George Abbot School
Encyclopedia
George Abbot School is a large state secondary school with Arts College
status in Burpham
, north-east of the town of Guildford
. The school is named after the 17th-century Archbishop of Canterbury George Abbot. Surrey County Cricket Club
's Cricket Academy is located in the grounds of the school.
The school is currently under the leadership of headteacher Danny Moloney. The school caters for seven years (years 7 to 13, typically ages 11 to 18) with years 7 to 11 each split into ten 30-pupil classes totalling 300 students a year. The school is often oversubscribed with up to 350 students applying for the 300 spaces available in September each year. It currently has 1,924 students on roll with around 400 in the sixth form.
In addition to these, the school has a textiles block, art
block, photography
block (which was also the old sixth form
centre), sports hall (Surrey County Cricket Club
's Cricket Academy), Wilson building (for English
) and has just completed the building of a performing arts
centre (which includes the sixth form centre).
classrooms, the humanities
department, 2 computer rooms, biology laboratories, leisure and tourism classrooms and business studies classrooms. It also includes the main reception, the lower school library (Known as the Gallery because of the art work displayed at the entrance), Elmslie Hall, a small canteen, Fitness Suite and 2 gyms.
Year 8 and 9 have their tutor rooms in Elmslie.
and Chemistry
Laboratories), Languages, Visual Arts
and Mathematics
. Raynham also has the largest canteen and also a hall.
Raynham is connected to the Upper School Information Centre (USIC) which holds the upper school library, the careers office and the Computer Systems Office.
Year 10 and 11 have their tutor rooms in Raynham.
Year 7 have their tutor rooms in Wilson.
Outside the main entrance of Wilson is a sculpture garden, which no longer has any grass.
Resource Base (Or VI Unit as it's usually called)
. All VI Students are given laptops (or Braillenotes
) so they may produce work more quickly as writing can be slow, of poor quality or they may not be able to write at all.
were originally named after eight notable Britons in the 1970s; Arnold, Livingstone, Scott, Kelvin, Shakespeare, Harvey, Dryden and Newton. However during the latter part of the 70's the names were changed to mythical creatures, and the houses were called Falcon, Gryphon, Martlet and Wyvern. This was subsequently amended so that the house names were those of local villages and places, for example Clandon, Albury, Loseley, Onslow and Sutton.In 2003 Phoenix was added as a house name and then each house was formed from two forms.
These five houses were reorganised so they contain two forms each:
Gryphon (Red) - forms G and P.
Phoenix (Green) - forms O and M.
Falcon (Blue) - forms F and C.
Martlet (Purple) - forms A and W.
Wyvern (Orange) - forms Y and E.
All houses chose a boy and girl from year 11 to be sports captain for the house (though each year will have their own) whilst house captains are chosen from the sixthform. Additionally every class chooses a representative to sit on a year council, with each year chosing two of these class reps to represent the year group on the school council.
, German
. Also, Latin is studied in Year 7 but can be exchanged for a different language in Year 8. All GCSE students have to take at least one creative/expressive subject, which at GCSE include new subjects such as Photography, Computer Graphics and Architectural Design. Along with these subjects, any two others can be taken. However, it is possible to do more than one creative/expressive subject. Other subjects include History, Leisure and Tourism, Sociology and Physical Education.
Some students also take triple science GCSE, leading to three GCSE qualifications. Approximately 50% of years 10 and 11 also take full course religious education, whereas the other half take short course. Some also have the option of taking fast track languages (a year early) so they are able to learn another language (Spanish, German, or French) and get 2 language GCSEs. Fast track art is also available for a small number of students who are more able in the arts.
Arts College
Arts Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, the performing, visual and/or media arts...
status in Burpham
Burpham, Surrey
Burpham is a suburb of Guildford, a town in Surrey, England. It includes George Abbot School, a parade of small shops, and the nationally recognised Sutherland Memorial Park...
, north-east of the town of Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
. The school is named after the 17th-century Archbishop of Canterbury George Abbot. Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
's Cricket Academy is located in the grounds of the school.
The school is currently under the leadership of headteacher Danny Moloney. The school caters for seven years (years 7 to 13, typically ages 11 to 18) with years 7 to 11 each split into ten 30-pupil classes totalling 300 students a year. The school is often oversubscribed with up to 350 students applying for the 300 spaces available in September each year. It currently has 1,924 students on roll with around 400 in the sixth form.
Campus
The two main buildings are Elmslie and Raynham, named after the two headteachers when the buildings were separate schools, Miss Elmslie for girls, and Mr Raynham for boys.In addition to these, the school has a textiles block, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
block, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
block (which was also the old sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
centre), sports hall (Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
's Cricket Academy), Wilson building (for 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...
) and has just completed the building of a performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
centre (which includes the sixth form centre).
Elmslie Building (E)
Elmslie building has 3 food technologyFood technology
Food technology, is a branch of food science which deals with the actual production processes to make foods.-Early history of food technology:...
classrooms, the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
department, 2 computer rooms, biology laboratories, leisure and tourism classrooms and business studies classrooms. It also includes the main reception, the lower school library (Known as the Gallery because of the art work displayed at the entrance), Elmslie Hall, a small canteen, Fitness Suite and 2 gyms.
Year 8 and 9 have their tutor rooms in Elmslie.
Raynham Building (R)
Raynham building has the construction workrooms, Science Department (PhysicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
Laboratories), Languages, Visual Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
and 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...
