The Bicester School
The Bicester School | |
---|---|
Address | |
Queen's Avenue , , OX26 2NS | |
Coordinates | 51°54′03″N 1°09′39″W / 51.900813°N 1.160806°W |
Information | |
Type | Academy |
Motto | Aspire and Achieve |
Established | 1966 |
Local authority | Oxfordshire |
Department for Education URN | 142024 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports |
Headteacher | Tony Rushworth |
Gender | Co-educational |
Age | 11 to 18 |
Enrolment | 1,295 |
Houses | Swify, Hawk, Falcon, Eagle[1] |
Colour(s) | Burgundy,[2] Dark blue and yellow |
Website | www |
The Bicester School is a coeducational secondary school, with 963 students (including a sixth form). It is situated in Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, and occupies a 32-acre (130,000 m2) site leading off Queens Avenue.
The school's sports facilities are used by Bicester Athletic Club, which was awarded National Lottery funding to add all-weather surfaces to the sports field's jumping and throwing event areas.[3]
History
[edit]Bicester County School opened in September 1924 in a building at the junction of London Road and Launton Road (now called Hometree House). It became a grammar school in 1956 and became known as Bicester Grammar School.[4][5]
Highfield Secondary Modern School, built in 1952[6], was the first school on the Queens Avenue site. The grammar school moved to the site in 1963, and the two schools merged in 1966[7] to become Bicester Community College.
The school has become a government-designated specialist Technology College in 1998.
In May 2011 Bicester Community College received the Most Improved Award from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) for significantly improving its 5+ A*–C results including GCSE English and Mathematic by 20 percentage points from 2007 to 2010.
Ofsted rated the school 'Satisfactory' in its 2010 inspection report. After another inspection in 2012, Ofsted downgraded their rating to 'Inadequate', the lowest of the four Ofsted tiers. The school was put in special measures in February 2013.[8]
Oxfordshire County Council subsequently asked the Department for Education for permission to remove the board of governors, with the request being granted on Thursday 21 February 2013. A new interim executive board (IEB) was put in place to oversee the school.[9] Principal Jason Clarke left the school by mutual agreement with the IEB, and the IEB announced the appointment of neighbouring Cooper School head Ben Baxter as interim head from April.[10]
An Ofsted inspection in 2014 increased the school's rating to 'Good' across all categories.[11] The school also received 'Good' from Ofsted in 2018 and 2024.[12]
In August 2015, Bicester Community College converted to academy status and was renamed The Bicester School. The school is now sponsored by Activate Learning.
References
[edit]- ^ "House Points System". The Bicester School.
- ^ "Uniform | the Bicester School".
- ^ "Bicester Athletic Club scoop Thames Valley public TV vote and Lottery cash" (Press release). Big Lottery Fund. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ "Revamp starts after 20 years". Bicester Advertiser. 8 December 2000. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
- ^ "Former pupils reunite". The Oxford Times. 23 April 2002. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
- ^ Description of 'BICESTER COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL, [1952]-1989. BICESTER SCHOOLS. Oxfordshire History Centre. GB 160 S31/5' on the Archives Hub website, [1], (date accessed :20/01/2025)
- ^ "Bicester County School". Bicester Local History Society.
- ^ "School placed in special measures". Bicester Advertiser. Newsquest (Oxfordshire & Wiltshire) Ltd. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ "Head apologises as council sacks Bicester college governors".
- ^ "Bicester college head leaves after Ofsted slating".
- ^ "Inspection report: Bicester Community College, 21–22 May 2014" (PDF). Ofsted. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
- ^ "The Bicester School". Ofsted.