Theale Green Community School
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Theale Green School is a coeducational
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 ...
with academy status, located in the village of
Theale Theale () is a large village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, southwest of Reading and 10 miles (16 km) east of Thatcham. The compact parish is bounded to the south and south-east by the Kennet & Avon Canal (which here incorpor ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
,
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 ...
. The school has 646 pupils on roll, 99 of whom are in the sixth form.


History


Early years

The school was founded as Theale Grammar School in 1963 by Ken J V Shield, a graduate of
Northampton Grammar School Northampton School for Boys (NSB) is a secondary school in Northampton, England. It was founded as Northampton Town and County Grammar School in 1541 by Thomas Chipsey, Mayor of Northampton. Education in England#Stages of compulsory education, Yea ...
and the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
who had previously taught at
Leeds Modern School Leeds Modern School was a school in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. History Leeds Modern School was founded on 14 July 1845 in Rossington Street as the Mathematical and Commercial School. This building in the centre of Leeds became council offi ...
and
Hulme Grammar School Oldham Hulme Grammar School, formerly Hulme Grammar School, is a private grammar school in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. History Oldham Grammar School was founded in 1611 by several charitable individuals including Laurence Chadeton, b ...
, and had been
deputy head A deputy head teacher, deputy headmaster or deputy headmistress is the second most senior teacher in a school in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Secondary schools usually also have between one and five deputy heads ("depute head" in Scotland) an ...
at
Thomas Bennett Community College Thomas Bennett Community College (TBCC) is a secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status for pupils aged 11 to 19. It caters to approximately 1200 pupils in Years 7 to 14, including 160 in its sixth form. Thomas Bennett Comm ...
in
Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
. Upon opening, the school was designed to provide education for 870 pupils. Throughout the 1960s the school was extensively expanded, with the addition of the gymnasium, music department,
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 ...
area, and numerous classrooms. In the early 1970s, the school became a comprehensive and was renamed Theale Green. A 1971 estimate predicted that the enrolment would rise to 1,250 by the middle of the decade.


Expansion

In 1985 Chris Gittins was appointed as headteacher. A graduate of
Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...
and
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, he had previously taught at Swanley School, Thomas Bennett School, and
Longsands Academy Longsands Academy is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the town of St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, England.Education Reform Act 1988 The Education Reform Act 1988 is widely regarded as the most important single piece of education legislation in England and Wales since the 'Butler' Education Act 1944. Provisions The main provisions of the Education Reform Act are as follows: ...
with the appointment of the first
bursar A bursar (derived from "bursa", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education (f ...
in Berkshire. In 1987, Theale Green became a community school. With an expanded sixth form, the school grew to 1,350 students. In 1992 the school designed and developed the first Learning Support Unit in England to provide a facility for students with
special educational needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the United Kingdom refers to the education of children who require different education provision to the mainstream system. Definition The definiti ...
. The following year the school won a national competition to achieve funding under the government's
Technology Schools Initiative 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 598 ...
(TSI), and became one of the first four
arts college An Arts College, in the United Kingdom, is a type of specialist school that specialises in the subject fields of the performing, visual, digital and/or media arts. They were announced in 1996 and introduced alongside Sports Colleges to England i ...
s when the
specialist schools Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...
superseded the TSI the following year.


21st century

In 2002 Gittins became the government's lead advisor on improving behaviour and attendance in schools, and Sue Marshall was appointed headteacher, moving from the neighbouring Clere School in Hampshire. In 2010–11, the sixth form complex was rebuilt; the new building comprises classrooms, computer facilities, study rooms and a new common room. In October 2011, the school was given a Notice to Improve by
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 ...
. The report stated: "The proportion gaining five or more A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics has now fallen to below the national average and progress for average ability students across the school, particularly in mathematics and science, was inadequate." The follow-up visit, made in October 2012 and published in December 2012, found that the school had not made sufficient improvement on the previous report. As a result of this, the school was placed in
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 ...
, and headteacher Sue Marshall announced her resignation. She was succeeded by David Bromfield, former principal of
Manchester Academy The Manchester Academy, originally known as the University of Manchester Main Hall, is composed of four concert venues, located on the campus of the University of Manchester, in Manchester, England. The four venues are: Academy 1, 2 and 3 and ...
. In September 2013, the school converted to academy status and the word "community" was dropped from its name. After 19 months as the headteacher, Bromfield left the school in August 2014 by mutual consent. He was replaced by Sally Beeson, a former assistant headteacher at nearby
Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is note ...
. In its May 2017 Ofsted report, the school received a "requires improvement" rating; while the sixth form programme was found to be a strength of the school. Beeson left her role at the end of that academic year and then-deputy head Julie Turner was announced as interim head from September 2017. In September 2018, the school appointed Joanna Halliday, the former head of
King Alfred's Academy King Alfred's Academy is a Secondary school in Wantage, Oxfordshire, recognised as an Academy. It is named after King Alfred the Great, who ruled Wessex from 871 to 899 and was born in Wantage in 849 AD. The school has approximately 140 teachers ...
in
Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...
, as its head teacher. That academic year, the school became part of the Activate Learning Education Trust. The school received a 100 per cent pass rate in the most recent setof
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 ...
results. Its 2022 Ofsted inspection rated the school "good".


House system

The school operates a
house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...
. There are four houses, which each have a Head of House and a team of tutors. House
prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...
s are appointed by the Head of House. The four houses are: * Benyon * Hunt * Piper * Scott Benyon house is named after the
Benyon Benyon is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Edgar Benyon (1901–1978), New Zealand magician, juggler and entertainer *Elliot Benyon, association football player for Torquay United * Henry Benyon JP (1884–1959), the immediate ...
family who own the nearby Englefield estate and the land on which the school was built. The house's mascot is a lion. Hunt house is named after
John Hunt, Baron Hunt Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt, (22 June 1910 – 7 November 1998), styled as Sir John Hunt from 1953 to 1966, was a British Army officer who is best known as the leader of the successful 1953 British ...
(1910–1998), the leader of the 1953 British Everest Expedition. The house's mascot is a
tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
, which represents strength and determination. Piper house is named after John Piper (1903–1992) who donated a number of his
prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserve ...
to the school. Piper was introduced to the school by
Geoffrey Eastop Geoffrey Eastop (16 January 1921 – 25 December 2014) was an English potter. Eastop was born in London, where he studied at the Croydon School of Art and Goldsmiths' College. He also studied at the Academie Ranson in Paris. During World Wa ...
, whose wife was the head of the art department. The house's mascot is a dragon named Spike. Scott house is named after
Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest in ...
(1909–1989). The house's mascot is an eagle. There are many competitions between these four houses, including rugby, football, netball and hockey tournaments, as well as the annual
sports day Sports days (British English) or field days (American English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of winning trophies or prizes. Though they are often h ...
.


Notable former pupils

*
Justin Fletcher Justin Fletcher (born 15 June 1970) is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter on the BBC pre-school television channel CBeebies. Speaking and performing in various, often self-created, roles, he specialises in slapstick co ...
, children's entertainer on
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...


References


External links


Theale Green Community SchoolTheale Green School Year of 1978 (leaving 1983/5) Reunions November 2003 & July 2010
{{authority control Secondary schools in West Berkshire District Educational institutions established in 1963 1963 establishments in England Academies in West Berkshire District