Worden Sports College

Infobox UK school
name = Worden Sports College


size = 275px
established = 1955
type = Secondary Mixed Comprehensive
specialist = Sports College
head_label = Headteacher
head = Mrs. S. Rignall, M.A., B.Sc. (Hons.), NPQH
city = Leyland
county = Lancashire
country = England
LEA = Lancashire
ofsted =
free_label = Previous Name
free = Worden High School
website = http://www.worden.lancsngfl.ac.uk//
website_name = www.worden.lancsngfl.ac.uk

Worden Sports College is situated in Leyland, Lancashire in the South Ribble district.Opened in 1955 as Worden County Secondary School, it became Worden High School in 1972 with the introduction of the Comprehensive System to Lancashire and the abolition of the 11-plus examination. The school gained Sports College status in 2003 and changed to its present name. In October 2007, Worden Sports College was redesignated as a Sports College with ICT as its second subject.

Developments

In the early 1990s, the ROSLA block was gradually sold off to the Westfield Centre, with a major extension to the building being completed by 2003. The first Worden Sports College web site went live on 6 March 1996. The new Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Moodle went live July 2006. In the late 1990s a new bookshop and office was added to the English area. The second lift was installed late 2003, giving access to the first floor on B corridor.2004 the school field had a new £150,000 field drainage system put in. The Sports Hall and entrance were refurbished as a result of the Sports College status. Subsequently, two classrooms - 15M and 13M - were knocked together to form the first air-conditioned computer suite followed by the 2^nd suite (17M) in September 2006. The third computer suite in 8B followed later that year.A refurbished £500,000 Science Block (The Newton Suite) was officially opened on 28th September 2007 by the Mayor of South Ribble and Suzanne Hall (Hollyoaks Actress).

The four science labs are named Rutherford, Curie, Einstein and Darwin.

Headteachers

House system

(green). Presently five trophies are presented each year: House Point Cup, Competition Shield, Attendance Shield, Sports Day Cup. Each winner of one the previous four trophies is awarded four points, second place gets 3 points etc. The house with the most points is awarded the Championship Cup.

National competitions

2004: Together with the Wellcome Trust, the BBC launched a national photographic competition inviting entries on the theme of 'How is Science changing us?' The competition focused specifically on developments in bio-medical technology and was open to both individuals and group entries from schools. The team's entry was awarded RUNNERS UP prize in the schools section, winning £1000 of photographic equipment for the school and £50 worth of equipment for each pupil involved. They were invited to the Royal Albert Hall, London, to collect their prize. All photos will be part of a national exhibition that will tour six venues around the country. [Wellcome Trust (2005)]

World record

61 boys and girls from Worden took part in a 'Keepy Uppy' world record attempt on the 26th April 2006. It was organised by the Englandfans and The FA with over 650 schoolchildren from 16 schools throughout England taking part. The officials were in constant radio contact with each school, to make sure every pupil could keep the footballs in the air for 10 seconds. 459 pupils managed to keep the footballs in the air at the same time to beat the previous record of 446 which had stood for the last seven years. [Cooper (2006); Gee (2006)]

Local places of interest

* Leyland, Lancashire
* South Ribble
* Worden Park, Leyland
* Preston
* British Commercial Vehicle Museum, Leyland
* Leyland Police Station
* Leyland railway station
* Leyland Trucks
* Leyland Motors

Notes

References

*Cooper, Andrin (2006) [http://www.thefa.com/WorldCup2006/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2006/04/alltogethernow_keepy_uppy.htm "New record set"] , The Football Association, online news 26 April [accessed 14 July 2007]
*Gee, Chris (2006) [http://www.prestoncitizen.co.uk/display.var.750386.0.0.php "Sven thanks pupils for keeping up a record"] , The Citizen, online news 4 May [accessed 14 July 2007]
*Leyland Guardian (2007) [http://www.leyland-guardian.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=77&articleid=2853889 "School's first head dies at 95"] ,online news 3 May, [accessed 17 July 2007]
*Wellcome Trust (2005) [http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/imagine/wordon.shtml "Schools Runner Up : Worden Sports College, Lancashire"] , [http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/imagine/gallery.shtml "Imagine" - Winners' Gallery] online, [accessed 14 July 2007]

External links

* [http://vle.worden.lancs.sch.uk Worden Sports College VLE (MOODLE)]
* [http://www.wordensportscollege.co.uk Worden Sports College Online Prospectus]
* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/index.cfm?fuseaction=summary&id=119741 Worden Sports College OFSTED report]
* [http://www.sarno.freeserve.co.uk/leyland/index.htm Leyland Society of Engineers]
* [http://www.southribble.gov.uk/ South Ribble Borough Council]