Northfield School
| Motto | Many Minds One Heart |
|---|---|
| Type | Community school |
| Head Teacher | Mr. C. Walker |
| Location |
Thames Road Billingham County Durham TS22 5EG  EnglandCoordinates: 51°43′06″N 1°12′30″W / 51.71832°N 1.20824°W |
| Local authority | Stockton-on-Tees |
| DfE URN | 111731 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Website |
northfieldssc |
Northfield School is a comprehensive secondary school in Billingham, north-east England.
History
The school was established in 1972. It was awarded specialist Sports College status in 1999, and in 2008 was awarded a second specialism as a Training School. The first headteacher, Dennis Armitage was succeeded in 1989 by David Youldon and in 2010 by Craig Walker. In 2009/2010 it merged with Billingham Campus School, with both named Northfield School.
In the 2008 Ofsted Inspection Report, the last under the leadership of David Youldon, the school was awarded a Grade 1 (Outstanding) for overall effectiveness and achievement, with no significant areas for improvement.
Following the controversial appointment of Craig Walker as Headteacher in 2010 subsequent Ofsted Inspection Reports have down-graded the school to Grade 2 in 2011 and Grade 3 (Requires Improvement) in 2014.
In its 2011 report Ofsted noted that: “ . . . students did not make gains on previous years’ achievements. This was most notable in the number of students gaining five or more GCSE grades A* to C, including English and Mathematics which were disappointingly low and gaps appeared in the performance of students in comparison with similar students nationally in mathematics.” In a parental questionnaire which formed part of the 2011 inspection Ofsted noted that 23% of respondents felt that lessons were disrupted by bad behavior and 13% felt the school did not respond to their concerns.
Despite emphasising these areas of concern, in its latest inspection in March 2014 Ofsted found that school performance had deteriorated even further, falling to a Grade 3 (Requires Improvement). Their concern was highlighted in the Summary of Key Findings which stated, "This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because students do not make good progress. Teaching is not always effective and too much requires improvement."
Under Ofsted regulations the school must be inspected again within 24 months.
Notable former pupils
- Billy Dunlop, Britain's first double-jeopardy murderer [1]
- Jamie Bell, [2] actor famous for the role of Billy Elliot, and Griffin in the film Jumper
- Andrew Davies, former Middlesbrough F.C. and Southampton F.C. footballer currently with Bradford City F.C.
- Tommy Mooney, former footballer
- Paul Smith, the frontman of Indie group Maxïmo Park
- Kyle Fox (a.k.a. Pingu), in charge of Penguin Affairs at WWF
- Kenny Lowe, former professional footballer for Hartlepool, Stoke City and Birmingham City
- Mark Davies, former Durham County and England Lions cricket player
- Brad Walker, Hartlepool 1st team footballer
- Richard Kilty, world indoor 60m champion and European indoor champion sprinter
The predominance of non-academic achievement reflects the school's ethos and emphasis as a Sports College.
References
External links
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