Cherry Willingham Community School

Cherry Willingham Community School

Motto	Be your Best
Established	1965
Type	Foundation school
Headteacher	formely Mr Ed Fitzpatrick, currently pending
Specialism	Sports, Maths & Computing
Location	Croft Lane Cherry Willingham Lincolnshire LN3 4JP England
Local authority	Lincolnshire
DfE number	???/4062
DfE URN	102241
Ofsted	Reports
Students	496
Ages	11–18
Houses	Formerly: Coningsby, Waddington, Cranwell, Scampton. Presently: Alexander, Newton and Tennyson.
Website	CWCS

Coordinates: 53°14′46″N 0°27′24″W / 53.24601°N 0.45679°W / 53.24601; -0.45679

Cherry Willingham Community School (formerly Cherry Willingham Comprehensive School and Cherry Willingham Secondary Modern School) is a school for pupils aged 11–16 (or up to age 18 including the new 6th Form) on Croft Lane in the village Cherry Willingham, located just outside the city of Lincoln, England.

Admissions

The school is situated at the junction of Hawthorn Road and Croft Lane' on the northern edge of the village and parish, the opposite side of Hawthorne Road being the Parish of Reepham. The school houses around five hundred pupils. Recently, Cherry Willingham Community School has begun taking steps to form their own Sixth Form. (Currently with the joint efforts of Yarborough High School, in Lincoln.)

History

Secondary modern school

Cherry Willingham Secondary Modern School was built during 1964/5 and opened in 1965. It was an up to date secondary school to serve the villages of Cherry Willingham, Reepham, Fiskerton, Greetwell, Langworth and Nettleham. The school replaced the old secondary school that was sited at Fiskerton and many of the teachers, such as Mr. Coupe, Mr. Sharp and Mr. Finn, who taught at Fiskerton, transferred to Cherry Willingham. The first Headteacher was Jock Borthwick. Pupils who passed the 11plus examination and went on to a grammar school, went either to Lincoln or to [de Aston School] in Market Rasen, a situation that continued until 1974 when along with most of the education system was reformed.

Comprehensive

During the 1970s there was a change in the education system and Cherry Willingham changed with the trend from a secondary modern to a comprehensive school and it soon became necessary to build what became known as “The New Block” to house the rising number of pupils. Mobile classrooms were also housed on the playground at right angles to the office block.

In 1984 Mr Borthwick retired. A very young Peter Fletcher arrived at school to take his place as Headmaster. He took up the fight to save Cherry Willingham from closure. The threat was to close either Cherry Willingham or [Sturton by Stow]. Fortunately Cherry Willingham was not closed and continued to serve the local area thanks greatly to the efforts of Peter Fletcher and Dorothy Bowman, the then Chairman of the Governors. Peter Fletcher left to become a Schools Inspector and, after a brief spell when Roger Bishop, the Deputy Head, held the fort, the school was joined by a new Headmaster, John Whittle in summer 1987.

During the later 1980s the mobile classrooms were removed. At this time the school actually had a small farm situated in the area known as the courtyard between the main hall and the Technology corridor, where there was originally a small outdoor swimming pool. It kept a few rare breed chickens, ducks, rabbits and even a goose called Knickers. At one time there was even a pair of sheep. The school did quite well at the [Lincolnshire Show] at this time.

In 1991 the Technology Block was revamped. Changes were necessary to cope with the changes in the curriculum and the subjects taught. The typing room, joint needlework and domestic science rooms, (which also had a furnished flat attached), metalwork room and woodwork were modernised into rooms for practical and theory lessons in Technology, Textiles, Food Technology, Design Realisation and Graphics. The revitalised classrooms received many visitors to see their up to date design and technology. The Suite was opened on 6 December 1991 by [Edward Leigh] MP.

In 1974 the Partial Hearing Unit was opened in two of the classrooms in the original main block. The unit's main room was treated to maximise the sound quality and included, walls treated for sound, double doors, double-glazing, curtains and carpeted floors. Also in April 1974, following the [Local Government Act 1974] administration of the school passed from the Lindsey Education Committee to Lincolnshire County Council.

Mr. Whittle moved on to Cumbria, to take headship of a much larger school and his place as Headteacher of Cherry Willingham Community School was given to David Mills in 1993.

Over most of the school's life, one figure had been very important. Dorothy Bowman had served loyally as Chairman of the Governors since the school opened. Her efforts were repaid when the garage area, previously used to build canoes early in the school's life and later as a potting shed and store, was converted to an Art Studio and given the name of the Dorothy Bowman Art Studio.

