John Kyrle High School is a secondary school with academy status situated in

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye and ...

, Herefordshire, England. It is named after the philanthropist

John Kyrle John Kyrle (22 May 1637 – 7 November 1724), known as "the Man of Ross", was an English philanthropist, remembered for his time in Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire. Education and legal background Born in the parish of Dymock, Gloucestershire, h ...

(1637–1724), known as "The Man of Ross".

History

The school site was opened in 1953 and was Herefordshire's first

secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

. The Ross-on-Wye Grammar School and secondary modern school, Over Ross School, were merged in 1979 to form a single

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

called John Kyrle High School. In August 1979, the Lower School site, the former grammar school, was damaged by fire. This site was closed in 1997. The school became an

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

in 2012. The site of the current school covers about 15 acres. The building was built during the Second World War and, although planned as a school, it also acted as an emergency hospital in case of severe bombings and the main corridors and rooms off it were built in such a way that it could be used as a hospital. The Ross-on-Wye Secondary Modern opened on the site in 1953 as a boys' school for 500 pupils. At this time there were 14 classrooms, a science room, an art room, two craft rooms, two domestic science rooms, library, two handicraft rooms, gymnasium with changing rooms, entrance and exhibition hall, an assembly hall, administration block, dining room and kitchens. The cost of the building and grounds to

Herefordshire County Council Herefordshire County Council was the county council of Herefordshire from 1 April 1889 to 31 March 1974. It was based at the Shirehall in Hereford. It was created under the Local Government Act 1888 and took over many of the powers that had pr ...

was £122,250 not including equipment.

Inspection judgements

The school's most recent full Ofsted inspection was in March 2022, when the school was judged to require improvement.

Development

Over the years there has been much work done to the school, including lifts for disabled access to upper floors, refurbishment of the canteen, a Sixth Form Common Room, an

astroturf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...

pitch, a new music block, a gym, an entire maths block and more recently a £2.3 million approved science block, which is due for completion in April 2022.

Wrongful dismissal case

In November 2020, an employment tribunal ruled that the academy acted illegally in dismissing a head of department for her union activities.

High Court Case

In 2020 local newspapers reported that the school had spent £187,000 in legal fees opposing the opening of a Sixth Form by

Dene Magna School Dene Magna School is a secondary school in Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, England. The school takes both girls and boys, and has 1005 pupils aged between 11 and 18, including a sixth form. In 2005, the school was included on Ofsted's "Honours L ...

in the neighbouring county of Gloucestershire. John Kyrle High School made an application to the High Court for a

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...

of the decision which the Regional School Commissioner had made about the new sixth form. John Kyrle High School lost the case and was ordered to pay £55,000 to Dene Magna School. John Kyrle High School was criticised by the

National Education Union The National Education Union (NEU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom for school teachers, further education lecturers, education support staff and teaching assistants. It was formed by the amalgamation of the National Union of Teachers an ...

for taking legal action at a time when it had had to make some staff redundant. Following the court case, the school commissioned an external review of governance.

References

External links

Official site

Ofsted Report

Former school
{{authority control Secondary schools in Herefordshire Educational institutions established in 1953 Ross-on-Wye 1953 establishments in England Academies in Herefordshire