Holy Trinity School, Crawley
| The Holy Trinity Church Of England Secondary School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
Buckswood Drive , , RH11 8JE | |
| Information | |
| Type | Voluntary aided school |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
| Established | 17 December 1969 |
| Local authority | West Sussex |
| Specialist | Science College (previously also a Maths college) |
| Department for Education URN | 126098 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Head teacher | Reverend Millwood |
| Gender | Other |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrollment | 1300 |
| Houses | Canterbury, Durham, Winchester, York - Four prominent Dioceses in the Church of England |
| Website | http://www.holytrinity.w-sussex.sch.uk/ |
The Holy Trinity Church of England Secondary School is a voluntary-aided comprehensive school in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The school has a roll of around 1300 students.[1]
In December 2015, Mr Paul Kennedy left as Head Teacher. In April 2015, Reverend Millwood was chosen as the new head after a rigorous selection process.
Holy Trinity offers a range of GCSE, BTEC and A-Level courses. These are both vocational and part of the English Baccalaureate. Subjects range from English, to languages to Art. Holy Trinity also offers a WorkSkills course, this is designed as a GCSE subject to prepare students for future employment. There is a Sixth form centre if students wish to continue their studies at an advanced level.
The school has quite an original building with new additions added on. These include a Drama Studio, Sports Hall and the 'Chichester Refectory' (the schools canteen) offering a healthy and varied lunch.
Throughout recent years, Holy Trinity has been awarded 'good' by ofsted.
In 2014, Mr P.Sumner left as deputy head teacher after serving over 24 years at the school. In September 2014, Mr R. Bradley was announced and became the schools new deputy head teacher.
Voluntary aided status
The government provides the school with grant aid to cover 90% of the costs for external building maintenance and improvements. The Governors are responsible for 10% of total costs. Each family represented in the school is invited to commit an annual donation.
Although donations at the school are not compulsory, the school does greatly benefit from the donations given. 'The Young Building' is just one of the buildings that donations benefitted.
The schools is ran by the Church Of England and has been since its opening back in 1969, some of the original buildings still exist and the well-known Beith Court situated in the middle of the school.
History
The Holy Trinity School is believed to have been the first purpose-built Church of England comprehensive school in the country. It provides a secondary education based on Christian belief.
On the 17th December 1969, the school opened and gradually begun enrolling new students. The Queen came to open the school as it was based on the Church Of England.
The school is soon coming up to its 50th anniversary.
Ties at the school now are based on which house that particular student is in. Durham red stripes, York green stripes, Canterbury blue stripes and Winchester yellow stripes. Prefects at the school do not have these ties, their ties are purple to show they are a prefect so other students can go for help. Originally, the school ties were dark blue with just little logos of the school on, this was changed around a decade ago.
The school blazer has remained the same since the school opened, along with the logo.
School places
Admission to the school is by application only and the pupils come from an area within a ten-mile radius of Crawley. They take children from some independent schools as well local state primary schools. The Governors give first priority to those who regularly attend a place of Christian worship but they also try to offer as many other places as possible to those who particularly want the school because of its Christian foundation, ethos and values.
Sport
The school has won the nationwide basketball U15 National Schools Conference.
Records
Holy Trinity has appeared in the Guinness Book of Records for holding the longest continuous basketball rally.[2] Holy Trinity smashed the record of 60 hours and 3 seconds (set by Japan) and pushed the record to just over 72 hours. The record was set over 13–16 July 2007.
However the school no longer holds the record. It was raised to 81 hours in 2008 in Tenerife.
School productions
The drama and music departments work with pupils to create productions every November, alternating between musicals and straight plays. Some productions are:
- Wendy and Peter Pan 2016
- Les Miserable 2015
- Beauty and the Beast 2014
- Oliver! 2013
- A Midsummer Night's Dream 2012
- Back to the 80s 2011
- Arabian Nights 2010
- Hairspray 2009
- Animal Farm 2008
- Seussical 2007
Model United Nations and Debating Society
Until 2011 the school held an annual Model United Nations Conference around the beginning of July. The conference brought pupils from schools around the area together to debate and resolve problems together.
The Holy Trinity School also had a permanent Debating Society, meeting once a week to debate on key subjects concerning the school and the world. As well as hosting their own Model UN at the school, the Debating Society takes part in Model UN meetings at other schools. The Society (and the school in general) takes part in the National MACE Speaking competition each year; the competition is run by the English-Speaking Union. For three consecutive years the school has progressed beyond the first round of the competition.