Cotwall End Primary School

Cotwall End Primary School

Established	1962
Head teacher	Mrs Nicole Anderton
Location	Cotwall End Road Sedgley West Midlands DY3 3YG England
Local authority	Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
DfE URN	103810
Ofsted	Reports
Students	420
Gender	Mixed
Ages	3–11
Website	School website

Coordinates: 52°32′15″N 2°07′35″W / 52.5376°N 2.1263°W / 52.5376; -2.1263

Cotwall End Primary School is a primary school for boys and girls in Sedgley, West Midlands, England. There are approximately 420 pupils on the school roll. The school's head teacher is Mrs Nicole Anderton.^[1]

History

Cotwall End was built by Sedgley Urban District Council in 1962 as a one-form entry infant and junior school. Its first Headmaster was Mr Clifford Whitehouse.

In April 1971, an infant school building was added on the site, but reorganisation in September 1972 saw the infant school become a first school and the junior school a middle school. This meant that pupils now finished the school at 12 instead of 11, but in 1990 the leaving age was reverted to 11.

The two schools merged in 1981 to form a single primary school.^[2] The school had a nursery unit which was built during the 1960s, but became part of the junior school in 1975 when Dudley MBC (which the Sedgley area had become part of in 1966) increased the area's primary school leaving age from 11 to 12. When the primary school leaving age was reverted to 11 in 1990, the building was used by a local playgroup. The playgroup disbanded in December 2000 and the building was demolished the following year.^[3]

Mr Ken Thomas was appointed head teacher in January 1978 and remained in his post until he retired in April 2003.

Six teachers who worked under Mr Thomas went on to be head teachers at other schools; these were deputy head teachers Eric Tibble, David Cox, Phillip Everington, Adrian Slack and Leonard Hazelhurst, as well as class teacher Ann Mason.

The nursery unit was demolished in April 2001, four months after the local playgroup closed. This was due in part to an education authority reorganisation and to the poor state of the buildings.^[4]

The school has been served by a schoolhouse since about 1970; this has always been occupied by the school caretaker. For more than 10 years until 1999, the occupants were caretaker Mr Alfred Taylor and crossing lady Mrs Jean Taylor and their three children. Jean is the cousin of footballers Peter and Cyril Knowles. The occupant of the schoolhouse is Mr Martin Waldron, school caretaker since 2000.

Teaching Assistant Karen Pearce is the wife of former Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers footballer Dennis Pearce.

A full-time nursery opened in September 2007. For the previous 13 years, the school had been served by a twice-weekly pre-school club called "Cotty Kitten", which was open to pupils in their final term prior to compulsory education.

Timeline

1960s

• September 1962: Cotwall End Infant and Junior Schools opened within one building as one-form entry.

1970s

• September 1971: Cotwall End becomes two-form entry following the opening of an infant school.
• September 1972: Cotwall End becomes a first and middle school, with pupils now leaving at the age of 12 instead of 11, and the top two classes are accommodated in the closed nursery unit.
• December 1977: Clifford Whitehouse retires as head teacher and is replaced by Ken Thomas.

1980s

• September 1981: Cotwall End merges into a single primary school.
• October 1986: Clifford Whitehouse dies aged 73.

1990s

• September 1990: the local authority lowers the primary school leaving age from 12 to 11, and the redundant two classrooms become part of a local playgroup.
• September 1994: "Cotty Kitten", a twice-weekly pre-school club, is set up to accommodate pupils in the term preceding full-time school.
• April 1999: a new school library is opened in the junior school.

2000s

• September 2000: a new nursery unit is constructed in the infant school.
• April 2001: two former classrooms on the junior school playground are demolished.
• April 2003: Ken Thomas retires after 26 years as head teacher and is replaced by Mrs Nicole Anderton.
• October 2004: two new "annexe" classrooms are added to the junior school.
• June 2005: Mrs Diane Morgan, former infant school teacher, dies of cancer aged 66.
• October 2006: OFSTED removes the 'notice to improve' on Cotwall End and praises its rising standards.
• September 2007: Cotwall End Nursery Unit is opened.

Academic standards

Cotwall End School from its inception in 1962 always prided itself in the very high academic standards it set itself and its pupils.

However it started to lose its way in the 2000s and its OFSTED inspections started to give concern to parents.

The school has a broad curriculum, including English, mathematics, science, geography, history, information technology, physical education, music (including instrumental music), and religious education.^[5]

In 2005, an OFSTED inspection of the school found that the overall effectiveness of the school, and in particular progress in English, mathematics, and science was inadequate, particularly in Years 3 through 6. The school was given a Notice to Improve. The school's strengths include physical education, art, and music.^[6]

However, in October 2006 Ofsted said that it was a "a satisfactory and improving school" and praised the efforts of Anderton.^[7]

The school regularly comes in the upper section of the Dudley borough's Key Stage 2 SATs league tables.

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities include sports such as football, basketball, and cross-country running, and musical activities like orchestra and choir. There is an after school club.

The school is represented by separate football teams for boys and girls. The boys football team is the longest established, and has enjoyed success in local competitions which include several league championships.

In spring 2005 the children worked with resident artist Ilona Bryan to produce a mosaic based around exotic birds.^[8]

Notable staff and pupils

• Jon Turley, children's author, taught at Cotwall End from 1996 to 1999. He taught in the junior part of the school and was in charge of the school football team, who were joint winners of the local league in 1998 and runners-up the previous year.^[9]

• Chris Marsh, footballer, who played more than 400 games for Walsall Football Club between 1987 and 2002, attended Cotwall End from January 1975 until July 1982.

• Chris Wood, diplomat, Deputy British Ambassador in Beijing since 2009, attended Cotwall End until July 1970.

References

• A C Jolly (2000-04-06). "Cotwall End Primary School" (PDF). Ofsted. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/103/103810.pdf. 
• "Cotwall End Primary School". The Good Schools Guide. Lucas Publications Limited. http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/cgi-bin/GSGDir.cgi?SDETAILSPAGE&OL=Yes&SiteS=LEAS&NUMGSG=107738&Retry=Yes&Num=1.  — 5 year test performance data for the school
• "Ofsted School Inspection Report for Cotwall End Primary School". September 26, 2006. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/103/s5_103810_20050915.htm. 
• School handbook, Retrieved September 26, 2006.

Notes

1. ^ http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/103/s5_103810_20050915.htm
2. ^ http://www.cotwall.dudley.gov.uk/pdfs/Parents%20handbook%20adobe%20version.pdf
3. ^ http://archive.stourbridgenews.co.uk/2001/1/9/56836.html
4. ^ "Go-ahead for nursery unit demolition". Stourbridge News. 2001-01-09. http://archive.stourbridgenews.co.uk/2001/1/9/56836.html. 
5. ^ http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/103/103810.pdf
6. ^ http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/103/s5_103810_20050915.htm
7. ^ "Praise for head over standards". Birmingham Mail. 2006-10-26. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-153355466.html. 
8. ^ "Corner of paradise in Cotwell End". Black Country Newspapers. 2005-06-02. http://archive.thisistheblackcountry.co.uk/2005/6/2/3158.html. 
9. ^ "Tell me a story". Black Country Newspapers. 2004-03-11. http://archive.thisistheblackcountry.co.uk/2004/03/11/16051.html. Retrieved 2007-12-25. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official website