Oldfield School is a girls 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...

, with a small co-educational 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,...

, in Newbridge

Newbridge, Bath

Newbridge is a largely residential electoral ward within Bath, England. Informally, Newbridge refers to the area of Bath that roughly corresponds to the ward boundaries....

, Bath, England. Since February 2011, the school has had academy status, meaning that it operates outside the control of the local authority.

History

Oldfield School was founded in 1892 to serve the City of Bath; in 1959 the school moved from the city centre to the western outskirts of the city, overlooking the River Avon valley

River Avon, Bristol

The River Avon is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in Britain, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...

, and now attracts pupils from a much wider area including the eastern outskirts of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

. In 2006 67% of pupils came from Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 and South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...

.
The main school building is from the 1960s, but Penn House dates from the early 1900s and is the earliest building, predating the school, and is largely used as 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,...

 accommodation. Recent buildings include a library and a dance studio. Some expansion classroom blocks date from the 1970s and 1980s. The school has on-site playing fields.

In July 2010, Bath and North East Somerset

Bath and North East Somerset

Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...

 Council, with the support of local parents, stated that the school should now become co-educational to better meet the educational needs of local Bath children. The school applied for academy status using the Academies Act in order to remove itself from local authority control and avoid becoming co-educational. Ultimately however the school decided to follow the local authority recommendation that the school should become co-educational with effect from September 2012, with the local authority investing £1.85 million in school improvements.

Academics

The school has specialist school

Specialist school

The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...

 status as an Arts College

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...

. Oldfield is a Foundation school

Foundation school

In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....

. In 2007 the school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 had 869 students, of whom 76 were in the sixth form. The school is a National College for School Leadership

National College for School Leadership

The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services is a British government-funded non-departmental public body which offers head teachers, school leaders and senior children's services leaders opportunities for professional leadership development.- History :Established in 2000...

National Support School and the Headteacher is a National Leader of Education.

Uniform

The Oldfield School uniform consists of a navy blue sweatshirt with a white logo of a swan. A white shirt must be worn under the jumper. Students in years 7, 8 and 9 must wear navy blue trousers or skirt. Students in year 10 or 11 may choose to wear either navy blue or black trousers or a skirt. Shoes must be comfortable, have little or no heel and be blue, black or brown.