Soham Village College is a

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) ...

with academy status located in

Soham Soham ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of East Cambridgeshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, just off the A142 between Ely and Newmarket. Its population was 10,860 at the 2011 census. History Archaeology The region between Dev ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, England. It has around 1,400 pupils, aged 11 to 16. Although its wide

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

does not include

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

, some pupils from there and its neighbouring villages attend the college. It is split between two adjacent sites: Beechurst, formerly a large house, and Lodeside, built more recently.

History

The college has its origins in Soham Free School, established in 1686. It became known as Soham Grammar School from 1878 and occupied a site on Churchgate Street. In 1925 the grammar school moved to Beechurst House (built in 1901 and located in Sand Street, which had formerly been the home of the late Newmarket

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

, Charles Morbey. The

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

took boys aged 11–18 from surrounding villages, and also had a few weekly boarders. The name ''Soham Village College'' comes from the former

secondary modern 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 ...

style village college, which was established in 1958. The original village college took boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 15, and was built on a site next to the Soham Lode known as ''Moat Fields''. It took in senior children from a number of "national schools" which were converted to junior or primary schools. The village college system was the brainchild of Henry Morris, the Chief Education Officer at

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is a mem ...

. The college was officially opened by the

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and MP Sir Edward Boyle, a former Minister for Education. Morris's emphasis was on a community-based establishment, and the college was equipped with a public library and a youth leader. The present village college emerged in 1972 when the modern

co-educational 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 ...

village college and the long-established grammar school merged. The merger was a direct result of the government raising the school-leaving age to 16. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, building work was carried out under the headships of A. E. Lawrence (1972–85) and Dr A. W. Bullock (1985–99). This included the construction of the Ross Peers Sports Centre, a music block, and a science and technology block. In 1993 the college gained grant-maintained status. This allowed for generous donations, such as the funds donated in the mid-1990s by Simon Gibson to extend the mathematics and English departments (known as the Gibson Block in his honour). In June 1998, "M Block", which contains science, humanities, ICT and languages rooms, was opened by

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

. In August 2002 the school became infamous as the place where a double child-killer,

Ian Huntley The Soham murders were a double child murder committed in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England on 4 August 2002. The victims were two 10-year-old girls, Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman, who were lured into the home of a local resident and ...

, worked as school caretaker. Clothing from the murdered children was found in the school grounds, leading to Huntley's arrest and eventual conviction in the

Soham murders The Soham murders were a double child murder committed in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England on 4 August 2002. The victims were two 10-year-old girls, Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman, who were lured into the home of a local resident and ...

case. Huntley's house on the school site, and the storage hangar where the clothing was found, were later demolished. The school was previously a specialist

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 ...

and

Language College Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the specialist schools programme (SSP) in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages. Schools that successf ...

before converting to academy status on 1 April 2011. Since November 2019, a

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

(a free, weekly timed 5 km run/walk event) has taken place at Soham Village College every Saturday morning at 9.00am.

Academic reputation

In the school's 2010 public exam results, 73 per cent achieved at least five grade A–C

GCSE 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 ...

s. The school still attracts pupils from many schools within and outside the catchment area. Many take the opportunity of obtaining extracurricular GCSEs, including astronomy and statistics. However, pupils wishing to continue onto

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 ...

studies must change schools, usually attending establishments in nearby

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Awards

Soham Village College has received many awards. Currently the school has specialisms in technology and languages. The college has been awarded the

Artsmark Artsmark is the creative quality standard for schools and education settings, awarded by Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is ...

– Bronze Award,

International School Award The International School Award is a British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the Un ...

, School Achievement Award,

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...

SportsMark Award, Basic Skills Quality Mark, and the

ICT Mark The Self-review Framework is an online tool that schools in the United Kingdom can use to assess and benchmark their use of technology ( ICT). It enables schools to identify where they are and shows the practical steps they can take to improve thei ...

for excellence in ICT. The school awards pupils for various achievements, such as outstanding attendance, distinctive progression and extra-curricular activities out of school, such as sport. Scarlet ties are awarded to pupils who excel in sport, both in school and at county level; emerald ties are awarded to pupils in the performing arts, in school or in county-level performance organisations; gold ties are awarded to pupils in the visual arts, in school or in community events. The Headteacher's Tie is awarded to pupils who display exceptional performance in and out of school.

