Varndean Secondary School

Infobox UK school
name = Varndean School


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latitude = 50.85028
longitude = -0.13714
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motto = "A vibrant learning community"
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specialist = Technology, Music, Applied Learning, Leading Edge
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street = Balfour Road
city = Brighton
county = East Sussex
country = ENG
postcode = BN1 6NP
LEA = Brighton and Hove
ofsted = 114579
staff =
enrollment = 1230
gender = Coeducational
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 16
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website = http://www.varndean.co.uk/
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Varndean School is a secondary school founded in 1884 and located in Brighton, England. It moved to its current site overlooking the city and the sea in 1926. Varndean is a specialist school for technology and music [ [http://www.specialistschools.org.uk/ Specialist Schools.org] ] . Varndean is the only secondary school in the city to have been graded twice by school inspectors as "outstanding" and so was listed on OfSTED's roll of honour in 2005. The school also has 'leading edge' status and is memorably described in the world's biggest selling education book (The New Learning Revolution by Kiwi author Gordon Dreyden, 2005) as 'an inspiring example to the world'.

Varndean shares a campus with Balfour Junior School, Balfour Infants School, Dorothy Stringer High School and Varndean College [ [http://www.varndean.ac.uk Varndean website] ] .

History

Historically the current Varndean School building was the Varndean Girls School and the current Varndean College building was Varndean Boys school. The Boys School became a sixth form college in 1975, and in 1979 boys were admitted to the girls school for the first time and it became a mixed high school for 11-16 year olds.

In 1998 Varndean School became the first school in the city to be designated a specialist school. The school gained a second specialism in music in 2006 and a vocational specialism in 2007. In 2002 the school created a company Varndean e-Learning [ [http://www.varndean.net Varndean e-Learning website] ] , which supplies software to over 550 schools and colleges nationwide. Varndean e-Learning currently trade from offices in Queen's Park, Brighton.

Varndean School's headteacher Andy Schofield was appointed Principal of The Wellington Academy from September 2008, leaving ACE Principal Mark Whitby standing in as temporary headteacher until a new, full-time headteacher is allocated in early 2009 to take over the school. [Andy Chiles, [http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/commentandanalysis/3223903.It_s_too_political_here__says_head_of_Varndean_School/ It's Too Political Here] , The Argus ]

Pupils

The pupils range in age from 11-16 year olds; Year Seven to Year Eleven.

There are several positions offered for pupils in their "form", (their separate "Year group" class), which are Form Captain, Sports Captains, (one girl and one boy), and Charity Fundraising Organiser. These pupils take care of certain aspects of school life; being a Form Captain includes making sure the class knows what days they have an Assembly on, to organising with the class' "form tutor" on how to improve people's experiences in their form class. Sports Captains make sure they are up-to-date with all of the latest sporting activities, and represent their form class in P.E. (Physical Education), in certain sports bulletins. Charity Fundraising Organisers help lead and add up the total raised in activities where money is raised for charity, (these events are mostly organised by the school).

In addition, there are, as in most schools, "School Councillor" positions, where the appointed councillors are taken to meetings to discuss how the school could be improved. There is also "Head Boy" and "Head Girl" statuses, for Year Eleven, (15-16 year olds), which involve helping younger pupils and contributing creativity in the cirriculum.

"Form" class positions are voted in a "secret election"; pupils in the "form" write down the people they would like in the different positions on a piece of paper, after the offering pupils have been marked down as wanting to apply and written up for the class to see and decide upon, and then the piece of paper is folded up, before being given in, and the teacher finds out the pupil with the biggest vote during the day to tell the class tomorrow, upon which the positions are then given.

Notable Alumni

* Professional footballers
*Darren Freeman (Gillingham, Fulham, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion)
*Russell Martin (Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough United)
*Tommy Fraser (Brighton & Hove Albion)
*James Fraser (Bristol Rovers)

Current Staff

*Stuart Tuck (Brighton & Hove Albion, Eastbourne Borough, Bognor Regis Town)
*Paul Taylor (Lewes RFC)
*Leanne Buxton international athlete (Bedford & County AC, Sussex).

Past Staff

Include Ben Watson (Brighton & Hove Albion, Bognor Regis Town, Grays Athletic, Exeter City).

References

External links

* [http://www.thewellingtonacademy.org.uk/ Wellington Academy]