Royal Wootton Bassett Academy
 | |
| Motto | A Global School in a Local Community |
|---|---|
| Type | Academy |
| Headteacher | George Croxford |
| Deputy Headteachers |
Mrs Anita Ellis Mr Steven Kneller |
| Location |
Lime Kiln Royal Wootton Bassett Wiltshire SN4 7HG England Coordinates: 51°32′46″N 1°54′08″W / 51.5462°N 1.9023°W |
| DfE number | 865/4067 |
| DfE URN | 136911 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
| Students | 1,495 As of January 2012 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses |
Winterbourne Bassett |
| Colours |
Black, Burgundy and Gold |
| Website | School homepage |
Royal Wootton Bassett Academy (RWBA) (formerly Wootton Bassett School) is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in the town of Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire for students aged 11 to 18. In July 2011, the school became an academy.
Facilities
The facilities include an AstroTurf sports pitch and numerous sports facilities with catering for tennis, cricket, football, rugby and hockey.
The new Sixth Form centre includes many new classrooms, a reception desk and elevator (the complex is one storey taller than the surrounding buildings). The centre also provides a lecture theatre with retractable chairs, also used as a drama studio.
Administrative structure
Adopted in the early 2000s, the school employed a system of phases. There were three main categories, the 'Transition', 'Development' and 'Extension' phases, all of which were presided over by an Assistant Headteacher. This system has since been abolished, after proving unpopular with staff and drawing criticism as "corporate jargon". The school recently returned to the traditional method of grouping students into Lower School, Upper School and Sixth Form.
The school operates a system of tutor groups, each tutor having approximately 30 students. Tutors rarely teach students from their own group. The main role of groups is to create a stable peer system, with each tutoring the same group throughout their 4 years.
The new school has a more highly organized physical layout, looking like two 'E's fitting back to back, and a main corridor running down the middle, nicknamed 'The Street' by both pupils and teachers alike. Each branch teaches a different subject, with wings of varying lengths, the longest three being Admin/Reception, School Hall and Gymnasium, Science and D&T. Each floor within each wing also teaches a different subject, (e.g. the English wing is underneath the Maths wing). The Modern Foreign Languages wing used to be the shortest, under half the length of the others, until the new sixth form centre was added.
The House system
RWBA's House system encapsulates the holistic approach the Academy takes to the development of its students and staff. There are 5 Houses, co-ordinated vertically by 5 heads of House, each named after the four "Bassetts." The house names are Winterbourne, Compton, Wootton, Berwick and Bassett. Formerly Brunel, Newton, Roddick and Whittle. They compete in a year-long series of competitions and events ranging from team building competitions, pumpkin carving, harvest festival basket designs, sports tournaments and £10 fund raising challenges. International, national and local charity fund raising play an important part in all competitions and provides the students with a real sense of self in the world. The House system promotes a strong family sense of identity with the House, and with the Academy and is widely valued by students and staff alike.[1]
Tragedy
In July 2008, during a school trip to South Africa, expedition leader, Sean Foxcroft, drowned in strong ocean currents, while trying to rescue students who had entered the water to cool down following a rugby match.[2]
References
- ↑ "House System". School website.
- ↑ Lois Avery (30 July 2008). "Wootton Bassett school trip ends in tragedy". Gazette and Herald.