The Weald School, Billingshurst
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The Weald 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) ...
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 ...
. It caters for around 1,700 pupils in years 7 to 13, including over 300 in its
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 ...
. The school opened in 1956, and celebrated its 60th anniversary in the academic year 2016-17. In December 2008 Mr P May, headteacher since 1998, retired and Peter Woodman became the new Head having left
RSA Academy Arrow Vale RSA Academy Arrow Vale (formerly Arrow Vale High School) is a co-educational upper school and sixth form with academy status located in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. The school is sponsored by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Ar ...
to take up the post. In December 2020 Peter Woodman retired, leaving Mrs Sarah Edwards (previously deputy Headteacher) as interim head teacher. Mrs Sarah Edwards was appointed headteacher in March 2021. The school is located in the village of
Billingshurst Billingshurst is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village lies on the A29 road (the Roman Stane Street) at its crossroads with the A272, south-west of Horsham and north-east of Pulborough. Th ...
,
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
, England. Its grounds adjoin the main road through the village, and is shared with the local leisure facilities at Weald Recreation Centre. On 20 September 2008, the Weald Recreation Centre became the Billingshurst Leisure Centre. The Centre is run by D C Leisure on behalf of Horsham District Council. The Weald admits students from a wide catchment area, reaching north to the Surrey/Sussex Border, south to
Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
, west to
Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...
, and even into parts of
Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
.


Extracurricular activities


Radio Weald

Radio Weald is a Student Radio Station and has been running since 2001 and broadcasts over 87.7FM and across the school computer network once a year for a week at the end of the summer term. In July 2008 the station broadcast for the first time over the internet as well as on FM and in school. Since September 2007 there have also been regular Friday Lunchtime broadcasts played in the School Canteen. From September 2008 Radio Weald began sending out Friday Broadcasts over the internet through the Radio Weald website. Radio Weald now also has a forum for listeners and crew to have their say on the broadcasts and suggest ideas for upcoming shows. In the week commencing 13 July 2009, Radio Weald hosted their annual Week Broadcast, but with a difference. This time there was no broadcast over FM radio on 87.7FM like in previous years. Instead, it was heavily focused on the internet and in-school audience. The idea came from a visit by two students to the BBC, enjoying a whole day of media.


Weald TV

Weald TV is a student run television producer. They started producing content in September 2018 after the school received funding to buy a full green screen setup and outdoor filming setup. They meet on a Wednesday after school to plan and shoot videos for the school and local community. Weald TV is run by older students who train and teach the younger students as they progress through the schools leadership award system.


The Africa Project (Classrooms for Kenya)

Since a visit to Kenya by a number of staff and now ex-students in the summer of 2006 the school has had close links with a number of schools in Kenya. When the project started after this visit all of these schools had mud buildings which regularly got washed away and needed re-building. In the School's 50th Year (2006-7 Academic Year) the school decided to try and raise £50,000 to build new Brick Classrooms at these schools. The Students rose to the challenge; in the summer of 2007 another set of staff and students went out to Kenya again to help build the new classrooms the school had paid for. Another trip was planned for the summer of 2008, but due to the political unrest in the country it was cancelled, and a teacher is going out instead to deliver a large amount of clothing, stationery and computer equipment to the rebuilt schools. After the failed trip of 2008 another big push is planned for the 2008-9 academic year. The plan is to raise another £30,000 to finish completely re-building Lumuli Primary School. This was and is in the worst state of all the schools the project has been working with and it is hoped that by the end of 2009 that it will be completely re-built to brick classrooms.


Notable alumni

*
Hinda Hicks Hinda Hicks (born 1976) is a British and Tunisian-born singer, actress and artist who first gained notability with her musical career in the late '90s. She is best known for her debut album ''Hinda'', that charted at #20 on the 1998 UK Top 40 ...
, singer *
Jon Edgar Jon Edgar is a British sculptor of the Frink School. Improvisation is an important part of his reductive working process and developed from the additive working process of Alan Thornhill. Final works are often autobiographical, perhaps referenc ...
, sculptor (1979-1986) *
Billy Twelvetrees William Wesley Twelvetrees (born 15 November 1988) is a rugby union footballer who currently plays centre or fly-half for Gloucester Rugby and formerly played as inside centre for the England national rugby team. Whilst playing for the Leicest ...
, rugby union footballer * James Tilley, association footballer *
Mike Coupe Michael Andrew Coupe (born 26 September 1960) is a British businessman who was the CEO of J Sainsbury plc, parent company of the supermarket chain Sainsbury's, from July 2014 until the end of May 2020. Early life Coupe was born in Watford, Her ...
, British businessman and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...


References


External links


The Weald School website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weald School Educational institutions established in 1956 Community schools in West Sussex Secondary schools in West Sussex 1956 establishments in England