Joseph Rowntree School
Encyclopedia
The Joseph Rowntree School is a comprehensive school on Haxby
Road in New Earswick in the unitary authority City of York
.
. The school has a sixth form. It became a specialist
technology college
in 1998.
maintains the model village
of New Earswick, built by the Quaker
organisation. It is analogous to Bournville
and the Cadbury family, who were also Quakers. The village of Earswick
is on the other side of the A1237 and the river, to the north-east. The primary school opened in 1912. The school was built when the area was in the North Riding Local Education Authority. It opened on 12 January 1942 to serve the Flaxton Rural District, comprising nineteen villages. It was officially opened on 7 July 1942 by Rab Butler
. It had a capacity for 480, based on class sizes of 40. It was 14 acres (56,656 m²) and built in West Hungtington Park. It opened as a secondary modern school
and taught mainly practical work (making things) and less academic subjects. Education could finish at the age of fifteen (which became the compulsory sixteen only in 1973). From 1944, it was proposed to make the school bi-lateral
, with a technical school section of the school intake.
and in keeping with the Rowntree vision of humanitarian fairness and harmony.
, the school has been rebuilt from scratch - externally. Construction began next-door on the £29m project in September 2008, and was completed in early 2010. It was built by Carillion, with an energy efficient building with a biomass
boiler and 120-seat lecture theatre. The old school was demolished and used as foundation material for a car park.
School Tie (Key stage 3 or 4),
Black Pullover with school logo - optional,
Black trousers (boys),
Black skirt or trousers (girls),
Socks or tights as appropriate for school colours,
Black shoes (flat style, NOT trainers),
Sensible black sandals are allowed in the summer months
Haxby
Haxby is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York, on the River Foss, five miles north of York and south of Strensall, in North Yorkshire, England. Haxby is bordered on the east by the River Foss, and to the west by the village of Wigginton, whose expansion has caused the...
Road in New Earswick in the unitary authority City of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
.
Admissions
It is just north of Huntington, close to the A1237 bypass, the Foss Walk, and the River FossRiver Foss
The River Foss is an improved river in North Yorkshire, England, and a tributary of the River Ouse. It rises in the Foss Crooks woods near Oulston reservoir close to the village of Yearsley and runs south through the Vale of York to the Ouse...
. The school has a sixth form. It became a 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...
technology college
Technology College
Technology College is a term used in the United Kingdom for a secondary specialist school that focuses on design and technology, mathematics and science. These were the first type of specialist schools, beginning in 1994. In 2008 there were 598 Technology Colleges in England, of which 12 also...
in 1998.
History
The Joseph Rowntree Village TrustRowntree trusts
The four Rowntree Trusts are funded from the legacies of the Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree andBenjamin Seebohm Rowntree. The trusts are based in the Rowntrees' home city ofYork, England...
maintains the model village
Model village
A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, in most cases built from the late eighteenth century onwards by industrialists to house their workers...
of New Earswick, built by the Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
organisation. It is analogous to Bournville
Bournville
Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...
and the Cadbury family, who were also Quakers. The village of Earswick
Earswick
Earswick is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies between Huntington and Strensall about north of York....
is on the other side of the A1237 and the river, to the north-east. The primary school opened in 1912. The school was built when the area was in the North Riding Local Education Authority. It opened on 12 January 1942 to serve the Flaxton Rural District, comprising nineteen villages. It was officially opened on 7 July 1942 by Rab Butler
Rab Butler
Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG CH DL PC , who invariably signed his name R. A. Butler and was familiarly known as Rab, was a British Conservative politician...
. It had a capacity for 480, based on class sizes of 40. It was 14 acres (56,656 m²) and built in West Hungtington Park. It opened as a secondary modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
and taught mainly practical work (making things) and less academic subjects. Education could finish at the age of fifteen (which became the compulsory sixteen only in 1973). From 1944, it was proposed to make the school bi-lateral
Partially selective school (England)
In England, a partially selective school is one of a few dozen state-funded secondary schools that select a proportion of their intake by ability or aptitude, permitted as a continuation of arrangements that existed prior to 1997....
, with a technical school section of the school intake.
New approach to education
The school did not want to operate in a traditional manner, and was more informal, with no exams. School life was less structured, more laissez-faireLaissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
and in keeping with the Rowntree vision of humanitarian fairness and harmony.
Comprehensive school
Education in York was reorganised in 1985 and it became a comprehensive. When the York bypass was built in 1985, an underpass was built for walking to Haxby from the school. It has joined Project Faraday to encourage the uptake of science courses.School reconstruction
Like many schools in Yorkshire and the HumberYorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the nine regions of England and formally one of the government office regions. It covers most of the historic county of Yorkshire, along with the part of northern Lincolnshire that was, from 1974 to 1996, within the former shire county of Humberside. The...
, the school has been rebuilt from scratch - externally. Construction began next-door on the £29m project in September 2008, and was completed in early 2010. It was built by Carillion, with an energy efficient building with a biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
boiler and 120-seat lecture theatre. The old school was demolished and used as foundation material for a car park.
Academic results
Results at GCSE are at the England average, but below average for York. At A-level, in 2008, the school did very well. In 2009 72% of students achieved 5 or more passes at GCSE A*-C. At A-level in 2009, 99% of students achieved grade A to E, 71% achieved A to C and 48% of students achieved A's or B's.School Uniform
Black Blazer with school badge,School Tie (Key stage 3 or 4),
Black Pullover with school logo - optional,
Black trousers (boys),
Black skirt or trousers (girls),
Socks or tights as appropriate for school colours,
Black shoes (flat style, NOT trainers),
Sensible black sandals are allowed in the summer months
Diplomas
Joseph Rowntree School is one of few select schools to offer the new Society, Health and Development diploma for young people aged 14–19.Foreign Exchanges
The school offers several foreign student exchanges, with schools in France, Germany and the USA.School trips
The school offers a wide range of educational trips both in the UK, and abroad. Some of these trips abroad include visits to Auschwitz/Birkenau in Poland, Prague, Madrid and South America. Trips in the UK can include visits to the Ken Athur activity centre in Stape - which is owned by the school, Cadburys factory in Birmingham, Theatre trips to London, and many others.Expedition Kenya 2010
In July 2010, 47 students from Joseph Rowntree School will be travelling to Kenya to take part in community and wildlife development programmes, run in association with volunteer organisation Camps International. This is the first trip to Africa the school has done since it first opened.Student Council and Prefects
The school has an active student council and also enrolls school prefects.See also
- Huntington School, York - nearby school
- Bootham SchoolBootham SchoolBootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school in the city of York in North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by the Religious Society of Friends in 1823. It is close to York Minster. The current headmaster is Jonathan Taylor. The school's motto Membra Sumus Corporis Magni means "We...
- independent school set up by Quakers, and attended by the Rowntree family