Dinnington High School

Dinnington High School is a secondary school in Dinnington, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is a coeducational comprehensive school for day pupils between the ages of 11 and 18, and takes in approximately 1,200 pupils from Dinnington and surrounding settlements (chiefly Anston, Laughton Common, Laughton-en-le-Morthen, Woodsetts, Hooton Levitt, Gildingwells, Letwell and Firbeck). The school has substantial grounds on the outskirts of Dinnington, with all buildings, facilities and departments based on its 50 acre estate. Former pupils of Dinnington High School refer to themselves as 'Old Dinnonians'.

History

The New School

Dinnington High School was established in 1935, but its origins can be traced back further. Since 1743 a small and private school existed within Dinnington. This establishment, The Dinnington School, was enough to accommodate the town's requirement at the time, as the population of Dinnington grew the school was expanded and moved locations a number of times. The Fisher Education Act of 1918 had made Secondary Education compulsory up to the age of 14, and this was now putting a strain on the Mixed Department of the Dinnington School. In order to relieve stress on the Dinnington School, talks of a new Secondary Department in Dinnington began in 1931, the former school would become a Junior School, with the over-10s moving to the new Secondary Department.

The new school was built on the grounds of Throapham Manor, and was opened by Sir Percy Jackson (chair of the West Riding Local Education Authority) in 1935 as Dinnington Senior Boys' School and Dinnington Senior Girls' School. It consisted of a single timber building at the cost of around £21,300 which was divided into girls' and boys' departments. In 1938 the building was extended and a separate gymnasium was added. The Manor House was also used for teaching and housed 11 classrooms until its demolition in the 1970s.

Wartime and Military Occupation

After the outbreak of World War 2, Air raid shelters were completed on school grounds in April 1940, and the school could evacuate to them in under two minutes. The school turned over its playing fields for farming vegetables. Bees were also kept for honey, and a pig-sty was built to house 11 pigs. The school closed for a fortnight, during this time staff took turns by twos in being present from 9 - 8 and in resisting any attempts on the part of unwanted persons to commandeer the premises.

In 1939 Lieutenant Pepper and Sergeant Major Cressey were keen to obtain school buildings as barracks. They had received instructions to take only half the school and were anticipating immediate permission of such a step. The military occupied the school on Thursday September 14th 1939 at about 1:30pm. The Boys' Department was broken up into groups of 50 pupils who were taught in the school on successive days. The girls' Domestic Science rooms were used to provide school meals, as the servery was in use by the soldiers.

Objections by the school were made, as presence of soldiers made Dinnington a military target, as a result, all military authority were asked to leave by September 30th. By way of recompense, the military dug the school regulation military-occupation trenches.

The Merger, Expansion and Fire.

In 1957 the two halves merged to form the coeducational Dinnington Secondary Modern School, and at that point there were already plans for a further merger with the secondary technical element of the neighbouring Dinnington Chelmsford Technical College to create the area's first comprehensive school.

This comprehensive school, Dinnington High School, opened on 23 September 1963 (a formal opening taking place a year later, conducted by Jack Longland). The area between the two merging establishments was developed with a new campus designed by Hardy Glover of ''Basil Spence & Partners''. This campus consisted of four house bases and a sixth form college, along with a new main hall and a second gym. The four houses took their names and badges from historical local land-owning families, and were as follows:
*Athorpe: owners of Dinnington Hall. The Athorpe badge was a falcon on a yellow background.
*Hatfield: land-owners in Laughton-en-le-Morthen in the 17th century. The Hatfield badge was a white rose on a green background.and its on the school uniform
*Osborne: the family name of the Duke of Leeds who had property in Kiveton Park. The Osborne badge was a tiger on a blue background.
*Segrave: after the de Segrave family who owned much of the local area in the 16th century. The Segrave badge was a lion on a red background.
The School is credited with the introduction of Rugby Union Football to the local area and in turn to the establishment of Dinnington Rugby Club which has produced players for the county and for Senior clubs such as Rotherham, Harlequins and Northampton.

The campus continued to be extended following the merger, with the addition of a swimming pool, technology block, sports hall, new sixth form base and library in the 1970s and 1980s.