. Raynham also has the largest canteen and also a hall.
Raynham is connected to the Upper School Information Centre (USIC) which holds the upper school library, the careers office and the Computer Systems Office.
Year 10 and 11 have their tutor rooms in Raynham.
Wilson Building (W)
Wilson is completely devoted to the English Department. It also holds the Special Education Needs Office.Year 7 have their tutor rooms in Wilson.
Outside the main entrance of Wilson is a sculpture garden, which no longer has any grass.
C Block (C)
C Block's lower floor is devoted to photography, its upper floor includes the diploma room, several computer rooms and the Youth Worker's office.Textiles Block (T)
The Textiles Block (or T Block for short) has three textile classrooms, one textiles room has been split into two. T Block also holds the staffroom, the staff kitchen and the Visual ImpairmentVisual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
Resource Base (Or VI Unit as it's usually called)
VI Unit
The VI unit modifies work so that students with impaired vision are able to see/feel their work. This can be as simple as increasing font size to BrailleBraille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
. All VI Students are given laptops (or Braillenotes
BrailleNote
A BrailleNote is a computer made by HumanWare for persons with visual impairments. It has a braille keyboard, speech synthesizer, and a 32- or 18-column refreshable Braille display, depending on model...
) so they may produce work more quickly as writing can be slow, of poor quality or they may not be able to write at all.
Performing Arts Block (PA)
2008 saw the opening of the newly built 6th form and performing arts building which now lies adjacent to the upper school library. The old sixth form centre is now devoted to study as the common room has been converted into a computer suite. The newly built common room can house almost all 400 sixth formers at any one time and also contains a canteen. Sixth form is based upstairs and the performing arts have full use of the lower floor. Music has completely relocated from Elmslie to 3 brand new, spacious class rooms all adapted specifically to the needs of music. There are also 6 sound proof practice rooms and a dance hall with a sprung floor and mirrored walls.House system
The old school housesHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
were originally named after eight notable Britons in the 1970s; Arnold, Livingstone, Scott, Kelvin, Shakespeare, Harvey, Dryden and Newton. However during the latter part of the 70's the names were changed to mythical creatures, and the houses were called Falcon, Gryphon, Martlet and Wyvern. This was subsequently amended so that the house names were those of local villages and places, for example Clandon, Albury, Loseley, Onslow and Sutton.In 2003 Phoenix was added as a house name and then each house was formed from two forms.
These five houses were reorganised so they contain two forms each:
Gryphon (Red) - forms G and P.
Phoenix (Green) - forms O and M.
Falcon (Blue) - forms F and C.
Martlet (Purple) - forms A and W.
Wyvern (Orange) - forms Y and E.
All houses chose a boy and girl from year 11 to be sports captain for the house (though each year will have their own) whilst house captains are chosen from the sixthform. Additionally every class chooses a representative to sit on a year council, with each year chosing two of these class reps to represent the year group on the school council.
Curriculum
George Abbot offers a variety of subjects. In Years 7 to 9, students are required to participate in five creative/expressive subjects: dance, drama, music, textiles and art. They also are taught one foreign language depending on which form they are in FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Also, Latin is studied in Year 7 but can be exchanged for a different language in Year 8. All GCSE students have to take at least one creative/expressive subject, which at GCSE include new subjects such as Photography, Computer Graphics and Architectural Design. Along with these subjects, any two others can be taken. However, it is possible to do more than one creative/expressive subject. Other subjects include History, Leisure and Tourism, Sociology and Physical Education.
Some students also take triple science GCSE, leading to three GCSE qualifications. Approximately 50% of years 10 and 11 also take full course religious education, whereas the other half take short course. Some also have the option of taking fast track languages (a year early) so they are able to learn another language (Spanish, German, or French) and get 2 language GCSEs. Fast track art is also available for a small number of students who are more able in the arts.
Sixth form college
George Abbot also benefits from a contained sixth form college with over 400 students currently being taught in the facility with A-level courses are taught in a wide range of subjects. A new Sixth Form Centre has recently been built above the music facilities, with a new common room and additional office space and teaching facilities.Notable alumni
- Iain BallamyIain BallamyIain Ballamy is a British composer, soprano, alto and tenor saxophone player.- Career :Ballamy was schooled at 1975-80 George Abbot School, Guildford. He then studied Musical Instrument Technology from 1980-1982 Merton College...
, professional saxophonist - Ashley GilesAshley GilesAshley Fraser Giles MBE is a retired English cricketer. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club where he is now employed as Director of Cricket...
MBE, Director of Coaching at Warwickshire County Cricket ClubWarwickshire County Cricket ClubWarwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
and National Selector for the England and Wales Cricket BoardEngland and Wales Cricket BoardThe England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council... - Matthew Jarvis, professional footballerFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
- John RenbournJohn RenbournJohn Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a...
, folk guitarist and former member of PentanglePentangle (band)Pentangle are a British folk rock band with some folk jazz influences. The original band were active in the late 1960s and early 1970s and a later version has been active since the early 1980s...
. - Maureen Barton. 1968 Olympic Long Jumper
- Alex McCarthyAlex McCarthyAlex Simon McCarthy is an English footballer who plays for Leeds United as a goalkeeper on loan from Reading.-Club career:...
, professional footballerFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball... - Timothy Campbell, local celebrity