The Leventhorpe School
Encyclopedia
The Leventhorpe School is a mixed, 11-19 secondary school
and sixth form
in the historic market town of Sawbridgeworth
, Hertfordshire
. The school has held Specialist Business and Enterprise College
status since 2004. It belongs to the Bishop's Stortford
and Sawbridgeworth Consortium of Secondary Schools, a group of six local schools.
The School is a Foundation School. The intake at age 11 is drawn mainly from the pleasant and prosperous towns of Sawbridgeworth and Bishop's Stortford and from the surrounding villages. Demand for places in the school is high with over three applications for each place and some students travel significant distances to attend. At the last OFSTED inspection the school was graded “Outstanding” for Care Support and Guidance, Curriculum and Other Activities, and Personal Development and Well-Being and “Good” in each of the other three categories.
The School has recently extended and enhanced its ICT facilities and most of the School is now networked. There are four ICT rooms each with twenty-five to thirty stations and Internet access. In addition, many faculties have their own ICT facilities and all teaching staff are provided with laptop computers. There is a swimming pool on site together with playing fields.
The school has started plans on a new sports centre, additional classrooms and an all-weather pitch financed through the sale of some land. It is expected that this project should be completed within the next year.
The specialist Business and Enterprise status involves all faculties but especially Business, Mathematics, and ICT. As a result a number of enhancements to accommodation, resources and the curriculum have taken place. All students in Years 7 – 11 follow a Business & Communication Studies course. This leads to GCSE in Year 9 or 10, followed by AS or GCSE in ICT or Business during key stage 4, or DIDA. The School also has a rapidly expanding community development plan.
There are overlaps between specialist school activities and other strategic priorities for example ‘Teaching and Learning’ and ‘Personalisation’, so in reality a number of developments are driven by various members of the SLT.
Leventhorpe School engages in teacher training and is a partner school with Cambridge University for PGCE and with The University of Hertfordshire for the Graduate Teacher Programme. Staff are encouraged to gain further qualifications.
Subject departments are organised on a Faculty basis. The responsibility for the preparation of schemes of work and for monitoring their delivery lies with the Head of Faculty. Each student undergoes a termly assessment in each subject. The responsibility for implementing the assessment policy lies with the Head of Faculty.
The School upholds the traditional values of uniform, discipline, homework, punctuality and polite behaviour. Each of Years 7 – 11 is organised into six mixed ability tutor groups and each tutor group is assigned to one of four Houses: Rivers, Cutforth, Lawrence and Barnard. House Heads oversee the academic and social development of students in their House as they progress through the School. Years 12 and 13, although assigned to a House, are overseen by the Head of Sixth Form. Form tutors monitor their form’s progress and liaise closely with pastoral heads in deciding appropriate action.
As a Foundation School, the Governors are the employers but the School liaises closely with the Local Authority – Hertfordshire County Council
. Employment of staff is governed by national, county and some local agreements. The School employs approximately 150 staff (part-time and full time) about half of whom are teachers.
At the School there is a PTFA
to which all parents automatically belong. The membership of the committee changes from year to year. Their support encompasses much more than fund raising. More information can found on the PTFA website.
The school takes it name from Sir John Leventhorpe, Lord of the medieval manor of Shingle Hall, one of two manors in Sawbridgeworth. The school logo is a replica of the brasses of John Leventhorpe and his wife and date from 1445. The original brasses form a permanent memorial in Great St Mary’s Church in Sawbridgeworth.
s. The school has installed a monitoring system, the data from which is used in various subject areas. This system shows how much energy is being generated at any particular moment and how much has been generated to date. Additionally, there is information on the amount of carbon dioxide
that has been saved.
Notable alumni include Commander Andy Coles, 1st Commander of the Navy's flagship submarine HMS Astute.
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...
and 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 the historic market town of Sawbridgeworth
Sawbridgeworth
Sawbridgeworth is a small, mainly residential, town and also a civil parish in Hertfordshire, England.- Location :Sawbridgeworth is four miles south of Bishop's Stortford, twelve miles east of Hertford and nine miles north of Epping. It lies on the A1184 and has a railway station that links to...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. The school has held Specialist Business and Enterprise College
Business and Enterprise College
Business and Enterprise Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields...
status since 2004. It belongs to the Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
and Sawbridgeworth Consortium of Secondary Schools, a group of six local schools.
