The Forest School, Winnersh
 | |
| Motto | Esse Quam Videri |
|---|---|
| Established | 1957 |
| Type | Academy |
| Principal | Mary Sandell |
| Deputy Head | Robin Bertrand |
| Deputy Head | Jonathan Hannam |
| Head of Sixth | Stuart Jackman |
| Chair | David Auger |
| Founder | Walter G. Jackson |
| Location |
Robin Hood Lane Winnersh Wokingham Berkshire RG41 5NE England Coordinates: 51°25′54″N 0°52′40″W / 51.43174°N 0.87773°W |
| DfE number | 872/4050 |
| DfE URN | 139853 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
| Staff | 210 |
| Students | 1189 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Ashdown, Bramshill, Kielder, Langdale, New, Sherwood, Windsor |
| Colours | Blue and Gold |
| Formerly named | Forest Grammar School |
| Gender of Sixth Form | Mixed |
| Website | The Forest School |
The Forest School is an all-boys secondary school and mixed sixth form with academy status, located in Winnersh, Berkshire, England. It is located on Robin Hood Lane, the B3030 road, next to Winnersh railway station.[1] Since September 2012, the Forest has educated academy players from local Football League Championship football club Reading FC.[2]
History
The Forest School began as Woodley Hill Grammar School in 1957, becoming the Forest Grammar School. The school was founded by Walter G. Jackson (also the mayor of Wokingham in 1953[3]) who was the first headmaster of the school. Mr Jackson retired in 1968, to be replaced by Mr J. Piercy.
In November 1965, the Nestlé company donated an Elliott 405 computer to the school, which was a first generation valve computer. The BBC science television programme Tomorrow's World broadcast an article on 5 February 1969 about how the school used this computer to teach the pupils.[4]
Houses during the grammar period were named after local watercourses, Kennet, Thames, Enborne, Loddon.
The Forest School became a comprehensive school in 1974. It has been a Business and Enterprise College since 2003 and was appointed by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust as the "Enterprise Hub School for Berkshire" in 2006. On 1 July 2013 Forest School formally converted to academy status.
Sport
In 2006 The school U15 Football team won the National Cup. In 2007 The school U16 Football team (identical to the Under 15 squad) were runners up in the National Cup, losing narrowly to the opposition. In 2009 The school U14 Football team were runners up in the National Cup, losing 2 - 1 to Audenshaw School, the match was staged at Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium in front of over 600 Forest School supporters.
The school has also produced several fine rugby players, the most notable being Rhodri McAtee, ex-England school boy who is now consistently selected for the Welsh International Sevens team, whilst playing for Cornish Pirates in National League One.
House System
There are currently seven houses at The Forest School, all named after English forests. Students are given a house upon entry in Year 7, and any future siblings will also be allocated the same house. The houses were also allocated animals to represent each house in September 2015.
The seven houses and their animals are:
Ashdown Antelope
Bramshill Bear
Kielder Kite
Langdale Lion
New Nighthawk
Sherwood Shark
Windsor Wolf
Pastoral Care
The school offers excellent pastoral care to all students. Whenever possible, students keep the same Form Tutor and Head of Year throughout Years 7-11. The school currently has its own 'Pastoral Zone', which consists of the Director of Pastoral Care's office, confidentiality boxes for each year group and the newly formed student support group named 'Safe School Leaders' are also on hand in the area before school and at break and lunchtimes to offer peer support to students.
Business and Enterprise Specialism
As a Business and Enterprise specialist, the school encourage their pupils to develop their own businesses. Students are involved in managing a business, talking to potential clients, producing quotes and providing goods and services to both internal and external clients.
Bluecube@Forest
Bluecube@Forest is our group of student-run businesses.
Bluecube Design
A graphic design company (previously named Forest Design) run by selected students that create graphics for customers clients both within and outside of the school. Examples of well-known clients are Wokingham Borough Council and BBC Radio Berkshire.
Bluecube Tech
A company specialising in web and app design service for internal and external clients (previously named Forest Tech). It has now created a website for a local sports council, an app for the school and many other tools used by students.
Bluecube Yearbooks
Each year, a small number of Year 11 students are selected to create the annual Year 11 Yearbook. The students are responsible for all aspects of the creation of the Yearbook, including the design, pricing, advertising and printing stages.
Previous Enterprises
Forest Lockers An internal company that offered metal lockers around the school for use of the students as a replacement for the old wooden lockers that were very run down and insecure, initially run by its creator, student Wing-Hou Chan, as an entry for the Tycoon in Schools competition, it now owns nearly all of the lockers in the school. Forest Lockers ended operation in September 2015 after Chan had left Forest. The school now manages all of the lockers internally.[5]
Forest Sixth
The school won a bid in early 2014 to build a new sixth form centre. The planning application was approved on Monday 19 January 2015. The new centre includes a café, three design studios, and eight classrooms.[6]
Subjects taught
| Subject | Taught at KS3 | Taught at GCSE | Taught at A level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |
| Biology | Part of Science | Compulsory | Yes |
| Business Studies | No | Yes | Yes |
| Chemistry | Part of Science | Compulsory | Yes |
| Computer Science | Part of ICT | Yes (and ICT) | Yes |
| Design Technology | Compulsory | Yes^ | Yes |
| Drama | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |
| Economics | No | Yes | Yes |
| English | Compulsory | Compulsory | Yes |
| French | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |
| Geography | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |
| History | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |
| Law | No | No | Yes |
| Mathematics* | Compulsory | Compulsory | Yes |
| Media Studies | No | Yes | Yes |
| Music | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |
| Photography | No | Yes | Yes |
| Psychology | No | No | Yes |
| Physical Education | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |
| Physics | Part of Science | Compulsory | Yes |
| PSHE | Yes | Yes | EPQ |
| Religious Education | Compulsory | Compulsory | Not timetabled |
| Sociology | No | Yes | Yes |
| Spanish | Yes | Yes | No |
| Travel & Tourism | No | No | Yes |
*Further Maths is optional at A Level. ^Students can opt for one of the following: Electronics, Food Technology, Graphics or Product Design.
Notable former pupils
The Forest School
- Nathan Tyson, Former Reading and England Under-20 side who was at Reading FC and now is playing at Derby County.
- Dan Howell, professional YouTuber and BBC Radio 1 DJ. Commonly known as "danisnotonfire"".
- Steven Lewington, Former professional wrestler, Most notable while performing as DJ Gabriel on ECW.
- Danny Kingston, European Judo Champion 1996
- Ian Parton, lead singer and founder of the Go! Team
- Jake Cooper defender currently playing for Reading FC
- Jon Harper, former drummer from the Cooper Temple Clause
Forest Grammar School
- Prof Ivor Goodson, Professor of Learning Theory since 2004 at the University of Brighton, and Professor of Education from 1996-2004 at the University of East Anglia.
- Prof Martin Chalkley, Professor of Health Economics from 2011 at the University of York, and Professor of Economics from 1999-2011 at the University of Dundee. President of the Scottish Economic Society, 2006-2008.
- Dr Trevor Hince, Director since 2004 of The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine.
- Michael Anthony Price LVO, High Commissioner to Fiji from 2000-2.
References
- ↑ "The Forest School, Winnersh". Geograph. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
- ↑ "Academy deal done". Reading FC. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ↑ {http://www.wokingham-tc.gov.uk/civic/past-mayors}
- ↑ {http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0154hns Nellie: School Computer}
- ↑ Forest Lockers | The Forest School
- ↑ Sixth Form | The Forest School