The Willink School
Encyclopedia
The Willink School is a co-educational comprehensive
located in the village of Burghfield Common, Berkshire
. The school was founded in 1957, becoming fully comprehensive in 1975.
status in 1994 – the first school in the county with such an honour. However, the official website is contradictory and in numerous examples states the accolade as 1996.
Design Technology is divided into four core areas:
Subjects in the Year 7 to 11 Curriculum
Destinations of School Leavers - July 2005
NB: all qualifications are A level unless otherwise stated - list correct as of 2006/07 academic year.
inspection ranked the school (in most sections) as "grade two" – "generally above average with none significantly below average". The following assessments were classed as "grade one" – "exceptionally and consistently high":
Full OFSTED report
at The Willink were named after four local ecclesiastical parishes
:
However, at the start of the 2005 autumn term, the number of houses was augmented and renamed as:
provides for both the school and the local community. Originally partially funded by local councils, the centre is now managed by Parkwood Leisure on behalf of the local authority.
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
located in the village of Burghfield Common, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. The school was founded in 1957, becoming fully comprehensive in 1975.
Language College
The school was awarded language collegeLanguage College
Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages...
status in 1994 – the first school in the county with such an honour. However, the official website is contradictory and in numerous examples states the accolade as 1996.
Subjects
| Subject | Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14... |
GCSE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 | |
| Art Art Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect.... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Optional | Optional |
| Business Education Business education Business education involves teaching students the fundamentals, theories, and processes of business. Education in this field occurs at several levels, including secondary education and higher education or university education. Approximately 38% of student enroll in one or more business courses... |
- | - | - | Optional | Optional |
| Careers | Some | Some | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory |
| Design Technology Design Technology Design and Technology is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school. In some countries such as England it is a part of the National Curriculum. It is offered in many countries around the world such as Brunei, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Optional | Optional |
| Drama Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Optional | Optional |
| English English studies English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory |
| French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Optional | Optional |
| Geography Geography Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Optional | Optional |
| German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... |
- | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| History History History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Optional | Optional |
| Information and Communications Technology | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Optional | Optional |
| Mathematics Mathematics Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory |
| Media Studies Media studies Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass... |
- | - | - | Optional | Optional |
| Music Music Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Optional | Optional |
| Physical Education Physical education Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting.... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory |
| Personal and Social Education Personal and Social Education Personal and Social Education is a component of the state school curriculum in Wales. PSE became a statutory requirement in schools in September 2003, and is compulsory for all students at Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 , and shares some similar elements with Personal, Social and Health Education and... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory |
| Religious Education Religious Education Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory |
| Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... |
- | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| Science Science Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe... |
Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory |
Design Technology is divided into four core areas:
- Food TechnologyFood technologyFood technology, is a branch of food science which deals with the actual production processes to make foods.-Early history of food technology:...
- Graphic Products
- Resistant Materials
- Textiles
Subjects in the Year 7 to 11 Curriculum
Leaver Statistics
| Year Group | Destination Category | No | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2005 | ||
| 11 | Willink Sixth Form | 75 | 45 |
| College | 46 | 4 | |
| Vocational Training | 4 | 2 | |
| Total in Full-time Education and Training | 125 | 73 | |
| Employment (with or without formal training) | 28 | 17 | |
| Total | 153 | 90 | |
| Unemployed/unknown | 11 | 7 | |
| Moved away | 4 | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 168 | 100 |
Destinations of School Leavers - July 2005
Courses
- Art and Design (+ GNVQ)
- BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
- Business StudiesBusiness studiesBusiness studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...
(+ GNVQ) - ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
- Design and Technology
- DramaDramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
- English LiteratureEnglish literatureEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
- FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
- GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
- GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
- HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
- ICT
- MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Further MathematicsFurther MathematicsFurther Mathematics is the title given to a number of advanced secondary mathematics courses. Higher and Further Mathematics may also refer to any of several advanced mathematics courses at many institutions.... - Media StudiesMedia studiesMedia studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
- MusicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
- Music TechnologyMusic technologyMusic technology is a term that refers to all forms of technology involved with the musical arts, particularly the use of electronic devices and computer software to facilitate playback, recording, composition, storage and performance. This subject is taught at many different educational levels,...
- Performing ArtsPerforming artsThe performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
- PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
- PsychologyPsychologyPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
- SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
- SociologySociologySociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
NB: all qualifications are A level unless otherwise stated - list correct as of 2006/07 academic year.
Adult Education
The Modern Foreign Language department at the school offers evening classes for the local community. The courses run for ten weeks and the languages on offer are:- ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
- EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
- GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
- GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
- ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
- JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
- PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
- PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
- RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
- SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
OFSTED Inspection
The 2005 OFSTEDOfsted
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 ranked the school (in most sections) as "grade two" – "generally above average with none significantly below average". The following assessments were classed as "grade one" – "exceptionally and consistently high":
- Provision, support and guidance of learners (post-secondary)
- Effective and efficient resource management (school-overall)
Full OFSTED report
House system
Until the end of the 2004/05 academic year, the housesHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
at The Willink were named after four local ecclesiastical parishes
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
:
- Abbots – blue
- Bannister – green
- UftonUfton NervetUfton Nervet is a village and civil parish about southwest of Reading, Berkshire, England.-Location:Ufton Nervet village is in hills south of the River Kennet, and its parish stretches down into the valley to the north as far as the A4 road. Two narrow lanes connect the village to the A4, crossing...
– yellow - WokefieldWokefieldWokefield is a civil parish in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire, England, south of the borough of Reading. The parish includes the hamlets of Grazeley Green, Goddard's Green and Bloomfield Hatch, and the 18th century mansion of Wokefield Park...
– red
However, at the start of the 2005 autumn term, the number of houses was augmented and renamed as:
- BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
– orange - LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
– red - New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
– blue - ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
– navy blue - MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
– yellow - SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– green
Leisure Centre
Built in 1997, the Willink Leisure CentreLeisure centre
A leisure centre in the UK and Canada is a purpose built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people go to keep fit or relax through using the facilities.- Typical Facilities :...
provides for both the school and the local community. Originally partially funded by local councils, the centre is now managed by Parkwood Leisure on behalf of the local authority.
Facilities
- 25m indoor swimming poolSwimming poolA swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
- Fitness suiteGymThe word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
- Sports hall
- Sprung floorSprung floorA sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best available for dance and indoor sports and physical education....
gymGymThe word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium - Outdoor floodlitFloodlights (sport)Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
sports areasTennis courtA tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...