Wallingford 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) ...

with academy status located in the town of Wallingford,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

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 ...

. It was founded by Walter Bigg in 1659 in association with the

Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

, formally succeeding

Wallingford Grammar School Wallingford Grammar School was a grammar school in the town of Wallingford, Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire), England, succeeded by Wallingford School when comprehensive education was introduced in 1973. History When Walter Bigg, thought to h ...

when it merged with Blackstone Secondary Modern in 1973.

Headteacher

The Headteacher is John Marston who joined the school in September 2019 following the retirement of the previous head, Wyll Willis. Willis was the Headteacher from 2006 to 2019, following the interim Headship of Douglas Brown. The Headteacher from September 2001 to August 2005 was Jerry Owens, who left to become a consultant Headteacher with Kent County Council. The school hit its nadir in 2005 both in terms of results and reputation. The school has enjoyed considerable success academically since 2012 finishing at or near the top of the performance tables for Oxfordshire for A Level and GCSEs. It is over-subscribed but is working towards the building of an extension in 2018/19.

Buildings

A number of

buildings A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...

make up the

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

estate. These are named after various notable people from Wallingford or past teachers at the school. The main blocks are: * The Blackstone Building: with Geography, Art, The School Library and, more recently, the sixth form block. * The Main Building: with Reception, English, The School Hall, the Canteen, The Old Gym, Design & Technology, ICT, and many admin rooms. * The Kershaw Building: with Maths, Drama, Music and Modern Foreign Language. * The Doug Brown Building (formally named as the 'Science Block'): with Science and Technicians Offices. * The Castle Leisure Centre (also known as 'The Castle'): for PE lessons and large assemblies. In recent years, Wallingford School has purchased the Castle Leisure Centre from the current owners so the school can use the centre full-time and take over management of public sports events.

Sixth form

Wallingford School features two parts - the

, and a

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 ...

college which merge to feature the same teachers, lesson structure, subjects, timetable, etc... Sixth Form students are part of the house system and have their own competitions that contribute to the overall scores. All students at Wallingford School are guaranteed a place in Sixth Form, whatever their results at 16. The main focus of the Sixth Form is A Levels. However, from September 2008, a small number of students each term in the sixth form can follow a "Pre A-Level" course that enables them to study for A-Levels if they did not achieve the required GCSE grades to do so by regular progression. These students can spend a year studying five GCSE subjects to retake, then continue with A Levels at the sixth form. There is a growing offer of Btec qualifications for students wanting to study but who want a different approach to the academic one of A Levels.

Past pupils

Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...

, journalist, screenwriter and TV presenter *

Matt Rodda Matthew Richard Allen Rodda (born 15 December 1966) is a British former journalist and civil servant, and a current Labour Party politician. He is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the Reading East parliamentary constituency and Shado ...

, politician and Member of Parliament for Reading East (2017–present) *

Rob Wilson Robert Owen Biggs Wilson (born 4 January 1965) is an English politician and political author. He was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the Reading East parliamentary constituency in the 2005 general election, being re-elected in ...

, politician and Member of Parliament for Reading East (2005–2017)

References

External links

Wallingford School website
{{authority control Secondary schools in Oxfordshire Academies in Oxfordshire Wallingford, Oxfordshire