William Farr School
| William Farr School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Lincoln Road, Welton/Dunholme , , LN2 3JB England | |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Motto | Striving for Excellence |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
| Established | 1952 |
| Founder | Rev William Farr |
| Local authority | Lincolnshire |
| Specialist | Science, Leading Edge |
| Department for Education URN | 136415 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Head teacher | Mr Andrew Stones BA(Hons.) MA NPQH |
| Staff | 217 |
| 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 School is a Church of England academy school for 11 - 18 year olds in Welton, Lincolnshire, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Lincoln, near the A46, and close to the neighbouring village of Dunholme.
It lies in the ecclesiastical parish of St Chad and the civil parish of Dunholme. The nearest Church of England church is St Mary's in Welton. St Chad's and St Mary's are in the Welton, Dunholme and Scothern Benefice. The school focuses on the 'soft' christian values, not literal theology.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
Comprehensive
The school acquired comprehensive status in 1972, whilst Brian Sawyer (BA) was the headmaster. 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.[citation needed]
The school is also an associate school of the University of Lincoln. Queen Elizabeth visited the school in 1996 to open a new Humanities building.[citation needed] In 2001 William Farr achieved the distinction of having the best comprehensive school A-level results in England.[citation needed] The school changed it's Technology College status in 2007, to become a Science College.[citation needed]
It gained Grant Maintained status in 1992. This latter scheme was later abolished by the Labour government, but the school became a foundation school, a similar arrangement, in 1999.[citation needed]
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 this was cancelled due to all schools in the Pas-de-Calais department being told Britain was too dangerous to visit.[citation needed]
The school became an independent academy on 1 January 2011 although head teacher Paul Strong, prior to his retirement in August 2011, stated he did not want to rename the school; it kept its full title, William Farr Church of England Comprehensive School.[citation needed]
There is no uniform in the sixth form. The school is currently oversubscribed.[citation needed]
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 (Science and IT), Galileo (Mathematics and IT), Halley (Religious Education and Mathematics), Irving (Performing Arts and Languages), and the Wolfson building, named after The Wolfson Company (Science, English and Business Studies). There is also a gymnasium and sports hall.[citation needed]
The school also has two large playing fields, with football, rugby and hockey pitches, and several outside courts that are used for physical education and extracurricula activities.
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 she opened the new University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, after arriving at RAF Waddington. She met headteacher Paul Strong and Maurice Keyte, Chairman of the Governors, and opened the Banks Block. The school is now an Associate School of the University of Lincoln. The university's Riseholme Campus is nearby to the west.[citation needed]
In September 2010 plans were unveiled for a community swimming pool to be built on the school site.[citation needed]
Achievements
Helen Brittain, Head of History, received the 2008 Guardian award for teacher of the year at the East Midlands Conference Centre at Nottingham University.[1]
School aims
In its foundation document the school states its aims as:
- "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, included on the badge on the uniform, reads "Striving for excellence". Former Head Teacher Paul Strong stated:
- "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."[This quote needs a citation]
WFR
The school formed a Radio Station, WFR (William Farr Radio) that is broadcast around the school through the school internet system. It was opened by BBC Radio Lincolnshire radio presenter Rod Whiting. The service started on Wednesday February 24th 2010. There are 10 shows a week each 30 minutes long. Shows are broadcast each day, Monday to Friday from 08.30 - 09.00 and lunchtime 13.00 -13.30. Notable shows on WFR are the Tuesday lunchtime crew presented by Tom Kelsey, Rhys Edwards, Joe Davies and Henry Smith which is currently the longest running show on the station, and Wednesday Lunch with Samuel Gibbs who is a favorite among the listeners
Notable former pupils
- Tracy Borman, historian[citation needed]
- Mark Marriot. DrinkerTemplate:Citation neededldate=March2012
References
- ^ Beliner, Wendy; "Long-lasting treasure", the Guardian, 1 July 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2012