Cotwall End Primary School
Encyclopedia
Cotwall End Primary School is a primary school for boys and girls in Sedgley
, West Midlands
, England
. There are approximately 420 pupils on the school roll. The school's head teacher is Mrs Nicole Anderton.
Urban District
Council in 1962 as a one-form entry infant and junior school. Its first Headmaster was Mr Clifford Whitehouse.
In April 1971, an infant school building was added on the site, but reorganisation in September 1972 saw the infant school become a first school and the junior school a middle school. This meant that pupils now finished the school at 12 instead of 11, but in 1990 the leaving age was reverted to 11.
The two schools merged in 1981 to form a single primary school. The school had a nursery unit which was built during the 1960s, but became part of the junior school in 1975 when Dudley MBC
(which the Sedgley area had become part of in 1966) increased the area's primary school leaving age from 11 to 12. When the primary school leaving age was reverted to 11 in 1990, the building was used by a local playgroup. The playgroup disbanded in December 2000 and the building was demolished the following year.
Mr Ken Thomas was appointed head teacher in January 1978 and remained in his post until he retired in April 2003.
Six teachers who worked under Mr Thomas went on to be head teachers at other schools; these were deputy head teachers Eric Tibble, David Cox, Phillip Everington, Adrian Slack and Leonard Hazelhurst, as well as class teacher Ann Mason.
The nursery unit was demolished in April 2001, four months after the local playgroup closed. This was due in part to an education authority reorganisation and to the poor state of the buildings.
The school has been served by a schoolhouse since about 1970; this has always been occupied by the school caretaker. For more than 10 years until 1999, the occupants were caretaker Mr Alfred Taylor and crossing lady Mrs Jean Taylor and their three children. Jean is the cousin of footballers Peter
and Cyril Knowles
. The occupant of the schoolhouse is Mr Martin Waldron, school caretaker since 2000.
Teaching Assistant Karen Pearce is the wife of former Aston Villa
and Wolverhampton Wanderers
footballer Dennis Pearce
.
A full-time nursery opened in September 2007. For the previous 13 years, the school had been served by a twice-weekly pre-school club called "Cotty Kitten", which was open to pupils in their final term prior to compulsory education.
However it started to lose its way in the 2000s and its OFSTED inspections started to give concern to parents.
The school has a broad curriculum, including English
, mathematics
, science
, geography
, history, information technology
, physical education
, music (including instrumental music), and religious education.
In 2005, an OFSTED
inspection of the school found that the overall effectiveness of the school, and in particular progress in English, mathematics, and science was inadequate, particularly in Years 3 through 6. The school was given a Notice to Improve. The school's strengths include physical education, art, and music.
However, in October 2006 Ofsted said that it was a "a satisfactory and improving school" and praised the efforts of Anderton.
The school regularly comes in the upper section of the Dudley borough's Key Stage 2 SATs league tables.
, basketball
, and cross-country running, and musical activities like orchestra and choir. There is an after school club.
The school is represented by separate football teams for boys and girls. The boys football team is the longest established, and has enjoyed success in local competitions which include several league championships.
In spring 2005 the children worked with resident artist
Ilona Bryan to produce a mosaic
based around exotic birds.
Sedgley
Sedgley is an urban village within the West Midlands county of England. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Sedgley was formerly an ancient manor composed of several smaller villages, including Gornal, Gospel End, Woodsetton, Ettingshall, Coseley and Brierley...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. There are approximately 420 pupils on the school roll. The school's head teacher is Mrs Nicole Anderton.
History
Cotwall End was built by SedgleySedgley
Sedgley is an urban village within the West Midlands county of England. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Sedgley was formerly an ancient manor composed of several smaller villages, including Gornal, Gospel End, Woodsetton, Ettingshall, Coseley and Brierley...
Urban District
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
Council in 1962 as a one-form entry infant and junior school. Its first Headmaster was Mr Clifford Whitehouse.
In April 1971, an infant school building was added on the site, but reorganisation in September 1972 saw the infant school become a first school and the junior school a middle school. This meant that pupils now finished the school at 12 instead of 11, but in 1990 the leaving age was reverted to 11.
The two schools merged in 1981 to form a single primary school. The school had a nursery unit which was built during the 1960s, but became part of the junior school in 1975 when Dudley MBC
Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It was created in 1974, and is made up of the towns of Dudley , Stourbridge , Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Amblecote, Sedgley and Coseley...
(which the Sedgley area had become part of in 1966) increased the area's primary school leaving age from 11 to 12. When the primary school leaving age was reverted to 11 in 1990, the building was used by a local playgroup. The playgroup disbanded in December 2000 and the building was demolished the following year.
Mr Ken Thomas was appointed head teacher in January 1978 and remained in his post until he retired in April 2003.
Six teachers who worked under Mr Thomas went on to be head teachers at other schools; these were deputy head teachers Eric Tibble, David Cox, Phillip Everington, Adrian Slack and Leonard Hazelhurst, as well as class teacher Ann Mason.
