William Farr School
| William Farr School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Lincoln Road, Welton/Dunholme , , LN2 3JB England  | |
| Information | |
| Type | Comprehensive foundation school |
| Motto | Striving for Excellence |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
| Established | 1952 |
| Founder | Rev William Farr |
| Local authority | Lincolnshire |
| Specialist | Science, Leading Edge |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Head teacher | Mr Paul Strong BSc |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrollment | 1502 |
| Houses | Witham (blue), Ermine (purple), Stonebow (orange), Brayford (yellow), Fosse (red) and Lindum (green) |
| Colour(s) | Black and blue shirts |
| Diocese | Lincoln |
| Buildings | Arkwright, Banks, Curie, Darwin, Escher, Fibonacci, Galileo, Halley, Irving and Wolfson |
| Website | http://www.williamfarr.lincs.sch.uk |
William Farr Church of England Comprehensive School, generally known as William Farr School or just William Farr (Will Farr by the students today), is a Church of England comprehensive school in Welton, five miles north-east of Lincoln.
Admissions
It is for 11 - 18 year olds, near the village of Welton, just inside Dunholme, and near Lincoln in the county of Lincolnshire, England not far from the A46. The school is very popular and is currently oversubscribed.
Due to the school being on the edge of a village closely neighbouring another, the school actually lies in the parish of St Chad in Dunholme (and the civil parish). The nearest C of E church is St Mary in Welton. The churches are in the Welton, Dunholme & Scothern Benefice. The school focusses on the 'soft' christian values, not the literal theology.
There is no uniform in the sixth form. It is overseen by the Lincoln Diocesan Board of Education and Training.
History
Secondary modern school
The school was opened as a secondary modern in 1952 on the site of RAF Dunholme Lodge, a WW2 Bomber Command station, which had been bought for £600 in 1946 by Rev William Farr, the vicar of Welton. The school was named after him when he died in 1955. The old former wartime buildings were replaced in 1960.
Comprehensive
The school acquired comprehensive status in 1972. The sports hall was built in 1978, and the sixth form added in 1995. In 2000 William Farr signed up for the latest education initiative, Technology College status.
The school is also an associate school of the University of Lincoln. HM Queen Elizabeth II, visited the school in 1996 to open a new Humanities building. In 2001 William Farr achieved the distinction of having the best comprehensive school A-level results in England. The current Headteacher, appointed in 1986, is Paul Strong. The school scrapped it's old Technology College in 2007, to instead become a Science College.
It gained Grant Maintained status in 1992. This latter scheme was later abolished by the Labour government, but the school became a foundational school (similar arrangement) in 1999.
In March 2003, a French school, the College Descartes-Montaigne from Liévin near Lens, was due to send an exchange visit to the school, but was cancelled due to all schools in the Pas-de-Calais department being told Britain was too 'dangerous' to visit.
Design of the School
There are 10 different buildings, each based around a subject. Arkwright (Design and Technology), Banks (Geography and History), Curie (Modern Languages), Darwin (Science and English), Escher, (Art and Canteen), Fibonacci, Galileo, (Mathematics), Halley (Religious Education and Mathematics), Irving (Performing Arts), and there is also the Wolfson building, named after The Wolfson Company (Science, English and Business Studies). There are also other buildings simply named after their use - the Gymnasium and the Sports Hall.
On 28 April 2004, the Earl of Wessex opened the Galileo Block. On 11 October 1996, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the school, on the same day that she opened the new University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, after arriving at RAF Waddington. She met headteacher Paul Strong and Maurice Keyte, the Chairman of the Governors, and opened the Classroom Block. The school is now an Associate School of the University of Lincoln. The university's Riseholme Campus is nearby to the west.
In September 2010, plans were unveiled for a Community Swimming Pool to be built on the School site.
Outstanding Achievements
Helen Brittain, Head of History, received the 2008 Guardian award for teacher of the year in a secondary school in the East Midlands. The article on the guardian website can be found here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/jul/01/teachingawards2006.schools
School aims
In its foundation document the school states its aims as follows:
"The school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all its pupils."
The school motto, emblazoned on the badge on the uniform, reads "Striving for excellence".
A quote from the Current Head Teacher, Mr P Strong, said something along similar lines and read:
"William Farr (CE) Comprehensive School aims to provide the highest possible quality of education for its pupils so they achieve their maximum potential, and help to further the school, the wider community and themselves."
Alumni
- Tracy Borman, historian