Village College
Encyclopedia
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, 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...
(including, since 1998, the Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
unitary authority area). It caters for the education of 11 to 16 year olds during the day,
and provides educational and leisure facilities to adults out of school hours.
Village colleges were the brainchild of Henry Morris
Henry Morris (education)
Henry Morris is known primarily as the founder of Village Colleges. He was the Chief Education Officer for Cambridgeshire for over thirty years, taking up the post in 1922 during a time of depression in the United Kingdom following the First World War.-Early life:Morris was born in Southport in...
, the then Chief Education Officer for Cambridgeshire, who had a vision of a school that would serve the whole community, stem migration from the countryside to the towns, and provide a decent education to pupils who had previously only been served by the upper years of Elementary schools.
Between the implementation of the Education Act 1944
Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. This Act, commonly named after the Conservative politician R.A...
and Cambridgeshire's adoption of the Comprehensive school
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...
system in 1974, village colleges were effectively reduced to secondary modern schools; since 1974 village colleges have returned to their original mission as schools for the whole community. Indeed, many argue that the village college model had a large influence on the design of the Comprehensive system.
Under Morris' influence, many of the colleges have had distinguished architects, notably the one at Impington designed by Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
and Maxwell Fry
Maxwell Fry
Edwin Maxwell Fry, CBE, RA, FRIBA, FRTPI, known as Maxwell Fry , was an English modernist architect of the middle and late 20th century, known for his buildings in Britain, Africa and India....
.
There are village colleges throughout Cambridgeshire,
including Bassingbourn
Bassingbourn
Bassingbourn can refer to:* Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth, a civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England* RAF Bassingbourn or Bassingbourn Barracks, a former military airbase located in Cambridgeshire...
, Bottisham
Bottisham
Bottisham is a village and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about east of Cambridge, halfway to Newmarket. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,983.-Church:...
, Burwell
Burwell, Cambridgeshire
Burwell is a large fen-edge village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, about 10 miles north east of Cambridge. It is situated on the south-eastern edge of The Fens, a large area of relatively flat former marshland which lies close to sea level and covers the majority of Cambridgeshire...
, Comberton
Comberton Village College
Comberton Village College is a secondary school in Comberton.Comberton Village College was opened in 1960. As a Cambridgeshire Village College, it was designed to be a centre for the life of its community and to provide quality education for pupils aged between 11 and 16.In 1974, the school became...
, Cottenham
Cottenham
Cottenham is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is close to The Fens. Before the fens were drained in the 19th century Cottenham was on the last contour before the waterlogged marshes, with Ely being the nearest dry land around to the north-east....
, Gamlingay
Gamlingay Village College
-External links:*...
, Impington, Linton
Linton Village College
Linton Village College is a comprehensive Community College with foundation and Business and Enterprise College status in Linton, South Cambridgeshire. - Feeder schools :From the ages of 4 to 11, pupils are educated at their local village primary schools...
, Melbourn
Melbourn Village College
Melbourn Village College is an Academy, located in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, England that serves an extensive area of South Cambridgeshire. The school has over 500 students aged 11-16.-Village College:...
, Sawston
Sawston Village College
Sawston Village College, the first community college in the country and the first Village College, was founded in 1930 and realised the vision of Henry Morris, then Secretary of Education for Cambridgeshire....
, Soham
Soham Village College
Soham Village College is a state secondary school with specialist Foundation Technology College and Language College status in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England. It has around 1350 students, aged 11 to 16. It has a wide catchment area which does not include Ely, although some students from Ely and the...
, Swavesey
Swavesey
Swavesey is a village lying on the Greenwich Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with an approximate population of 2,480. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St...
and Witchford
Witchford
Witchford is a small village near Ely in Cambridgeshire, England.Witchford houses the secondary school Witchford Village College that serves all of the surrounding villages, including Haddenham, Little Thetford, Mepal, Stretham, Sutton, Wilburton and Witcham.The village hosts the Grunty Fen Half...
.
Sawston Village College
Sawston Village College
Sawston Village College, the first community college in the country and the first Village College, was founded in 1930 and realised the vision of Henry Morris, then Secretary of Education for Cambridgeshire....
was the first village college to open, in 1930, followed by Bottisham Village College
Bottisham Village College
Bottisham Village College is a comprehensive secondary school located in Cambridgeshire, England. The school opened in 1937 as the second village college in part of the Local Director of Education Henry Morris' vision for providing a good quality education for local people in the countryside around...
in 1937.
Gamlingay Village College does not cater for the 11-16 age range; instead it is a middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
catering for the education of students aged 9–13, students then transfer to Stratton Upper School
Stratton Upper School
Stratton Upper School and Community College is a notable upper school located in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of the town...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
at the age of 13.
Burwell Village College is in fact a Primary School.