Belper School

Infobox UK school
name = Belper School


size = 200px
latitude = 53.02587
longitude = -1.45978
dms = dms
motto =
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established = 1973
approx =
closed =
c_approx =
type = comprehensive school
religion =
president =
head_label = Headteacher
head = Mr Trevor Harding
r_head_label =
r_head =
chair_label =
chair =
founder =
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specialist = Technology College
specialist_pl =
street = John o'Gaunt's Way
city = Belper
county = Derbyshire
country = England
postcode = DE56 1RZ
LEA = Derbyshire
ofsted = 112989
staff =
enrollment = 1334
gender = Coeducational
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 18
houses =
colours =
publication =
free_label_1 =
free_1 =
free_label_2 =
free_2 =
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free_3 =
website = http://www.belperschool.co.uk
website_name =

Belper School and Sixth Form Centre is a comprehensive school located in the town of Belper, Derbyshire, England.

Belper School is known for having a no uniform policy and a policy of calling the teachers by their first name. It is a secondary school and technology college which caters for around 1700 students between 11 and 18 years old. The headteacher is Trevor Harding.

History

The school, previously known as "Belper High School" was created in 1973 from an amalgamation of the existing Herbert Strutt Grammar School on "Derby Road" and two secondary modern schools. The grammar school became [http://www.herbertstrutt.derbyshire.sch.uk Herbert Strutt Primary School] . It was originally a 13-18 high school (upper school) and took shape in a barely complete largely open-plan new building, built adjacent to the local sports centre, with the combined staffs of the three schools. In September 2006, the school rebranded with a new logo as 'Belper School and Sixth Form Centre' and abandoned its use of the "four gates" logo.

In 1986, the school merged with its two feeder middle schools to become Belper School, an 11-18 school based on two sites, later reduced to one. In 1994 it became one of the first group of Technology colleges and remains so today. It was the first technology college in Derbyshire, outside of Derby, and was officially opened as such by Gillian Shepherd (Education Secretary) on November 15 1994. At this ceremony, because Thorntons gave the school £100,000, several protestors attended from the (left wing) NUT and handed out leaflets condemning the public-private involvement. Support from Thorntons and other local firms has helped the school remodel most of its accommodation to suit an 11-18 school population and the demands of specialist school status.It continues to expand in numbers and a new sixth form block and science laboratories were added in 2002, and a new £1.4 million art block was opened in 2006.

Belper School in the news

On Wednesday 17th September 2004, the school made national news [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/derbyshire/4020409.stm BBC's coverage of the chemical spill] ] after a chemical spill in the science department. Iodine crystals were dropped by a lab technician - two pupils had minor burns and 36 were sent to hospital.

On the 6th of September 2007 a small fire broke out in the Technology Department's "laser room", the location of a relatively small laser cutter. The fire itself was extinguished immediately after it was found, but the fire alarm was still pressed, at around 2:35pm. The school was evacuated, and the fire brigade called to ensure that the structure was sound. The building was soon declared safe. The Technology Department was closed for a short while to assess the damage. The laser cutter was wrecked (it was estimated to be worth £24,500), while 1 pane of glass was cracked and damaged.

Alumni

*Ross Davenport, Gold medalist swimmer
*Alison Hargreaves, mountaineer
*Adrian Brown, nuclear historian

As Herbert Strutt Grammar School

* Timothy Dalton
* Alan Bates

References

External links

* [http://www.belperschool.co.uk Belper School's Official Website]
* [https://ofsted.gov.uk/reports/112/112989.pdf Official OFSTED Inspection Report - 27 January 2003 in PDF format]
* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/portal/site/Internet/menuitem.7c7b38b14d870c7bb1890a01637046a0/?event=getReport&urn=112989&inspectionNumber=289483&providerCategoryID=8192&fileName=\school\112\s5_112989_20070423.xml Official OFSTED Inspection Report - 21–22 March 2007]
* [http://intranet.belperschool.co.uk/cms/ Intranet]
*The History of Rural Studies at Belper School 1973 - 1990 [http://www.andycadman.force9.co.uk/RuralStudiesBelperSchool.htm] Derbyshire Schools