Henry Mellish School and Specialist Sports College
Encyclopedia
Henry Mellish School and Specialist Sports College was a small, non-denominational secondary school
in Bulwell
, Nottingham
, England
, situated in an area of high social deprivation.
-educated Henry Mellish, a British Army
colonel
and local councilor, who died two years prior to the opening. The school was sited near the Highbury Vale tram stop
and opposite the Highbury Hospital on Highbury Road (B682).
Memorable teachers present towards the end of the schools lifespan were:
Former Head Teacher, Mr. Graham Roberts has notably gone on to also be the head of the merged Bulwell Academy.
The close of the school came a shock to many current and former students, being one of the fastest improving schools in the city. Improvements such as the relatively new refurbished community sports college in which lessons would often take place.
During the transition into the new Academy building, both of the yet unclosed school took temporary new names. Henry Mellish being chiefly renamed "Bulwell Academy Highbury".
in 2005, but had since vastly improved - the school gained its specialist
sports college
status with information and communication technology (ICT) as a second specialism in March 2005. The schools GCSE results had improved dramatically over the previous six years, going from 13% of students achieving 5 A*-C grades in 2003 up to 65% in 2008 which made the school the 5th highest achieving secondary school in the city of Nottingham at the time.
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...
in Bulwell
Bulwell
Bulwell is an English market town approximately northwest of Nottingham city centre, on the northern edge of the city. The United Kingdom Census 2001 showed there were almost 30,000 people living in the Bulwell area, accounting for over 10% of the population of the city of Nottingham.-Early...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, situated in an area of high social deprivation.
Early history
The school was founded as a boys' grammar school in 1929 - the Henry Mellish Grammar School, and named after EtonEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
-educated Henry Mellish, a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and local councilor, who died two years prior to the opening. The school was sited near the Highbury Vale tram stop
Highbury Vale tram stop
Highbury Vale is a stop on the Nottingham Express Transit tram system. It serves as the main interchange between the Hucknall and Phoenix Park branches of Line 1 - however, NET recommends that people alight at the previous stop rather than change at Highbury Vale, due to the line branching before...
and opposite the Highbury Hospital on Highbury Road (B682).
School specifics
Towards the end of its lifespan the subjects taught at the school were:- English
- Maths
- Science
- Geography
- Textiles
- Art
- ICT
- PE
- Workshop
Memorable teachers present towards the end of the schools lifespan were:
- Mr Graham Roberts (Maths - Deputy Head Teacher - Head Teacher)
- Mr Bennett (Geography)
- Mr Andrew Seymour (ICT)
- Mr Golds (Science)
- Mr Rogers (Science)
- Mr Rogers {older} (Science)
- Mr Kent (PE)
- Ms Sarah Hughs (English)
- Ms Quarless (English)
- Mr Wagstaff (Workshop)
Closure in 2009
The school was closed on the 6th June 2009 in preparation for the opening of the Bulwell Academy. This merged the school with the other major educational institute in the local area, River Leen (formerly Alderman Derbyshire). Originally the merge of these two school was deemed unthinkable by local residents due to the overwhelming rivalry between the two schools.Former Head Teacher, Mr. Graham Roberts has notably gone on to also be the head of the merged Bulwell Academy.
The close of the school came a shock to many current and former students, being one of the fastest improving schools in the city. Improvements such as the relatively new refurbished community sports college in which lessons would often take place.
During the transition into the new Academy building, both of the yet unclosed school took temporary new names. Henry Mellish being chiefly renamed "Bulwell Academy Highbury".
Academic performance
Henry Mellish School was judged to require special measuresSpecial measures
Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...
in 2005, but had since vastly improved - the school gained its specialist
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
sports college
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
status with information and communication technology (ICT) as a second specialism in March 2005. The schools GCSE results had improved dramatically over the previous six years, going from 13% of students achieving 5 A*-C grades in 2003 up to 65% in 2008 which made the school the 5th highest achieving secondary school in the city of Nottingham at the time.
As Henry Mellish Grammar School
- Sir Neil CossonsNeil CossonsSir Neil Cossons OBE FSA FMA is Pro-Provost and Chairman of the Council of the Royal College of Art, of which he has been a Governor since 1989. From 1986 to 2000 he was the Director of the Science Museum, London, UK, the National Museum of Science & Industry...
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(RCHME) from 2000-3, Chairman of the Association of Independent MuseumsAssociation of Independent MuseumsThe Association of Independent Museums is an organisation that represents and supports independent museums based in the United Kingdom.It was established in 1977....
from 1978–83, and President of the Newcomen SocietyNewcomen SocietyThe Newcomen Society is a British learned society formed to foster the study of the history of engineering and technology. It was founded in London in 1920 and takes its name from Thomas Newcomen, one of the inventors associated with the early development of the steam engine, who is widely...
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, economist, Vice-Chancellor of the University of NottinghamUniversity of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
since 2008, and Chairman of the Armed Forces' Pay Review BodyArmed Forces' Pay Review BodyThe Armed Forces' Pay Review Body is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body established to review and recommend the pay and terms and conditions of employment of the British armed forces...
since 2004 - Dr Sidney Holgate CBE, mathematician who founded Grey College, DurhamGrey College, DurhamGrey College is a college of the University of Durham in England. Although it was originally planned that the college was to be named Oliver Cromwell College, this proved too controversial and it was instead named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, who was Prime Minister at the time of the...
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- Ian Hallam MBE
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