Wheatley Park School

Wheatley Park School

Type	Academy
Headteacher	Ms Kate Curtis
Location	Holton Oxfordshire OX33 1QH England Coordinates: 51°45′16″N 1°08′13″W / 51.754363°N 1.136842°W / 51.754363; -1.136842
Local authority	Oxfordshire
DfE number	931/4077
DfE URN	140875 Tables
Ofsted	Reports Pre-academy reports
Students	1,150
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11–18
Website	School website

Wheatley Park School (WPS) is a co-educational state secondary school of approximately 1,150 pupils situated in Holton, Oxfordshire, England about 8 miles (13 km) east of Oxford. The school has been an academy since May 2014.

The School

A grammar school for east Oxfordshire, Holton Park Girls' Grammar School, was founded on the site in 1949.^[1] In 1971 Wheatley Park Comprehensive School was opened at two sites with senior and junior divisions, one of which was situated in Wheatley. These two divisions consolidated in the early 1980s on the present site at Holton Park, although the school retained the name Wheatley Park School. The main complex of modern school buildings are located in the former parkland of a Georgian manor house. The house itself now contains school administrative offices. Recent building projects at the school include a new mathematics block which was opened in 2004, and a building for the John Watson school, with which Wheatley Park School is affiliated, opened in September 2006. The school has recently opened the new John Milton English and Media Centre. The school became an academy in May 2014.

Academics

The school consistently achieves art A-level results within the top 5 in the country. In 2010 GCSE results were their highest ever with 59% receiving at least 5 A*-Cs. The school is one of a small number of state schools to offer Latin and politics courses at GCSE and A-level.

WPS provides after-school and extracurricular activities, including rock climbing and sailing. A Sixth form student won the 2005 29er Youth World Championship for sailing in San Francisco. The school produces a musical every year. Other arts activities include holding an annual Sixth Form fashion show in aid of charity, hosting an annual film festival.

The school offers a number of foreign trips, including annual excursions to Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Popular trips also include those to Russia, China, Iceland and the US. Wheatley Park participates in the World Challenge programme. Previous destinations include Vietnam, Morocco, Brazil, Tanzania and Peru, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Special measures

In September 2009 an Ofsted inspection placed the school in special measures. The school was taken out of special measures following an Ofsted inspection in January 2011.

History of the site

The Georgian manor house.

The school is built in the grounds of a small English country house called Holton Park. Used as a base during the English Civil War of the 1640s, it is believed that one of Oliver Cromwell's daughters was married on the moat, and is local legend holds that a passageway links this site with the nearby village of Wheatley.

The site was used as a military hospital (specialising in brain damage related injuries) during the Second World War for the US and subsequently British military, but the huts housing the hospital were removed from the site in 2006. It was known as Holton Park Hospital or Wheatley Military Hospital. The US 97th General Hospital officially took command of the hospital on 22 April 1944 in preparation to treat casualties from D-Day and after. The first train of casualties arrived 6 days after D-Day. By 2 August 1944, 1,449 battle casualties had been treated at the hospital. The 97th departed Wheatley on 30 June 1945 and to set up a facility in France.^[2]

Notable former pupils

Laura Bailey, model
Dominic Rowan, actor and model
Bradley Smith, motorcycle race
Supergrass (band)

Theresa May attended Holton Park Girls' Grammar School, which was formerly located on the site of the present school.

External links

School website

References

↑ Chipperfield, Joh (8 June 2009). "Girls were taught in idyllic surroundings at Holton Park". Oxford Mail (Oxford).
↑ http://www.usarmygermany.com/Sont.htm?http&&&www.usarmygermany.com/Units/Medical/USAREUR_USAHFrankfurt.htm

Schools in Oxfordshire

Secondary	Banbury Academy Bartholomew School The Bicester School Blessed George Napier RC School Burford School Carterton Community College Cheney School Cherwell School Chiltern Edge School Chipping Norton School Cooper School Didcot Girls' School Faringdon Community College Fitzharrys School Gillotts School Gosford Hill School Henry Box School Icknield Community College John Mason School King Alfred's Academy Langtree School Larkmead School Lord Williams's School Marlborough School, Woodstock Matthew Arnold School North Oxfordshire Academy The Oxford Academy Oxford Spires Academy St Birinus School St Gregory the Great RC School Wallingford School The Warriner School Wheatley Park School UTC Oxfordshire Wood Green School

Independent (preparatory)	Abingdon Preparatory School Christ Church Cathedral School Cothill House Dragon School Emmanuel Christian School New College School The Oratory Preparatory School Rupert House School St Hugh's School Summer Fields School

Independent	Abingdon School Al-Madina School Bloxham School Carfax Tutorial Establishment Cokethorpe School Cranford House School D'Overbroeck's College Education First EF International Academy European School, Culham Greene's Tutorial College Headington School Kingham Hill School King's School Magdalen College School The Oratory School Our Lady's Abingdon Oxford High School Oxford International College Oxford Montessori Schools Radley College Rye St Antony School St Clare's School St Edward's School St Helen and St Katharine Shiplake College Sibford School Tudor Hall School

Special	Bishopswood School Mulberry Bush School Parklands Campus Swalcliffe Park School

Further education	Abingdon and Witney College Banbury and Bicester College City of Oxford College Denman College Henley College

Former	Carmel College City of Oxford High School for Boys Drayton School Falconbury School Milham Ford School Peers School Southfield Grammar School Oxford Military College St Mary's School, Wantage

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