Gosford Hill School
| Established | 1932 |
|---|---|
| Type | Academy |
| Location |
Oxford Road Gosford Oxfordshire OX5 2NT  United KingdomCoordinates: 51°48′58″N 1°16′45″W / 51.81624°N 1.27913°W |
| Local authority | Oxfordshire |
| DfE URN | 138897 |
| Staff | 90 |
| Students | 1200 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website |
www |
Gosford Hill School is a co-educational secondary school with academy status in the village of Gosford near Kidlington, Oxfordshire. It is also a Specialist College of Mathematics and Computing; the first school in Oxfordshire to receive this award. In 2007 the school celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding in 1932.
History
The school, originally called the Kidlington Church of England Central School, was built to teach children over the age of 11 whose numbers had grown during the 1920s to the point where the National School in the village was not able to accommodate them. By combining the number of over-11s from Kidlington with those from the church schools in the surrounding villages of Begbroke, Cassington, Hampton Poyle, Islip, Noke, Oddington, Shipton-on-Cherwell, Thrupp and Yarnton a sufficient number was achieved to justify the cost of a new school.
The first Headteacher, when the school opened on 7 September 1932, was Herbert Chapman who had been the head of the National School[1]
The original buildings, designed by R Fielding Dodd, ARIBA and GT Gardner consisted of 4 classrooms and a Practical Studies Centre. Two more classrooms were added in 1934. The site of 4 acres (16,000 m2) had been part of Gosford Hill Farm, which itself had been turned into Oxford Zoological Gardens by Frank Gray by the time the school was built.
In 2007 the school had over 1200 students and over 90 staff. The headteacher since September 2007 is Dr Stephen Bizley. Major building work has taken place since his arrival; a new Design & Technology block and science block have been built and are in use.
- For the last nine years the school has run a trip to Marlow Camp.
- In 2008 a narrowband radio station was set up for the school's students, named GHS Radio.
- In 2012,10 students and 1 teacher took part in a World Challenge programme visit to Ethiopia and assisted with a school renovation project in that country.
On 1 November 2012 the school completed its transition to an academy.
Notable alumni
- Sir Robin Bosher, Kt. - Headteacher, knighted for services to education in the 2012 Birthday Honours
- Nick Burton, Mark and Nick Cope and John Halliday - the four founding members of the Candyskins
- Ford Ennals - Chief Executive Officer of Digital Radio UK
- David Rodigan MBE - Reggae DJ and radio presenter
- Tim Supple - Theatre and opera director
- Dominic Hynard and Tomas Brown - members of the underground house music band The War Pigs.
References
- ↑ Tossell, T. Gosford Hill School 1932 - 2007 pp 13-14.