The school came under the control of the new Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in 1974 and was renamed Dinnington Comprehensive School.

On 20 August 1996 the original 1935 lower school building (which still made up close to half of the teaching campus) was set alight by arsonists; the latest in a succession of arson attacks on the school. The fire destroyed the building and took with it student course-work and several computer rooms. House-bases were re-fitted into classrooms and this led to the eventual phasing out of the house system at Dinnington, which had existed in various forms even during the pre-merger days.

The Modern Day School

In 1997 a new school building was opened, standing on the site of the burnt-out original. The brick-built two-storey building called 'New Build' allowed a long-standing "ghetto" of 1960s-built portable classrooms (known as the Terrapin Plateau) to finally be retired. Several other aging prefab buildings on campus have been demolished in recent years.

On 27 January 2005 the school announced its success in a bid to become a specialist school in Science and Engineering. Previously, in 1993, it had been designated a technology school as part of a previous Department of Education grant scheme.

As of September 2011, a new system of Vertical Tutoring has been established throughout the school. The system consists of all years from 7–11 (6th Form separate), split up into mixed aged tutor groups. The previous housing system has been brought back, along with head girls and boys too. Governors of the school believe that this system will reduce bullying, bring the school closer and Students will make new friends from different years.

Dinnington became an academy on 1 February 2015. At the same time, the school name reverted to Dinnington High School.

Site and facilities

There are 15 buildings on site, including 7 which are connected by glass skywalks. Most buildings have a brown timber facade which follow similar architectural styles.

Buildings

* New Building: mathematics, English, geography, history, religious studies, modern foreign languages.
* Old Gym: gymnasium with changing rooms.
* Art Block: art and creative subjects.
* New Gym: gymnasium with changing rooms.
* Technology Block: design and technology, engineering.
* Sports Hall: large indoor multi-use sports area.
* Pavilion: changing rooms.
* Drama Block: performing arts.
* Main Hall: large hall with staging.
* Admin Block: reception and offices.
* Sixth Form Block: computer labs and offices.
* Athorpe House: science.
* Segrave House: science and dining area.
* Osborne House: information technology, computer labs, dining area.
* Hatfield House: music, dining area.

Ofsted inspections

Since the commencement of Ofsted inspections in September 1993, the school has undergone eight full inspections:

Headteachers

Boys' school

* R.J. Pickard, 1935–1946
* E.J. Ducker, 1946–1948
* William G. Davies, 1948–1950
* E.M. Spelman, 1950–1956

Girls' school

* G.H. Butterworth, 1935–1942
* Elsie Goldthorpe (née Storey), 1943–1956 (continued as head of the merged school)

Mixed school

* Elsie Goldthorpe (née Storey), 1956–1963 (previously head of the girls' school)
* J.E.W. Moreton, 1963–1975?
* Brian Ingham, 1975?–1983?
* Gordon Forster, 1983?–1997
* Jean Nicholson, 1997–2006
* Sue Carhart, 2006–2007 (acting headteacher)
* Paul Blackwell, 2007–August 2015
* Chris Eccles and Ian Holborn, September 2015–December 2016 (co-headteachers)
* Rebecca Staples, December 2016 (Principal)

Traditions

School Fayre

Usually, the school holds a summer fayre on its grounds following the House Games, the school's sports day. This fayre is open to the public, and features stalls from the different departments with games and prizes, as well as a showcase of student work from the year. A stage is also set up on the sloping lawn in front of the Art Block, as a venue for live music. On this day, the school 'staff vs sixth form' game is sometimes held.

Funeral Processions

When members on the staff pass away whilst in service to the school, on occasions the funeral procession passes the front of school on Doe Quarry Lane - where staff, students, and alumni gather to applaud the contribution of the individual to their school.

Notable alumni

* Eliot Kennedy, songwriter
* Benjamin Frith, concert pianist
* Jade Moore, footballer

References

External links

Official website

Unofficial history site

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Dinnington, South Yorkshire
Secondary schools in Rotherham
School buildings in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson
Academies in Rotherham
Educational institutions established in 1935
1935 establishments in England