Castlebrook High School

Infobox UK school
name = Castlebrook high |
size = 150px
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motto = "Best for all"
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established = 1971
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closed =
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type = Comprehensive school
religion =
president =
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head = A. Roberts
r_head_label = Acting deputy headteacher
r_head = Miss. Armstrong
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specialist = Science, Technology
street =
city = Unsworth
county = Greater Manchester
country = England
postcode =
LEA = Metropolitan Borough of Bury
ofsted = 105363
staff =
enrollment = 900 (approx.)
gender = Co-educational
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 16
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website = http://castlebrookhighschool.co.uk
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Castlebrook High School is a comprehensive school located in Unsworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England.

History

The school originally opened in September 1971 and was originally called Unsworth Comprehensive School. Its initial enrolment was 146 pupils. In 1983, the school merged with Whitefield High School (aka Albert Road) and was renamed Castlebrook High School.

Intake and catchment

It has a wide ranging catchment area with some pupils travelling from central Manchester or neighbouring Prestwich and Crumpsall. Some even come from as far as Bolton. However the majority of the school's intake is from the surrounding residential area which is a mixture of private owned post-war semi-detached housing and some local authority housing. The intake is very mixed, as with most comprehensives, some pupils are from very low socio-economic backgrounds whilst other are relatively middle-class. In recent years the school has been underperforming in the league tables although it is still highly regarded amongst many of the local residents.

Possible closure

Throughout 2006, along with several other schools in the wider Bury borough, it had been under a sustained threat of closure. It is believed that there will be 2,000 fewer high school students in Bury by 2015, so Bury Council wanted to close two high schools in the area. It was possible that Castlebrook would amalgamate with nearby Philips High School, or that either Castlebrook or Philips will be closed. [ [http://www.prestwichadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/206/206030_schools_facing_axe_by_2015_are_named.html Schools facing axe by 2015 are named - News - Prestwich Advertiser ] ]

As of 2004, 952 pupils attend the school. [ [http://www.dfes.gov.uk/cgi-bin/performancetables/dfekx1_04.pl?School=3514031 Castlebrook High School ] ]

Notable alumni

*Gemma Atkinson, actress, attended the school before landing her role in Hollyoaks
*Trevor Sinclair, a member of England's world cup squad in Japan/Korea 2002
*Alex Hargreaves, guitarist/songwriter with The Rascals.
*Neil Sykes, philanthropist, humanitarian, benefactor to the arts.

Talent of the school

The school have been known for their great musical and theatrical ability and have staged many productions, musicals and plays, from Hobson's Choice, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and most recently in 2006 one of the first, if not the first, comprehensive school to perform the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. The School has also been known to create its own musicals and stage them themselves, for example in the year 2001 the school staged a production (musical) called 'Sold Out' which was written by the performing arts staff of the school.

pecialist Status

Castlebrook is proud to have the specialist status of Science and Technology College. The title provides extra GCSE options for older pupils as well as excellent opportunities for all pupils attending.

External links

* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/105/105363.pdf Ofsted report (PDF fle)]

References