Smestow school
Encyclopedia
Smestow School is a co-educational state school located in the city of Wolverhampton
, England
.
coat of arms. The three roundels in the arms are of a special type, with a distinctive wavy pattern, known in Heraldry
as fountains. They were considered to represent the Severn/Trent
watershed and the tributary rivers which originate in the area, one of the being the River Smestow. The original Tettenhall arms had three trees, representing the three great forests of southern Staffordshire which met at Tettenhall: the forests of Kinver, Brewood and Cannock. The school badge adapted this into a tree composed of four circles, representing the four houses of the school, which were named after the new Universities of Lancaster, Sussex, Warwick and York, founded around the same time as the school. The badge also contains allusions to other features of the Tettenhall arms: the Windmill
and the Battleaxes, reminders of the Battle of Tettenhall
which took place on 5 August 910.
(alongside the previously awarded SPORTSMARK
) in 2004 for outstanding success in Drama & the Arts.
Smestow has a wide variety of sporting facilities including a gymnasium, swimming pool, PE hall, four separate changing rooms, a fitness suite/gym, a small dance/aerobics area (also used for drama room) a set of tennis courts and two large playing fields as well as the new sports hall.
and plan to build a sports hall within the next 3–4 years.
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, 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...
.
History
The school was founded in 1964 under the authority of Staffordshire County Council. Originally it was known as Tettenhall Number 2 with the number 1 school becoming Regis (now The Kings School). It is named after the River Smestow and lies in its valley. It was incorporated within Wolverhampton by the boundary changes accompanying local government reform in 1974.School Badge
The school badge has its origins in the TettenhallTettenhall
Tettenhall is a historic part of the city of Wolverhampton, England. The name Tettenhall is probably derived from Teotta's Halh, Teotta being a person's name and Halh being a sheltered position...
coat of arms. The three roundels in the arms are of a special type, with a distinctive wavy pattern, known in Heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
as fountains. They were considered to represent the Severn/Trent
Trent
-Places:* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen* Trent, California, USA* Trent, Kentucky, USA* Trent, South Dakota, USA* Trent, Texas, USA...
watershed and the tributary rivers which originate in the area, one of the being the River Smestow. The original Tettenhall arms had three trees, representing the three great forests of southern Staffordshire which met at Tettenhall: the forests of Kinver, Brewood and Cannock. The school badge adapted this into a tree composed of four circles, representing the four houses of the school, which were named after the new Universities of Lancaster, Sussex, Warwick and York, founded around the same time as the school. The badge also contains allusions to other features of the Tettenhall arms: the Windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
and the Battleaxes, reminders of the Battle of Tettenhall
Battle of Tettenhall
The Battle of Tettenhall took place, according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle near Tettenhall, on the 5 August 910. The allied forces of Mercia and Wessex met an army of Northumbrian Vikings in Mercia...
which took place on 5 August 910.
Sports College
The school is a specialist sports college, and was presented with ARTSMARKArtsmark
Artsmark is a national award scheme managed by Arts Council England. The scheme, that is open to all schools in England, recognises schools with a high level of provision in the arts.There are three levels of award:* Artsmark Gold* Artsmark Silver...
(alongside the previously awarded SPORTSMARK
Sportsmark
Sportsmark is Sport England's accreditation scheme for secondary schools. The scheme recognises a school's out of hours sports provision.Sportsmark awards are given to secondary schools for provision for sport and physical education. They are currently being reviewed along with Activemark awards...
) in 2004 for outstanding success in Drama & the Arts.
Smestow has a wide variety of sporting facilities including a gymnasium, swimming pool, PE hall, four separate changing rooms, a fitness suite/gym, a small dance/aerobics area (also used for drama room) a set of tennis courts and two large playing fields as well as the new sports hall.
Future plans
In January 2005 a new Sixth Form Study Centre and library opened to promote and support students studying at Smestow. The school is receiving £14m from Building Schools for the FutureBuilding Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future is the name of the previous UK Government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England. The program is very ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicians from all English political parties supportive of the principle but...
and plan to build a sports hall within the next 3–4 years.
Notable alumni
- Suzi PerrySuzi PerrySuzi Perry is an English television presenter, best known for covering MotoGP for the BBC for 13 years and The Gadget Show.-Early life:...
, English television presenter, columnist and model - S-X, (Sam Gumbley) Music Producer signed to Universal Music
- Andy TennantAndy Tennant (cyclist)Andrew "Andy" Tennant is an English professional track and road racing cyclist who rides for the team.-Biography:Born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK, Tennant began to make his mark on the cycling world as a junior rider. In 2005 he was selected for British Cycling's Olympic Development...
, European Track Champion Cyclist for Great Britain (2006) - Satnam RanaSatnam RanaSatnam Rana is a presenter for the BBC, currently presenting on BBC news programme Midlands Today and features on BBC WM. She worked at Five Live for two years then came to BBC Birmingham where she has been working since 2002.-Early life:...
, BBC Midlands TodayMidlands TodayMidlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the West Midlands region, which covers the north of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands county...
television presenter - MJ Mytton-Sanneh, Britains Got Talent finalist from the group New Bounce