The Orme Academy, previously known as Wolstanton High School and Wolstanton County Grammar School, is a high school in

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

History

The school was founded in 1928, as Wolstanton County Grammar School, as a replacement for The Orme Middle School, which closed in 1927. 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 ...

was originally designed for 500 male students from a

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 ...

that included

and the neighbouring parts of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. In 1977 the school merged with Watlands Secondary Modern School to become the Marshlands High School, and later became Wolstanton High School in the 1980s. Starting with the academic year of 2020, the school renamed itself to The Orme Academy. In a 2012,

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 ...

judged the school as "satisfactory," but that fell to "requires improvement" by 2013. It was noted that the majority of students are of "White British backgrounds, with a small number from other ethnic groups." The number of students "eligible for

free school meals A school meal or school lunch (also known as hot lunch, a school dinner, or school breakfast) is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school, typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. Countries around the world ...

is just below the national average."

Academics

In 2018 Ofsted recognised this as an improving school with good leadership, raising the standards, but facing students with low aspirations – that still required improvement. At Key Stage 3, that is in years 7, 8, 9, the staff try to engage the parents in supporting their children. Year 7 children study English, Mathematics, Science, Technology, a Foreign Language, Geography, History, Art, Music, Literacy, Physical Education, Religious Education, Computing and Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship. Extra support in English and Maths is targeted at some students. In year 8, some students are given the chance to study triple science. At Key Stage 4, the pupils were guided into three pathways: Blue Green and Purple. These allow student to focus on a BTEC education, a GCSE academic route or more practical subjects. Each pathway follows a core curriculum of English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Science, Computing, Religious Education, Careers, Physical Education, and Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE). These will be supplemented by options suitable for their pathway.

Notable former pupils

Lorna Bailey Lorna Bailey (born 1978) is an England, English pottery, potter and businesswoman. Life and work Lorna Bailey was brought up in the Wolstanton area of Newcastle-under-Lyme, England, close to the Potteries area of Stoke-on-Trent.Bailey, Lorna. & L ...

, artist and potter. * Lieutenant-General Sir Derek Boorman *

Neil Burnett Neil William Burnett (born 16 December 1961) is an English-born Scottish former cricketer. Burnett was born at Wolstanton near Newcastle-under-Lyme, where he was initially educated at Wolstanton Grammar School. After moving to Scotland, he ...

, Scottish cricketer *

Paul Farrelly Christopher Paul Farrelly (born 2 March 1962) is a British Labour Party politician, banker and journalist, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle-under-Lyme from 2001 to 2019. Early life Farrelly was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, ...

* Professor Nick Foskett * Sir Ernest Roy Griffiths * Robert Latham * Reginald Moss *

Brian Scarlett Brian Scarlett (11 July 1938–2 September 2004) was a British academic noted for his contributions to particle technology Life Scarlett was born 11 July 1938 in Biddulph, Staffordshire, England.Davies, R,. (2004) Particles & Particle Syste ...

professor of particle technology.Davies, R,. (2004) Particles & Particle Systems Characterization 21 177-8 In Memoriam – Brian Scarlett

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orme Academy Educational institutions established in the 15th century Secondary schools in Staffordshire Newcastle-under-Lyme * Academies in Staffordshire Shaw Education Trust

History

Academics

Notable former pupils

See also

References