Mayfield School (Portsmouth)
Encyclopedia
Mayfield School is a mixed comprehensive school
in Mayfield Road, North End
, Portsmouth
.
after being lifted out of Special Measures; it now has specialist status
. Mayfield is also the largest state school in Portsmouth. The school is undersubscribed.
It is situated in North End, halfway between the A288 and A2047, and one mile south of the M27
/A27
.
for Boys and Portsmouth Northern Grammar School for Girls, which were opened in 1932. (The boys school had begun as the Northern Secondary School in Kingston
in 1921). After wartime evacuation, the two secondary schools were re-established in 1946 as a result of the 1944 Education Act
. The boys' school had arounf 550 boys in 1970 and was run by the City of Portsmouth Education Committee.
in Portsmouth, with approximately 1800 pupils. The roll was later reduced by the setting up of Portsmouth's Sixth Form College with the school losing its sixth form.
inspection said it was failing to provide an acceptable standard of education. By 2001 the school was facing another crisis—this time a staff problem, as the school had 12 vacancies due to long-term sickness and unfilled positions. Training new teachers became a priority and the school introduced a new graduate teacher programme and created a new teacher training room. With a series of new teachers and new coaching programmes the school has experienced a slight increase in academic achievement, with a 4% rise in GCSE achievement in 2004, compared with 2003.
In 2005, 150 students of the school launched a protest against the deportation of a fellow student, Lorin Sulaiman, who had previously immigrated from Syria
in 2003 after fearing for her safety.
Since 2005, the school reintroduced the prefect system with Deputy and Head Boy and Girl. Since becoming a Specialist Arts college, the school has also introduced Arts Captains, who support the arts status.
Prefects and captains wear their coloured polo shirts as opposed to the normal white and blue.
Black trousers or skirts must also be worn.
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in Mayfield Road, North End
North End, Portsmouth
North End is a mainly residential neighbourhood in the middle of Portsea Island in Portsmouth, England. It developed rapidly after a horse drawn tram route was opened between Portsmouth and Cosham. The area is composed of mainly late Victorian to early 20th century buildings...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
.
Admissions
The School are currently Employing a new Headteacher. This is after former headteacher Derek Trimmer has taken up the heads job at Hove Park School in Brighton and Hove. The school is now an Arts CollegeArts College
Arts Colleges were introduced in 1997 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, the performing, visual and/or media arts...
after being lifted out of Special Measures; it now has specialist status
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...
. Mayfield is also the largest state school in Portsmouth. The school is undersubscribed.
It is situated in North End, halfway between the A288 and A2047, and one mile south of the M27
M27 motorway
The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is long and runs west-east from Cadnam to Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983. It is however unfinished as an extension to the east was planned...
/A27
A27 road
The A27 is a major road in England. It runs from its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish in the county of Wiltshire. It closely parallels the south coast, where it passes through West Sussex and terminates at Pevensey in East Sussex.Between Portsmouth and Lewes, it is one of the busiest trunk...
.
Grammar school
The school is located in the buildings of the former Portsmouth Northern Grammar SchoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
for Boys and Portsmouth Northern Grammar School for Girls, which were opened in 1932. (The boys school had begun as the Northern Secondary School in Kingston
Kingston, Portsmouth
Kingston is a residential area of the city of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire, located between Buckland, Fratton and North End.Kingston Road contains many shops, cafes and churches. Kingston was bombed in World War II when new housing was just built. It was not until the early 1960s...
in 1921). After wartime evacuation, the two secondary schools were re-established in 1946 as a result of the 1944 Education Act
Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. This Act, commonly named after the Conservative politician R.A...
. The boys' school had arounf 550 boys in 1970 and was run by the City of Portsmouth Education Committee.
Comprehensive
In 1975 the two schools were amalgamated with Brunel School (boys) and North End Modern Girls' School to form the largest comprehensive schoolComprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in Portsmouth, with approximately 1800 pupils. The roll was later reduced by the setting up of Portsmouth's Sixth Form College with the school losing its sixth form.
Special measures
In 1999, the school was failing academically and was placed in "special measures" after an OfstedOfsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection said it was failing to provide an acceptable standard of education. By 2001 the school was facing another crisis—this time a staff problem, as the school had 12 vacancies due to long-term sickness and unfilled positions. Training new teachers became a priority and the school introduced a new graduate teacher programme and created a new teacher training room. With a series of new teachers and new coaching programmes the school has experienced a slight increase in academic achievement, with a 4% rise in GCSE achievement in 2004, compared with 2003.
In 2005, 150 students of the school launched a protest against the deportation of a fellow student, Lorin Sulaiman, who had previously immigrated from Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in 2003 after fearing for her safety.
Specialist status
In 2007, the school received the Special Performing Arts Status after raising £50,000. The school spent the money on a brand new state-of-the-art Dance/Drama Studio. The director of this status is Mr Gary Appleton who coincidentally is the Head of Drama and Director of School Productions. During the summer of 2008 a brand new modern Dance Studio was built under the specialist status, replacing the schools old 'small gym'.Since 2005, the school reintroduced the prefect system with Deputy and Head Boy and Girl. Since becoming a Specialist Arts college, the school has also introduced Arts Captains, who support the arts status.
School productions
- 2003 Oh What a Lovely War
- 2004 A Midsummer Nights Dream
- 2005 Romeo and Juliet
- 2006 Oliver!
