Stantonbury Campus

Infobox School2
name = Stantonbury Campus


established = 1974
type = Comprehensive school
city = Milton Keynes
country = England
head_name = Principal
head = Mark Wasserberg
students = ~2900
website = [http://www.stantonbury.org.uk www.stantonbury.org.uk]

Stantonbury Campus is a secondary school located in Milton Keynes, England.It is the largest secondary comprehensive school in Europe.It has over 2,900 school students from ages 11-18 (Years 7 - 13 / US Grades 6-12).

It is a high achieving Specialist school with three specialisms. The campus is an Arts College, a Mathematics and Computing College and a Vocational College.

Ethos

Stantonbury Campus says that it has a unique ethos which are guiding principles in the management and the day-to-day life of the school. [http://www.stantonbury.org.uk/School/Prospectus/Main%20Prospectus.pdf Stantonbury Campus School Prospectus] ] These are based upon equal value for all members of the school community (regardless of whether they are pupils or staff) and determined optimism for all. It has a proud history of educational innovation and has successfully defended the principles of comprehensive education in a climate which has sometimes been hostile to its inclusive and learner-centred ethos. [Moon, B. (ed.) (1983) ,"Comprehensive Schools: challenge and change", Windsor: NFER-Nelson] [Famously, Stantonbury was among the first schools to use the "opt out" (of LEA control) option introduced by the Thatcher Government to free itself of control by the Conservative-led Buckinghamshire County Council.]

The Campus has a first name policy which means students call staff by their first name rather than the normal convention of Mr X which is used in most schools. Students also do not have a school uniform and are encouraged to dress sensibly although specific kit is required for Physical Education lessons.

Hall system

Due to the sheer size of Stantonbury Campus it is necessary to split the school into many halls which are 'mini schools' that are semiautonomous. Each hall has a Head of Hall who manages the hall in the same way that a Head would manage a school. Pupils remain within the hall for most of their lessons with an allocated Tutor for each subject; though most practical lessons such as Science, Design & Technology and I.T. are undertaken in specialist Halls (such as B Block). The campus consists of four Key Stage 3/4 school halls named Dansteed, Grafton, Portway and Saxon for 11 - 16 year-olds, and one Key Stage 5 school named Cooksey for 16+ year-olds. This hall is named after former Principal Jeff Cooksey. The school started to accept 11 year olds (Year 7's) in September 2006.

Buildings

The campus is a large site with multiple buildings. In addition to the hall buildings some are used for specific curriculum areas whilst others are facilities buildings (such as The Diner or the Leisure Centre).

Some of the many buildings include:
*Dansteed 1
*Dansteed 2
*Grafton 1
*Grafton 2
*Portway
*Saxon
*Activities Block
*Upper Level
*Leisure Centre
*Ashurst
*Cooksey (6th Form + Library)
*Cooksey 2
*Cooksey 3
*Theatre
*The Hub

The site also includes a swimming pool and sports centre.

Projects

Since 2002, the school has worked in partnership with HMP Woodhill and has focused the relationship on social inclusion. Students and prisoners work together on projects.

The schools works with many other partners (educational and non-educational) as part of their specialist status in the Arts.

The Arts

The Arts are a large part of life at Stantonbury Campus. They have a highly successful Performing Arts faculty with excellent facilities including a fully working theatre which is owned by the Campus. Stantonbury Campus has been an specialist Arts College since 1998 and holds the Artsmark Gold mark from the Arts Council of England.

Exchanges

Stantonbury Campus operates a number of highly successful exchange programmes including international partnerships with schools from; France, Germany, India and Tanzania.

References

External links

* [http://www.stantonbury.org.uk/ Stantonbury Campus Home Page]
* [http://www.stantonbury.org.uk/School/Reports/Stantonbury%20Campus%20Final%20Report.pdf Ofsted inspection report] "A good school".
* [http://stantonburystaff.tripod.com/ Unofficial staff website]