The Ridings High School
Encyclopedia
The Ridings' Federation Winterbourne International Academy, formerly The Ridings High School, is a large secondary school
located in the village of Winterbourne
in South Gloucestershire
, on the outskirts of Bristol
, England.
.
. As a result, in September 2009, The Ridings Federation of Academies was established with two independent academies, Winterbourne International Academy (formerly 'The Ridings High School' and the lead sponsor) and Yate International Academy (formerly King Edmund Community School).
Dr R S Gibson became the Chief Executive Principal of the Federation and the Statutory Headteacher of both academies. Under the direction of Dr Gibson, each Independent Academy has its own principal: Mr R C Evans at Winterbourne International Academy and Mr R Gilbert at Yate International Academy. The Winterbourne International Academy has approximately 1900 students on roll including 370 in its sixth form. The Yate International Academy has approximately 600 students on roll including 95 in its sixth form. The Federation and both academies base their curriculum models upon the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. The Winterbourne International Academy delivers the International Baccalaureate Diploma (post-16). International Baccalaureate results have been consistently above the International benchmark pass rate of 80%. Since 2008, The Winterbourne International Academy has had three students awarded the prestigious Prime Minister's Global Fellowship: students have used these awards to travel to China and Brazil.
The school has a very good reputation, especially with the examination side of school. It has from 2006 offered the International Baccalaureate, becoming the only school in South Gloucestershire to offer this qualification, and even attracting students from abroad. It hosts the most popular Sixth Form in the county, with children joining at the age of 16 from all of the other local secondary schools.
The majority of the sixth form students pursue the path of higher education, many students going on to study at university.
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...
located in the village of Winterbourne
Winterbourne, Gloucestershire
Winterbourne is a large village in South Gloucestershire, England. It had a population of 8,623 in the 2001 census. It sits as the centre of the Civil Parish of Winterbourne which encompasses the neighbouring communities of Winterbourne Down, Hambrook and Frenchay...
in 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...
, on the 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...
, England.
History
The Ridings High School was founded in 1957 and opened by former Labour minister Tony BennTony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
.
Academy proposal
In 2007, Dr R S Gibson (Headteacher) was invited by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to consider a move to Academy status as the Lead (non-financial) sponsor in a Hard Federation, incorporating King Edmund Community School in YateYate
Yate is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, at the southwest extremity of the Cotswold Hills, 12 miles northeast of the city of Bristol. At the 2001 census the population was 21,789. The town of Chipping Sodbury is continuous with Yate to the east...
. As a result, in September 2009, The Ridings Federation of Academies was established with two independent academies, Winterbourne International Academy (formerly 'The Ridings High School' and the lead sponsor) and Yate International Academy (formerly King Edmund Community School).
Dr R S Gibson became the Chief Executive Principal of the Federation and the Statutory Headteacher of both academies. Under the direction of Dr Gibson, each Independent Academy has its own principal: Mr R C Evans at Winterbourne International Academy and Mr R Gilbert at Yate International Academy. The Winterbourne International Academy has approximately 1900 students on roll including 370 in its sixth form. The Yate International Academy has approximately 600 students on roll including 95 in its sixth form. The Federation and both academies base their curriculum models upon the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. The Winterbourne International Academy delivers the International Baccalaureate Diploma (post-16). International Baccalaureate results have been consistently above the International benchmark pass rate of 80%. Since 2008, The Winterbourne International Academy has had three students awarded the prestigious Prime Minister's Global Fellowship: students have used these awards to travel to China and Brazil.
Academic standards
The school (and now Academy) has expanded considerably since its inception achieving consistently high grades and providing services such as a technology college, Arts Centre and Sixth Form.The school has a very good reputation, especially with the examination side of school. It has from 2006 offered the International Baccalaureate, becoming the only school in South Gloucestershire to offer this qualification, and even attracting students from abroad. It hosts the most popular Sixth Form in the county, with children joining at the age of 16 from all of the other local secondary schools.
The majority of the sixth form students pursue the path of higher education, many students going on to study at university.
50th anniversary
To mark the school's fiftieth year, The Ridings invited all of its former students and staff to celebrate the event in May 2007.Notable alumni
- Member of The MissionThe Mission (band)The Mission are a gothic rock band formed in 1986 from the splinters of the freshly dissolved rock band The Sisters of Mercy.The band was started by frontman Wayne Hussey and bassist Craig Adams , soon adding...
and The Sisters of MercyThe Sisters of MercyThe Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
, British musician Wayne HusseyWayne HusseyWayne Hussey is a British musician, best known as lead singer of The Mission and guitarist with The Sisters of Mercy....
. - British gymnast Imogen CairnsImogen CairnsImogen Jane Cairns is an English gymnast. She has won the British Junior Championship twice, in 2003 & 2004. She is coached by Liz Kincaid at the Academy of Gymnastics in Portishead, Somerset. In 2005 at the DTB Cup She placed 4th on vault and 3rd for her floor exercise...
. - Big Brother 2007Big Brother 2007 (UK)Big Brother 2007 was the eighth series of the United Kingdom reality television programme Big Brother, airing on Channel 4, with a number of closely associated programmes also airing on E4....
contestant Emily Parr. - Bristol RoversBristol Rovers F.C.Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
goalkeeper Mike Green. - Professional snowboarder Jenny JonesJenny Jones (snowboarder)Jenny Jones is a British professional snowboarder.-Career:She started her Snowboarding career after going to a free half hour lesson at her local dry-slope...
. - Forest Green RoversForest Green Rovers F.C.Forest Green Rovers Football Club is an English football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, currently the longest-serving members of the Conference National. The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.-Early years:...
football player Ross Stearn. - Beki BondageBeki BondageBeki Bondage is a musician in the punk band, Vice Squad and was one of its founder members in 1978.She featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such as Melody Maker, NME, Smash Hits and Sounds.In 1983, she left Vice Squad to form the band Ligotage with Steve Roberts of...
of punk band Vice SquadVice SquadVice Squad is a punk band formed in 1978 in Bristol, England. The band formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. Songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage was a founding member and is currently with the band, although there was a period of time when the band had a different...
. - Dave AttwoodDave AttwoodDave Attwood is a rugby union player who plays at Lock for Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership.-Early career:...
a rugby union player for Gloucester Rugby in the Guinness Premiership and had his England Debut in November 2010 - Dan NorrisDan NorrisDan Norris is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Wansdyke from 1997 until 2010. He was also a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs....
MP - Gary MegsonGary MegsonGary John Megson is an English former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday.He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers...
Premier League footballer and manager, most recently Sheffield Wednesday FC - Author Chrissie Parker née Curtis, whose novel Nabataea was published in 2008
- Bristol RoversBristol Rovers F.C.Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
footballer Mike England. - Chris Marsh of the New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Full-Bore Target Rifle team. - Big Brother 2010Big Brother 2010 (UK)Big Brother 2010 was the eleventh regular series of the British reality television series, Big Brother and the final series to be broadcast on Channel 4. The series was launched on Wednesday 9 June 2010, and was aired on Channel 4 and E4 for 77 days with the finale on 24 August 2010, where Josie...
winner Josie GibsonJosie GibsonJosie Diane Shirley Gibson is a British media personality, and former financial sales rep from Bristol. She rose to prominence after winning Big Brother 2010, and entered Ultimate Big Brother...
. - Alex Cottrell Local celebrity and Spanish Non League Football Club Manager.