The School is a Foundation School. The intake at age 11 is drawn mainly from the pleasant and prosperous towns of Sawbridgeworth and Bishop's Stortford and from the surrounding villages. Demand for places in the school is high with over three applications for each place and some students travel significant distances to attend. At the last OFSTED inspection the school was graded “Outstanding” for Care Support and Guidance, Curriculum and Other Activities, and Personal Development and Well-Being and “Good” in each of the other three categories.
The School has recently extended and enhanced its ICT facilities and most of the School is now networked. There are four ICT rooms each with twenty-five to thirty stations and Internet access. In addition, many faculties have their own ICT facilities and all teaching staff are provided with laptop computers. There is a swimming pool on site together with playing fields.
The school has started plans on a new sports centre, additional classrooms and an all-weather pitch financed through the sale of some land. It is expected that this project should be completed within the next year.
The specialist Business and Enterprise status involves all faculties but especially Business, Mathematics, and ICT. As a result a number of enhancements to accommodation, resources and the curriculum have taken place. All students in Years 7 – 11 follow a Business & Communication Studies course. This leads to GCSE in Year 9 or 10, followed by AS or GCSE in ICT or Business during key stage 4, or DIDA. The School also has a rapidly expanding community development plan.
There are overlaps between specialist school activities and other strategic priorities for example ‘Teaching and Learning’ and ‘Personalisation’, so in reality a number of developments are driven by various members of the SLT.
Leventhorpe School engages in teacher training and is a partner school with Cambridge University for PGCE and with The University of Hertfordshire for the Graduate Teacher Programme. Staff are encouraged to gain further qualifications.
Subject departments are organised on a Faculty basis. The responsibility for the preparation of schemes of work and for monitoring their delivery lies with the Head of Faculty. Each student undergoes a termly assessment in each subject. The responsibility for implementing the assessment policy lies with the Head of Faculty.
The School upholds the traditional values of uniform, discipline, homework, punctuality and polite behaviour. Each of Years 7 – 11 is organised into six mixed ability tutor groups and each tutor group is assigned to one of four Houses: Rivers, Cutforth, Lawrence and Barnard. House Heads oversee the academic and social development of students in their House as they progress through the School. Years 12 and 13, although assigned to a House, are overseen by the Head of Sixth Form. Form tutors monitor their form’s progress and liaise closely with pastoral heads in deciding appropriate action.
As a Foundation School, the Governors are the employers but the School liaises closely with the Local Authority – Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. It currently consists of 77 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, which has 55 councillors, 17 Liberal Democrats, versus 3 Labour...
. Employment of staff is governed by national, county and some local agreements. The School employs approximately 150 staff (part-time and full time) about half of whom are teachers.
At the School there is a PTFA
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
to which all parents automatically belong. The membership of the committee changes from year to year. Their support encompasses much more than fund raising. More information can found on the PTFA website.
The school takes it name from Sir John Leventhorpe, Lord of the medieval manor of Shingle Hall, one of two manors in Sawbridgeworth. The school logo is a replica of the brasses of John Leventhorpe and his wife and date from 1445. The original brasses form a permanent memorial in Great St Mary’s Church in Sawbridgeworth.
Wind turbines
The Leventhorpe School is the first school in Hertfordshire to have planning permission granted for two 6 kW wind turbineWind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s. The school has installed a monitoring system, the data from which is used in various subject areas. This system shows how much energy is being generated at any particular moment and how much has been generated to date. Additionally, there is information on the amount of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
that has been saved.
Sports
Many sports are participated in at The Leventhorpe School, with the school excelling in Athletics, Rugby and Cricket. The Year of 2009 Cricket team having notable success in the Hertfordshire County Cup against Richard Hale School, winning 13 matches with no losses.Notable alumni include Commander Andy Coles, 1st Commander of the Navy's flagship submarine HMS Astute.