Sandringham School
| Sandringham School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
The Ridgeway , , AL4 9NX | |
| Coordinates | 51°46′15″N 0°18′28″W / 51.77074°N 0.30783°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Motto | Everybody can be somebody |
| Established | 1988 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Chair of Governors | Lin Keen |
| Deputy Headteachers | Dr Caroline Creaby (maternity), Mr Fergal Moane and Mr Mark Nicholls |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 1595[1] |
| Houses | Austen Elgar |
| Colour(s) | Red, Yellow and Black |
| Publication | SandPrint (weekly) |
| Precursors | Marshalswick School Wheathampstead School |
| Website | http://www.sandringham.herts.sch.uk/ |
Sandringham School is a secondary school with academy status in Marshalswick, St Albans, Hertfordshire. It was established in 1988 following a merger of two local schools, Marshalswick School and Wheathampstead School. It occupies the former Marshalswick site, adjacent to Wheatfields Infant and Junior schools. The former Wheathampstead site was used as a training centre by Hertfordshire County Council until 2007 and is now awaiting redevelopment for housing.
The school works in partnership with two neighbouring schools to enhance post-16 educational provision. This partnership is known as "BeauSandVer" and consists of Sandringham School, Verulam School and Beaumont School.
Sandringham school primarily serves neighbourhoods in the north east of St Albans (Marshalswick and Jersey Farm) and the villages of Sandridge and Wheathampstead.
The school, from 2019, admits eight forms of entry each year but has admitted an extra form in 2015 (7 total), 2016(7 total), 2017(8 total), 2018 (8 total) and 2019 (8 total, although the extra form in 2019 was later entered into the new Hepworth house). Forms are organised into one of seven Houses (see House system section).
House system
The school introduced a house system in 2005 with 6 houses named after famous people. These were called Brunel, Descartes, Einstein, King, Shakespeare and da Vinci. The names were revamped in 2012 to Boudica, Darwin, Erikson, Knight, Seacole and Van Gogh. Most recently, in 2017, they were revamped again:
- Boudica became Johnson
- Darwin became Newton
- Erikson became Austen
- Knight became Fawcett
- Seacole became Elgar
- Van Gogh became Turing
The new seventh house was named Shakespeare.
As of the 2019-20 Academic year, a new house was introduced - Hepworth House, named after the famous sculptor.
Each house is led by two Co-Heads of House (staff) assisted by House Captains and a House Committee (students). The Houses compete against each other to win annual events such as sports day, house drama, house music, house dance and house Christmas decorations. Students are also awarded House Points for "endeavour and effort, community service and a high standard of work" according to the House Point Certificates. The total number of points for each House is used to determine which house is the winner of the House competition. The winners of the house competition thus far:
- 2005-2006 Descartes
- 2006-2007 Brunel
- 2007-2008 Einstein + King
- 2009-2010 Einstein
- 2010-2011 Brunel
- 2011-2012 Brunel
- 2012-2013 Brunel
- 2013-2014 Darwin
- 2014-2015 Darwin
- 2015-2016 Van Gogh
- 2016-2017 Van Gogh
- 2017-2018 Newton
- 2018-2019 Austen
- 2019-2020 Austen
Achievements and recognition
The school has specialisms in Arts, Science and Leading Edge.
The school has also been awarded High Performing Specialist School status by the SSAT on three successive occasions. It has received the School Achievement Award.
The school is an Accredited Initial Teacher Training Provider (AITTP) which offers QTS through the GTP programme.[2]
The most recent Ofsted inspection described the school as "outstanding".[3] The school has hosted a world record attempt for outdoor aerobatics [citation needed] and a world record attempt for the largest lesson.[4]
On 8 January 2016, pupils from the school made the first amateur radio call to a British astronaut at the International Space Station, contacting Tim Peake as part of his Principia mission during Expedition 46.[5]
SandPit Theatre
The School has used its specialism in the Arts to build and maintain a professional quality theatre on site. Opened in 2001 (at a cost of £1,000,000) the SandPit is used by the school and community alike and regularly hosts high quality productions and charity events, such as the Senpai 2007 pantomime featuring students and staff and the yearly whole school show (2013- Grease 2014- Les Miserables, for example). The SandPit is also used as a teaching space and as a venue for school assemblies.[6]
References
- ^ "Twitter Update".
- ^ "Alban Federation – Home". www.sandringham.herts.sch.uk. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
- ^ "Sandringham School". www.ofsted.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
- ^ Suslak, Anne. "St Albans schools teach science lesson to more than 2,500 pupils". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ "Pupils make radio call to Tim Peake". BBC News. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ http://www.sandpittheatre.co.uk/