Harlington Upper School
Encyclopedia
Harlington Upper School is a rural, coeducational comprehensive school in Harlington
Harlington, Bedfordshire
Harlington is a village and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England, near the M1 motorway. The nearest town is Flitwick about three miles to the north...

, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

 as well as a successful sixth form. The school holds Specialist Science College
Science College
Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, science and mathematics...

 status.

History

The school was established in 1783 and the buildings have recently been completely refurbished. In 2007 a house-based approach to student support was developed which includes mixed-age or "vertical" tutor groups. This complements the invitation for Harlington to become the Deep Support Hub for the Eastern Region. The school is now one of only 9 schools nationally to have this status.

Students

The majority of students join Harlington from three Bedfordshire middle schools: Arnold, Parkfields and Robert Bloomfield. The students mainly live in the villages near Harlington including: Harlington
Harlington, Bedfordshire
Harlington is a village and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England, near the M1 motorway. The nearest town is Flitwick about three miles to the north...

, Toddington
Toddington, Bedfordshire
Toddington is a large village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England which is situated 5 miles NNW of Luton, north of Dunstable, south west of Woburn and 35 miles NNW of London on the A5120 and B579. It is 0.5 miles from Junction 12 of the M1 motorway and lends its...

, Harlington Mill, Sharpenhoe
Sharpenhoe
Sharpenhoe is a small village in Bedfordshire, England, at the foot of the hills known as the Sharpenhoe Clappers, which are within the Chilterns AONB.- Transport :...

, Barton-le-Clay
Barton-le-Clay
Barton-le-Clay is a large village and a civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. The village has existed since at least 1066 and is mentioned in the Domesday Book...

, Silsoe
Silsoe
Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England.-Origin:The village name is derived from the Danish word ‘hoh’, in "Sifels hoh", meaning "Sifel’s hill". The Danes were thought to have been the earliest settlers here...

, Clophill
Clophill
Clophill, is a small village and civil parish located in the Flit river valley, Bedfordshire, England. At this time the village belonged to a group of two or three hamlets – Beadlow, Cainhoe and possibly Moddry.It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Clopelle; meaning tree-stump Hill in old...

, Westoning
Westoning
Westoning is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire located about a mile south of the town of Flitwick. It is about two miles north-east of junction 12 of the M1 motorway, and beside the First Capital Connect railway line to London and beyond...

, Greenfield
Greenfield, Bedfordshire
Greenfield is a small village about from the town of Flitwick in Bedfordshire, England.It lies across Flitwick Moor from the larger town and is on the opposite side of the River Flit. It forms part of the parish of Flitton and Greenfield. Due to closures, there is now only one public house in...

, Flitwick
Flitwick
Flitwick, pronounced , is a small town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.-Location:...

, Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....

, Chalton
Chalton, Bedfordshire
Chalton is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, immediately north of the Luton/Dunstable conurbation and bounded to the east by the M1 motorway and the Midland Main Line railway line....

, and Streatley.

Most students join the school in year 9, aged 13. They take Key Stage 3 SATs in year 9 and GCSE exams in year 11, aged 16 or 15. some students stay on at the school after GCSEs and join a large sixth form of over 420. The most famous students to walk through the door of the school are David Beckham and Toby Flood along with the artist Picasso. In 2011 the school had a visit from the glamour model Katie Price, who gave a thrilling assembly on nano-sciences.

Houses

As of September 2007, the forms are not sorted by year group (age) but rather by house, there are six houses each with 12 forms of mixed age range. The houses are named after mythical creatures and gods, Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...

, Europa
Europa (mythology)
In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The name Europa occurs in Hesiod's long list of daughters of primordial Oceanus and Tethys...

, Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...

, Midas
Midas
For the legend of Gordias, a person who was taken by the people and made King, in obedience to the command of the oracle, see Gordias.Midas or King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This was called the Golden touch, or the...

, Pegasus
Pegasus
Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...

, Theseus
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...

. The forms are named after the letters from HARLINGTON other than the repeated N which is replaced by the U from Upper. The name of an individual form is the initial letter of the house and the initial letter of HARLINGTOU, for example the first form in Apollo would be AH then AA, AR etc. With the new house structure, there are a number of responsibility positions available for students to fill, e.g. House captain, editor of the house newspaper.
  • Apollo (Yellow) - Mr B Marley
  • Europa (Blue) - Mrs M Thatcher
  • Hercules (Red) - Mr G Brown
  • Midas (Gold/Orange) - Mrs N Kidman
  • Pegasus (Purple) - Mr J Wayne
  • Theseus (Green) - Mr J Wilkinson

New Buildings

Between October 2003 and April 2006, the school underwent a major building and refurbishment programme as part of the Mid-Bedfordshire PFI scheme.
In November 2006, the Mid-Bedfordshire PFI scheme was officially opened by the Queen during a visit to Bedfordshire.

Specialist Status

In September 2006 the school gained Specialist Science College
Science College
Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, science and mathematics...

 Status. The school continues to teach the full range of National Curriculum subjects, but uses its strength and expertise in Science and Mathematics to support other schools and the local community. The school has recently been asked by the DfES and Specialist Schools Trust to become a Deep Support Hub for the Eastern Region.

External links

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