Whickham School

Whickham School is a secondary school in the north-east of England, near the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Formerly Whickham Comprehensive School, it first opened its doors in 1962 as a replacement for the small, 'all-age' Victorian school in the village centre. A much larger school was required due to the large house building programme that was taking place. It holds around 1700 pupils between the ages of 11-19 and has 300 members of staff. It offers a range of vocational and traditional qualifications at Key Stage 4 and 5, including GCSE, BTEC and A-Level.Within the CommunityIt is a well established and well known school within the community, with good academic achievement, and the largest sixth form in Gateshead. It holds frequent events for the local community, most notably the annual Community Carol Service.During the schools last Ofsted inspection the school was judged to 'Good' with five areas of the school being judged "outstanding". The OfSTED definition of ‘Good’ is, “These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well”.Five areas of the school were judged to be “Outstanding”. These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs.The ‘Outstanding’ areas were:1 - The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and /or disabilities and their progress 2 - The extent to which pupils feel safe 3 - Pupils’ attendance 4 - The effectiveness of care, guidance and support 5 - The effectiveness of partnerships in promoting wellbeingAll these areas reflect the commitment of Whickham School to the well being of all its students. Pupils who are happy, secure, well cared for and supported have the best possible opportunity to succeed. Equally partnerships are crucial to the success of any school and Whickham values all its partnerships extremely highly.