King Charles I School
Encyclopedia
King Charles I School is a voluntary controlled mixed school in the town of Kidderminster
, in the Wyre Forest
district of Worcestershire
, England.
In September 2011, King Charles I School was inspected by OFSTED
inspectors during a 5 day section 5 inspection. The inspection deemed the school to be "Good, grade 2" (1 being outstanding, 2 good, 3 satisfactory & 4 inadequate), stating "King Charles 1 is a good school that puts students at the heart of everything it does". However, the inspectors lowered the previous grade of the Sixth Form from "Good" in the 2008 report, to "Satisfactory", stating "standards have fluctuated since the school was last inspected but students make satisfactory progress". .
This marked the end of the Grammar School system in Kidderminster as the change was completed to comprehensive education. The transition to comprehensive took place gradually, until the early 1980s, becoming a ten-form entry a 13-18 comprehensive school from a six-form entry grammar school.
Under its new structure, the school retains its specialist status as a Science College
that was awarded in 2003 and has facilities that cater for students with special needs. Following a January 2009 Ofsted
inspection, the school was awarded a Grade 3 (Satisfactory) rating.
On both campuses the school caters for linguistically challenged and autistic students in a Communication Centre, which has a facility on both sites.
More about the history of the school can be found at the website of The Old Carolians Association which was formed in 1912 by former pupils of King Charles I and continues to this day. Additional information about the Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School can be found through the Old Elizabethans Association website.
for any students wishing to continue their post-16 studies. Recently the school has made an attempt at a general enrichment scheme, after General Studies was removed from the first year of Sixth Form Study. Students have the option of participating in activities such as a recognised first aid
course, formal debate
, and talks from lecturers on various issues such as driving skills and ethical issues in farming.
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
, in the Wyre Forest
Wyre Forest
Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural woodland and forest which straddles the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England.The Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire takes its name from the forest, despite the fact that much of the woodland does not lie within the district's boundaries, but...
district of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England.
Present Day and OFSTED
King Charles I School is a specialist science college, and renewed their specialist status in September 2009.In September 2011, King Charles I School was inspected by 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 ....
inspectors during a 5 day section 5 inspection. The inspection deemed the school to be "Good, grade 2" (1 being outstanding, 2 good, 3 satisfactory & 4 inadequate), stating "King Charles 1 is a good school that puts students at the heart of everything it does". However, the inspectors lowered the previous grade of the Sixth Form from "Good" in the 2008 report, to "Satisfactory", stating "standards have fluctuated since the school was last inspected but students make satisfactory progress". .
Grammar school
The school was originally founded around 1566 by Thomas Blount, Esq., Lord of the Manor of Kidderminster. It was in the chantry of the Parish Church of St. Mary and All Saints from 1566 until 1848, when it moved to the site known as Woodfield, on the Bewdley Road. It was granted its royal charter in 1636 by King Charles I and was the only school in England to bear his name. The original premises, Woodfield House built in 1785, and the Hall built about 1848, are now listed buildings..Comprehensive
When administered by Hereford and Worcester County Council in 1977 the Queen Elizabeth I Grammar School, Hartlebury (all Boys Grammar School) merged with the two Kidderminster grammar schools, King Charles I Grammar School for Boys and the Kidderminster High School for Girls, the latter was founded in 1868, and moved in 1912 to Hillgrove House, which is now also a Grade II listed building.This marked the end of the Grammar School system in Kidderminster as the change was completed to comprehensive education. The transition to comprehensive took place gradually, until the early 1980s, becoming a ten-form entry a 13-18 comprehensive school from a six-form entry grammar school.
Mergers
It has been subject to several mergers and in line with district school reorganization, following an amalgamation of middle schools and high schools it reopened in 2007 to operate from two campuses, with a total capacity of around 1350 students aged 11 to 18.Under its new structure, the school retains its specialist status as a Science College
Science College
Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 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, science and mathematics...
that was awarded in 2003 and has facilities that cater for students with special needs. Following a January 2009 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, the school was awarded a Grade 3 (Satisfactory) rating.
Buildings
In recent times the school has been enlarged with the Brooks Building neighboring the Sixth Form Rose Garden, and which functions as a science laboratory and theatre. The school has two campuses with the lower school for Year 7-8's operating from the premises of the former Comberton Middle School site in Kidderminster.On both campuses the school caters for linguistically challenged and autistic students in a Communication Centre, which has a facility on both sites.
More about the history of the school can be found at the website of The Old Carolians Association which was formed in 1912 by former pupils of King Charles I and continues to this day. Additional information about the Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School can be found through the Old Elizabethans Association website.
Sixth form
The School offers a sixth formSixth 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,...
for any students wishing to continue their post-16 studies. Recently the school has made an attempt at a general enrichment scheme, after General Studies was removed from the first year of Sixth Form Study. Students have the option of participating in activities such as a recognised first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
course, formal debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, and talks from lecturers on various issues such as driving skills and ethical issues in farming.
Curriculum
The school offers a wide range of extra-curricular provision, especially in sport. In July 1979 the school held the Guinness world record for the longest continuous cricket match.Notable alumni
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King Charles I Grammar School
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Kidderminster High School for Girls
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, author - Monica JonesMonica JonesMargaret Monica Beale Jones was an academic and long-term companion of the poet, Philip Larkin. Born in Llanelli, South Wales, she moved with her family to Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire when aged seven...
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