Bassaleg School
Encyclopedia
Bassaleg School is a comprehensive secondary school for pupils aged 11-18, situated in the suburb of Bassaleg
on the western side of the city Newport
, South Wales
.
The present buildings of the school range in age from the early 20th century to the present day. The buildings form a natural campus, with playing fields, lawns and gardens.
The school runs a full programme of curriculum enrichment activities, especially in music, drama and physical education.
The current headteacher is Mrs E Thomas.
Universities, as well as becoming successful in the fields of politics, business, the arts and perhaps most notably sports.
.
Many current pupils represent Wales in their age groups for various sports such as gymnastics
, athletics, hockey
and football.
Many former pupils having played rugby for both the Welsh
and English
national teams, as well as former pupils representing the Welsh national football team
and representing national teams in other sports such as boxing
, swimming
, and cricket
.
The school has a musical theatre performance every other year. Past performances have included Guys and Dolls, Oliver, The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story and The Sound of Music.
The drama department have produced successful pupils in the past, with many going on to perform on the West End and many studying at some of the most prestigious drama schools in the United Kingdom.
The music department have successful brass and wind bands. Both of which have been involved in the Finals of the National Music for youth in Symphony Hall. Pupils have also performed in the Schools Proms in the Royal Albert Hall
. Many pupils studying music are also members of the National Youth Ensembles of Wales and Great Britain in their musical category.
The Eco Committee is an established forum of pupils of all ages, who are trying to improve the environmental aspects of everyday life at Bassaleg. Current projects include the construction of an allotment and a greenhouse made entirely from recycled plastic bottles.
The school has recently installed a wind turbine on Griffin Field which powers the new eco-friendly geography block. Any surplus power is sold back to the national grid, meaning that no energy is wasted.
The school already has an established recycling system and an effective litter management system. Compost bins are starting to be used in the orchard, placing the rotten apples in the compost bins and ensuring the good apples are being used and not wasted.
Activities days in the school include 'The Big Grounds Survey" which included cleaning the school stream and pond to improve the conditions of the freshwater species present. A base line survey was also completed for the intended meadow.
An outdoor classroom has recently been built by year 6 and 7 pupils with the aid of members of the 6th Form and the Forestry Commission. This was completed using all natural materials and included a willow fledge.
The school has recently been awarded the Eco Schools Award 2010, adding to its growing number of green awards.
Bassaleg
Bassaleg is a small semi-urban suburb on the west side of the city of Newport, in south Wales. It lies in the Graig electoral ward and community.- Location, communications & amenities:Bassaleg is located two miles north west of Newport city centre...
on the western side of the city Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
.
The present buildings of the school range in age from the early 20th century to the present day. The buildings form a natural campus, with playing fields, lawns and gardens.
The school runs a full programme of curriculum enrichment activities, especially in music, drama and physical education.
The current headteacher is Mrs E Thomas.
Identity
It has over 1,800 pupils enrolled and is in the top 1000 of most academically-successful mixed comprehensive schools in England and Wales. Many former pupils have attended Oxford and CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
Universities, as well as becoming successful in the fields of politics, business, the arts and perhaps most notably sports.
Physical Education
The Physical Education department has a wide variety of facilities within the school including three gymnasia, eight tennis courts, three netball courts, one cricket green, two rugby pitches, one football pitch, field running track, one long jump, two triple jump pit, use of a variety of gym equipment, PE theory classrooms and an all-weather floodlit astroturfAstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
.
Many current pupils represent Wales in their age groups for various sports such as gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, athletics, hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and football.
Many former pupils having played rugby for both the Welsh
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and English
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
national teams, as well as former pupils representing the Welsh national football team
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
and representing national teams in other sports such as boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
.
Drama Department
The drama department has use of a full drama studio complete with lighting, use of the hall also complete with stage and lighting and then a theory classroom.The school has a musical theatre performance every other year. Past performances have included Guys and Dolls, Oliver, The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story and The Sound of Music.
The drama department have produced successful pupils in the past, with many going on to perform on the West End and many studying at some of the most prestigious drama schools in the United Kingdom.
Music Department
The music department have a variety of facilities available including a new keyboard lab to help develop practical music skills,theory classrooms, the availability of a wide variety of musical instruments and an specific classroom for extra curricular music lessons.The music department have successful brass and wind bands. Both of which have been involved in the Finals of the National Music for youth in Symphony Hall. Pupils have also performed in the Schools Proms in the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
. Many pupils studying music are also members of the National Youth Ensembles of Wales and Great Britain in their musical category.
Eco Schools
Bassaleg currently has a strong involvement with becoming a more eco friendly school.The Eco Committee is an established forum of pupils of all ages, who are trying to improve the environmental aspects of everyday life at Bassaleg. Current projects include the construction of an allotment and a greenhouse made entirely from recycled plastic bottles.
