |
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*An extension to the Centre of the Arts was built, situating 8 sound proofed practice rooms, and two music tech class room and a separate Music technology class room in which the computer equipment needed is used. This also allowed for a performance hall to be made more accessible to all. |
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*A fence has been erected on the field sectioning a large portion off. This has been put in place so that PE lessons can be taught without litter getting onto the sports fields. |
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===Timeline=== |
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The following timeline is a basic list of Riddlesdown's history. |
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====1957==== |
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The school was first built in 1957, and had just 230 pupils and 14 teachers. The first headmaster was Mr. Donald MacKay. |
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====1968==== |
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In 1968, Mr. MacKay retired, and Mr. Bernard Goss took over as headmaster. During the 19 years that he worked at the school, it expanded to over 1250 pupils - more than five times its original size. |
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====1987==== |
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When Mr. Goss retired in 1987, the next headmaster was Dr. David Dibbs, who had previously been head of another London school. |
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====1992==== |
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Riddlesdown was the first school in [[Croydon]] to be awarded [[Grant Maintained|Grant Maintained status]] by the [[Secretary of State for Education]], and since then about 300 pupils have been admitted to the school by the Board of Governors each year. |
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====1999==== |
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In 1999, a Sixth Form Centre was established on the site and Riddlesdown became a [[Voluntary aided school|Voluntary Aided School]] under the [[Bourne Foundation]]. It is widely accepted that the quality of education provided by the Sixth Form is inferior to that of the main school due to the "afterthought" nature of it's creation. Results are not particularly impressive either, with between 4-6% of A-Level grades being Grade A. Much to the disappointment of the school, the most academically able and gifted students tend to leave Riddlesdown in favour of other establishments for further education, which in many ways leaves Riddlesdown in a cyclic state whereby the potential room for improvement is limited, due to the lack of academic potential in the remaining students. |
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====2004==== |
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From the 1st September 2004 Riddlesdown was designated as a [[Specialist school|Specialist Science College]]. This has attracted some controversy amongst parents who are shocked by the fact that the majority of involvement that their children can have with the Science College occurs during lesson time. This is a particular problem for GCSE students who miss out on crucial work, leading to sometimes poor GCSE grades. |
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another criticism of this is that the school now generally focuses attention and a lot of Resources on the sciences. However this means that pupils and students who do not excel in the Sciences are in danger of having the subjects in which they excel overlooked, with less resorces put into them by the School. |
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====2006==== |
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Dr. Dibbs retired in September and the current Principal is Mr. Gordon H. Smith. |
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Principal Smith was quick to make reforms, such as modernising the parents evenings. The new parents evenings saw pupils attending with their parents, for a consultation with the tutor only. Generally, the tutor does not teach the pupil for any of their subjects and has limited knowledge of their work and behaviour, despite the pastoral care system which theoretically would see pupils having the same tutor for 5 years, however, in practice, this rarely happens. Following widespread criticism from parents, the parents evenings were reverted back to their previous, more tradtional format |
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====2007==== |
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Riddlesdown Sixth Form entrants for [[2008]] now require 7 A*-C's GCSEs [[overall]] and at least a B (at [[GCSE]] level) in the course they wish to enrol in. Whilst this entry level isn't particularly demanding, it does lead to the exclusion of some pupils who would otherwise have stayed on at the 6th form. One theory is that by setting the entry requirements to a higher level, Riddlesdown is trying to improve the rather poor A-Level results by merely admitting only intelligent students in the first instance, rather than by actually improving the quality of the teaching and facilities at the Riddlesdown Sixth Form. |
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==Aims of the School== |
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The school aims:<ref>[http://www.riddlesdown.org/]</ref> |
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#To ensure that pupils leave us educated to their highest possible potential. |
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#*To assist pupils in the development of lively, questioning minds. |
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#*To assist pupils in the development of rational attitudes and values. |
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#*To encourage the development of creativity, imagination and physical well-being. |
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#*To provide a wide and balanced variety of experiences. |
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#To ensure that pupils leave the School thoughtful, considerate and mature. |
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#*To provide an environment in which pupils are positively motivated to work hard, but without oppression |
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#*To encourage self-discipline and the acceptance of responsibility for one's own actions. |
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#*To develop respect for moral and religious values and an acceptance of other races, religions and ways of life. |
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#*To develop a sense of unity and purpose among the staff so that differences in viewpoint or emphasis do not present barriers to progress. |
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===Governor's Statement=== |
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<blockquote> |
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"We believe that Riddlesdown High School should strive for all-round excellence by adopting a quality approach in all that it does for pupils and parents. Our underlying sense of purpose is to promote individual achievement for pupils of all abilities by acknowledging and building on our strengths, values and traditions, thus creating a school, of which all the staff, pupils and parents can be proud." |
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</blockquote> |
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==Trivia== |
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It is Riddlesdown tradition for every headteacher (who to date have all been [[male]] and homosexual) to have a portrait painted and displayed in the main school hall upon departure. The latest addition, of Dr. David Dibbs, Riddlesdown's longest serving headmaster was painted by the school's head of art. Some Pupils and Students how ever are of the opinion that Doctor Dibbs apears to have been assaulted in the portrait. The Painting also depicts him using a computer. Many Pupils and Students past and present, question his level of ability with regards to [[Information technology]]. |
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The collection of Jeeps that Dr. Dibbs possessed was heavily satirised across the school by staff and pupils alike, especially so after his departure. This was possibly because the previous School website contained numerous pictures of him in said Jeeps, with captions such as "A Jeep" and "Another Jeep." |
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The headmaster was also Satirised for his, what one can only discribe as, love for organs, being a part of the croydon organ players society, and placing pictures on the website of various organs, with captions such as, "the school organ" "an organ" a "church organ" and "a really big organ" among others. |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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<br /> |
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{{Schools in Croydon}} |
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Revision as of 12:51, 15 November 2007
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