The Leventhorpe School
| The Leventhorpe School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Cambridge Road , , CM21 9BY | |
| Information | |
| Type | Foundation Comprehensive |
| Local authority | Hertfordshire |
| Specialist | Business and Enterprise |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Headteacher | Jonathan Locke |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11 to 19 |
| Enrollment | 1150 |
| Website | http://www.leventhorpe.net/index.htm |
The Leventhorpe School is a mixed, 11-19 secondary school and sixth form in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire. The school has held Specialist Business and Enterprise College status since 2004.[1] It belongs to the Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgeworth Consortium of Secondary Schools, a group of six local schools.[2]
The School became Grant-maintained in September 1993 and is now a Foundation School. The intake at age 11 is drawn mainly from the pleasant and prosperous towns of Sawbridgeworth and Bishop's Stortford and from the surrounding villages. Demand for places in the school is high with over three applications for each place and some students travel significant distances to attend. At the last OFSTED inspection (November 2006) the school was graded “Outstanding” for Care Support and Guidance, Curriculum and Other Activities, and Personal Development and Well-Being and “Good” in each of the other three categories.
A new block of nine classrooms and re-development of the science, maths, art, music and sixth form areas were completed in Spring 1996 and a new four classroom English block was completed in Summer 1998. The School has recently[when?] extended and enhanced its ICT facilities and most of the School is now networked. There are four ICT rooms each with twenty-five to thirty stations and Internet access. In addition, many faculties have their own ICT facilities and all teaching staff are provided with laptop computers. There is a swimming pool on site together with extremely spacious playing fields.
The school has started plans on a new sports centre, additional classrooms and an all-weather pitch financed through the sale of some land. It is expected that this project should be completed within the next year. The School acquired specialist school status in Business and Enterprise in September 2004 and now also has Training School Status. The specialist Business and Enterprise status involves all faculties but especially Business, Mathematics, and ICT. As a result a number of enhancements to accommodation, resources and the curriculum have taken place. Since September 2005 all students in Years 7 – 11 follow a Business & Communication Studies course. This leads to GCSE in Year 9 or 10, followed by AS or GCSE in ICT or Business during key stage 4, or DIDA. The School also has a rapidly expanding community development plan.[citation needed] There are also overlaps between specialist school activities and other strategic priorities for example ‘Teaching and Learning’ and ‘Personalisation’, so in reality a number of developments are driven by various members of the SLT. Leventhorpe School engages in teacher training and is a partner school with Cambridge University for PGCE and with The University of Hertfordshire for the Graduate Teacher Programme. Staff are encouraged to gain mentoring qualifications.
Subject departments are organised on a Faculty basis. The school places strong emphasis on teaching students in groups which match their ability in each subject so that setting operates in many subjects from Year 7 onwards. The responsibility for the preparation of schemes of work and for monitoring their delivery lies with the Head of Faculty. Each student undergoes a termly assessment in each subject. Again the responsibility for implementing the assessment policy lies with the Head of Faculty.
The School upholds the traditional values of uniform, discipline, homework, punctuality and polite behaviour. Each of Years 7 – 11 is organised into six mixed ability tutor groups and each tutor group is assigned to one of four Houses: Rivers, Cutforth, Lawrence and Barnard. House Heads oversee the academic and social development of students in their House as they progress through the School. Years 12 and 13, although assigned to a House, are overseen by the Head of Sixth Form. Form tutors monitor their form’s progress and liaise with pastoral heads in deciding appropriate action.
As a Foundation School, the Governors are the employers but the School liaises closely with the Local Authority – Hertfordshire County Council. Employment of staff is governed by national, county and some local agreements. The School renewed its Investors in People status in June 2007, and employs approximately 150 staff (part-time and full time) about half of whom are teachers.
At the School there is a PTFA to which all parents automatically belong. The membership of the committee changes from year to year. Their support encompasses much more than fund raising. More information can found on the PTFA website.
The school takes it name from Sir John Leventhorpe, Lord of the medieval manor of Shingle Hall, one of two manors in Sawbridgeworth. The school logo is a replica of the brasses of John Leventhorpe and his wife and date from 1445. The original brasses form a permanent memorial in Great St Mary’s Church in Sawbridgeworth.
Wind turbines
The Leventhorpe School is the first school in Hertfordshire to have planning permission granted for two 6 kW wind turbines. The school has also installed a monitoring system, the data from which will be used in various subject areas. On this system can be seen how much energy is being generated at any particular moment and how much has been generated to date. Additionally, there is information on the amount of carbon dioxide that has been saved.