George Abbot School

George Abbot School
Address
Woodruff Avenue Burpham Guildford , Surrey , GU1 1XX England
Coordinates	51.254°N 0.548°W / 51.254; -0.548
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	Non Sibi Sed Toti Not For Oneself But For All
Established	1957
Department for Education URN	136906 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair of Governors	Mrs Nicola Mead
Headteacher	Mrs Kate Carriett
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1946 as of September 2015
Capacity	1932
Houses	Falcon Gryphon Martlet Wyvern Phoenix
Colour(s)	Navy, Gold
Website	http://www.georgeabbot.surrey.sch.uk

George Abbot School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Burpham, north-east of the town centre of Guildford providing a comprehensive education, for around 2,000 young people, aged 11–18. It is also a Teaching School and a founding member of the GEP multi academy trust.

History

The school is named after the Guildford-native 17th-century Archbishop of Canterbury George Abbot. The two main buildings are Elmslie and Raynham, named after the two headteachers when the buildings were separate schools, Miss Elmslie for girls, and Mr Raynham for boys.

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House system

The old school houses were originally named after eight notable Britons in the 1970s; Arnold, Livingstone, Scott, Kelvin, Shakespeare, Harvey, Dryden and Newton. The Girls school houses when the school opened in 1961 were(Christina) Rossetti (Yellow); (Colonel John) Glen (red); (Sir Winston) Churchill (Blue); and (Margot)Fonteyn (Green). However, during the latter part of the 1970s the names were changed to mythical creatures, and the houses were called Falcon, Gryphon, Martlet and Wyvern. This was subsequently amended so that the house names were those of local villages and places, for example Clandon, Albury, Loseley, Onslow and Sutton.In 2003 Phoenix was added as a house name and then each house was formed from two forms.

These five houses were reorganised so they contain two forms each:

• Gryphon (Red) – forms G and P
• Phoenix (Green) – forms O and M
• Falcon (Blue) – forms F and C
• Martlet (Purple) – forms A and W
• Wyvern (Orange) – forms Y and E

All houses chose a boy and girl from year 11 to be sports captain for the house (though each year will have their own) whilst house captains are chosen from the sixth form. Additionally every class chooses a representative to sit on a year council, with each year choosing two of these class reps to represent the year group on the school council.

Curriculum

All students must take three GCSE subjects. In Years 7 to 9, students are required to participate in five creative/expressive subjects: dance, drama, music, textiles and art. During Year 7 students are taught both French and German. Upon going into Year 8, they choose between French and German and then carry on their chosen language until Year 11. Students have to choose between Latin and Spanish in years eight and nine. Some carry on these languages for GCSE. All GCSE students are advised to take at least one creative/expressive subject, which at GCSE include Photography, Computer Graphics and Architectural Design, however if they do pick three academic subjects or three creative subjects, that is accepted. Other subjects include History, Leisure and Tourism, Sociology and Physical Education.

Students take triple or double science GCSEs (all involve Chemistry, Physics and Biology). Religious education is divided into roughly half of students who take a short-course and half a long-course GCSE. An option exists of taking fast track foreign languages (a year early) so pupils are able to learn another language (Spanish, German, or French) to take two language GCSEs. Fast track art is available to all students who excel in the arts.

Sixth Form

George Abbot has the largest school-based Sixth Form in Guildford with nearly 500 students. It offers a wide choice of over 40 subjects at A level & BTEC, GCSE re-take options and additional enrichment courses. In addition to academic study, it offers a graduation programme that allows students to develop their wider academic knowledge and acquire transferable skills. Facilities include a purpose built Sixth Form Centre, artificial pitch and sports fields, a modern Fitness Suite and a common room with cafe and coffee bar.

Notable former pupils

• Iain Ballamy, professional saxophonist
• Maureen Barton. 1968 Olympic Long Jumper
• Ashley Giles MBE, cricketer
• Liam Heath, canoeist and Olympic gold medallist
• Matthew Jarvis, professional footballer
• Alex McCarthy, professional footballer
• John Renbourn, folk guitarist and former member of Pentangle

External links

• Official website