Seaham High School (formerly Seaham School of Technology) 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) ...

located in

Seaham Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and c ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England, for pupils aged 11–16. It is the only secondary school in the area, acting as a hub for most year 6 children leaving the local

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s. The school is part of the

Eden Learning Trust Eden may refer to: * Garden of Eden, the "garden of God" described in the Book of Genesis Places and jurisdictions Canada * Eden, Ontario * Eden High School Middle East * Eden, Lebanon, a city and former bishopric * Camp Eden, Iraq O ...

History

Seaham School of Technology opened in 1964 on a site in Burnhall Drive in Seaham. It was 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 ...

that later incorporated two other secondary schools: Seaham Northlea (1975; until 1962, this had been known as Seaham Harbour Girls Grammar School) and Seaham Camden Square (1979). Seaham Grammar Technical School opened in 1964, which became Seaham Northlea Comprehensive around 1971.

21st century

In 2007, the local ''Seaham Star'' newspaper reported that the school was to be rebuilt on a field at the back of the Milton Close area of

Deneside Deneside is an area in Seaham, County Durham, in 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 ...

. Pupils and parents were invited into the school to voice their opinion on plans for the new school. Its cost was estimated at £16,000,000 and was scheduled for construction in 2013. Later, planning permission for a new school building was granted for a site formerly occupied by

Seaham Colliery The Seaham Colliery was a coal mine in County Durham in the North of England. The mine suffered an underground explosion in 1880 which resulted in the deaths of upwards of 160 people, including surface workers and rescuers. Among the dead were 3 ...

(locally known as "The Knack"). However, in 2010, the

Building Schools for the Future Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...

plan was scrapped by the new

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

coalition government. In 2010 the school was temporarily placed under '

special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. In education (England and Wales) Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Ter ...

' after

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 ...

identified several critical failures, including poor examination results and site security issues. The school was removed from special measures in late 2010 after Ofsted noted an improvement in performance. Plans to rebuild the school were resurrected in August 2014. In September 2014, it was reported that the school building had structural problems and was being held up with 60 tonnes of steel. The rebuilding of the school was one of 12 schemes submitted to

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, e ...

in late 2014. In September 2016, the school moved to a new £14 million building on Station Road in the town, and was renamed Seaham High School. The previous school was to be demolished and the site used for housing. In May 2017, Ofsted visited the school and classed it as 'Good'. Previously a community school administered by

, in September 2020 Seaham High School converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by the Eden Learning Trust.

Further education

The school currently does not have its own sixth form; most students leaving the school go to

East Durham College East Durham College, formerly known as East Durham & Houghall Community College, is a community college with campuses in Peterlee and Houghall, south-east of Durham. The college student roll at the time of a February 2014 Ofsted report was 1, ...

Sunderland College Sunderland College, officially City of Sunderland College, is a further education and higher education college based in Sunderland, North East England. The enrolment includes around 6,300 part-time learners and approximately 4,800 full-time stu ...

Durham Sixth Form Centre Durham Sixth Form Centre is a mixed sixth form located in Durham, County Durham, England. It is a community sixth form provision administered by Durham County Council. The centre is located in Durham city centre, but enrols students from across ...

Notable former pupils

Julie Elliott Julie Elliott (born 29 July 1963) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, who was first elected Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunderland Central (UK Parliament constituency), Sunderland C ...

, Labour MP since 2010 for

Sunderland Central Sunderland Central is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is represented by the Labour Party MP Julie Elliott, who has held the seat since its creation in 2010. Constituency profile The Sunderland Central constitue ...

Ian Pattison (cricketer) Ian Pattison (born 5 May 1982) is an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler who played for Durham. Pattison made four Youth Test appearances for England Under-19s, at the 2000 Under-19 World Cup, whi ...

References

External links

Seaham High School
School's website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Seaham High School Eden Learning Trust Secondary schools in County Durham Academies in County Durham Seaham