Plymstock School is a state comprehensive secondary school (ages 11–19) in

Plymstock Plymstock is a commuter suburb of Plymouth and former civil parish in the English county of Devon. Geography Situated on the east bank of the River Plym, Plymstock is geographically and historically part of the South Hams. It comprises the vil ...

, a suburb of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, Devon, England. It was the first West Devon comprehensive school (built on the core of a post war secondary school) and is now a

Specialist Sports College Sports Colleges are senior secondary schools which promote sports alongside secondary education. United Kingdom Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The programme enabled seco ...

. it has 1,626 students, of whom 240 are in the

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

. In April 2011, 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 ...

. Plymstock School was maintained by

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

until 1 April 1967, when it was transferred to

Plymouth City Council Plymouth City Council is the unitary authority for Plymouth, Devon. It has traditionally been controlled by Labour or the Conservatives. The council is currently in a state of no overall control, with the Conservatives governing as a minority ad ...

which has maintained it until April 2011. In 2003 it underwent what was reported as a budget crisis, forcing redundancies and reduced spending on new classrooms to replace temporary facilities. The school offers AS and A levels as the sixth form option, having no plans despite the large pupil numbers, to teach the International Baccalaureat or the pre-U despite the IB now being offered in many leading schools in the city and county including, Plymouth High School for Girls (a selective grammar school),

Plymouth College Plymouth College is a co-educational independent school in Plymouth, Devon. History The school was established in 1877. In 1896 Plymouth College bought Mannamead School (founded in 1854), and was temporarily known as Plymouth and Mannamead Co ...

(a fee-paying school) and

Exeter School Exeter School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2019, there were around 200 pupils in the Junior School and 700 in the Senior School. History The School traces its ...

(a fee-paying school) on the basis that such qualifications are not essential in England. Many of the latest school ratings, in local and national newspapers, have placed Plymstock in the top 5 of Plymouth schools, with the higher ranked schools being selective or fee-paying schools, and within the top 800 of England. (''Herald'', ''The Independent''). As of the 2009,

OFSTED The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

report, this school has been rated as 'Outstanding'. Plymstock's local feeder primary schools include: Elburton Primary; Hooe Primary; Dunstone Primary; Pomphlett Primary; and Oreston Primary.

History

The school was opened on 26 April 1911 as the Plymstock Senior Mixed School, and replaced the Dean Cross Elementary School for Boys. The first headmaster was T. F. Jarvis. Its name was changed to Plymstock County Senior Mixed School, and then to Plymstock County Secondary School, and in September 1961 to its current name. In 1965, it became a

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 ...

, and the buildings were extended between 1969 and 1970 to accommodate a further 300 pupils. On 4 April 2006, the school achieved a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for "Most people playing parachute" when 1,547 children played with 58 parachutes at the same time. The world record stood until 30 June 2011, when it was beaten by children from the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

with 3520 people.

Notable former pupils

Keith Blount Vice Admiral Sir Keith Edward Blount, (born 22 June 1966) is a senior Royal Navy officer and pilot. He was Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability and Carriers) and head of the Fleet Air Arm from 2015 to 2019.'BLOUNT, Re ...

- Royal Navy admiral and pilot *

Sharron Davies Sharron Elizabeth Davies, (born 1 November 1962) is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European championships and competed for England in the Commonwealth Games. Davies has attended 12 c ...

– Olympic swimmer and television presenter * Chris Dawson (born 1952), billionaire businessman, founder and owner of The Range *

Antony Jinman Antony Jinman (born 8 April 1981) is a British polar adventurer. Early life Jinman was born in Wembury, in Devon near Plymouth. He attended school at Wembury Primary School and then Plymstock School. After four years in the British Armed Force ...

– polar explorer * Heather Knight – cricketer * Liz White – actress,

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

and

Vera Drake ''Vera Drake'' is a 2004 British period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Daniel Mays and Eddie Marsan. It tells the story of a working-class woman in London in 1950 who performs illegal abor ...

Jon Iles Jon Iles (born 17 May 1954 in Ripon, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English actor who is best known for playing DC Mike Dashwood in ''The Bill'' from 1984 to 1992. He returned to the series in 1996, promoted to DS for the antiques squad. As wel ...

– Actor, The Bill 1984–1992 * Steven Bartlett - businessman, entrepreneur and television personality

References

*
It's a model school in every way bar one ... the money's just not there
Education

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, Friday 18 July 2003

External links

* Academies in Plymouth, Devon Educational institutions established in 1911 Secondary schools in Plymouth, Devon 1911 establishments in England {{Devon-school-stub