The Matthew Arnold School is a co-educational

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

with academy status located in

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames, also known simply as Staines, is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and River Colne, Hertfordshire, Colne. ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. The school was opened by Lord Lucan on 24 May 1954 and educates pupils from the age of 11 (Year 7) to 16 (Year 11). It is named after the 19th-century poet

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...

, who lived in nearby

Laleham Laleham is a village on the River Thames, in the borough of Spelthorne, about west of central London, England. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Laleham is downriver from Staines-upon-Thames a ...

Admissions

The Matthew Arnold School is on the outskirts of the east of Staines-upon-Thames, south of the A308, towards Ashford. It has transport links via buses 117 and 290, and via

trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

Staines railway station Staines railway station is on the Waterloo to Reading line and is the junction station for the diverging Staines to Windsor line, Windsor line, in southern England to the west of London. It is down the line from . It serves the town of Stai ...

. Matthew Arnold takes in many pupils from a variety of schools located around Staines-upon-Thames and surrounding areas, including Buckland Primary School, Laleham Church of England School, Riverbridge Primary School, Town Farm Primary School, Our Lady of Rosary, Stanwell Fields, Clarendon, Ashford Park, Echelford Primary School and many more.

History

Aerial photographs taken on two occasions in 1933 illustrate the progress of construction of new housing in the immediate vicinity of the survey area. Photographs also show the

cropmarks Cropmarks or crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible aerial archaeology, from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform. Such marks, along with parch m ...

of a supposed Roman enclosure in the playing fields of the school. Subsequent aerial photographs, taken at regular intervals from the late 1940s to present also record cropmarks of the enclosure. The site was partially excavated in 1989-1990 and although the dating is inconclusive, it is suggested that the enclosures are of medieval date. The Matthew Arnold School began before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a hospital, and some pupils were admitted before hostilities started (the boys section). The School was completed after the war as two Secondary Modern Schools. There was no state

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

in Staines-upon-Thames. Boys and Girls who passed the 11+ went to Ashford County School (Mixed) or Hampton Grammar School (boys only). With comprehensivisation in the 1970s Matthew Arnold became a mixed comprehensive school. The school became an academy in 2012. Construction was completed in January 2021 whereupon the old building was demolished and replaced by new facilities built by Wates Construction company with funding by the government’s Priority School Building Programme 2 (PSBP2), which aims to rebuild or replace the schools in the worst condition across the UK. In September 2021 the school uniform was updated, and the school's colours were changed from Green and Yellow to Black and Blue. Matthew Arnold Staines demolition

Academic performance

In January 2008 the school was awarded "The Most Improved School in the Country". In 2014 the school was placed in

special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. In education (England and Wales) Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Ter ...

following an

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

inspection report that rated the school as 'inadequate'. As part of an improvement plan the school has joined the Bourne Education Trust, a Surrey-based multi-academy trust that includes Epsom and Ewell High School and Jubilee High School.

Fictitious alumni

Ali G Alistair Leslie Graham, better known as Ali G, is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. A faux-streetwise poseur from Staines, England, Ali G speaks in rude boy-style Multicultural Londo ...

, the fictional character created by comedian

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen ( ; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor and performance artist. Known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haf ...

, called it "Da Matthew Arnold Skool".

References

External links