Sidney Stringer Academy is a coeducational (mixed)
academy school
An academy school in England is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individual Academy Funding Agreements. Most ...
for pupils aged 11 – 18 in
Hillfields
Hillfields is a suburb of Coventry in the West Midlands of England. It is situated north of Coventry city centre, and has undergone a series of name changes throughout its history originally called "Harnall" and has seen itself change from a v ...
,
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
It was Sidney Stringer School and Community College from 1972 until 1994, then Sidney Stringer Community Technology College until and Sidney Stringer School to 2010 when it became Sidney Stringer Academy.
History
Sidney Stringer first opened as a School and Community College in 1972 as the first urban community school in England.
The school was formed from the merger of two
secondary modern schools
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 ...
– Frederick Bird on ''Swan Lane'' (subsequently became a primary school) and Broad Heath on ''Broad Street''.
It was one of the first Community Colleges in the 1970s and one of the first
Technology College
In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were 59 ...
s in the 1990s.
The school was named after Alderman Sidney Stringer, a former mayor of Coventry who dedicated himself to the rebuilding of the city after the devastation of the
Second World War
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 ...
. The Community college is in the Swanswell area close to the city centre, a 5-minute walk from the central bus station.
In 2006, controversial plans to merge Sidney Stringer School with
Barr's Hill School
Barr's Hill School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Radford, Coventry, England.
Location
Barr's Hill is situated on a spacious green field site just north of Coventry city centre on the B4098 (former A51), south of the ...
to form a
city academy were dropped.
Fire
On 25 September 2007, a fire destroyed 40% of the old 1972 school buildings. The school, however, was operating as normal, albeit in temporary classrooms, by February 2008. The school was rebuilt at a cost of £28 million and reopened in 2012 with an official opening ceremony on 4 October 2012 conducted by the
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...
.
Academy
Coventry City Council
Coventry City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Coventry in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974.
The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors. Coventry ...
applied for Sidney Stringer to become an Academy, opening in existing buildings in September 2010 and new buildings the following year. The City Council is itself a major sponsor, together with the City (FE) College with
Coventry University
, mottoeng = By Art and Industry
, established =
, type = Public
, endowment = £28 million (2015)
, budget = £787.5 million
, chancellor = Margaret Casely-Hayford
, vice_chancellor = John Latham
, students = ()
, undergr ...
and
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
. It formed part of the city's
Swanswell Regeneration Initiative in
Hillfields
Hillfields is a suburb of Coventry in the West Midlands of England. It is situated north of Coventry city centre, and has undergone a series of name changes throughout its history originally called "Harnall" and has seen itself change from a v ...
. The formal consultation exercise undertaken in February 2008 revealed the support for the school from the local community, with over 80% of respondents demanding that the name of the school remain the same. The specialisms of the new school would be Mathematics, and Design and Technology.
Amongst changes made on Academy formation was the remodelling of the house system, five houses each with ten vertical tutor groups.
There was uniform change from green sweatshirts to black blazers, the introduction of Head boy and girl along with a prefect system (year 10, 11 and 16+ students). The academy also has an academy council for years 7–11.
Sidney Stringer Academy had a positive Ofsted on 2013 and has gone on to lead a
multi-academy trust
Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) or school trust is an academy trust that operates more than one academy school. Academy schools are state-funded schools in England which are directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local autho ...
, a shared sixth form, a cooperative continual professional development (CPD) centre and Coventry SCITT, the centre that organises in school initial teacher training.
Academics
The curriculum is pupil-centred focusing on their needs. Different pathways ensure pupils can deepen their understanding and enjoyment of topics. On top of traditional GCSEs and A-Levels, pathways can include functional skills, qualifications and work-related learning in conjunction with local colleges and universities. The school uses immersion and cross-curricular integration of topics. At Key Stage 3, topics are carouselled in four-hour blocks, rather than the traditional one-hour blocks. At Key Stage 4, students have six hours a week to immerse themselves in a subject and then sit the examination at the end of the year rather than doing a course on three hours a week over two or three years.
