Hummersknott School

Hummersknott School is a secondary school in Darlington in the north east of England. It schools approximately 1250 pupils aged eleven to sixteen. It has specialist Language College status. Its head teacher is Mrs. Patricia Howarth.

Hummersknott School pupils are divided into five main colleges: Cuthbert, Ketton, Quaker, Stephenson, and Wyvern.

Each college is divided up into two forms, using the first letter from the name of the college, followed by the form tutor's teacher code. Codes for teachers are derived from their subject, for example, English constitutes an E at the start of the code, and from two more letters from the teacher's surname. For example, a Humanities teacher John Smith, may be HSM. Each Form has a number at the start and this represents the year that its pupils are in. So a Year 7 form in Wyvern, tutored by John Smith, would be coded as 7W-HSM.

In July, 2007 a £15 million scheme to demolish and replace some school buildings and renovate others was initiated. The bulk of the funding was provided by the national government, with the local council providing £2.7m, and the school £0.7m. Work began on the school building during the Summer of 2007, although plans for the new design were drawn up a year earlier. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6910752.stm Work starts on £15m school scheme] bbc.co.uk 22 July 2007]

Colleges

College Name - College Departments - Head of College - College Captains

Cuthbert - Humanities - Mr. Bailey - Liam Durham; Harriet Endersby

Ketton - Science and PE - Mrs. Farry - Michael Hahn; Rebecca Robson

Quaker - Languages and Business Stuides - Mrs. Farnell - Josh Egglestone; Kate Pilbeam

Stephenson - Mathematics, ICT and Technology - Mr. Janes - Lee Byers; Brogan Dinsdale

Wyvern - English and the Performing Arts - Mrs. Still - Richard Hart; Steph Loughead

chool council

The school council was formed as a way to involve pupils in decisions within the school, such as policies and events. The school council meet regularly to discuss any issues or ideas with Headmaster Mr. P. Howarth.

Form Tutors

(Stephenson)

Year 7
Mrs Franks (7S-TFR)
Miss Lancaster (7S-MLN)

Year 8
Mrs Raine (8S-TRN)
Miss Elliott (8S-TEL)

Year 9
Miss Barratt (9S-MBR)
Mrs Blakeman/Miss McNichol (9S-MBK)

Year 10
Mr Davies (10S-MDV)
Mr Bell (10S-MBL)

Year 11
Mr Carvell (11S-TCV)
Mr Bowes (11S-TBW)

The Lesotho project

Hummersknott School is currently linking with the less economically developed country of Lesotho. Pupils and teachers are working together to raise money for the country. Hummersknott School has helped to provide equipment, such as computers, to a school from Lesotho. Pupils studying GCSE Religious Studies have the opportunity to visit Lesotho and the linked schools, at a time during the course.

House and college reform

Formerly, Hummersknott School played host to four houses: Dunelm, Edinburgh, Starmer, and Trinity. In July 2006 these were retired and the current system of 'colleges' was introduced as part of a school reform. There was strong opposition at the time, and although pupils and their parents were reassured that they would be placed with their friends in their new houses, this did not happen for many and the plans for the new colleges went ahead regardless of any concerns.

Old Heads of House

Edinburgh - Mr Geoff Bailey

Dunelm - Mrs Louise Farnell

Starmer - Mrs Farry

Trinity - Mrs Barbra Still

References

External links

* [http://www.hummersknott.org.uk/ Hummersknott School Website]
* [http://www.hummersknott.info/ School Portal]
* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/ Ofsted Website]