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Oasis Academy Brightstowe
Secondary · Academy · Bristol
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Shocking
Worst school!!!
worst school ever,would not send my kids there does not deal with anything properly communication is poor,always supply teachers never actually teacher don’t learn anything shocking school and i hate it!!!!
My review of Oasis Academy Brightstowe
I am a year 8 pupil at Oasis Academy Brightstowe and so far, I have had a great experience at this school. To begin, I would like to talk about education and learning. Oasis Academy Brightstowe has a great curriculum, with many interesting topics and lessons. I particularly like the way that the maths and science lessons are taught and planned. At Oasis Academy Brightstowe, I have made some great friends. I am a person who has been bullied however the school dealt with this quickly and effectively. Most of the time, I feel safe in the Academy and have many members of staff that I can talk to. In terms of the outdoor environment at Oasis Academy Brightstowe, there are many amazing sports facilities available to use at break and lunch times and during PE lessons. There is very little litter left of the field at social times so this creates a really nice outdoor environment. I will now talk about staff and teachers. Most of the teachers here are very engaging, particularly the core subject teachers: English, maths and science. During my first year at this school, I never had permanent teachers for maths, science, drama and music, however this year the school employed new teachers with amazing teaching skills. I am very happy with all of my teachers and I am never bored in any lesson. Talking about indoor environment, most of the time, corridors are very crowded and so it takes longer to get to lessons, resulting in people getting in trouble for being late. I understand that we cannot make the corridors any wider though. On the other hand, classrooms are usually kept clean and tidy for lessons, as well as places such as the canteen, assembly hall and corridors. I am a person who never has school meals, however based on what my friends have said, it is very good. There are a wide range of hot and cold foods available each day ranging from paninis, snacks and crisps, sweet treats, fruits, drinks, hot meals and even more. Finally, I would like to talk about activities. There are many after-school clubs available to join as well as inter-house competitions every week at lunchtime. There are three houses: Opportunity (Blue), Ambition (Pink), Bravery ((Purple)(My house)). Overall, I think this school is great and I would highly recommend this school.
IF YOUR A PARENT DO NOT EVER SEND YOUR KIDS TO THIS SCHOOL
This school actually needs to be completely re-done in every way from staff,rules,priceing of food and SOMEBODY GET RID OF THE LOCKERS they are useless and make less room for the crowds of people who swarm the corridors either someone or ANYONE at this point re-do this school or just burn it to the ground because theres no hope for the students at this hell prison of a school that incourages gambiling with raffles and fake money which should be a violation of some school code because your literally settting up kids to be unsuccessful,depressed,have trauma and gambling problems from exposing them to it early on
school is full of violence and lots of teachers don't care
Just awful!! communication is terrible, no homework, food is expensive, teachers spend most of their time dealing with behaviour, loads of bullying, the lessons are poor if you do all your work your sat there twiddling your thumbs, they come down hard on the good kids and let the trouble makers get away with everything.
Bad school
they have kicked out an innocent student for self defence when the person who started the fight didn’t get kicked out #justiceforjake
My Experience at Oasis Academy Brightstowe
My experience here is a rollercoaster of emotions. When I first joined the teachers were quite nice to me, always helping me, some even favouriting me. The teachers are not the problem, it's the students. The students behave like wild animals who found a bag of *illegal substances* they repeatedly shout out during class, swear violently at the teachers, and are mean to other students. The amount of pushing and shoving during lessons is immense, and the school does nothing about it. You will be sworn at, you will receive massive amounts of hateful comments to yourself. This school really needs to sort this out.
The education is good, if the teachers realise that you're too above for what they are teaching, they will give you something extra to do, some teachers are a little bit annoying, but, what can you do? You should expect at least one annoying teacher in your entire school life.
I haven't had much experience with the school food, it is for the most part just an average school dinner. Most of the kids there just get the chips and drinks they offer at the two stands that are there.
In overall this school is an okay place for education, there are better schools in the area, the only problems are the amount of bullying and harassment at the school but if you or your child are the kind of person who can deal with that, then this school should be fine. A recommendation would be to just make good friends at the start, and you should be smooth sailing from there.
