Cheney School

Cheney School

Motto	Think for yourself, Act for others
Type	Secondary school
Headteacher	Jolie Kirby
Specialism	Language College
Location	Cheney Lane Oxford Oxfordshire OX3 7QH England
Local authority	Oxfordshire
Students	1470
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11–18
Website	cheney.oxon.sch.uk

Coordinates: 51°45′11″N 1°13′20″W / 51.752944°N 1.222168°W / 51.752944; -1.222168

Cheney School is a secondary school located in Headington, Oxford, England.

Current

Cheney is currently one of the largest comprehensive schools in Oxford, serving the Headington and East Oxford area. It is the destination for students from numerous primary schools across the city. It has recently become one of the higher achieving state schools in Oxford, along with The Cherwell School. The current head-teacher, Jolie Kirby, was appointed in 2006 when Alan Lane retired after 25 years service.

History

The original foundation was around 1797. It then moved to New Inn Hall Street in 1901 under the name of Oxford Central Girls School. The building it occupied at that time is now part of St Peter's College of Oxford University. Eventually the school became Cheney Girls' School. The Junior Day Department of the Oxford Technical College eventually moved to the same site under the name Cheney School, a mixed secondary technical school. Together they were usually known as Cheney Mixed. In 1972 the two schools merged to form the new mixed comprehensive school, Cheney School. In 2003, Cheney School changed from being upper school, for children aged 13 to 18, to a secondary school serving children aged 11 to 18, in the two tier system.

Students

The school currently has around 1500 pupils aged 11-18

Colleges

Cheney school has 6 different colleges which are:

• Jesse Owens college
• Isaac Newton college
• Marie Curie college
• Jane Austen
• Martin Luther King Jr. college
• Rosa Parks college

Each college has different college colours:

• Blue (Owens)
• Purple (Newton)
• Red (Curie)
• Green (Austen)
• Yellow (King)
• Orange (Parks)

Specialist Status

When the UK government began awarding grants to schools specialising in areas of the curriculum, Cheney School decided to become a Language College. Using the grant money, they built a specialised language computer laboratory and added extra in-classroom IT equipment. Recently, Cheney School was awarded a second specialism. Deciding against another average subject, they picked Student Leadership, which enables more "Student Leaders" (mostly in sports and languages), and concentrates primarily on the student voice.

Notable former students

• Andy Bell - bass guitarist of Oasis
• Mark Gardener - guitarist of Ride
• Adam Lee - keyboardist of Let Loose
• Bryony Shaw - Olympic windsurfer
• Roy Thomason - former Conservative MP
• Clive Walker - footballer for Chelsea FC and Sunderland
• David Gimson - Leader of the Oxford Conservative Party

Buildings

Cheney has several different buildings in which different subjects are taught.

• Chadwick (English, Art, PSHE, PE Offices)
• Wainright (Maths, Science)
• Lane (History, Geography, Languages)
• John Brookes (RE, DT, ICT, Business & Enterprise)
• Russell (Science)
• Music (Music)
• Sports Hall/Gymnasuim (PE)

Please Note: Wainright also holds the school library, reception and medical room. Music is attached to the assembaly hall and the Community hall.

External links

• Cheney School official website