Weston Secondary 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) ...

located in the

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

area of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, 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 ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

History

Weston Park Girls' School opened in 1957. Nearby was Weston Park Boys' School, later

Grove Park Business and Enterprise College Grove Park Business and Enterprise College, previously known as Weston Park Boys' School, was a comprehensive school in east Southampton, Hampshire, in the south of England. The school was closed in 2008 to make way for Oasis Academy Mayfield ...

and then in September 2008 closed along with Woolston School Language College to make way for

Oasis Academy Mayfield Oasis Academy Mayfield is a city academy in Southampton, England, run by Oasis Community Learning (a foundation established by the Oasis Trust) with approximately 900 pupils. The Academy was established in 2008, when two local secondary school ...

. It was decided that Weston Park from 1993 the school would admit both boys and girls. The last all girl year group left in 1997 and the school was renamed to Chamberlayne Park Secondary School after the Chamberlayne family who donated the land for the school to be built on. Starting from September 2008 the school was rebranded as Chamberlayne College for the Arts to reflect its specialist status in the

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

. In 2017 Ofsted judged the school to be Inadequate. After re-inspection in 2018, this judgement was overturned and the school was judged as ‘Requires Improvement’ with leadership aspects judged as ‘Good’. Previously a

foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools. Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framework A ...

administered by

Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local ...

, in September 2021 Chamberlayne College for the Arts converted to academy status, and was later renamed Weston Secondary School. The school is now sponsored by the Hamwic Education Trust.

Buildings

A number of additional buildings have been added to the school's aging main building. These have tended to be specialist facilities, such as Science labs, Performing Arts studios and Technology workshops The school was to be completely rebuilt under 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 ...

programme. The plans included provision for twelve pupils with physical disabilities. A draft plan for the new build was released on 24 October 2009, with the hope work would begin in early 2012. On 5 July 2010 the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, announced that the Building Schools for the Future programme was to be scrapped. BSF projects which had not achieved the status of 'financial close', including Chamberlayne, would not proceed. The school is currently planning a major re-design, aiming to take place in 2021.

Curriculum

Performing arts

In September 2006 the school became a performing arts school. This means the school gets extra money to spend on

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

and

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

. The school gained an

Artsmark Artsmark is the creative quality standard for schools and education settings, awarded by Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is ...

award in 2001. In 2004 Ofsted said the school had 'a very strong provision for the performing arts'. From September 2009, the Higher Creative Media

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

has been available.

Extracurricular activities

* The school has a young carers group. * Territory Mapping, a 'Future Mapping' careers program. * Faith and Football Business Enterprise Challenge - in 2008 the school team won the 'Business Drive' award. The 2009 team EnviROM, raised £2000 and won the competition, selling educational environmental discs. * The school has a radio station accessible through the internet. From September 2008 this was expanded to be a 'real' radio station broadcasting through speakers in the school playground and hall during break times. * There is a Bullying Intervention Group (BIG) which was involved in an anti-

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...

''Bullies Aren't Sharp so What's the Point?'' video.

Rock Challenge

Since 2004, the school has participated in the

heats of

Rock Challenge UK The UK Rock Challenge was the British arm of the Global Rock Challenge. The Rock Challenge was an anti-drug and crime-prevention that took the form of a friendly performing arts competition for schools and colleges. Originating in Australia in ...

References

External links

Weston Secondary school official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston Secondary School Secondary schools in Southampton Academies in Southampton