The Samworth Church Academy is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and

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 ...

with academy status, located in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

in the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

History

The school was established as "The Mansfield Secondary Technical School", which opened in 1945. It was housed in

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British engineer and inventor Majo ...

s left over by a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Hospital after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on the outskirts of Mansfield, occupying the same site used by the current

King's Mill Hospital King's Mill Hospital is an acute general district hospital serving the population of north Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. It is managed by the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The majority of the hospital ...

. The school moved to new premises on the opposite side of Mansfield in 1957, becoming known as "Sherwood Hall Secondary School". In 1958 "The Sherwood Hall School for Girls" was opened, later known as Sherwood Hall Technical School for Girls. Sherwood Hall Technical Grammar School For Boys moved to the site in 1961.

Comprehensive school

The two technical-grammar schools merged in 1976 to become Sherwood Hall Upper School, a coeducational

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 ...

. In 2001 it became Sherwood Hall School and Sixth Form College.

Recent history

Previously a community school administered by

Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election ...

, Sherwood Hall School converted to academy status on 1 September 2008 and was renamed The Samworth Church Academy. The school is now sponsored by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, headed by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. It covers all the English county of Nottinghamshire and a few parishes in South Yorkshire. It is b ...

and businessman Sir David Samworth, but continues to coordinate with Nottinghamshire County Council for admissions. Shortly after converting from a school to academy, in December 2008 planning consent was obtained to erect a new, high, large building upon open space on the opposite side of the site close to the boundary and overlooking rear gardens of nearby residential streets which angered the owners. The new construction was funded by central government. A Founders Day was held in April 2011. Also in early April 2011, the older school buildings, which were empty, were consumed by fire, the second at the site following arson by teenagers in March. The new school was officially opened on 18 April 2011 by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a United Kingdom, British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of th ...

Curriculum

Samworth Church Academy offers

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

, BTECs and

OCR Nationals OCR Nationals are vocationally related qualifications which were officially launched by the OCR Board in September 2004. The qualifications are designed to meet the needs of those seeking vocational education in place of the traditional, theory-i ...

as programmes of study for pupils, while students in the sixth form have the option to study from a range of

A Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

and further BTECs.

Notable former pupils

Sherwood Hall Technical School for Girls

Corinne Hollingworth Corinne Ann Hollingworth (born 25 May 1952) is a British television producer and executive, best known for her contributions to British soap operas, including BBC's ''EastEnders'' and five's ''Family Affairs''. Hollingworth has gained a reputatio ...

, TV producer, Executive Producer from 1994-96 of ''EastEnders'', Controller of Drama from 1996-2003 at Channel 5, and Head of Continuing Series from 2004-08 at ITV

References

External links

Samworth Church Academy official website
{{authority control Secondary schools in Nottinghamshire Educational institutions established in 1945 1945 establishments in England Academies in Nottinghamshire Church of England secondary schools in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham Schools in Mansfield