South Holderness Technology College

Infobox UK school
name = South Holderness Technology College


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e4/SHTC.jpg
motto =
phone = 01482 899315
fax = 01482 890514
established =
type = Secondary School
head = Mr. M. Cooper
street = Station Road
city = Preston
county = East Riding of Yorkshire
country = England
ofsted = 118080
enrollment = 1,829
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 18
publication =
website = http://www.shtc.org.uk/

South Holderness Technology College is a secondary school in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, sometimes called "SHTC". It receives extra funding due to its high curricular activity in technology, I.C.T. and science, for which it has been awarded "Technology College" status. The College consists of the secondary school and the sixth form centre, which was built more recently.

History

The origins of the school date back to the middle years of World War II and the Beveridge Report. In 1942 the University of Oxford academic William Beveridge was asked to prepare a paper for the government outlining the problems that existed within British society. His famous report became the basis of the Housing Act and slum clearance, the National Health Service and most importantly the "Education Act" (1944). South Holderness School came into existence as a direct result of the 1944 Act.

It was recognised that there was a need for a secondary school in the South Holderness area. Children were generally educated until 14 years in a senior department of their village school. From there they entered the world of work as apprentices, farm workers, shop and office workers and so on. The 1944 Act stated that all children should remain at school until they were 15 and that after 11 years old they should be divided up according to ability.

This resulted in a so-called Tri-partite System. Simply put all children had to take an examination called the 11 plus. According to how you performed in the examination you were offered a place at a Grammar school, a Technical school or a Secondary Modern school. The East Riding of Yorkshire council provided grammar school places at Beverley Grammar School, Beverley High school and Bridlington School. A grammar school form was also provided at Withernsea School.

In order to implement the 1944 Act the East Riding of Yorkshire was divided up into catchment areas. A school was provided at the most convenient place within that area. In the case of South Holderness it was decided to place the school midway between Preston and Hedon. The catchment area was to include Aldbrough, Bilton, Burstwick, Coniston, Hedon, Paull, Preston, Sproatley, Sunk Island and Thorngumbald. The area to the north of our school was served by Hornsea and to the east by Withernsea HS. Only children within the catchment area of a particular school were meant to attend that school.

South Holderness school was designated a Secondary Modern school. We must not forget that the East Riding of Yorkshire Council never attempted to provide Secondary Technical schools in the way that Hull City Council did with Riley High school or Greatfield High school. Instead, simply due to an accident of birth, a child in East Yorkshire would be denied the chance of a Technical education whereas, over the boundary, in Hull, they could have been offered one. South Holderness Technology College has been trying, for the last four years to put that right.

The school site

The council had to provide a totally new secondary school in the South Holderness area. As any local historian will tell you the town of Hedon is very small in terms of area and so another location had to be found. Land between the village of Preston and Hedon was identified and plans were drawn up. The school had a total area of 26 acres (10.5 hectares).

Unfortunately the local landowner Colonel Robinson did not see the need for a school on a large piece of his productive arable land and so he objected to the plans. The result was that the Ministry of Education along with the Council applied for a compulsorypurchase order. This was granted after various objections. The architects were appointed (Johnson and Johnson of Doncaster) and the designing of the school began.

Many East Riding schools have the same trademark brick work, floor surfaces and galvanised steel windows. Their structure and internal design features are very similar. South Hunsley, Beverley Longcroft, Withernsea, Headlands and Hornsea Schools all bear a great similarity, hardly surprising when one considers that they were being built at roughly the same time.

Original Staff

At this moment in the school’s genesis a Headteacher had to be appointed. After all someone had to give life and form to this collection of buildings. In this matter the East Riding of Yorkshire council were forward looking in that they appointed their heads six months before the schools were ready for opening. The opportunity arose for the head to incorporate own ideas into the building of the school at an early stage. The person appointed to lead South Holderness school was Stuart Frith a graduate teacher of chemistry and ex-British Army Major. Frith was to lead the school from 1953-1974. Frith had an immediate impact on the building of the school by announcing that he wanted a minimum of plastered, and therefore painted surfaces. He also encouraged the provision of quarry tile floors along corridors and in the Entrance Hall. Frith was a supremely practical person and realised the provision of bare brick walls and hardwearing floor surfaces would create minimum opportunity for graffiti and dirt accumulation. How modern and forward looking?

External links

* [http://www.shtc.org.uk/ South Holderness Technology College]