The education is good, if the teachers realise that you're too above for what they are teaching, they will give you something extra to do, some teachers are a little bit annoying, but, what can you do? You should expect at least one annoying teacher in your entire school life.
I haven't had much experience with the school food, it is for the most part just an average school dinner. Most of the kids there just get the chips and drinks they offer at the two stands that are there.
In overall this school is an okay place for education, there are better schools in the area, the only problems are the amount of bullying and harassment at the school but if you or your child are the kind of person who can deal with that, then this school should be fine. A recommendation would be to just make good friends at the start, and you should be smooth sailing from there.
My opinion
I made some great friends here, and the food is okay. However, communication with parents is terrible and we still don’t have lockers which is annoying. Some teachers are good, but most of them don’t send anyone out (who deserves to go) meaning that the people who want to learn can’t. Girls toilets are always filled with people vaping, doing makeup, or just chatting with their friends. I don’t know what the boys toilets are like but they seem fine. Uniform is ok but the ties are kind of ugly. People are meant to be set for lessons, but they still put disruptive people in top set which is very unfair. Corridors are still full of pushing people no matter how many precautions they have. Assemblies seem unnecessary, and get bribed with sweets for attendance which seems to be one of the only things they care about. We have really long tutor sessions in which we do no learning and once my friends got cheese sandwiches lobbed at her head. If you want to go there, fine, but it is not great.
bad school
crap school. People get beat up daily and bullied. supply teachers all the time. no homework. only a few decent lessons. some teachers care others don't.
SHIT SCHOOL
this school is the worst place i have ever been too it has destroyed my mental health and i dread waking up to have to go to such a shit environment. i really would not recommend this school to anyone and i really feel for the year 7s that are there now and the future year 7s as they have no idea where they are going to have to go and they will not realise how much this environment ; unsafe shit will destroy them mentally. do not send your children here.
BRIGHTSTOWE IS SHIT
DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT SEND YOUR KID TO THIS SCHOOL. This school makes me have the worst mental health and a lot of other children aswell. And they have a behaviour system where they will put all the students in a room and they have even started locking the door. It makes us feel like we r loosing our minds and it doesn’t help but make us students angry. Half of the time we are in there for stuff we didn’t do. This school doesn’t help with bullying at all and doesn’t care about any students mental health. They also take your phones off you even if u say it is an emergency. Imagine u got your period or something and u needed your mate or your mum you ain’t gunna wanna say that to a teacher let’s be real. And let’s talk about the fact we had a different head teacher every 4 years that just shows no one wanted to stay in the school. It is horrible and the way they treat students it actually horrible. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE UNLESS U WANT THEM TO HAVE A SHIT SCHOOL LIFE WHICH THEY WILL
DONT GO TO BRIGHTSTOWE❌
Oasis academy brightstowe is the shittest school ever. They do not care about any students feelings or mental health, they don’t care about anything other than you wearing the right uniform to make the school look good although they’re not. They try to make it seem like brightstowe is this amazing place and it’s not at all. Do NOT be fooled. I’d rather experience a brutal death than be at this school. I had the worse experience at this school and it’s only getting worse and worse each academic year. I know hundreds of people that could say the same, and I quite literally mean.. hundreds! Do not send your kids here unless you want them to have the worse mental health ever. (plus they couldn’t even keep a head teacher for a while had a different one every year for 4 years) EMBARRASSING 😂
Horrible pls don't go
Pls don't go to this school first off its absolute crap they have high expectations that are sometimes nearly impossible to follow they barley let you use the toilet only lunch break a girl even committed sucide there a momoral in the art corridor near the stairs it's a picture of her art work I'm a student there I wouldn't recommend going I accidentally got into this school I already knew about the rumors so I was literally crying also its gotten to the point where I literally cry in the bathrooms pls just listen to me beg your parents to not let you go show them the ratings also show them my review pls don't go pls follow my advice show them other peoples stories thank you for listening have a great day also people will humilate you at that school and bully you
Bad school
Ridiculous food prices and lots of bullying
The school is a absolute nightmare.