The school has recently installed a wind turbine on Griffin Field which powers the new eco-friendly geography block. Any surplus power is sold back to the national grid, meaning that no energy is wasted.
The school already has an established recycling system and an effective litter management system. Compost bins are starting to be used in the orchard, placing the rotten apples in the compost bins and ensuring the good apples are being used and not wasted.
Activities days in the school include 'The Big Grounds Survey" which included cleaning the school stream and pond to improve the conditions of the freshwater species present. A base line survey was also completed for the intended meadow.
An outdoor classroom has recently been built by year 6 and 7 pupils with the aid of members of the 6th Form and the Forestry Commission. This was completed using all natural materials and included a willow fledge.
The school has recently been awarded the Eco Schools Award 2010, adding to its growing number of green awards.
Notable former pupils
- Stuart BarnesStuart BarnesStuart Barnes is a former English rugby union footballer, and now rugby commentator for Sky Sports. Barnes played fly-half for Newport RFC, Bristol, Bath; and represented England and the British Lions at international level.-Biography:Born in Essex, Barnes was educated at Rougemont and Bassaleg...
, TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
journalist and rugby player - Jon CallardJon CallardJonathan Edward Brooks Callard is a coach at the Rugby Football Union's National Academy. He formerly played rugby union at fullback for Bath and England. He is the brother of ex-Newport RFC player Nigel Callard....
, Bath RugbyBath RugbyBath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...
player - Jamie CorsiJamie CorsiJamie Corsi is a professional rugby union player who plays for Cardiff Blues. He is a former pupil of Bassaleg School, Newport....
, rugby player. - David DaviesDavid Davies (politician)David Thomas Charles Davies, MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Monmouth in South Wales. Davies is also a special police constable, and volunteers with his local police force....
, ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP for MonmouthMonmouth (UK Parliament constituency)Monmouth is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post of election...
and one of the youngest MPs in the House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members... - The Right Reverend John Davies. Bishop of Swansea and Brecon
- Ron Davies AM, Former First MinisterFirst Minister for WalesThe First Minister of Wales is the leader of the Welsh Government, Wales' devolved administration, which was established in 1999. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Welsh Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the...
of Wales and Secretary of State for WalesSecretary of State for WalesThe Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales... - Karl FrancisKarl FrancisKarl Francis is a Welsh film and television director, producer and screenwriter, associated with left-wing political causes. His work is inspired by the likes of Chris Marker and Ken Loach and has included output in both the English and Welsh languages.-Biography:Francis was born in Bedwas in...
, film writer and director - Anneliese HeardAnneliese HeardAnneliese Heard is a Welsh triathlete from Bassaleg near Newport, Wales.She competed in her first triathlon at the age of eight, winning the Cannock Chase under nine category. She was crowned British Juvenile Champion at the age of 12. She became World Junior Champion in 1999 and 2000...
Triathlete. - Ryan Jones, Wales and British LionsBritish and Irish LionsThe British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
rugby player - Stephen JonesStephen Jones (journalist)Stephen Jones is a Welsh journalist and the rugby union correspondent for The Times and The Sunday Times, and has been for over 20 years and has been twice-named Sports Correspondent of the Year by the Sports Journalists' Association.-References:...
, rugby correspondent of the Sunday Times - Professor Roger LewisRoger LewisRoger Lewis , a former Fellow of Wolfson College at Oxford University, is the biographer of Anthony Burgess. Lewis's book, Anthony Burgess: A Life, was published in 2002....
, Oxford academic and international journalist, author of The Life and Death of Peter SellersThe Life and Death of Peter SellersThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers is a 2004 film about the life of English comic actor Peter Sellers, based on Roger Lewis' book of the same name... - Alix PophamAlix PophamAlix Jon Popham is a Welsh rugby union footballer, who plays at Number eight or flanker and is captain for the 2009 season at Brive in the French Top 14, having signed from the Llanelli Scarlets in 2008...
, Welsh national rugby player - Paul SharmaPaul SharmaPaul Sharma is an actor and dancer, born in Newport, South Wales, and educated at Bassaleg Comprehensive and Pontypool College.-Television work:Sharma played Vinnay Ramdas in Casualty and then Damon Lynch in 2011, Rajiv in comedy-dramaRoger Roger...
, Actor - The Bench, Roger Roger, The Office, Casualty, Gavin and Stacey - Malcolm ThomasMalcolm ThomasMalcolm Thomas was a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Newport. He won 27 caps for Wales and was selected to play in the British Lions on two tours of Australia and New Zealand. A versatile player, Thomas found himself being moved between centre and wing and was chosen many...
a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Newport. He won 27 caps for Wales. - Liz Johnson, Paralympic gold medalist
- Craig Ewers, 4th Dan GB international Judoka and twice Commonwealth Gold medalist. Current Welsh National Coach.
- Dr Timothy Marczylo, research scientist and lecturer.