Woodlands School is a

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) ...

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. The school currently educates more than 1600 students from

and South East

Overview

The school is on a single site and is made up of one main building. Woodlands School offers

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

maths Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

s (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

personal and social education Personal and social education (PSE) is a component of the state school curriculum in Scotland and Wales. PSE became a statutory requirement in schools in September 2003, and is compulsory for all students at key stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 (5 to 16 years ...

information and communication technologies Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...

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 ...

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...

, design technology,

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

. Previously a community school administered by

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

, Woodlands School converted to academy status on 1 April 2015. However the school continues to coordinate with Essex County Council for admissions.

School life

Traditionally, a month after

Year 11 Year 11 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is the eleventh or twelfth year of core education. For some Year 11 students it is their final year ...

students A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

begin study leave and a month before their exam results are revealed, a

prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school yea ...

is held for the

.(by parents) Every

academic year An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. School holiday School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which sch ...

, Woodlands School appoints 90 Year 11

prefects 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 ...

. Each

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 ...

is given a department to work within. From these

, 15 head

are chosen, these are also known as Senior Prefects. There is a head boy and head girl . The school has recently introduced deputy head boy and deputy head girl.

Performing Arts

Since 2005, the school has been working to expand its specialism in performing arts into the local community. Community youth organisations are now working in partnership to use funding from

's Youth Opportunities Fund and Youth Capital Fund to complete the construction of the Theatre. In 2006, Woodlands School was working with

Creative Partnerships Creative Partnerships was the UK government's flagship creative learning programme, established in 2002 as part of the council's SR2000 settlement to develop young people's creativity through artists' engagement with schools in nominated areas acro ...

, The Basildon Arts Trust, Support Through Art,

Loco Motion (Youth Group) Loco Motion is a youth film and media group based in Basildon, Essex. The club was created and launched in 2004, and is now a fully operating club that meets once a week. The group of young people completed their first fully funded film in Februa ...

and many other organisations to host an arts festival flagshipped by the surreal performance spectacular 'Einsteins Dreams.' The producers - Greg Klerkx and Sam Holdsworth - formed a new company called Nimble Fish after the success of 'Einsteins Dreams'.

Notable former pupils

Phil Gardner Phil Gardner (born 29 July 1973) is a British writer, playwright and journalist. He lives in Brighton, East Sussex, where he writes regularly for '' The Argus'' website and ''The Kemptown Rag'', based in the Kemptown district of Brighton Earl ...

, Playwright and Journalist

Ofsted Report

On 16 Oct 2013 an OFSTED inspection took place which was officially released on 6 Dec 2013, which gave the school an Inadequate rating. Woodlands have since had a second ofsted inspection in 2014 and were brought out of special measures. Simon Cox was appointed Head Teacher for September 2014. The latest report was on 19 April 2018 following an inspection on 7 March 2018. The results were as follows:

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in Essex Academies in Essex Educational institutions established in 1957 1957 establishments in England