In Key Stage 4, all students study GCSE English Language, English Literature, GCSE Maths, GCSE Science plus three option subjects over one or three years. In Year 11, there will be an opportunity to study one more option subject, in one year, or catch up. When choosing their option students must study at least one of these five subjects: French, Spanish, History, Geography or Computer Science.
To achieve an EBacc pass, they must have level 4 passes in GCSE English (Language or Literature), GCSE Maths, GCSE Science (double or triple award Science or Computer Science), a humanity subject that is GCSE History or Geography, and a language such as GCSE French, Spanish or other GCSE Language. Students take the first one of these exams in Year 9, and do an alternative option in Year 10 and Year 11.
From 2020, students were using the online software
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a free blended learning platform developed by Google for educational institutions that aims to simplify creating, distributing, and grading assignments. The primary purpose of Google Classroom is to streamline the process o ...
, even more so since the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
started, and the school is experimenting with
Knowledge Organiser A knowledge organiser is an educational template on a single A4 sheet consisting of grids, each with a term and a short explanation, making it clear to the student as to what is essential to learn. Each grid has an overall theme and these vary acco ...
s.
Pastoral
Horizontal tutor groups
The house system of the school serves many purposes inside the school, mostly relating to organisation, competitions and rewards. Each house has a name inspired by a certain event, person and/or sponsors. Each of the 5 houses has ten tutor groups; they have 240 students with 48 students in each year. Pupils are assigned a house on admission. Each House is led by a Head of House and overseen by an Assistant Principal. Also, all Houses have House Assistants.
Before, vertical tutor groups with students from each year were made, and they were meant to make the group more like a family, with the older and younger students giving each other support and advice. In addition to peer-mentoring, it would hypothetically allow students to form a friendship in other year groups and reduce bullying. However, the Head Department decided better results would come out of horizontal tutoring. Instead of 4 people from each year in a 20 people group, there are now 2 groups of 24 people per year, for each year in a house. This system first appears in the August 2020 newsletter of the academy, where before tutor groups were in the format of HXX, where H is the first letter of the house and XX is the two digit number of which tutor group number it was (01-12), the number YHX is used, where Y is the year number (7, 8, 9, 10, 11), H is the house (P, J, L, S, D), and X is the final number (1 or 2).
Each house has its charity week (some have a selected charity), has its colour, and their motto.
; Lanchester
The inspiration of the house name is
Frederick W. Lanchester and the house encourages the students to be passionate and driven in their studies as Lanchester was. The logo is a blue cog, which references Coventry's industrial age. The logo is inscribed with the letter 'L' in the centre of the cog, which is directly taken from the 'L' in the now dormant
Lanchester Motor Company
The Lanchester Motor Company Limited was a car manufacturer located until early 1931 at Armourer Mills, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, and afterwards at Sandy Lane, Coventry England. The marque has been unused since the last Lanches ...
logo, which was a car manufacturer in Coventry from 1899 to 1955. The cog is a reference to how Coventry is famous for its industrial age throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, which further grew specifically into car manufacturing throughout the 20th century, especially after the
Coventry Blitz
The Coventry Blitz (blitz: from the German word ''Blitzkrieg'' meaning "lightning war" ) or Coventration of the city was a series of bombing raids that took place on the British city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Seco ...
. Their house colour is blue. Their mottos are "Discover the blue in you." and "Driving to success."
; Jaguar
The house's name comes from the transport company
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
, as does the motto, and logo, although the logo is a green silhouette of the actual Jaguar silver logo. The company is the only prominent luxury vehicle manufacturer in Coventry, and amongst few that exist in the UK. Jaguar sponsored Sidney Stringer Academy for their reconstruction after the 2007 fire.
Their house colour is green. Their mottos are "Born to perform, unleash a Jaguar. Don't dream it. Drive it." and "Driven by passion." They have two chosen charities: MS Mercia Therapy Centre in Coventry, and Myton Hospice in Coventry.
; Swanswell
The house's name has two major inspirations, the Swanswell Lake which is opposite the road from the school, and the Swanswell Initiative multi-million pound funds that were dedicated to improving a designated 160 acres of Coventry, which Sidney Stringer Academy was inside causing them to receive funds to improve the school on a vast scale. Their logo is symbolic of the swans in the Swanswell Lake.
