Great Cornard Upper School

Infobox UK school
name = Great Cornard Upper School and Technology College


size =
latitude = 52.02450
longitude = 0.74962
dms = dms
motto =
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established = 1972/3
approx =
closed =
c_approx =
type =
religion =
president =
head_label = Headteacher
head = Mike Foley
r_head_label =
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chair_label =
chair =
founder =
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specialist = Technology College
specialist_pl =
street = Head Lane
city = Great Cornard, Sudbury
county = Suffolk
country = England
postcode = CO10 0JU
LEA = Suffolk
ofsted = 124797
staff =
enrollment = 1001
gender = Coeducational
lower_age = 13
upper_age = 18
houses =
colours = Blue
publication =
free_label_1 =
free_1 =
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free_3 =
website = http://www.gcus.net
website_name = GCUS.net

Great Cornard Upper School and Technology College is an upper school in the village of Great Cornard, located near the town of Sudbury, Suffolk, England that educates just over 800 students aged 13-18 with a sixth form facility. [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/index.cfm?fuseaction=summary&id=124797 "Great Cornard Upper School and Technology College"] , Ofsted, 27 March 2007]

It was granted the status of Specialist School in 1998, and was re-designated Technology College in 2001. [ [http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/Schools/ListOfSuffolkSchools/GreatCornardUpperSchooAndTechnologyCollege.htm Suffolk County Council] , retrieved March 16, 2007]

Facilities

Included in the school is the new Great Cornard Sports Centre, which is open to the public outside of school hours, funded in part by a £563k grant from the English Active lottery fund. The new complex features a youth drop-in centre, dance and martial arts studios, changing rooms, fitness studios, a coach education unit and a social area. [ [http://www.babergh.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B5F1E123-E88C-4F3C-903A-034AAC7CF556/0/p11.pdf "Lottery Grant ‘Activates’ Great Cornard"] , retrieved 9 July 2007]

The Prospect Theatre, also in the school grounds, puts on a range of plays and concerts throughout the year and, from 26 March 2007, it is the base for the Sudbury Light Operatic Society. [ [http://www.sudburylightoperatic.co.uk/sloshers.htm "Sudbury Light Operatic Society] , official site, retrieved 13 July 2007]

The school is currently building a new sixth form study block and libary.

Academic performance

In their report dated 27 March 2007, Ofsted gave an overall rating of the school as "Satisfactory", point three on a four point scale.

Its unauthorised absence rate of around 3% is significantly higher than the local and national averages. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/06/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/935_4019.stm "Great Cornard Upper School and Technology College"] , BBC News, 11 January 2007]

Incidents

* Former head of religious studies and head of year Steve Morris, who had moved to Aldershot, was sentenced to 15 months in prison in May 2007 having admitted three counts of indecently assaulting a pupil at a school in the south of England. [ [http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED05%20Jul%202007%2017%3A40%3A54%3A960 "Inquiry launched after teacher arrest"] , David Gooderham, East Anglian Daily Times, 6 July 2007]

* In April 2006, a boy was unable to comply with the school's 'black shoes' uniform policy because of the cost of size 15 shoes. [ [http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=850&articleid=1468418 "Family foots bill for size 15 feet"] , Suffolk Free Press, 28 April 2006]

* On 10 June 2004, three girls needed medical attention for the effects of gas after raiders struck at the hotel where they were staying during a school trip in Villepinte, France. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/suffolk/3813929.stm "Pupils caught in hotel gas attack"] , BBC News, 17 June 2004]

Notable alumni

Martial arts expert Gemma Salter won the 2006 UK full contact fighting title and became the 2006 European champion in Chinese wrestling, shuai jiao. [ [http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=851&articleid=1702239 "Martial Arts: Gemma eyes Euro title"] , Suffolk Free Press, 17 August 2006]

The school contains memorials to a former teacher, Shelley Baisden, who died of cancer and to a popular teenager, Yibi Matthews, who died of HIV contracted at birth. [ [http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/video/Great-Cornard-Upper-School-remembers.3898856.jp "School remembers Shelley and Yibi"] , Suffolk Free Press, 20 March 2008] . Yibi Matthews was remembered as the boy with the big smile and his father, Rev David Matthews described Yibi's times at the school as "among his happiest" [ [http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/news/Boy39s-ashes-buried-at-school.1625222.jp "Boy's ashes buried at school he loved"] , Suffolk Free Press, 20 July 2006] .

Television actor Rocky Marshall studied at the school in the late 1980's. [ [http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/news/Rocky39s-road-to-success.567880.jp "Rocky Road to Success"] , Suffolk Free Press, 30 July 2007]

References

External links

* [http://learn.gcus.net/ Official site]