Woodlands School, Coventry
Encyclopedia
The Woodlands School and Sports College is a boys school situated in west Coventry
in the West Midlands
, England
. The school was purpose-built in 1954 as one of the first comprehensive schools in the country, by the collaboration of two local educational establishments, Templars School and Coventry Technical College. It opened on the morning of 21 September 1954. Historic links to these two can be seen in The Woodlands School coat of arms
. Pupils are aged between 11 to 18. It has remained a boys school; girls go to the nearby Tile Hill Wood School
. In 2003, the school was awarded specialist status as a Sports College
.
In the main building there is a copy of the Guernica painting
, which illustrates a stylised view of the 1937 Bombing of Guernica
in Basque Spain by German and Italian bombers in the Spanish Civil War
, in which the artist Pablo Picasso
clearly expressed his abhorrence to the military suppression of the Spanish people.
In 2003, Woodlands School adopted a new system where all the pupils take their SAT
s and GCSEs a year early compared to most other secondary schools in England. The percentage of pupils gaining five grade A*-C GCSEs rose from 36% in 2007 to 61.7% in 2008. This has led to them now being ranked the fifth most successful comprehensive in the city.
- start table with width.
Original ten houses
Current six houses
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, 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...
. The school was purpose-built in 1954 as one of the first comprehensive schools in the country, by the collaboration of two local educational establishments, Templars School and Coventry Technical College. It opened on the morning of 21 September 1954. Historic links to these two can be seen in The Woodlands School coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. Pupils are aged between 11 to 18. It has remained a boys school; girls go to the nearby Tile Hill Wood School
Tile Hill Wood School
Tile Hill Wood School is a comprehensive secondary school for girls situated in Tile Hill, southwest Coventry, England. The current headteacher is Mrs Gina O'Connor. The school has specialist Language College status....
. In 2003, the school was awarded specialist status as a Sports College
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
.
In the main building there is a copy of the Guernica painting
Guernica (painting)
Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War...
, which illustrates a stylised view of the 1937 Bombing of Guernica
Bombing of Guernica
The bombing of Guernica was an aerial attack on the Basque town of Guernica, Spain, causing widespread destruction and civilian deaths, during the Spanish Civil War...
in Basque Spain by German and Italian bombers in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, in which the artist Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
clearly expressed his abhorrence to the military suppression of the Spanish people.
In 2003, Woodlands School adopted a new system where all the pupils take their SAT
National Curriculum assessment
National Curriculum assessments are a series of educational assessments, colloquially known as Sats or SATs, used to assess the attainment of children attending maintained schools in England...
s and GCSEs a year early compared to most other secondary schools in England. The percentage of pupils gaining five grade A*-C GCSEs rose from 36% in 2007 to 61.7% in 2008. This has led to them now being ranked the fifth most successful comprehensive in the city.
Houses
The school makes use of the house system and every pupil being registered into one of them. They have assemblies and eat lunch in the house rooms, along with all of the other year groups in the house. Initially a total of eight houses were established with another two following in 1956. They were named after famous citizens of Coventry. The school now has six houses. Out of the original ten houses, five of the houses were closed in the 1980s, and Thompson and West are additions named after two former head teachers of the school.- start table with width.
Original ten houses
- Brooke
- Cresswell
- Ellis (Formerly Spencer House)
- Gibson (est 1956)
- Malins
- McLachlan
- Perrens (Formerly Wilson House)
- Smith-Clarke (est 1956)
- Sparkes
- Stringer
Current six houses
- Cresswell
- Ellis
- McLachlan
- Sparkes
- Stringer
- Thompson
Sixth form
The schools shares its sixth form facilities with Tile Hill Wood Girls School, forming West Coventry Sixth Form.Former pupils
- Tony ClarkeTony ClarkeAnthony Richard Clarke, known as Tony Clarke, is a former independent Northampton Borough Council councillor, previously a British Labour Party politician, and was Member of Parliament for Northampton South from 1997-2005.-Labour Councillor and former MP:Before becoming an MP, Clarke had...
(born 1941, died 2010), one of music’s pioneering producers of the late sixties and seventies and known as ‘the sixth Moody Blue’ Perhaps his most famous creation was "Nights in White Satin". - David MoorcroftDavid MoorcroftDavid Robert Moorcroft is a former middle-distance and long-distance runner from England, and former world record holder for 5,000 metres. His athletic career spanned the late-1970s and 1980s. He subsequently served as the Chief Executive of UK Athletics from 1997 to 2007. He was awarded an MBE in...
(born 1953), athlete . - Neil BackNeil BackNeil Antony Back is a former international rugby union footballer for England, who also played for Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his career....
(born 1969), rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who has played for the English national team. - Danny GrewcockDanny GrewcockDaniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE is a retired English rugby union rugby lock who played for Bath, England and the British and Irish Lions...
(born 1972), rugby union player who has played for the English national team. - Tom WoodTom Wood (rugby union)Tom Wood is an English rugby union player for Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership.He plays as flanker but can also play at number eight....
(born 1986), rugby union player, currently playing for Northampton SaintsNorthampton SaintsNorthampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
and the English national team.