Woodhouse High School
Encyclopedia
Landau Forte Academy, Tamworth (Formerly Woodhouse Business and Enterprise College (BEC) and Woodhouse High School) is a high-school situated in Amington
, a suburb of Tamworth
, Staffordshire
. The school has around 100 teaching staff and over 780 pupils.
Woodhouse High School was opened in 1971 (by then Secretary of State for Education Margaret Thatcher
) as Tamworth's first purpose-built mixed comprehensive high school.
The school was transferred to the control of the Landau Forte Charitable Trust from Staffordshire LA control on 1st September 2010.
money) and tennis courts all serving the local community as well as students.
At Woodhouse, the 330 seat theatre provided a regular venue for its musicals, concerts and plays, and is much sought after by local organisations. Other highlights include drama and recording studios, a whole-school IT network (the school houses a Cisco Systems
Oracle Database
academy), design and technology centre, a suite of three art studios, a 32-seat language laboratory (French
and German
were traditionally taught, Spanish
has been added in recent years) and nine science laboratories. Woodhouse was one of the few state schools in Tamworth and Staffordshire to offer Classics at a high level.
motto "virtus ex humilitate" ('virtue through humility') and uniforms consisting of blazer and school-colour ties were replaced by the incoming Headmaster Neil Hemmings in 2003.
The school was renamed in 2007 from 'Woodhouse High School' to 'Woodhouse Business and Enterprise College' where the school specialized in Business Studies
classes. The school is therefore a member of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
. As part of this change the school houses were re-named. Original houses were:
Houses were renamed to more contemporary names connected with business and enterprise:
The school was one of the first in Staffordshire
to gain the prestigious Staffordshire Partnership Award for outstanding school industry links.
After being placed in special measures
by OFSTED
in 2007, the school has been improving in GCSE results in the past three years, and currently around 80% of pupils achieve the government's target of 5 A*-C grades at GCSE. The changeover to Landau Forte provided the school with even better results. In August 2011 the Tamworth Herald
reported that:
"THE former Woodhouse High School is celebrating its first set of GCSE results as the Landau Forte Academy with an 'outstanding improvement' on 2010.
A total 48 per cent of students achieved 5A*-C results including maths and English compared with last year's score of 31 per cent. And 87 per cent achieved five GCSEs at grade A*-C."Tamworth Herald
programme, Landau Forte took over the management of the school and Woodhouse became an Academy
in September 2010. Pupils and staff moved into a custom-built facility in September 2011, opened officially on September 21st by the Duchess of Gloucester. Simultaneously, the Sixth Forms of the other Tamworth schools - QEMS, Rawlett School, Belgrave High School and Wilnecote High School closed in 2011 and re-opened at the new Landau Forte Sixth Form next to Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
and South Staffordshire College
in the town centre.
Amington
Amington is a ward, a parish and a suburb of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England, and was formerly a distinct village. Amington is to the far east of the town centre...
, a suburb of Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. The school has around 100 teaching staff and over 780 pupils.
Woodhouse High School was opened in 1971 (by then Secretary of State for Education Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
) as Tamworth's first purpose-built mixed comprehensive high school.
The school was transferred to the control of the Landau Forte Charitable Trust from Staffordshire LA control on 1st September 2010.
Overview
Former facilities include the school's sports centre, heated swimming pool, floodlit astroturf playing surface (recently refurbished with National LotteryNational Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
money) and tennis courts all serving the local community as well as students.
At Woodhouse, the 330 seat theatre provided a regular venue for its musicals, concerts and plays, and is much sought after by local organisations. Other highlights include drama and recording studios, a whole-school IT network (the school houses a Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
Oracle Database
Oracle Database
The Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....
academy), design and technology centre, a suite of three art studios, a 32-seat language laboratory (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...
and 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....
were traditionally taught, 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...
has been added in recent years) and nine science laboratories. Woodhouse was one of the few state schools in Tamworth and Staffordshire to offer Classics at a high level.
Development
The previous LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
motto "virtus ex humilitate" ('virtue through humility') and uniforms consisting of blazer and school-colour ties were replaced by the incoming Headmaster Neil Hemmings in 2003.
The school was renamed in 2007 from 'Woodhouse High School' to 'Woodhouse Business and Enterprise College' where the school specialized in Business Studies
Business studies
Business 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...
classes. The school is therefore a member of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust is an independent, not-for-profit, membership organisation with headquarters in the United Kingdom, dedicated to raising standards and achievement in secondary schools in England and internationally...
. As part of this change the school houses were re-named. Original houses were:
- Peel (after Sir Robert Peel, former Prime Minister and MP for Tamworth; inventor of the modern PolicePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force) - Davy (after Humphrey Davy, the inventor of the davy lampDavy lampThe Davy lamp is a safety lamp with a wick and oil vessel burning originally a heavy vegetable oil, devised in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davy. It was created for use in coal mines, allowing deep seams to be mined despite the presence of methane and other flammable gases, called firedamp or minedamp.Sir...
), - Kingsley (after Charles KingsleyCharles KingsleyCharles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
, author of The Water-Babies), - Saville (after Jimmy SavileJimmy SavileSir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops...
, the popular entertainer and charity fundraiser)
Houses were renamed to more contemporary names connected with business and enterprise:
- Rowling (after J.K. Rowling, author of Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
) - Gates (after Bill GatesBill GatesWilliam Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, co-founder of MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
) - Branson (after Richard BransonRichard BransonSir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, founder of the Virgin group of companies) - Dyson (after James DysonJames DysonSir James Dyson is a British industrial designer and founder of the Dyson company.He is best known as the inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, which works on the principle of cyclonic separation. His net worth in 2011 was said to be £1.45 billion.-Early life:Dyson was born in...
, the inventor and entrepreneur)
The school was one of the first in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
to gain the prestigious Staffordshire Partnership Award for outstanding school industry links.
After being placed in special measures
Special measures
Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...
by OFSTED
Ofsted
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 ....
in 2007, the school has been improving in GCSE results in the past three years, and currently around 80% of pupils achieve the government's target of 5 A*-C grades at GCSE. The changeover to Landau Forte provided the school with even better results. In August 2011 the Tamworth Herald
Tamworth Herald
The Tamworth Herald is a weekly tabloid newspaper published every Thursday in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. Its offices are based in Ventura Park Road, Bitterscote, and its current editor is Gary Phelps...
reported that:
"THE former Woodhouse High School is celebrating its first set of GCSE results as the Landau Forte Academy with an 'outstanding improvement' on 2010.
A total 48 per cent of students achieved 5A*-C results including maths and English compared with last year's score of 31 per cent. And 87 per cent achieved five GCSEs at grade A*-C."Tamworth Herald
Change to Landau Forte
As a part of 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...
programme, Landau Forte took over the management of the school and Woodhouse became an Academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
in September 2010. Pupils and staff moved into a custom-built facility in September 2011, opened officially on September 21st by the Duchess of Gloucester. Simultaneously, the Sixth Forms of the other Tamworth schools - QEMS, Rawlett School, Belgrave High School and Wilnecote High School closed in 2011 and re-opened at the new Landau Forte Sixth Form next to Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
Queen Elizabeth's Mercian School
I go to this school and when I joined it was not a very good school and the more popular school was the nearby Rawlett but now it has turned into an academy it has a higher standard of education and better behaviour. So I am really pleased. So keep going Qems...
and South Staffordshire College
South Staffordshire College
South Staffordshire College is a further education college located over four sites in Staffordshire, England.The college was created in 2009 as a result of a merger of Cannock Chase Technical College, Rodbaston College and Tamworth and Lichfield College...
in the town centre.