Morecambe High School

Morecambe Community High School

Established	1919
Type	Community school
Headteacher	John McNaughton
Specialism	Maths & Computing
Location	Dallam Avenue Morecambe Lancashire LA4 5BG England
Local authority	Lancashire
DfE number	???/4302
DfE URN	119761
Ofsted	Reports
Students	1439
Gender	Mixed
Ages	11–18
Houses	Coniston, Helvellyn, Langdale, Scafell
Original Name	Morecambe Grammar School
Website	MCHS

Coordinates: 54°04′32″N 2°51′01″W / 54.0755°N 2.8503°W / 54.0755; -2.8503

Morecambe Community High School is located in Morecambe, Lancashire, England and was founded as Morecambe Grammar School in 1919, moving to its current site on Dallam Avenue in 1938 on a former golf links course. The land was previously owned by Mr Joseph Walmsley Ward. The school holds specialist Mathematics and Computing College status.

Admissions

There are approximately 1401 pupils. It is situated just off the A589.

History

Grammar school

The Ward family, who still maintain an interest in the school, donated the land to Lancashire county council. The main school building is an art deco construction containing the administration area, school hall, dining facilities, and gym as well as the English, Maths and Science faculties, two Design Technology workshops and the RE department. In the 1930s there were around 300 boys and girls, 400 in 1938, 650 in 1942, 500 in 1953, and 850 in 1964. During the 1960s and 1970s two ROSLA blocks (which currently house Art, Drama, Music and PSE). In the late 1960s, the Department of Education and Science chose the school (along with the Rosebery School for Girls) to build an experimental sixth form centre.

Comprehensive

In September 1973 Morecambe Grammar School amalgamated with Euston Road Secondary Modern on the Dallam Avenue site to form Morecambe High School, growing considerably since the amalgamation. There were 1150 boys and girls with 240 in the sixth form.

In 1992, some unused land was sold to provide funding for construction of a Sports Hall. The Sports Hall was opened by former rugby union player Bill Beaumont. This excellent facility has its own climbing wall and a large storage area for the canoes, wetsuits, caving and climbing gear and other equipment used by all students for Outdoor Pursuits. The site extends to some 22 acres (89,000 m²) of playing fields including rugby, football and hockey pitches and an all weather surface.

In the mid 1990s the school expanded to its current size of 1500. To accommodate this growth 12 new classrooms were built to house the Humanities and Languages faculties. In addition there is a dedicated Sixth Form block including a common room, teaching areas and the Media Studies studios. In 2002 the Lawther Library was opened, which was funded in large part by an extremely generous donation by Professor Patrick Lawther, a former student of the school. At over 300 square metres it is an extremely valuable study area including a computer resource area and the Careers Library.

Recent developments

In early 2009 the schools new multi use sports area opened giving it four new netball courts or five tennis courts. A new state of the art Technology Block opened in October 2007. New rooms cover areas such as manufacturing, CAD/CAM and textiles.

At the beginning of the 2006/7 school year, the school introduced a house system. This saw pupils in years 8-11 assigned to a House, one of Coniston, Helvellyn, Langdale, and Scafell mostly named after Lakeland hills. Each House consists of 10 forms. The head of houses are Mrs K Hill, Mr J Davis, Mrs B Shand and Miss H Salkhead. The school was awarded specialist status in 2007 for specialist status in maths and computing.

The schools main recent improvements are in ICT, a department which is becoming very important in the expanding Computing industry. The school hopes to soon have 3-D technology in the computing department. This will help keep the school in the front line of the technological age.

Alumni

• Geraldine Smith, Labour Member of Parliament for Morecambe and Lunesdale, 1997-2010

Morecambe Grammar School

• Prof Kenneth Austwick, Professor of Education from 1966-91 at the University of Bath
• John Hayes CBE, Chief Executive from 1980-6 of Warwickshire County Council
• Mary Hodson, represented Great Britain in Olympic Games (800 metres), Tokyo 1964
• Prof Peter Hutton, Professor of Anaesthesia since 1986 at the University of Birmingham, and President from 2000-3 of the Royal College of Anaesthetists
• Prof Patrick Lawther CBE, Professor of Environmental and Preventive Medicine from 1968-81 at the Medical College of St. Bartholomew's Hospital in the City of London, and President from 1975-77 of the National Society for Clean Air
• David Newton, Chief Executive from 1993-6 of Hillsdown Holdings
• Sir Christopher Rose, judge and Chief Surveillance Commissioner since 2006
• Prof Kenneth Siddle, Professor of Molecular Endocrinology since 1990 at the University of Cambridge
• Robert Southgate, former TV presenter and executive
• Brian Tempest, President, CEO and Managing Director from 1995-2005 of Ranbaxy Laboratories (India)
• Garry Turvey CBE, Director-General from 1984-93 of the Freight Transport Association
• Prof Donald Walker, Professor of Biogeography from 1969-86 at the Australian National University (in Canberra)
• Stephen Walls, Chief Executive from 1990-2 of Plessey
• Dr David Eddings, Deputy CEO of Durex from 2001- present
• David Booth MBE, Founder and CEO of "East Bali Poverty Project" in 1998, eliminating poverty and initiating model sustainable development in all aspects of human need in the poorest mountain village in Indonesia

External links

• Morecambe High School website
• EduBase

Video clips

• Photo montage of the school