Colston's Girls' School

Colston's Girls' School

Type	Academy
Principal	Lesley Ann Jones
Specialism	Languages
Location	Cheltenham Road Bristol BS6 5RD England
DfE URN	135581
Ofsted	Reports
Students	486
Gender	Girls
Ages	11–18
Website	colstonsgirls.bristol.sch.uk

Coordinates: 51°28′04″N 2°35′28″W / 51.4678°N 2.5912°W / 51.4678; -2.5912

The school buildings on Cheltenham Road.

Colston's Girls' School, is an Academy for girls in Bristol, England. Prior to 2008 the school was a selective independent school, voluntarily converting to a state-funded Academy with effect from September 2008.^[1] The Academy is majority controlled by the Society of Merchant Venturers, a private charitable organisation.^[2]

School organisation

The school takes girls aged 11 – 18 (Years 7 - 13). The Principal is Lesley Ann Jones. The school mottos are; We cherish our history but look to the future, and Go and do thou likewise taken from the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. It is a multi-faith school.

It has become the first green school in Bristol, with an eco-bronze medal awarded for its achievements in reducing the ecological footprint the school makes on the environment. It was also the first school in Bristol to make its vending machines entirely healthy, a step towards gaining the bronze medal. Now,however the vending machines are full of more unhealthier items than they once held.

The school has a strong foreign language department, year 7 studying French and Spanish, and year 8 upwards studying either French, Spanish or both, along with either Russian, German or Latin, which they can continue with for GCSEs. In the sixth form they have a choice of studying Italian or Japanese for A level, with trips overseas to expand the girls' speaking abilities.

The school encourages the arts and sports, with teams entering competitions and tournaments across the country in sports such as athletics, hockey, and netball. An annual exhibition of the girls' art work is also displayed at Bristol Guild of Applied Art.

In July 2007, the school announced that they had reached agreement with the government to become an Academy from 2008, sponsored by the Society of Merchant Venturers.^[1][3] In accord with the funding agreement admissions criteria are not based on how close pupils live to the school.^[3] A tenth of admissions are based on aptitude in a foreign language, and then priority is given to siblings of existing pupils. Most of the remaining places are allocated on a random basis to children who live in Bristol, with a quarter of places randomly allocated to applicants in the districts surrounding Bristol (approximating to the former county of Avon).^[4]

Building

The building was designed by William Venn Gough and dates from 1891. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Anthea Lipsett (4 July 2007), Bristol private school in switch to state academy, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/jul/04/schools.uk, retrieved 2009-02-04 
2. ^ Colston's Girls' School Academy, Registered Charity no. 1123317 at the Charity Commission
3. ^ ^{a b} Colston's Girls' School Academy, BSF Funding Agreement, Department for Children, Schools and Families, 11 March 2008, http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/foischeme/subPage.cfm?action=collections.displayDocument&i_documentID=494&i_collectionID=190, retrieved 2009-02-04 
4. ^ Admission Arrangements Approved By Secretary of State, Colston's Girls' School, June 2008, http://www.colstonsgirls.bristol.sch.uk/images/PDF/Admissions/admissions%20policy2.pdf, retrieved 2009-07-18 ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Colston's Girl School". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=379119. Retrieved 2007-03-16. 

External links

• School website
• Colston's Girls' School, Registered Charity no. 1079551 at the Charity Commission
• Colston's Girls' School Academy, Registered Charity no. 1123317 at the Charity Commission