Kenton School
| Kenton Academy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
Kenton Lane and Drayton Road | |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy, Sixth form |
| Motto | All Different, All Equal |
| Department for Education URN | 108528 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Principal | Sarah Homes-Carne |
| Age | 11 to 19 (Sixth form) |
| Enrollment | 2,106 (Jan. 2009)[1] |
| Website | http://www.kenton.newcastle.sch.uk |
Kenton School is an Academy situated in Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England.
It is situated near Kenton Lane in Kenton and is one of the largest academies in the United Kingdom, educating around 2,000 pupils across Key Stage 3 to 5.
Kenton School is a specialist Arts and Technology School and has been granted several marks of achievement including a Gold Artsmark from the Arts Council of England and a 2008 Sportsmark.
The sixth form building is used by both sixth formers and pupils attending the main academy as well as working as a local community college (Kenton College). A 2012 Ofsted report graded the school as Good, a drop from the Outstanding status they obtained in 2009.
History
Construction on the original Kenton School started in 1958, and the school was opened by the Right Honourable Lord Morrison of Lambeth to pupils and staff on Friday 17 March 1961.
The development of the school continued through the addition of new buildings. East Block was the first to be built - closely followed by West Block in 1961, the plans for these buildings were submitted in 1957 and approved in 1958.
South Block was added to the site in 1971 which was linked to the main school by the addition of a corrugated green fibreglass clad bridge connecting South Block to West Block. Eventually, the Green Bridge lost its colour, having been reclad in grey painted corrugated metal and remained in place all the way until demolition of the buildings between 2008 and 2009.
In 1978 North Block was added to the rear of East Block,following the closure of the adjacent Roman Catholic school, and finally, most notably in 1999, a new College Building was added to the campus. The College Building was officially opened by the then Schools Minister, Estelle Morris.
Following 47 years in the original school buildings, the school moved into a new state-of-the-art building in Autumn 2008 and had its official opening on Friday, 2 July 2010.
The new school was officially opened by the acclaimed film director and former Kenton School pupil, Mike Figgis.
Former headteachers
- Mr Eric Hackett (1960–1)
- Mr Charles Jary (1965–1972)
- Mrs Doreen Inness (1972–1981)
- Mrs Barbara Payne O.B.E. (1981–1992)
- Mr Fran Done (1992–1993) (Acting)
- Mr Mike Gibbons (1994–1997)
- Mr Fran Done (1997–1998) (Acting)
- Mr David Pearmain (1998-2015)
Mrs Barbara Payne O.B.E. now works for the Department for International Development, supporting education in developing countries.
Mr David Pearmain was the longest-serving Headteacher and, after stepping down in August 2015, is now the Chief Executive of Kenton Schools Academy Trust, under which Kenton School and Studio West operate.
Kenton School's current Principal is Mrs Sarah Holmes-Carne.
Buildings
Original site (1958–2008)
- East Block- Food Tech, Health & Social Care, English, Art, ICT and PE
- West Block- Science, Technology, English, Media, ICT and PE
- South Block- Music, Maths, Languages and ICT
- North Block- Geography, History, ICT, RE, PE and Language Base
It should be noted the official names were Kenton East, Kenton West, Kenton South and Kenton North. The College building housed: Science, Psychology, Sociology, ICT and Geography across the Ground Floor corridor, upstairs was ICT, Health & Social Care, ICT, and Business Studies. The top floor included, Leisure & Tourism.
New Building (2008–present)
- Finger A - The Geography Department, The History Department, The Computing Department and The Business Department
- Finger B - The Maths Department and The Learning Support Department
- Finger C - The Art Department, The English Department, The Media Department and the Performing Arts Department
- Finger D - The MFL Department and The Technology Department
- Finger E - The Science Department
- Crescent/F - The Social Science Department and the Hair & Beauty Department
- Finger H - Sport Facilities and The PE Department
- North Block- Motor Vehicle Studies, Accelerated Learning Centre & Exam Rooms
The College building now includes disused Science rooms on the ground floor, The Business, Travel & Tourism Department upstairs along with several Computer Rooms and the Twilight Unit (formerly the Inclusion Unit, based in South Block until 2008). It is also used for Citizenship, Careers and Work Skills. The college building is also home to Robertson Facilities Management, a FM company which provides FM services to 11 Newcastle BSF schools which is a part of the England PFI project
The Computing Department was known as ICT from 2008-2014. RE and Social Sciences were separate until 2014. The Business, Travel & Tourism Department operated as 2 separate departments: Business Studies and Leisure & Tourism 2008-2011, before merging. There was a Music department from 2008-2014 on the Crescent, Music is now covered by The Performing Arts Department. Personal, Social, Home Education (P.S.H.E.)/ Information, Advice and Guidance (I.A.G.) is taught to peoples by staff from all different departments.
Academy conversion
In 2011, the school undertook consultation to investigate conversion to Academy status. This was met with criticism by the NAS/UWT, the NUT, and the ATL, representatives of whom took strike action in September of that year.[2] On 1 May 2012 Kenton School officially converted to an Academy. Throughout the process it was decided that the school's name would not change although for legal reasons Kenton School (Newcastle) is its registered name.
Studio school
In September 2014, Kenton Academy opened a new studio school, Studio West, in the West Denton area of Newcastle upon Tyne. Studio West is based on the All Saints College site,[3] after All Saints College closed in the summer of 2014.[4]
The Kentonian
Kenton School has a newspaper, The Kentonian. Written by staff and pupils at Kenton School, It comes out four times a year and typically contains staff interviews and news items about life in Kenton School.
References
- ^ "Kenton School". Ofsted Inspection Reports. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Kenton School staff strike over academy plans". BBC. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
- ^ "New 'studio school' promises to change the face of education in Newcastle". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
- ^ "All Saints College in West Denton will close in September 2014". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-09-10.