Schools in Crawley, West Sussex

Education in Crawley, West Sussex is co-ordinated by West Sussex County Council. Since 2004, provision for compulsory education has been made wholly through primary and secondary schools, following the closure of the town's Middle schools earlier that year. Each neighbourhood in the town has at least one Primary school, while Secondary schools are distributed around the town on larger campuses.

Primary Schools

Bewbush Community Primary School is housed in the former buildings of Bewbush County Middle School. It caters for pupils in the primary range from age 4 to 11. The predecessor schools were Bewbush County First School and Bewbush County Middle School opening in Bewbush in 1978 and 1982 respectively.Cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=18425|title=Crawley New Town: Education|accessdate=2007-08-05|publisher=Victoria County History|year=1987|author=Hudson, T.P. (Ed)|work=A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 3: Bramber Rape (North-Eastern Part) including Crawley New Town]

Bishop Bell Junior and Infants Schools opened in 1958/59, becoming First and Middle schools in the early 1970s. The First school department closed in 1979 with pupils transferring to the nearby Robert May First school. Both schools closed in 1997Cite web|url=http://www.edubase.gov.uk/EstablishmentView.aspx?EstablishmentID=25873|title=Details for Bishop Bell Middle School|accessdate=2007-08-05|publisher=Department for Children, Schools & Families|year=2007|work=Edubase: the informationsource for educational establishments] to make way for the new Oaks Primary School.

Broadfield East Nursery and Infant School was opened as Broadfield East First School in 1978 to serve the extending neighbourhood of Broadfield. It was altered to cover the infant range in 2004.Cite web|url=http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/cs/mis/070502eda21.pdf|title=CRAWLEY SCHOOLS AGE OF TRANSFER|accessdate=2007-08-05|year=2003|work=REPORT BY DIRECTOR FOR EDUCATION AND THE ARTS|format=PDF]

Broadfield East Junior School was opened as Broadfield East Middle School in 1986.Fact|date=August 2007 It became a Junior school at the reorganisation of schools in 2004.

The Brook Infant School opened in 1999 as a First school feeding into Maidenbower Middle. The school became an Infant school in 2004.

Desmond Anderson Primary School opened as an Infant school in 1958, with a Junior department opening the following year. It became First and Middle schools in 1971, with the two merging in 1992. The school became a Primary again in 2004, opening in new buildings in 2005.

Gossops Green Primary School opened in 2004 following the closure of the predecessor schools Gossops Green County Infant (opened 1968) and Gossops Green County Junior (opened 1969).

Hilltop Primary School was formed following the closure of Southgate West First and Southgate West Middle schools in 2004, having previously opened in 1969 and 1970 respectively.

Langley Green Primary School was formed in 2004 from the closure of the separate First and Middle Schools, previously opened as Infant and Junior Schools in 1954, with the Infant school moving to a separate campus in 1979 when it merged with the Jordans Infant school already on that site.

Maidenbower Infant School: Maidenbower First School opened in 1992 to serve the new neighbourhood of Maidenbower. Pupils attended until the age of 8, but no middle school was opened until 1999. In the schools' reorganisation of 2004 the First school became an Infant school with nursery.

Maidenbower Junior School is a 5-form-entry Junior school in 2004, having previously opened as Maidenbower Middle School in 1999.

The Mill Primary School opened in 2004 following the closures of predecessor schools Ifield First School and Ifield Middle School. The two schools had moved to a campus at Ifield Drive from former buildings in Rusper Road where they had opened in 1956, with the Middle School moving when changing from a Junior school in 1985, and the First school following in 2001.

Milton Mount Primary School opened in 1972 as a combined First and Middle school. It became primary in 2004.

Northgate Primary School: A temporary primary school was opened in Northgate in 1952 to accommodate young children in the New town. Formal Infant and Junior Schools were opened in 1954 on Barnfield Road, becoming First and Middle schools respectively in 1971. The schools closed in 2004 with a new Northgate Primary School opening in the joined buildings.

The Oaks Primary School was formed in 1997 from the merger of two previous schools with varied histories. The first school to be opened in Tilgate had been the Bishop Bell Infant School in 1958 with the Junior school opening in 1959. The infant school was closed in 1979, with the Junior school closing in 1997 to be replaced by The Oaks Primary School.

Our Lady Queen of Heaven Roman Catholic (Voluntary Aided) Primary School opened in 1957. In 1970 the school became a First school feeding into the local catholic Middle schools. Full primary status was restored when the middle schools were closed in 1997.

Pound Hill Infant School opened in 1955 as part of Pound Hill Junior and Infants School, relocating in 1957. The infant department became a First school in 1971, reverting to Infant school in 2004.

Pound Hill Junior School was also part of Pound Hill Junior and Infants School. The junior department became a Middle school in 1971, reverting to Junior school in 2004.

