Harlington Upper School

Infobox UK school
name = Harlington Upper School


size =
latitude = 51.96767
longitude = -0.48750
dms = dms
motto = "Know thyself"
motto_pl =
established =
approx =
closed =
c_approx =
type =
religion =
president =
head_label = Headteacher
head = Mr Shawn Fell
r_head_label =
r_head =
chair_label =
chair =
founder =
founder_pl =
specialist = Science College
specialist_pl =
street = Goswell End Road
city = Dunstable
county = Bedfordshire
country = England
postcode = LU5 6NX
LEA = Bedfordshire
ofsted = 109673
staff =
enrollment = 1400
gender = Coeducational
lower_age = 13
upper_age = 18
houses = 6
colours =
publication =
free_label_1 =
free_1 =
free_label_2 =
free_2 =
free_label_3 =
free_3 =
website = http://www.harlington.org/
website_name =

Harlington Upper School is a rural, coeducational comprehensive school in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. The school holds Specialist Science College status.

History

The school was established in 1973 and the buildings have recently been completely refurbished. In 2007 a house-based approach to student support was developed which includes mixed-age or "vertical" tutor groups. This complements the invitation for Harlington to become the "Deep Support Hub" for the Eastern Region. The school is now one of only 9 schools nationally to have this status.

Students

The majority of students join Harlington from three Bedfordshire middle schools: Arnold, Parkfields and Robert Bloomfield. The students mainly live in the villages near Harlington including: Harlington, Harlington Mill, Sharpenhoe, Barton-le-Clay, Silsoe, Clophill, Toddington, Westoning, Greenfield, Flitwick, Luton, and Chalton.

Most students join the school in year 9, aged 13. They take Key Stage 3 SATs in year 9 and GCSE exams in year 11, aged 16. Most students stay on at the school after GCSEs and join a large sixth form of over 300.

Houses

As of September 2007, the forms are not sorted by year group (age) but rather by house, there are six houses each with 12 forms of mixed age range. The houses are named after mythical creatures and gods, Apollo, Europa, Hercules, Midus, Pegasus, Theseus. The forms are named after the letters from HARLINGTON other than the repeated N which is replaced by the U from Upper. The name of an individual form is the initial letter of the house and the initial letter of HARLINGTOU, for example the first form in Apollo would be AH. With the new house structure, there are a number of responsibility positions available for students to fill, E.g House captain or editor of the house newspaper.

*Apollo (Yelllow) - Mr J Powell
*Europa (Blue) - Mrs V Gunn
*Hercules (Red) - Mr S Wade
*Midus (Gold/Orange) - Miss M Wiseman
*Pegasus (Purple) - Mr J Elmes
*Theseus (Green) - Miss E Orr

New Buildings

Between October 2003 and April 2006, the school underwent a major building and refurbishment programme as part of the Mid-Bedfordshire PFI scheme.In November 2006, the Mid-Bedfordshire PFI scheme was officially opened by the Queen during a visit to Bedfordshire.

Specialist Status

In September 2006 the school gained Specialist Science College Status. The school continues to teach the full range of National Curriculum subjects, but uses its strength and expertise in Science and Mathematics to support other schools and the local community. The school has recently been asked by the DfES and Specialist Schools Trust to become a "Deep Support Hub" for the Eastern Region.

External links

* [http://www.harlington.beds.sch.uk/index.htm/ Official School Website]