Winstanley College
| Winstanley College | |
|---|---|
| File:Winstanley College Logo.png | |
.jpg) Entrance to the college | |
| Address | |
 | |
Winstanley Road , , WN5 7XF England | |
| Coordinates | 53°31′25″N 2°42′10″W / 53.5237°N 2.7029°W |
| Information | |
| Established | 1977 |
| Local authority | Wigan |
| Specialist | A Levels |
| Department for Education URN | 130522 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Chair | James Pearson |
| Principal | Louise Tipping |
| Vice Principal | Mel Chadwick |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 16 to 19 |
| Enrolment | 1,803 |
| Colour(s) | Blue, White |
| Former name | Upholland Grammar School |
| Website | http://www.winstanley.ac.uk |
Winstanley College is a sixth-form college in the Billinge Higher End area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.
Admissions
In the academic year 2016-17 it had 2000 full-time students.[1] The catchment area spreads across several areas of the North West of England, incorporating much of Wigan, Bolton, Preston, Salford, West Lancashire, Chorley, Warrington, St. Helens, Sefton and Knowsley.
Winstanley College is highly oversubscribed due to its good Ofsted Reports and A-Level performance.
Buildings
The College has undergone a major re-development; including the building of a part student-designed English and Politics building, and the Head of Politics Elaine Mulroy has received an award for the top teacher of Politics within England and Wales.[citation needed]
Points of interest when visiting the college include:
- The Art and Psychology Departments for their imaginative architecture
- The Student Centre.
- The English and Politics/Law/Sociology (PLS) building (including subject-specific study areas).
- Learning Resource Centre (LRC).
- Extensive Sporting and Gym facilities including several large sports fields.
- A brand new £3 million development for Media, Music & Performing Arts opened July 2012. Architects Pick Everard have won Best Education Building Design and Best Overall Design in Wigan for 2012.
Student Union
Winstanley College Students' Union is an independent union and a member of the National Union of Students. The student union is run by the Student Union Executive. Usually, each member of the Student Union Executive is a second-year student, elected by Lower Sixth students, going into the Upper Sixth year.
History
Grammar school
The College began life as Upholland Grammar School, which was founded in 1661.[2] The grammar school moved to its present site on Winstanley Road in Billinge Higher End in September 1953. It had 600 boys and girls in the 1960s and had 750 by 1976. During World War II the grammar school had its own Air Cadet Squadron – 1439 (Beacon) squadron with the headmaster Alfred Maggs BA MSc as the first commanding officer (Flt Lt A. Maggs RAFVR(T)).
Sixth form college
It was renamed Winstanley College in August 1977,[3] and at that time, it ceased to enrol new pupils at age 11, gradually becoming a sixth form college. By September 1981, no pupils remained in the lower forms, and the transformation to a sixth-form college was complete. In early 2009, plans were unveiled for an extensive redevelopment of the grounds, which was subsequently put to the Learning & Skills Council for approval. In mid-2009 the project was shelved for lack of grant funding. Since that time the college has redeveloped the 1950s buildings by replacing its flat roofs (AA projects & Mitie roofing), the music block was replaced with a £3m building for media and performing arts which was completed in 2012 (Pick Everard and ISG). A replacement library block and new accommodation for physical sciences and biology were completed in 2014. In March 2019, a new social sciences building was opened, home to sociology, psychology, health and social care and in 2019/20 to the new criminology A level.
Academic performance
A portal to higher education, Winstanley College is at the forefront of the top 10 colleges in the UK in terms of A-level PPS (points per student) — ranked 1st in the Guardian's country-wide collation of A-Level results in 2010.[4]
It was named by the Sunday Times as Sixth Form of the Year in 2012 for consistently achieving excellent A-level results over a long period of time. The report highlights the fact that Winstanley are A-level specialists with the expertise to deliver consistent academic excellence with large numbers of students drawn from a wide area.
In 2020, Winstanley college was rated “Good” by Ofsted.
Notable alumni
- Richard Ashcroft, Pete Salisbury, Simon Jones & Nick McCabe- from the band The Verve.[3]
- Sara Bayman - Netball player for England; bronze medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.[5]
- Shaun Briscoe – rugby league footballer for Hull Kingston Rovers formerly of Wigan Warriors and Hull
- Sam Darbyshire – Hollyoaks Jamie "Fletch" Fletcher
- Helen Don-Duncan, backstroke swimmer in the 200m event at the 2000 Olympics
- Roger Draper, Chief Executive since 2006 of the Lawn Tennis Association
- Ibinabo Jack, Vera DC Jacqueline Williams
- Lucy Gaskell – Casualty Kirsty Clements
- David Grindley – British 400 metre runner. Bronze medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games[3]
- Leah Hackett – Hollyoaks Tina McQueen
- Nisha Katona - chef
- Adam McClean – BBC Breakfast and BBC News journalist (founded college TV station Winstanley TV)
- Leon Osman – professional footballer for Everton FC[3]
- Carley Stenson – Hollyoaks Steph Dean, Shrek the Musical Princess Fiona, Legally Blonde (musical) Elle Woods, Les Miserables (musical) Fantine
- Davinia Taylor (née Murphy), actress
- Georgia Taylor – Coronation Street Toyah Battersby, Casualty Ruth Winters
- Nicholas Woods – first-class cricketer
- James Carroll - Dancer
Upholland Grammar School
- Catherine Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland – High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, former Leader of the House of Lords and European Commissioner for Trade[3]
- Thomas Berridge, Liberal MP from 1906–10 for Warwick and Leamington (his father was a former headmaster)
- Prof Chris Berry, Professor of Political Theory from 1995-2011 at the University of Glasgow[6]
- John Carleton, rugby union player
- Dr. Charles Bamforth, Professor of Brewing at the University of California
- Prebendary Tom Kerfoot OBE, founder and first General Secretary of the International Christian Maritime Association
- Prof Allan Matthews, Professor of Surface Engineering and Tribology at The University of Manchester, Director of the BP International Centre for Advanced Materials
- Canon Joseph Robinson, Canon of Canterbury and Master of the Temple
- Peter Williams (English rugby player), rugby union
References
- ^ "Winstanley College Board Minutes November 2007" (PDF). Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ "A history of Upholland Grammar School". Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Barton, Laura (23 November 2009). "Lady Ashton went to my school". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
- ^ "Education,Schools,A-levels,GCSEs,School tables (Education)". The Guardian. London.
- ^ "Sara Bayman". winstanley.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ University of Glasgow