Robert May County Junior and Infants School was opened in the neighbourhood in 1964, becoming a First and Middle school in the early 1970s. In 1979 the middle school was closed, with pupils transferring to Bishop Bell Middle School in Tilgate. The first school closed in 1997 as part of the merger with Bishop Bell Middle to form The Oaks Primary School.Cite web|url=http://www.edubase.gov.uk/EstablishmentView.aspx?EstablishmentID=25870|title=Details for Robert May County First School|accessdate=2007-08-05|publisher=Department for Children, Schools & Families|year=2007|work=Edubase: the informationsource for educational establishments]

Seymour Primary School is found on Seymour Road in Broadfield. The school was originally opened in 1971 as Broadfield North County First and Middle School. In 1998 the school adopted the new name of Seymour First & Middle School, before being adapted to a primary school in 2004.

Southgate Primary School opened as a Junior and Infants school in 1956, becoming First and Middle in the early 1970s. The two schools were merged in 2004 to form the current primary school.

St Andrew's Church of England (Voluntary Aided)Primary School opened in 1969 adjacent to the St Andrew's Church in Furnace Green. It was extended to become a First and Middle school in the early 1970s. This change was reverted in 2004.

St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic (Voluntary Aided Primary School opened in 1950. It was re-housed in its current buildings in 1956 before coming a First school in 1971 feeding into the Holy Cross and Notre Dame middle schools. Full primary status was returned in 1997.

St Margaret's Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School opened as a Junior and Infants school in 1955 to replace former schools in the then villages of Crawley and Ifield.

Three Bridges Infant School opened as part of a primary school before the building of the New Town in the 1950s. In the 1960s the Infant department was separated, becoming a First school in 1971. The school became an Infant school in 2004, following considerable opposition to a proposed merger with the adjoining middle school to form a primary school.

Three Bridges Junior School was also part of the primary school before the 1950s. Following the 1960s separation the school became a Middle school in 1971, and then a Junior school again in 2004.

Waterfield Primary School was opened in January 1985 as a First school catering for pupils aged between 5 and 8. A nursery school was opened in the early 1990s, and the school became a through primary school in September 2004.Cite web|url=http://www.waterfield.w-sussex.sch.uk/theschool.html|title=About Waterfield Primary School|accessdate=2007-08-05|year=2004|work=Waterfield Primary School website]

West Green Primary School was the first school to be opened in the New town in 1951. The Junior department was closed in 1985 when the school became a First school. Full primary status was restored in 2004, following the scrapping of proposals to close the school.

econdary Schools

Hazelwick School opened as a Secondary modern school in 1953, becoming comprehensive in the early 1960s. It is currently the largest school in West Sussex.

Holy Cross Roman Catholic Intermediate School opened in Southgate in 1970 as a middle-deemed-secondary school for pupils aged 9 to 13. The establishment moved to new buildings in Ifield in the early 1980sFact|date=August 2007 but were closed in 1996 when the diocese reverted to two-tier education.Cite web|url=http://www.edubase.gov.uk/EstablishmentView.aspx?EstablishmentID=26071|title=Details for Holy Cross RC School|accessdate=2007-08-05|publisher=Department for Children, Schools & Families|year=2007|work=Edubase: the informationsource for educational establishments]

Holy Trinity Church of England (Voluntary Aided) School was opened in Gossops Green in 1967, with an official opening by The Queen in 1969. It operated initially with two forms of entry in Year 7 for primary schools around Crawley and Year 8 for pupils transferring from Crawley Middle schools. This was changed in 2004 to entry at age 11 for all pupils.

Ifield Community College: The Ifield campus originally was home to Sarah Robinson Secondary Modern School and Ifield County Grammar School, opening in 1955 and 1956 respectively. The two schools merged to become a comprehensive in 1966.

Notre Dame Roman Catholic Intermediate School opened as a girls' secondary school in 1968, but by 1970 became a middle-deemed-secondary school for pupils aged 9 to 13. The school closed in 1996Cite web|url=http://www.edubase.gov.uk/EstablishmentView.aspx?EstablishmentID=26070|title=Details for Notre Dame RC School|accessdate=2007-08-05|publisher=Department for Children, Schools & Families|year=2007|work=Edubase: the informationsource for educational establishments] as part of the diocese's decision to reorganise schools locally.

Oriel High School was opened in 2004 as part of a Private Finance Initiative arrangement linked to the change in age of transfer in Crawley Schools. Initially the school accommodated pupils aged 11 to 13, gradually extending with the expectation of becoming an 11-18 school with Sixth form by 2009.

St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic (Voluntary Aided) School opened in 1952. In 1970 it became an Upper school accepting pupils from local catholic middle schools at age 13. From 1997 it reverted to the full secondary age range.

Thomas Bennett Community College opened as a Comprehensive school in 1958 on a split campus in Tilgate. It was moved into new buildings in 2005.

pecial Schools

Manor Green Primary School is a Special school for pupils aged 2 to 11. It was formed in 2004 following the closure of schools at Catherington Special School (opened 1971) and Deerswood Special School (opened 1958). The former schools were for pupils aged 2-19 with Severe, and Moderate Learning Disabilities respectively.

Manor Green College was formed as part of the same merger, to create a Special school for pupils aged 11 to 19. The two schools share a campus on Crawley Avenue between Ifield Community College and St Margaret's Primary School.

Further Education

Each of the local Secondary schools has a Sixth form attached, with the exception of Oriel High where a Sixth form is expected to open in 2008.Further education is also provided at Central Sussex College formerly opened as Crawley Technical College in 1958.

References