The Marches School 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) ...

with

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 ...

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

, north-west

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England. It was the first academy to be created in Shropshire. It has an enrolment of around 1,200 pupils, in year groups 7-11, key stages 3 and 4, ages 11 to 16.

History

The Marches School was formed in September 1988, under the leadership of Alan Cooper, following the merger of Oswestry’s two comprehensive schools: Croeswylan School and Fitzalan Comprehensive School. Until 1988, these two schools had served the town since 1979, when they themselves were the result of a merger between the Oswestry Girls' High School and the Oswestry Boys' High School to form Fitzalan Comprehensive School, and the Oswestry Boys' Modern School and Oswestry Girls' Modern School to form Croeswylan. Following much development at Morda Road, the Marches School began operating on one site from 1993. The foundations of the largest single building was laid by

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...

, local MP

John Biffen William John Biffen, Baron Biffen, (3 November 1930 – 14 August 2007), was a British Conservative Party politician. A member of the House of Lords, he was previously a Member of Parliament for over 35 years, and served in Margaret Thatcher's ...

. The school was awarded Technology College status in 1996 and the associated upgraded ICT facilities were officially opened by

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 ...

Secretary of State for Education,

Gillian Shephard Gillian Patricia Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, (''née'' Watts; born 22 January 1940), is a British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk from 1987 to 2005. Shephard served as a Cabin ...

. Further additions and improvements of the school facilities have continued throughout its history, one significant addition being the Millennium Block, whose foundation stone was laid by

David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough ...

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Secretary of State for Education. The school was awarded

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 ...

"Outstanding status" in 2010 and subsequently achieved

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

status in August 2011. In its latest Ofsted inspection in March 2018, the school was awarded Ofsted “Good” status. In September 2012, the school officially announced its Sixth Form status, allowing its pupils to continue education until 18 (Years 12-13). In September 2013, the Sixth Form was opened, where students from ages 16–18 can continue their post-GCSE studies in Years 12-13.

Notable former pupils

Oswestry High School for Boys

* Frank Bough, television sports broadcaster *

John Disley John Ivor Disley Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 November 1928 – 8 February 2016) was a Welsh athlete. He competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase before co-founding the London Marathon and becoming active in sports promotion and ad ...

CBE, co-founder of the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

* Sir Wynn Wheldon

References

External links

The Marches School Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marches School Academies in Shropshire Oswestry Secondary schools in Shropshire