School is shit no work gets done the kids just run around like crazy and the food taste like ass
This school is pathetic
This school is horrible and just like Metallica said back in 1991 “sad But True” BRIGHTSTOWE SUCKS BIG MASSIVE BALLS
Ofsted really needs to inspect the school again
There are so many things I could say about this school but I don’t even know where to begin.
Oasis loves to praise themselves for being such an outstanding school, but they’re not, they are mediocre at best. In reality, half of the students are bully’s and the rest are bullied, the teachers couldn’t care less, so long as the attendance is high.
The food is inedible and sometimes raw and the school hygiene is abhorrent.
The teachers are underpaid and the students are overworked.
It felt like a prison.
In conclusion don’t go to this school, unless you want serious mental health issues and terrible gcse results
Oasis loves to praise themselves for being such an outstanding school, but they’re not, they are mediocre at best. In reality, half of the students are bully’s and the rest are bullied, the teachers couldn’t care less, so long as the attendance is high.
The food is inedible and sometimes raw and the school hygiene is abhorrent.
The teachers are underpaid and the students are overworked.
It felt like a prison.
In conclusion don’t go to this school, unless you want serious mental health issues and terrible gcse results
How do people stand this school
Crazy on how people can actually think it’s a great school
Girl passed out on the field in the summer because they gave no one water except
runners but them as a school should be able to provide water for all children
and even after that still wouldn’t let students get any
Food prices are ridiculous £1.65for a pizza and in my local Lidl I’ll get one for 50-60p most food is non halal and don’t even taste good
Bullying is horrendous at that school they really don’t care about you only there to collect a wage
Racism is also not good in my opinion if your being racist to some one and targeting them for it then you should be there but still so many of them
No rights are selfs all ways being told what to do as we should but still when they do it it makes no sense like why is it so important that we have to wear a blazer and not wear hoodies or jumpers even if it has no writing on it
And make us wear dirty clothing and never look like they been in the wash
All the good teachers have left and I see why
And the fact student that are bad always get so many chances is silly how are you getting kicked out then allowed back 4times and even people that haven’t got kicked out is so obvious about it all the good student get no support and we can’t learn with a bunch off fools that shouldn’t even have a set
How do students get away with smoking selling weed or vapes and you can’t even find out about it and then you got people that bring in knifes like if it’s a toy and the people that truant get away so easy I see more people truant then teachers
The fact that some one claimed in and me keys had to chase him around was a laugh on how some of us good of got attacked so simply now if a group of grown adults with weapons hopped oven what are the teachers doing nothing to save us (every man for them self)
They talk about on how they want us to learn but the 2 mess ups and 3 lessons gone explain how that makes sense for 2 mistakes half of your learning for that day is gone
And fix up your toilets broken every weak stupid
Girl passed out on the field in the summer because they gave no one water except
runners but them as a school should be able to provide water for all children
and even after that still wouldn’t let students get any
Food prices are ridiculous £1.65for a pizza and in my local Lidl I’ll get one for 50-60p most food is non halal and don’t even taste good
Bullying is horrendous at that school they really don’t care about you only there to collect a wage
Racism is also not good in my opinion if your being racist to some one and targeting them for it then you should be there but still so many of them
No rights are selfs all ways being told what to do as we should but still when they do it it makes no sense like why is it so important that we have to wear a blazer and not wear hoodies or jumpers even if it has no writing on it
And make us wear dirty clothing and never look like they been in the wash
All the good teachers have left and I see why
And the fact student that are bad always get so many chances is silly how are you getting kicked out then allowed back 4times and even people that haven’t got kicked out is so obvious about it all the good student get no support and we can’t learn with a bunch off fools that shouldn’t even have a set
How do students get away with smoking selling weed or vapes and you can’t even find out about it and then you got people that bring in knifes like if it’s a toy and the people that truant get away so easy I see more people truant then teachers
The fact that some one claimed in and me keys had to chase him around was a laugh on how some of us good of got attacked so simply now if a group of grown adults with weapons hopped oven what are the teachers doing nothing to save us (every man for them self)
They talk about on how they want us to learn but the 2 mess ups and 3 lessons gone explain how that makes sense for 2 mistakes half of your learning for that day is gone
And fix up your toilets broken every weak stupid
this school bro 💀
school doesn’t deal with bullying only takes statements to never read again they talk to them about the student and think that will fix things but it makes people get bullied even more for being a “snitch” teachers always pick on the students who they hate and embarrass them in front of the whole class and if students ask for any special help they are allowed to use they get sent to timeout for asking at the “ wrong time “ also, me and my friends have been having a bad time lately and teachers really don’t do anything unless they personally think it’s very important and don’t really care what the students have to say.
