St Aldhelm's Academy

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Coordinates: 50°44′33″N 1°56′01″W / 50.7425°N 1.9335°W / 50.7425; -1.9335
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St Aldhelm's Academy
Address
Map
Herbert Avenue

Co-educational
Age11 to 16
Enrolment791
Websitewww.staldhelms-academy.co.uk

St Aldhelm's Academy is a

Poole, Dorset, England.[1]

School history

The school opened in October 1938 as Kemp-Welch Senior Council School and taught both boys and girls —the boys were housed in the west side of the building, while the girls were housed in the east. This was typical for a school of its time. There was a 'quad' in the middle of the school which divided the two schools.

The school became a secondary modern after the Second World War and expanded rapidly in 1963 to house 600 students in both schools. An East Block was built onto the girls' school, housing additional classrooms, art rooms and a music room. The West Block was built across the boys' playground and housed classrooms, science labs and the boys' music room. Prior to this, new workshops and kitchens had been built. The boys' gym was built onto the rear of the boys' half of the main block (now the technology block) and the girls' gym was built on the school field and is now part of the leisure centre.

In 1974 the two schools merged to form one large school and the age was changed from 11–16 to 12–16. Not a great deal changed at the school over the next 15 years and the school fell into a state of disrepair. Pupil numbers dropped in the 1980s and 1990s leaving the school with empty classrooms. The leisure centre first opened onto the former girls' gym in 1992 and the second phase opened in 1998. In 1994 the school opened its sixth form. Despite this, the school was being seen as a 'rough school' with many parents in the local area sending their children to other schools.[

St Edwards Schools [citation needed
].

In 2000 the school was put into 'special measures' by Ofsted[2] and the school aimed to improve itself in time for its next Ofsted visit or face closure. The school changed its name to Rossmore Community College and underwent a major building program to reinvent itself.[3]

In September 2003 the school became a

sports college, one of two in Poole[citation needed]. On 1 September 2010, the school opened as St. Aldhelms Academy under the new Academies Act 2010.[4][5] The school also came under the jurisdiction of the Church of England
.

In 2013, the school's new £9.8 million new buildings opened.[6]

In recent years, the school has faced a number of issues; it became national news in 2012 when it was reported that the school had achieved the worst

OFSTED, who later described the school as "dysfunctional and unsafe".[citation needed
]

As of 1 June 2015, the school's new sponsor, Ambitions Academdies Trust, took over the running and management of the school.[12]

Leisure centre

Rossmore Leisure Centre is located next to the school. This facility is used for Physical Education lessons, and is also open to the public. It comprises a sports hall, gym, fitness suite and a swimming pool, and is adjoined by a sports field and tennis courts.

The original Leisure Centre was built in 1992 onto the sports block and included the gym, sports hall, fitness studio and a new canteen for the school (used for parties for the public). In 1998 the centre was extended further with a new swimming pool (the Herbert Ballam pool), new fitness studio (the old studio became a bar) and a gymnastics hall which has trained Olympic contestants. The centre was original Kemp-Welch Leisure Centre, but became Rossmore Leisure Centre in January 2003.

Notable former pupils

References

  1. ^ Ofsted Communications Team (25 September 2021). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Ten schools give borough concern". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  3. ^ "£90m grant to create '21st century schools'". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  4. ^ "'We are not just changing the name – everything is changing' St Aldhelm's Academy".
  5. ^ Bournemouth Echo, Rossmore Community College to reopen as St Aldhelm's Academy in 2010, 1 October 2009
  6. ^ "Media".
  7. ^ Bournemouth Echo, St Aldhelm’s Academy named worst school in GCSE league tables, 26 January 2012
  8. ^ "Outrage as charity conwoman walks free - Portsmouth News". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  9. Independent.co.uk. 18 March 2015. Archived
    from the original on 24 May 2022.
  10. TheGuardian.com
    . 14 December 2005.
  11. ^ "Truants Told: Turn Up When You Like". news.sky.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  12. ^ "St Aldhelm's Academy confirms new sponsor Ambitions Academies Trust". BBC News. 26 February 2015.

External links

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