New buildings

During late 1996 work commenced on a new block to house music, music practice rooms, drama and two classrooms and offices. The block was being built parallel to the main block and in line with the older “New Block”. The school decided to honour the first Headteacher and the block was named the Borthwick Block. It was officially opened by Mr. Borthwick's widow, Peggy, in January 1998.

Work followed on to the older “New Block” shortly afterwards to update this and make it match the Borthwick Block. Windows were replaced, walls insulated and a casing of special render used to make it appear as red brick. All these, together with a pitched roof, made the “New Block” much warmer and more attractive. It also did away with many of the problems that concrete block buildings have. It was decided to call the building Fletcher Block and was officially re-opened by ex Headteacher, Peter Fletcher, who by that time was the Director of Education in Hull.

The Sports Hall had been a problem for some time. Heating and condensation created many difficulties. In 2001 work began on a new sports hall complete with dance studio, weights room/gym, changing rooms and a large main sports hall. It was officially opened on 10 October 2001 by Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy.

Community School

Although the school is no longer a Community school, since The school became a Foundation School in April 2008, its "Community School" title was retained because of its nature and its close relationship with the local community.

Specialisms

In 2003 it became a Specialist Sports College, and was in 2007 rated as a High Performing Specialist School. This led to its acquiring its second specialism of Mathematics and Computing in 2008.^[1]

Fire

The school suffered a major fire, on the 23rd of April 2010, to the school's Main Block.^[2] There was significant damage to the first, second and ground floors, due to heat and smoke (as well as water damage caused by the attempts of fire fighters to extinguish the fire).^[3] The fire was apparently caused by an electrical fault, although the exact cause has yet to be identified. The building has been sucessfully repaired and has been officially reopened, now boasting new computer suites.

Facts

• Approximately 500 pupils attend the school, and approximately 80 staff work there.
• The school was renamed Cherry Willingham Community School in 1997.^{[dubious – discuss]}
• The school gained sports college status in 2003 and was awarded a second additional Maths & Computing specialism in 2008.
• The school operates a traditional house system. The 4 houses were formerly named after Stately Homes located in Lincolnshire (such as Burghley House), but were renamed after local RAF bases; Coningsby, Waddington, Cranwell and Scampton, which correspond with the school's initials (CWCS). However, this has been recently changed and the old house system has been abandoned. As of late 2009, these were replaced with the Newton, Tennyson and Alexander facilities. Each corresponding with the school's Maths, ICT and Sports specializations, respectively. (Alexander, named after the footballer Keith Alexander, who officially opened the school's 3G Pitch.)
• In 2010, 87% of the students achieved 5 A*-C GCSE grades; 50% of the students succeeded in attaining 5 GCSE A*-C grades including English and Maths. This is the first time the school has ever achieved this.

Buildings

• The Main Block
• The Fletcher Block (formerly the New Block), opened in 1972, reopened in 2001.
• The Whittle Science Block
• The Borthwick Block, opened in 1998
• The Dorothy Bowman Art Studio
• The Sports Hall, opened in 2001 by Princess Alexandra
• The Darwin Block, opened in 2004
• The Technology Corridor (adjoining the main block)
• The Keith Alexander building, opened by Keith Alexander

Awards

• Achievement Award (twice)
• Schools Curriculum Award (twice)
• Sportsmark (three times)
• Artsmark Silver

LSSG

The school joined with six other secondary schools in the area to make the 'Lincoln Specialist Schools Group' (LSSG) in July 2007. The move will see the schools share staff, specialist resources and even governors.

Schools in LSSG:

• Branston Community College (business and enterprise specialist)
• Cherry Willingham Community School (sports)
• Lincoln Christ's Hospital School (language)
• North Kesteven School (performing arts)
• Robert Pattinson School (language, maths and science)
• St Peter and St Paul Catholic High School (science)
• Yarborough High School (business and enterprise)

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ "Cherry Willingham Community School to reopen after major fire; BBC News 24 April 2010; retrieved 24 April 2011
3. ^ "Cherry Willingham Community School Headteacher's blog"; Cherry Willingham Community School official web site 25 April 2010; retrieved 24 April 2010

External links

• Cherry Willingham Community School website
• Cherry Willingham Village Website
• EduBase
• Lincoln Specialist Schools.org

News items

• Fire in April 2010