Terrible School!
Terrible school, it needs investigating urgently!
GSCE
Best School Ever
The best school I have ever been to.
All teachers are lovely.
Very clean.
Calm.
Love the library.
Great Curriculum.
All teachers are lovely.
Very clean.
Calm.
Love the library.
Great Curriculum.
lovely!
amazing school i loved that school their learning and teachers!
OAB review
They are a bunch of bozos only one good teacher BIG UP MISS SHINNIE
Languages
Worst
They are the ultimate pooper scoopers
look at it
l used to go to the school but they started kicking out all the people who are basically going to fail so they can have high mark in exam to look like a good school the only reason it has a such high mark and good review is because it is a academy but if it was still just port way it would of been shut down in a heart beat the teacher cant control any of the students they constantly out of lesson and truanting. Some student actually do illegal substances such as weed , cocaine , and speed while in school times and there are even people selling nicotine product and selling weed in the premises and they are mostly sold to the years 7 and 8
Terrible school
At this school they would repeatedly lock children in rooms and attack children which has cause many teachers to be sacked. The education is poor as they never get of the starter questions and cannot keep anyone in this school under control.
GCSEs
Don't count on this school.
Whilst generally I attempt to set aside my biases when writing about topics I may be opinionated about, and hope I can be successful in this review, please keep in mind that 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥.
Beginning with personal satisfaction, and as a tl;dr: Considering the funding that most public schools get, and the administrative nightmare that is presented when running a school in a socio-economically deprived area, I find it hard to hold this school to account for many of its shortcomings. In general, my experience at this school was... fine. It's remarkable, even, that it's stuck around for so long. However, it can be guaranteed that you will not receive anything above average in terms of your experience at this school if you decide to come here, at least for the next 2 years. There's nothing at all special about anything that goes on here, apart from MAYBE the PE department, which I can't speak on from personal experience.
The academics are, you guessed it, average (to my knowledge). I've been able to succeed to a desirable degree, in most of my subjects, with just a bit of hard work and application of skills. It is important not to conflate my anecdotal academic success with the school generally allowing academic potential to apply itself, however, as this is not necessarily the case. I am not an expert by any means in the analysis of the academic potential a school has, of course, so take this with a grain of salt.
The floors are clean within the school, and fights are uncommon both inside and outside of the institution (to my knowledge). The school boasts a large field and tennis court. I dunno, you could use it for football or something. This is not a great review for the physical side of Brightstowe, as you may be able to tell.
Security? Well, one guy jumped the fence last year, and watching Mr Keys have to take the place of the security guards and chase him halfway across the field was world class theatre. I get uncomfortable when I'm around the students who go to our school, though it may just be my intuition for danger flaring up around future criminals.
Some of the teachers are good, some of the teachers are bad, some of the teachers are great. They're all kind and caring people, it's just that some are FAR more engaging than others. Just a shame they're all leaving this year (oooooor not!)
Should I even mention that when one of the students at our school was bullied to death last year (rest in peace), the principal got on his puny little chair in his office and told us that "she would want [us] to be working hard."? Are you kidding me? How heartless do you have to be to push productivity when a CHILD HAS DIED DUE TO YOUR INACTION? He "left" later (got fired, let's be realistic. A year and a half at a school and you suddenly "leave" without notice? Why even try to lie to us?) probably because he wasn't doing what the higherups wanted him to be doing.
I'm running out of time, so I'll quickly go over the following:
Food is meh. Edible at least.
Communication was always annoying and bad. Underfunded, I'd bet.
Discipline is awful. A kid broke his leg(s?) the other day because someone was running in the halls. I wish I was lying.
School "culture" makes me uncomfortable at all times, and it makes me even more uncomfortable when the school tries to act like we're a "family" even though I wouldn't be too saddened to never see most of the people at my school ever again. In fact I'd be happy.