Catchment area

The school has a wide catchment area, owing to its rural location. Pupils come mainly from the following areas:

Barway Barway is a hamlet in Cambridgeshire, England, about three miles south of Ely. It is on Soham Lode, which flows into the River Cam. The population is included in the civil parish of Soham Soham ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district ...

, Wicken, Fordham,

Isleham Isleham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It is part of the Fens. It has three pubs. Geography Isleham is located in the Fens of south-east Cambridgeshire. The western parish boundary is formed by the Crooke ...

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

Snailwell Snailwell is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England around north of Newmarket. History The parish of Snailwell covers an area of in the extension of eastern Cambridgeshire that surrounds the town of Newmarket in Suff ...

, Kennett, and Burwell. However, some pupils come from other nearby settlements outside of the catchment area including:

Stuntney Stuntney is a village in East Cambridgeshire, located between Ely and Soham. It is just off the main road going from Newmarket to Ely, the A142. History Early history The earliest record of the village itself dates back to at least 1067, where ...

, Littleport, Newmarket, Little Downham,

Witchford Witchford is a village and civil parish about west of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,385. History Anglo-Saxon cemetery When the site of RAF Witchford was being cleared a bulldozer drive ...

Stretham Stretham Locally, the is a glottal stop: or even is a village and civil parish south-south-west of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. Its main attraction is Stretham Old Engine, a steam-powered pump used to drain ...

Wilburton Wilburton is a small village of just over 1,000 inhabitants, situated in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 6 miles south west of Ely. While nominally an agricultural village, many of the inhabitants work in Cambridge, Ely or London. History Wil ...

, and Haddenham. The principal feeder primary schools are: * St Andrew's Church of England Primary (Soham) *The Weatheralls (Soham) *The Shade School (Soham) *Fordham Church of England Primary *Isleham Church of England Primary *Kennett Primary *Burwell Village College (Primary) *Ely St John's (Primary) *Ely St Mary's (Primary)

50th anniversary celebrations (1958–2008)

A weekend of celebrations was staged to mark the 50th anniversary of Soham Village College. Between 23 and 25 January 2009, displays of memorabilia and personal souvenirs provided a chronological account of past events and life at the Village College.

Former pupils

Soham Grammar School

Pupils of the former grammar school are known as Grammarians. *

Robert Aspland Robert Aspland (13 January 1782 – 30 December 1845) was an English Unitarian minister, editor and activist. To be distinguished from his son Robert Brook Aspland (1805-1869). Life Aspland was the son of Robert Aspland and his second wife, Ha ...

, minister * Leslie Audus, botanist and

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 ...

veteran * Martin Brunt, news correspondent *

Fred Hockley Sub-Lieutenant Frederick (Fred) Hockley Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, RNVR (1923–1945) was an England, English Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot who was shot down over Japan while taking part in the last combat mission flown by British ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

pilot *

Alfred Spinks Alfred Spinks (25 February 1917 – 11 February 1982), was a British chemist and biologist. Biography Alfred Spinks was the only child of Alfred Robert Spinks, manager of a Littleport brewery, and Ruth (née Harley). He was born in Littlep ...

, chemist and biologist *

John W. R. Taylor John William Ransom Taylor, OBE Hon DEng FRAeS FRHistS AFIAA, (8 June 1922 – 12 December 1999) was a British aviation expert and editor. He edited '' Jane's All the World's Aircraft'' for three decades during the Cold War. He retired as edit ...

, aviation expert *

Victor Watson Victor Hugo Watson (26 September 1928 – 25 February 2015) was a British businessman and philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Waddingtons 1977 to 1993. Waddingtons employed over 3,000 people, mainly in Leeds, and were involved in ...

, children's writer and academic

References

External links

Soham Village College websiteSoham Grammarians' websiteSoham On-Line
{{authority control Academies in Cambridgeshire Secondary schools in Cambridgeshire Soham