The Duchess's Community High School is a

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 ...

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 ...

located in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

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 ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. It is a community school administered by

Northumberland County Council Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. The population of the non-metropolitan unitary authority at the 2011 census was 316,028. History It was formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of N ...

History

In 1809, the Duchess of Northumberland, Julia opened a small private school for twenty girls, in one of her husbands houses in Walkergate, Alnwick. The numbers grew, so with 50 on roll, in 1920 it moved to larger premises on Canongate. In 1888 it move again to its home on Bailiffgate. It was a fee paying private school. In 1903 it was recognised by the

as a County Secondary School. The school continued to expand and then named The Duchess’s Girls’ Grammar School it moved in 1965 into newly built premises on Howling Lane. In 1979 at the time of secondary reorganisation the school became both comprehensive and

as it incorporated the Duke’s Boys’ Grammar School, Alnwick Secondary Modern School, Seahouses Secondary Modern School, Glendale County Secondary School and St Mary’s RC Secondary Modern School. The 940 pupil comprehensive needed to occupy both the 1965 Howling Lane buildind and the former building on Bailiffgate. In 2000 the school was designated a

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 ...

under the

Specialist schools programme The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...

which allowed a widening of the curriculum and significant investment in ICT. Ofsted inspections in 2003, 2007 and 2012 reported positively. Because of the achievements the school was able to apply for a Second Specialism of Music and English College as well as continuing to offer Technology. It became a Full Service Extended School. In September 2016, and in September 2017 widened its age range, admitting pupils from the age of 11.

The Site

Despite being one of the top-performing establishments in the county, by 2011, the buildings were ageing. Being split site was not ideal. In May 2013, the Government announced that a new school would be funded through the £2 billion Priority School Building Programme, and is included in the first phase of the scheme. The leader of the county council, vowed that the authority would make up any shortfall. It opened in 2017. Again the land for the Ńew Build was long-leased on a pepper-corn rent, by the

Percy family The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

Dukes of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of ...

, maintaining their two century old connection with the school. The site is valued at over £8 million- with it are a further destined for sports fields and a sports centre for the town.

Academics

The Duchess's Community High School 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 ...

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

A-level 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 ...

s and further BTECs.

Year 7, 8, 9 (Key Stage 3)

Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...

, all students study English, Mathematics, Science, IT, Technology, History, Geography, Art, Textiles, Drama, Music, PE, French and/or Spanish, RE and Life Studies.

Years 10 & 11 (Key Stage 4)

, students continue with English, English Literature, Mathematics, Science, Life Studies and PE. There are four options. Students are guided onto different academic routes and will choose an

EBacc The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...

subject from History, Geography, French and Spanish, then three courses from a list that includes: The GCSE subjects, French, Spanish, Art, Photography, Geography, History, PE, RE, Computer Science, Film Studies, Drama, Music, Or BTEC Level 1 subjects, Business, Health & Social Care, IT, Engineering, Child Development & Care, Public Services, Hair & Beauty, Food Preparation & Nutrition, Materials Technology and Fashion & Textiles. Many students continue into The Duchess’s Community High School Sixth Form.

Extra-curricular activities

*Sports. *Creative Writing Club, Mass Debating & Magistrates Court, Extra Languages, French Puppet Theatre, *Textiles, Conservation Club, Key Project Fund, VEX Robotics, LEGO Robotics, Science Club *Celidh Band, Dance, Set design, Capella Choir, Choir, Band Workshops. *Theatricals an annual senior school play and the annual school musical with the performing on stage and in the technical lighting or sound side, stage management or publicity and photography. *Maths Drop ins, Homework Club.

Notable former pupils

Lucy Bronze Lucia Roberta Tough Bronze (born 28 October 1991), known as Lucy Bronze, is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Barcelona and the England national team. She has previously played for Sunderland, Everton, Liverpool, Lyon a ...

, footballer *

Laura Weightman Laura Weightman (born 1 July 1991) is a British Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who competes in the 1500 metres and 5000 metres. She reached the 1500 metres final at the Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 London Olympic ...

, middle-distance runner *

Lucy Staniforth Lucy Elizabeth Staniforth-Wilson ( née Staniforth; born 2 October 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Women's Super League club Aston Villa and the England women's national team. She has been d ...

, footballer * Cyrus Ramone Pattinson, boxer

References

External links

The Duchess's Community High School official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchess's Community High School Secondary schools in Northumberland Community schools in Northumberland Educational institutions established in 1809 1809 establishments in England