Personal development was always ineffective and pointless. Senseless posturing; a waste of time.
It was challenging to find a reason not the dislike the school, if that's what they mean by that.
In conclusion, there are almost certainly better options. Don't come here unless you have to.
Beginning with personal satisfaction, and as a tl;dr: Considering the funding that most public schools get, and the administrative nightmare that is presented when running a school in a socio-economically deprived area, I find it hard to hold this school to account for many of its shortcomings. In general, my experience at this school was... fine. It's remarkable, even, that it's stuck around for so long. However, it can be guaranteed that you will not receive anything above average in terms of your experience at this school if you decide to come here, at least for the next 2 years. There's nothing at all special about anything that goes on here, apart from MAYBE the PE department, which I can't speak on from personal experience.
The academics are, you guessed it, average (to my knowledge). I've been able to succeed to a desirable degree, in most of my subjects, with just a bit of hard work and application of skills. It is important not to conflate my anecdotal academic success with the school generally allowing academic potential to apply itself, however, as this is not necessarily the case. I am not an expert by any means in the analysis of the academic potential a school has, of course, so take this with a grain of salt.
The floors are clean within the school, and fights are uncommon both inside and outside of the institution (to my knowledge). The school boasts a large field and tennis court. I dunno, you could use it for football or something. This is not a great review for the physical side of Brightstowe, as you may be able to tell.
Security? Well, one guy jumped the fence last year, and watching Mr Keys have to take the place of the security guards and chase him halfway across the field was world class theatre. I get uncomfortable when I'm around the students who go to our school, though it may just be my intuition for danger flaring up around future criminals.
Some of the teachers are good, some of the teachers are bad, some of the teachers are great. They're all kind and caring people, it's just that some are FAR more engaging than others. Just a shame they're all leaving this year (oooooor not!)
Should I even mention that when one of the students at our school was bullied to death last year (rest in peace), the principal got on his puny little chair in his office and told us that "she would want [us] to be working hard."? Are you kidding me? How heartless do you have to be to push productivity when a CHILD HAS DIED DUE TO YOUR INACTION? He "left" later (got fired, let's be realistic. A year and a half at a school and you suddenly "leave" without notice? Why even try to lie to us?) probably because he wasn't doing what the higherups wanted him to be doing.
I'm running out of time, so I'll quickly go over the following:
Food is meh. Edible at least.
Communication was always annoying and bad. Underfunded, I'd bet.
Discipline is awful. A kid broke his leg(s?) the other day because someone was running in the halls. I wish I was lying.
School "culture" makes me uncomfortable at all times, and it makes me even more uncomfortable when the school tries to act like we're a "family" even though I wouldn't be too saddened to never see most of the people at my school ever again. In fact I'd be happy.
Personal development was always ineffective and pointless. Senseless posturing; a waste of time.
It was challenging to find a reason not the dislike the school, if that's what they mean by that.
In conclusion, there are almost certainly better options. Don't come here unless you have to.
GCSEs
TLDR - It's fine, like any other school
Right, let me start out with mentioning that I left in 2020, one of the coronakids who never got a final GCSE exam, and I went through Y7 to Y11 without the quarantine stuff of course. Things might be different now, and this is my own experience with the school.
Overall, it's okay, I think the staff did the best they could to support the kids - even working with organisations like Brook and Off The Record at one point (which was a big help for me, as a teen who had severe mental health problems). They had no issues with me going out of lessons for therapy, and they had time to support me when I was catching up on my work. The real issue are the kids, parenting of some of them honestly outstands me - and I guess the school isn't well equipped to handle entitled and loud problem children. Admittedly you could call me biased as I was one of the quiet kids who wanted to get on with it and work.
As an immigrant child, who comes from Poland, I experienced no issues with xenophobia or anything like that. I actually had a wonderful experience with programs like 'Reader Leader' (or something like that), when helping other foreign students learning how to read English. Also had an opportunity to do a Polish GCSE, got a level 9 which probably looks good on my CV.
