Caroline Chisholm School
Encyclopedia
Caroline Chisholm School is an all-through 4-18 primary
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...

 and secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

, in south Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

, England. It is named after Caroline Chisholm
Caroline Chisholm
Caroline Chisholm was a progressive 19th-century English humanitarian known mostly for her involvement with female immigrant welfare in Australia. She is commemorated on 16 May in the Calendar of saints of the Church of England...

, a 19th century social reformer The principal is Tony Downing.. The school was built in 15 months and cost £25 million. The school added its final year, year 13, in September 2008. In 2005 admission arrangements were changed to give brothers and sisters of children at the school greater priority for places.

Design

The school has 5 blocks, A Block (Music, Drama and PE), B Block (Languages and History), C Block (Maths and English), D Block (Technology and Science) and E Block (ICT, Business and Art). It also has a cafeteria, takeaway area, numerous ICT suites, drama studio, gym, art display area, library and public meeting rooms.

Distinctions

  • This was the first through 4-18 state school in the UK
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

    .
  • The school was mentioned in the House of Lords
    House of Lords
    The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

     when it was confirmed that this was one of just six schools in England defined as a middle school
    Middle school
    Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

     that educates year 11 pupils.
  • Education Secretary
    Secretary of State for Education and Skills
    The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....

     Ruth Kelly
    Ruth Kelly
    Ruth Maria Kelly is a British Labour Party politician of Irish descent who was the Member of Parliament for Bolton West from 1997 until she stood down in 2010...

     visited the school on 17 March 2005. Following the visit, Kelly said that the school was a national model for the future with "world-class facilities".

Community involvement

The school is in the Wooldale Centre for Learning
Wooldale Centre for Learning
The Wooldale Centre for Learning , is situated in Wootton, Northamptonshire. It houses the local library for the Wootton and Wootton Fields areas, a primary school and a secondary school.- Facilities :...

, a multi-use community facility. Caroline Chisholm has been described as "unique and ground
breaking" for the way it is linked into the community including offering sports and learning facilities for the whole community.

Academic standards

Ofsted's
Office for Standards in Education
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....

 report of 17 May 2006 describes the school as: 'Caroline Chisholm is a good school with many outstanding features, a view shared by parents and reflected in the school’s self-evaluation. Outstanding features such as the quality and standards in the Foundation Stage, the progress made by pupils with a statement of autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...

 or Asperger’s Syndrome
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...

, the behaviour and attitudes of all pupils, and the personal development and well-being of pupils make Caroline Chisholm a unique school'

It had 'outstanding' outcome from its latest Ofsted report in July 2009
.

Catchment area row

Although the area is next to the large housing development of Grange Park
Grange Park, Northamptonshire
Grange Park is a large residential housing estate on the edge of the Borough of Northampton but outside the Borough boundary. Some residents refer to its status as a "village", although in reality it is an extension to the Northampton urban area. It is south of Northampton town centre, in the...

, a proposal in January 2010 by Northamptonshire County Council to remove Woodland View Primary School in Grange Park as a feeder school provoked huge protest from Grange Park parents. The alternative schools proposed were Roade School Sports College and Abbeyfield School (formerly Mereway Secondary School).

ICT

It has over 450 curriculum machines for student access, every member of teaching staff have their own laptop as well and according to the prospectus every sixth form student is encouraged to have their own laptop. "Moodle
Moodle
Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...

" is used for virtual learning

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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