Their house colour is purple. Their motto is "Serenity, Strength, Aspiration, Pride." They also have two chosen charities,
Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. It ...
and Wychbold Swan Rescue.
; Da Vinci
The inspiration for the house's name comes from
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
. The students are encouraged to be creative like da Vinci himself. Their logo depicts a man in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and inscribed in a circle and square, which is a reference to Leonardo Da Vinci's
Vitruvian Man
The ''Vitruvian Man'' ( it, L'uomo vitruviano; ) is a drawing by the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to . Inspired by the writings by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, the drawing depicts a nude man in two s ...
symbol. Their house colour is orange. Their motto is "Our future is bright, your future is bright!" Their chosen charity is Myton Hospice.
; Phoenix
The name Phoenix was used by popular demands. This house's symbolism is to rise from the ashes, much like a
phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
in mythology, but mainly this means to tackle difficulty and to succeed, becoming better than before. Phoenix is a reference to the fire which occurred in 2007, causing great damage to the school, but which allowed renovations to occur to the school.
Their house colour is red. Their mottos are "In charge of our destiny." and "If we fall, we shall rise again." Their chosen charity is
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
.
Charity work
The school holds displays to raise awareness of
World Refugee Day
World Refugee Day is an international day organised every year on 20 June by the United Nations. It is designed to celebrate and honour refugees from around the world. The day was first established on 20 June 2001, in recognition of the 50th anni ...
and in 2006 participated in the
Motiv8 project.
16+ also holds an annual charity week in which they raise as much money as possible for an international charity and a charity more closer to home.
Sidney Stringer Multi Academy Trust
Sidney Stringer Academy works within their "multi-academy trust" to cooperate concerning funds with other schools.
The Trust consists of:
*Sidney Stringer Academy,
*
Ernesford Grange Community Academy
Ernesford Grange Community Academy (formerly Ernesford Grange School) is a secondary comprehensive school with sixth form facilities in the Ernesford Grange area of Coventry, England.
The school has a very mixed catchment area and, as such, i ...
,
* Radford Primary School,
*
Riverbank Academy
Riverbank Academy (formerly Alice Stevens School) is a broad spectrum special secondary school situated in Binley, Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a lar ...
* Sidney Stringer Primary School (since 2015).
The Swan Alliance
Their website says:
"The Swan Alliance is a conglomerate of the following school Strategic Partners and one that provides comprehensive and supportive School Direct placements through the Coventry SCITT. "
"The Swan Alliance prides itself on bespoke and tailored CPD that is delivered by reflective practitioners that are passionate about education and a deep sense of moral purpose. The Alliance strives on excellence and a focus on improving outcomes through shared responsibility within Coventry and surrounding areas."
North West Federation
Along with
Barr's Hill School and Community College and the
President Kennedy School, Sidney Stringer Academy forms the North West Federation of Schools, which are allowed to provide the
International General Certificate of Secondary Education
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainm ...
English course to pupils at these schools.
Notable staff
Sidney Stringer School and Community College
*
Estelle Morris
Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, (born 17 June 1952), is a British politician and life peer who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2001 to 2002. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) ...
,
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
politician and former
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the Ca ...
.
See also
*
Abraham Moss Community School
*
Stantonbury International School
Stantonbury School (formerly known as Stantonbury Campus and Stantonbury International School) is a coeducational secondary school located in north Milton Keynes, England, established in 1974. It is the second largest secondary comprehensive sc ...
References
Further reading
* – Morris, who used to teach at Sidney Stringer School, reports her experience of attending a school prize-giving ceremony, describing the school as "Like many inner-city schools, it's got the challenging part of the market: 44% on free school meals; more than 40 languages spoken. But, also like many inner-city schools, it has vision and ambition, and its kids have talent and character screaming to be recognised."
External links
Official websiteDirect.gov.uk School Profile
{{Authority control
Educational institutions established in 1972
1972 establishments in England
Academies in Coventry
Secondary schools in Coventry
School buildings in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson
Multi-academy trusts