Safety and security is questionable, but there were no major issues when I was there. We had practice sessions for the fire alarm like usual, and intruder practice (although it was never put to use thankfully). The problem with security came again from the students - how about the parents teach the kids it's not okay to try and bring alcohol (got confiscated fast) or knives into the school? Control your kids, man, not that hard.
Outdoor and indoor areas were... fine, at best. There were always complaints of not having enough places to chill out at break or lunch, and pupils were even asked to not stand around corridors (despite the lack of seating). This was especially the case in winter times, where the small building got packed with students. Teachers started opening up their classrooms at lunch only when I was in Y11, not sure if they still are today - this helped with congestion a bit.
The Library was FANTASTIC, Miss GG - a blessing. She is the most wonderful librarian, and inspired me to read so much, even going as far as to supply the library with the book series I was reading and getting a new set when I moved on. Surprisingly has a good manga section. If your child actually enjoys reading, then this is a pot of gold waiting. Librarian is involved and interested in reading, there was an after school club for creative writing at one point - which I adored, and now enjoy in College.
Teachers are hit or miss really, I've had some wonderful teachers who are passionate about what they do - and I've had some worse ones. However I have heard of recent staff leaving and people getting lots of supply teachers - which actually started when I was leaving. Science, English, and subjects like DT were most affected. In fact, a staff teacher left in the middle of a GCSE course, making the DT students suddenly switch over from DT to Photography and having only 1 year to do their GCSE coursework (affected by Covid in the end).
The houses the students are put into are very sports-based, with Sports Day probably being the biggest event. I remember it being a lot of spirit, and actually enjoying it (unless the weather turned bad on that day). PE was varied, and we did sports like cricket, netball, badminton, and tennis, along with gymnastics sometimes. It was okay, even for a student who doesn't enjoy PE.
Food was okay, I actually quite enjoyed the school lunch - even if the waiting times were quite long (there are a lot of kids, and only a small canteen + assembly hall when it gets opened up). Price for the meals is fair, and they're good quality, sure - the breaktime snacks (not main lunch) were on the pricier side and the bacon was more fat than meat but I loved it regardless. Fingerprint system didn't work sometimes but we can forgive new technology once in a while - was never a huge issue.
History department was AMAZING when I was there, Miss Norman (God bless her soul if she still works there), was the best teacher I've had so far in life. Her passion and love for the subject fuelled me so much, and I ended up with a level 9 in GCSE History, we both cried when we saw the results! School trip to Belgium was great, (although sometimes soured by OTHER STUDENTS), and generally was well managed. The history department at that time carried the school. Not sure if she still works there now however.
Here's a list of staff (in no particular order) who I found great (publicly available names): Mrs Eyenon, Mr Symes, Mr Clayton, Mrs Stebbings, Mr Thie, Mr Keys, Mrs Wright ♥, Mrs Playfair, Mr Mattson ♥, Miss Jessiman ♥, Mr McBride (all the kids love him), Mrs Darby ♥, Mrs Ashiwn, Mrs Lane♥♥, Mrs Gardener-Graham ♥, Mr Chapter, Mrs Harris, Mrs Iredale. These guys carry the school on their damn shoulders and backs - especially with the constantly changing Principle.
Oh, and my year group pretty much never had a prom due to Covid, probably never going to, which is fine by me - but probably was a shame for others.
Overall, it's okay, I think the staff did the best they could to support the kids - even working with organisations like Brook and Off The Record at one point (which was a big help for me, as a teen who had severe mental health problems). They had no issues with me going out of lessons for therapy, and they had time to support me when I was catching up on my work. The real issue are the kids, parenting of some of them honestly outstands me - and I guess the school isn't well equipped to handle entitled and loud problem children. Admittedly you could call me biased as I was one of the quiet kids who wanted to get on with it and work.
As an immigrant child, who comes from Poland, I experienced no issues with xenophobia or anything like that. I actually had a wonderful experience with programs like 'Reader Leader' (or something like that), when helping other foreign students learning how to read English. Also had an opportunity to do a Polish GCSE, got a level 9 which probably looks good on my CV.