The nursery unit was demolished in April 2001, four months after the local playgroup closed. This was due in part to an education authority reorganisation and to the poor state of the buildings.
The school has been served by a schoolhouse since about 1970; this has always been occupied by the school caretaker. For more than 10 years until 1999, the occupants were caretaker Mr Alfred Taylor and crossing lady Mrs Jean Taylor and their three children. Jean is the cousin of footballers Peter
Peter Knowles
Peter Knowles is an English former football player. He spent his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he became a popular player scoring around 101 goals in all competitions. He voluntarily ended his football career in 1970 after he became one of Jehovah's Witnesses...
and Cyril Knowles
Cyril Knowles
Cyril Barry Knowles was a footballer who played full-back for Tottenham Hotspur and England. He was the brother of fellow professional footballer Peter Knowles.- Early career :...
. The occupant of the schoolhouse is Mr Martin Waldron, school caretaker since 2000.
Teaching Assistant Karen Pearce is the wife of former Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
and Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
footballer Dennis Pearce
Dennis Pearce
Dennis Anthony Pearce is an English footballer of Caribbean descent, who formerly played at professional level and is now playing as a semi-professional...
.
A full-time nursery opened in September 2007. For the previous 13 years, the school had been served by a twice-weekly pre-school club called "Cotty Kitten", which was open to pupils in their final term prior to compulsory education.
1960s
- September 1962: Cotwall End Infant and Junior Schools opened within one building as one-form entry.
1970s
- September 1971: Cotwall End becomes two-form entry following the opening of an infant school.
- September 1972: Cotwall End becomes a first and middle school, with pupils now leaving at the age of 12 instead of 11, and the top two classes are accommodated in the closed nursery unit.
- December 1977: Clifford Whitehouse retires as head teacher and is replaced by Ken Thomas.
1980s
- September 1981: Cotwall End merges into a single primary school.
- October 1986: Clifford Whitehouse dies aged 73.
1990s
- September 1990: the local authority lowers the primary school leaving age from 12 to 11, and the redundant two classrooms become part of a local playgroup.
- September 1994: "Cotty Kitten", a twice-weekly pre-school club, is set up to accommodate pupils in the term preceding full-time school.
- April 1999: a new school library is opened in the junior school.
2000s
- September 2000: a new nursery unit is constructed in the infant school.
- April 2001: two former classrooms on the junior school playground are demolished.
- April 2003: Ken Thomas retires after 26 years as head teacher and is replaced by Mrs Nicole Anderton.
- October 2004: two new "annexe" classrooms are added to the junior school.
- June 2005: Mrs Diane Morgan, former infant school teacher, dies of cancer aged 66.
- October 2006: OFSTED removes the 'notice to improve' on Cotwall End and praises its rising standards.
- September 2007: Cotwall End Nursery Unit is opened.
Academic standards
Cotwall End School from its inception in 1962 always prided itself in the very high academic standards it set itself and its pupils.However it started to lose its way in the 2000s and its OFSTED inspections started to give concern to parents.
The school has a broad curriculum, including English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, history, information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, music (including instrumental music), and religious education.
In 2005, an OFSTED
Ofsted
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 ....
inspection of the school found that the overall effectiveness of the school, and in particular progress in English, mathematics, and science was inadequate, particularly in Years 3 through 6. The school was given a Notice to Improve. The school's strengths include physical education, art, and music.
However, in October 2006 Ofsted said that it was a "a satisfactory and improving school" and praised the efforts of Anderton.
The school regularly comes in the upper section of the Dudley borough's Key Stage 2 SATs league tables.
Extracurricular activities
Extracurricular activities include sports such as footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and cross-country running, and musical activities like orchestra and choir. There is an after school club.
The school is represented by separate football teams for boys and girls. The boys football team is the longest established, and has enjoyed success in local competitions which include several league championships.
In spring 2005 the children worked with resident artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Ilona Bryan to produce a mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
based around exotic birds.
Notable staff and pupils
- Jon TurleyJon TurleyJonathan "Jon" Turley is an English author who writes children's books.- Early life and education :He was born in Worcester and was a pupil at the Royal Worcester Grammar School, which he attended from 1982 until 1989...
, children's author, taught at Cotwall End from 1996 to 1999. He taught in the junior part of the school and was in charge of the school football team, who were joint winners of the local league in 1998 and runners-up the previous year.
- Chris MarshChris MarshChristopher "Chris" Marsh was a British footballer who is best remembered for his time with Walsall football club, for whom he made over 470 appearances in all competitions.-Career:...
, footballer, who played more than 400 games for Walsall Football ClubWalsall F.C.Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
between 1987 and 2002, attended Cotwall End from January 1975 until July 1982.
- Chris Wood, diplomat, Deputy British Ambassador in Beijing since 2009, attended Cotwall End until July 1970.