Gordon's School
Encyclopedia
Gordon's School is a voluntary-aided comprehensive
secondary school
in Woking
, Surrey
. It was founded (originally as the Gordon Boys' School) in 1886 by public subscription as a memorial to Gordon of Khartoum
, and officer of the Corps of Royal Engineers
, who was killed in 1885. The school website claims that the idea came from Queen Victoria, who was its first patron. The reigning monarch has been patron ever since.
, comprehensive school
for boys and girls, and the pupils are a mixture of full and weekly boarders and day pupils. Some two thirds of the pupils are day boys and girls. Most of the boarders are from families in the armed forces (Ofsted Report 2007). Its voluntary aided status means that tuition is free, and fees are only paid for the boarding, which makes them lower than the fees for fully independent boarding schools.
Pupils are divided into nine houses
named after places of particular relevance to General Gordon:
Gordon's School is in West End near Woking
, Surrey
.
From 1999 - 2011, Gordon's has been in the top twenty non-selective state schools in Britain in the yearly government league tables.
Gordon's undertakes one term of Rugby, one of Football and one of Athletics/Cricket. (boys)
Gordon's undertakes one term of Netball, one of Hockey and one of Athletics/Rounders. (girls)
The 'Parade Square', to the front of the school, accommodates netball and of course the Ceremonial Parades that traditionally take place monthly, led by the Head Boy or Head Girl. There are over 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of playing fields complete with cricket nets and athletics track. There is a house to the rear of the school, annexed to the Headmaster's House, home to four boys from the school's Sixth Form. The flat has parking space provided, a garage and is located adjacent to the A322. It is also only a short walk away from the school Medical Centre.
Traditionally, Gordon's has competed annually in a Rugby Match against the Duke of York's School, Dover. This rivalry dates back over half a century; the First XV teams from respective schools would compete against each other, and each school would host the other, every other year. Before the sixth form was established in both schools, the match had always been contested by the Under 16 team of both schools, however the match is now a block fixture. In 2008, Gordon's won the first of many Under 19 fixtures between the two schools, by a score of 26-22.
In September 2007 a new science block was opened and cost an estimate £4 300 000. The block contains 4 science labs 2 other class rooms with state-of-the-art IT System and also 2 self-contained flats for staff accommodation and found on the third floor. Also a new drama and music block was opened, the drama department consists of two studios.
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
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 Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. It was founded (originally as the Gordon Boys' School) in 1886 by public subscription as a memorial to Gordon of Khartoum
Charles George Gordon
Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
, and officer of the Corps of Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, who was killed in 1885. The school website claims that the idea came from Queen Victoria, who was its first patron. The reigning monarch has been patron ever since.
Overview
Gordon's was initially a home for underprivileged boys, but it quickly became a boys' boarding school. In 1888, the Gordon Foundation was established as an independent charitable trust to administer the school. Gordon's is now a voluntary aidedVoluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
, comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
for boys and girls, and the pupils are a mixture of full and weekly boarders and day pupils. Some two thirds of the pupils are day boys and girls. Most of the boarders are from families in the armed forces (Ofsted Report 2007). Its voluntary aided status means that tuition is free, and fees are only paid for the boarding, which makes them lower than the fees for fully independent boarding schools.
Pupils are divided into nine houses
House 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...
named after places of particular relevance to General Gordon:
- For girls - Augusta (full/weekly/day), China (day), Kensington (day), Windsor (full/weekly/day)
- For boys - Balmoral (full/weekly), Buckingham (day), Gravesend (day), Khartoum (day), Sandringham (full/weekly)
Gordon's School is in West End near Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
League Tables
From 1997 - 2000, Gordon's was in the top twenty most improved schools list published by the government in its yearly school performance tables. Gordon's is the only school in Britain to have achieved this feat four years in a row.From 1999 - 2011, Gordon's has been in the top twenty non-selective state schools in Britain in the yearly government league tables.
CBE
In the 2005 New Year's Honours List, the ex-headmaster Denis Mulkerrin was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for Services to Education.Sport
One of the greatest aspects of Gordons School is sport, credit is owed to all of the sporting staff who help with organising fixtures, training the players and officiating at the games. Gordon's organises a period 6 activity which is after school between 4 pm and 5 pm. Every student up to Year 11 has to participate and can choose between numerous activities ranging from all sports to activities such as ICT and bowling. There is also a Saturday Morning School for two hours.Gordon's undertakes one term of Rugby, one of Football and one of Athletics/Cricket. (boys)
Gordon's undertakes one term of Netball, one of Hockey and one of Athletics/Rounders. (girls)
Facilities
Gordon’s has its own heated indoor swimming pool, much appreciated by the boarders and day pupils alike, a gym, a purpose built fitness centre, equipped with two Olympic weight lifting bars, one used for bench press, a sport which dominates boy's lives from the moment they reach the age permitted to use the weight systems in the gym, and sport adored by the school's former headmaster, Denis Mulkerrin, a former weightlifting commonwealth standard coach. The school also benefits from a 25 metre shooting range, as well as facilities for tennis, netball and orienteering.The 'Parade Square', to the front of the school, accommodates netball and of course the Ceremonial Parades that traditionally take place monthly, led by the Head Boy or Head Girl. There are over 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of playing fields complete with cricket nets and athletics track. There is a house to the rear of the school, annexed to the Headmaster's House, home to four boys from the school's Sixth Form. The flat has parking space provided, a garage and is located adjacent to the A322. It is also only a short walk away from the school Medical Centre.
Notable activities
The school holds regular ceremonial parades that take place on Sundays, these stem back to the school's traditional military roots. Pupils practice marching during the week, rarely the head of each house oversees the drill session, typically it is the houses representative of House Captain, that leads the house onto the parade square for practices and ceremonial parades; especially in the lead up to Drill Competition - an annual display of marching whereby houses compete with each other. The prize is the highly prized Longmoor Cup. (Notably, in 2009 the competition was split into two; with a boy's and a girl's cup. The boy's cup went to Sandringham House and the girl's cup went to Kensington. The appearance of pupils is assessed prior to each house's outing in the competition, areas of scrutiny include; i) The Polishing of Parade Shoes, ii) Tidiness of Ceremonial Blues (the school's Parade Uniform), iii) Correct alignment of uniform. There are also frequent inter-house competitions, separate between the boys and girls houses. The Boys compete in football, rugby, cricket, swimming and athletics. The girls compete in rounders, netball, hockey, swimming and athletics. The athletics sports day is the biggest school sporting event of the year, with huge support from athletes, parents and friends, making it a truly enjoyable and well contested event. At the end of the events, there is a Staff vs 6th Form vs Winning Year 11's 100m relay race.Traditionally, Gordon's has competed annually in a Rugby Match against the Duke of York's School, Dover. This rivalry dates back over half a century; the First XV teams from respective schools would compete against each other, and each school would host the other, every other year. Before the sixth form was established in both schools, the match had always been contested by the Under 16 team of both schools, however the match is now a block fixture. In 2008, Gordon's won the first of many Under 19 fixtures between the two schools, by a score of 26-22.
In September 2007 a new science block was opened and cost an estimate £4 300 000. The block contains 4 science labs 2 other class rooms with state-of-the-art IT System and also 2 self-contained flats for staff accommodation and found on the third floor. Also a new drama and music block was opened, the drama department consists of two studios.