Safety and security is questionable, but there were no major issues when I was there. We had practice sessions for the fire alarm like usual, and intruder practice (although it was never put to use thankfully). The problem with security came again from the students - how about the parents teach the kids it's not okay to try and bring alcohol (got confiscated fast) or knives into the school? Control your kids, man, not that hard.
Outdoor and indoor areas were... fine, at best. There were always complaints of not having enough places to chill out at break or lunch, and pupils were even asked to not stand around corridors (despite the lack of seating). This was especially the case in winter times, where the small building got packed with students. Teachers started opening up their classrooms at lunch only when I was in Y11, not sure if they still are today - this helped with congestion a bit.
The Library was FANTASTIC, Miss GG - a blessing. She is the most wonderful librarian, and inspired me to read so much, even going as far as to supply the library with the book series I was reading and getting a new set when I moved on. Surprisingly has a good manga section. If your child actually enjoys reading, then this is a pot of gold waiting. Librarian is involved and interested in reading, there was an after school club for creative writing at one point - which I adored, and now enjoy in College.
Teachers are hit or miss really, I've had some wonderful teachers who are passionate about what they do - and I've had some worse ones. However I have heard of recent staff leaving and people getting lots of supply teachers - which actually started when I was leaving. Science, English, and subjects like DT were most affected. In fact, a staff teacher left in the middle of a GCSE course, making the DT students suddenly switch over from DT to Photography and having only 1 year to do their GCSE coursework (affected by Covid in the end).
The houses the students are put into are very sports-based, with Sports Day probably being the biggest event. I remember it being a lot of spirit, and actually enjoying it (unless the weather turned bad on that day). PE was varied, and we did sports like cricket, netball, badminton, and tennis, along with gymnastics sometimes. It was okay, even for a student who doesn't enjoy PE.
Food was okay, I actually quite enjoyed the school lunch - even if the waiting times were quite long (there are a lot of kids, and only a small canteen + assembly hall when it gets opened up). Price for the meals is fair, and they're good quality, sure - the breaktime snacks (not main lunch) were on the pricier side and the bacon was more fat than meat but I loved it regardless. Fingerprint system didn't work sometimes but we can forgive new technology once in a while - was never a huge issue.
History department was AMAZING when I was there, Miss Norman (God bless her soul if she still works there), was the best teacher I've had so far in life. Her passion and love for the subject fuelled me so much, and I ended up with a level 9 in GCSE History, we both cried when we saw the results! School trip to Belgium was great, (although sometimes soured by OTHER STUDENTS), and generally was well managed. The history department at that time carried the school. Not sure if she still works there now however.
Here's a list of staff (in no particular order) who I found great (publicly available names): Mrs Eyenon, Mr Symes, Mr Clayton, Mrs Stebbings, Mr Thie, Mr Keys, Mrs Wright ♥, Mrs Playfair, Mr Mattson ♥, Miss Jessiman ♥, Mr McBride (all the kids love him), Mrs Darby ♥, Mrs Ashiwn, Mrs Lane♥♥, Mrs Gardener-Graham ♥, Mr Chapter, Mrs Harris, Mrs Iredale. These guys carry the school on their damn shoulders and backs - especially with the constantly changing Principle.
Oh, and my year group pretty much never had a prom due to Covid, probably never going to, which is fine by me - but probably was a shame for others.
Think twice before going to this school
I'm a year 11 at this school at the time of writing this, the only reason i like this school is because I have good friends, they play football and the food is somewhat decent, however in terms of education it's absolutely shocking 😂 if your thinking about taking your child here next year you gotta think again because after my year leaves it's gonna be hell I can tell you that, there's hardly any proper teachers in mainly supply teachers and the toilets as expected tbh are ruined every week so your better off going to another school if i'm being honest
Year8
Bullying
I was here since year 7 I have been bullied and the school does nothing about it and it’s the worst neaver take your child here it’s disgusting the worst school you get bullied and they also make out they’ll do stuff about bullying but they don’t I got bullied since year 7 I think it’s absolutely vile and disgusting
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Poor communication with parents, always an excuse for the issues raised.
Only seem interested in attendance and uniform probably so they look good what about the issues that go in the school.
Seems like there's no authority so bad behaviour just continues and gets worse.
Would never send a child here unless you have no other options.