Durrington High School
Encyclopedia
Durrington High School is a community
Secondary school
located in Worthing
, West Sussex
. The school has operated as a high school since 1973, and serves around 1350 pupils aged 12 to 16 across four year groups as part of Worthing's three-tier
provision. It is a Business and Enterprise college
.
. At this stage, it took on its current name. Under the direction of Paul Brown, then Head of Drama & Creative Arts, Durrington High School was represented in the West End with pupils performing in the production of "Fire Costs" at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue in October 1993 - a performance that was produced by the Home Office. The production was originally presented at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing in the Autumn of 1991 and was the result of a competition run by West Sussex Fire Brigade in which local schoolchildren were encouraged to submit stories based on the subject of fire. The winning entries were turned into a play by Paul Brown; Boundstone's Head of Drama, Tom Brown; the Connaught Theatre's Manager Stephen Holroyd and Mel Denman from West Sussex Fire Brigade. Durrington High was renowned for the quality of its drama department's public theatre productions, particularly under the team of Paul Brown, Hilary Lane and former head of music Richard Colbourne. During the course of the 1994/5 re-build, two high-quality Shakespearian productions were presented at the Barn Theatre, Field Place - including an open air Summer production of "The Tempest" and the pre-Christmas production of "Macbeth". The newly opened school included a purpose built drama studio,amphitheatre and overhaul of the existing Rodmell Hall stage. The exterior of the new drama studio (reminiscent of a mini version of Chicester's Minerva Theatre) includes stone heads representing Shakespearean characters that were designed by pupils who appeared in many of the productions during the 1994/5 school year. The school won the local heats of Rock Challenge in 2008 and 2009. They came 3rd in the Southern Rock Challenge Finals 2008. In 2011, they also placed 8th in the U.K. Maths challenge test.
is a compulsory exam for all students in their final year. However, as of academic year 2011-2012, students will have a choice between Business and Communication Systems, Business BTEC, and ICT GCSE.
Community school
The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...
Secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
located in Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. The school has operated as a high school since 1973, and serves around 1350 pupils aged 12 to 16 across four year groups as part of Worthing's three-tier
Three-tier education
Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types. A similar experiment was also trialled in Scotland....
provision. It is a Business and Enterprise college
Business and Enterprise College
Business and Enterprise Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields...
.
History
The school was opened as Worthing Junior Technical School for building in 1949 at Union Place, Worthing. It moved to its location on The Boulevard in 1955, being renamed as Worthing Technical High School. In 1973 the school merged with the county secondary girls' school, which had previously been housed at Ringmer Road since before World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At this stage, it took on its current name. Under the direction of Paul Brown, then Head of Drama & Creative Arts, Durrington High School was represented in the West End with pupils performing in the production of "Fire Costs" at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue in October 1993 - a performance that was produced by the Home Office. The production was originally presented at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing in the Autumn of 1991 and was the result of a competition run by West Sussex Fire Brigade in which local schoolchildren were encouraged to submit stories based on the subject of fire. The winning entries were turned into a play by Paul Brown; Boundstone's Head of Drama, Tom Brown; the Connaught Theatre's Manager Stephen Holroyd and Mel Denman from West Sussex Fire Brigade. Durrington High was renowned for the quality of its drama department's public theatre productions, particularly under the team of Paul Brown, Hilary Lane and former head of music Richard Colbourne. During the course of the 1994/5 re-build, two high-quality Shakespearian productions were presented at the Barn Theatre, Field Place - including an open air Summer production of "The Tempest" and the pre-Christmas production of "Macbeth". The newly opened school included a purpose built drama studio,amphitheatre and overhaul of the existing Rodmell Hall stage. The exterior of the new drama studio (reminiscent of a mini version of Chicester's Minerva Theatre) includes stone heads representing Shakespearean characters that were designed by pupils who appeared in many of the productions during the 1994/5 school year. The school won the local heats of Rock Challenge in 2008 and 2009. They came 3rd in the Southern Rock Challenge Finals 2008. In 2011, they also placed 8th in the U.K. Maths challenge test.
Campus
The school shares a campus with Oak Grove College Special School. The building is purpose-built, offering facilities for all subjects, including science labs, technology suites and a music department. There is also a large field in which cricket pitches and goal posts are set up, and a MUGA (Multi Use Games Arena) for 6 a-side leagues etc.Curriculum
Students join the school in Year 8 from local middle schools. The school is a Business and Enterprise College, so Business CommunicationBusiness communication
Business Communication: communication used to promote a product, service, or organization; relay information within the business; or deal with legal and similar issues. It is also a means of relaying between a supply chain, for example the consumer and manufacturer.Business Communication is known...
is a compulsory exam for all students in their final year. However, as of academic year 2011-2012, students will have a choice between Business and Communication Systems, Business BTEC, and ICT GCSE.