- 2007 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
- 2008 The Boy Friend
- 2009 Sweet Charity
- 2010 Sweeney Todd
- 2011 We Will Rock You (Casting)
Studio 1 productions
Studio 1 productions are a new type of production within Mayfield School. Since becoming an arts college, the Drama Studio 1 has become renowned as an auditorium for smaller scale productions other than the main ones. So far these have been:- 2007 Find Me!
- 2008 Piano Recital
- 2008 Macbeth
- 2009 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
- 2010 The Tempest
School uniforms
The school has a compulsory school uniform policy. The uniform includes a white crew neck shirt for years 7 to 10, a blue one for year 11s, red for prefects, pink for Dance Captains and purple for Arts Captains, all of which must have the school logo, with the exception of Arts Captains who have the Performing Arts logo. From the years 2008-09 there were consuls which wore bottle green shirts.Prefects and captains wear their coloured polo shirts as opposed to the normal white and blue.
Black trousers or skirts must also be worn.
Northern Grammar School for Boys
- John ArmittJohn ArmittJohn Alexander Armitt, CBE FREng , is the Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body charged with building the venues, facilities and infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games. The appointment commenced on 1 September 2007.He is also Chairman of the Engineering and Physical Sciences...
CBE, Chief Executive from 1997-2001 of Costain GroupCostain GroupCostain Group plc is a British construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead. It was part of the original Channel Tunnel consortium and is involved in Private Finance Initiative projects.-History:...
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, and Chairman since 2007 of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilEngineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilThe Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences , mainly to universities in the United Kingdom...
(EPSRC) and Olympic Delivery AuthorityOlympic Delivery AuthorityThe Olympic Delivery Authority is the statutory corporation responsible for ensuring delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in London... - Rear-AdmiralRear AdmiralRear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Gordon Bridle CB MBE, Project Manager of the Sea DartSea Dart missileSea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977...
and Sea SlugSea Slug missileSea Slug was a first generation surface-to-air missile designed by Armstrong Whitworth for use by the Royal Navy...
(the Navy's first surface-to-air missileSurface-to-air missileA surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
- SAM) - James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of CardiffJames CallaghanLeonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
, the UK Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
from 1976 to 1979, completed his secondary education at the former (now Mayfield) Northern Secondary School in 1926. - Sir Barry CunliffeBarry CunliffeSir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, CBE, known professionally as Barry Cunliffe is a former Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford, a position held from 1972 to 2007...
CBE, an eminent archaeologist, Professor of European Archaeology from 1972-2007 at the University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, and President from 1976-9 of the Council for British ArchaeologyCouncil for British ArchaeologyEstablished in 1944, the is an educational charity working throughout the UK to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations...
and from 1991-5 of the Society of Antiquaries of LondonSociety of Antiquaries of LondonThe Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is... - Mike DonkinMike DonkinMichael Charles Donkin was an English reporter and journalist for BBC News.Donkin was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1951. He went to school at the Northern Grammar School for Boys, in North End, Portsmouth. He landed his first job with the East Anglian Daily Times in Ipswich. In 1975, he...
, former BBC world affairs correspondent
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from 1991-6 of the Royal ArtilleryRoyal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:... - Sir John PestellJohn PestellSir John Richard Pestell, KCVO was Private Secretary and Comptroller to the Governor of Rhodesia from 1965 to 1969....
, Chief Adjudicator on Immigration Appeals from 1970-87 at Heathrow Airport - Prof Kenneth Rawson, Professor and Head of Department of Design and Technology from 1983-9 at Brunel UniversityBrunel UniversityBrunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
, Professor of Naval Architecture from 1972-77 at University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and Chief Naval Architect from 1979-83 at the MoDMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.... - Harold Robinson OBE, aeronautical engineer, Head of the Avionics Department from 1965-9 of the Royal Aircraft EstablishmentRoyal Aircraft EstablishmentThe Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
, President from 1982-3 of the Whitworth Society, and Project Leader of Hawker Siddeley Dynamics' Blue Streak ballistic missile and showed how the Black Knight (rocket)Black Knight (rocket)Black Knight was a British launch vehicle to test and verify the design of a re-entry vehicle for the Blue Streak missile.The United Kingdom's first indigenous rocketry project, Black Knight was manufactured by Saunders-Roe on the Isle of Wight, had its engines tested at The Needles and was...
could be converted into the Black ArrowBlack ArrowBlack Arrow, officially capitalised BLACK ARROW, was a British satellite carrier rocket. Developed during the 1960s, it was used for four launches between 1969 and 1971...
in 1963 - Brian Slade, President since 2002 of the Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association, and Director General from 1986-91 of Defence Contracts at the MoDMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
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(RICS)
See also
- Mayfield High School (London)Mayfield High School (London)Mayfield School is located on Pedley Road in Redbridge, Greater London, despite its Dagenham address. The current headteacher, Andy Rehling, is the former Seven Kings High School Deputy Head. Mayfield includes a Sixth Form Block and a Field and a new science block built in 2008...
in DagenhamDagenhamDagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began... - The Portsmouth Grammar SchoolThe Portsmouth Grammar SchoolThe Portsmouth Grammar School was founded in 1732, and is located in the historic part of the city. It is one of the top Public schools in the UK consistently ranking highly in national reviews of teaching quality and examination results.-History:...
- independent school, and former direct grant grammar schoolDirect grant grammar schoolA direct grant grammar school was a selective secondary school in England and Wales between 1945 and 1976 funded partly by the state and partly through private fees....
External links
- Mayfield School Website
- Mayfield School League Tables, BBC News
- Mayfield School Student Council Website
- MFLMayfield Website
- EduBase