Heart of England School

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Coordinates: 52°23′10″N 1°38′52″W / 52.3860°N 1.6479°W / 52.3860; -1.6479
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Heart of England School
Address
Map
Gipsy Lane

Balsall Common
,
West Midlands
,
CV7 7FW

England
Coordinates52°23′10″N 1°38′52″W / 52.3860°N 1.6479°W / 52.3860; -1.6479
Information
TypeAcademy
MottoCreating Futures
Local authoritySolihull
Department for Education URN136909 Tables
OfstedReports
PrincipalMiss Hughes-Williams
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 18
Enrolment1300 (approx)
HousesVoyager, Phoenix, Pioneer and Apollo
Colour(s)teal blue
Websiteheart-england.co.uk

Heart of England School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located in Balsall Common in the West Midlands. Its catchment is the south-east of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, primarily rural and commuter villages.[1]

History[edit]

The school was opened in 1957[2] and was formerly a secondary modern school. It became a comprehensive school in 1974 when it became part of the metropolitan borough of Solihull.[3] In 1998 a new sixth form block was added with four additional classrooms and a dedicated computer suite.[2] In 2011 the school converted to academy status.[4]

When David Hempleman-Adams undertook his Ultimate Challenge Expedition in 1996 (leading a team of novices to ski to the Magnetic North Pole, having already completed a solo walk to the South Pole), sixth formers at Heart of England School were invited to create a website, which provided up to date tracking of the expedition and information on the history of polar exploration. The work required an upgrade of the school's IT facilities to allow it to connect to the Internet, and allow the students to learn to code for the nascent web technologies.[5]

In 2003 the school made national headlines when the headmistress trialled the use of sniffer dogs to prevent pupils from bringing in drugs.[6] Although she described the school as not troublesome, there had been occasional issues with drug taking in the recent past.[7] The school hired counter drugs specialists to conduct the scheme.[6][8]

An extension used for sporting activities and dancing was built in 2007, part-financed with lottery money.[9]

Campus[edit]

The school has three main blocks (Main block, Hampton block and Leveson block). The P.E. block, a part of main block, consists of a Dance Studio, a Gym, a Sports Hall and lessons also take place in the hall, tennis courts and field. The playing field abuts the Primary School field. Recent renovations have included a "Cyber Cafe" and "restaurant", improving the eating area for pupils. In September 2010 an extension to the Hampton Building was added to provide much needed specialist accommodation for Maths, Languages, Food Technology and Drama.

The school is a provider for the Duke of Edinburgh's award.[10]

Notable Alumni[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Schofield 1982, p. 93.
  2. ^ a b Solihull News 1998, p. 81.
  3. ^ Coventry Evening Telegraph 1976.
  4. ^ Ofsted 2013, p. 3.
  5. ^ Walker 1996.
  6. ^ a b The Daily Telegraph 2003.
  7. ^ Solihull Times.
  8. ^ The Guardian 2003.
  9. ^ Coventry Live 2007.
  10. ^ Heart of England School - Duke of Edinburgh's Award n.d.
  11. ^ The Daily Telegraph 2002.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Brooks, Val (1 January 2002). Assessment In Secondary Schools: The New Teacher's Guide to Monitoring, Assessment, Recording, Reporting, and Accountability. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). ISBN 978-0-335-20637-7.
  • Hunton, Jake (13 August 2018). Exam Literacy: A guide to doing what works (and not what doesn't) to better prepare students for exams. Crown House Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78583-354-0.
  • Schofield, Mary (January 1982). "Re‐Entry or Launch? Applications of an Industrial Secondment to the Work of a School". School Organisation. 2 (1): 93–99. doi:10.1080/0260136820020111.
  • "Balsall Common head to retire". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 25 May 1976. p. 4. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  • "Heart of England gets top marks". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 5 February 1996. p. 5. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  • "Move over Charlotte, here's Lorna". The Daily Telegraph. 23 October 2002. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  • "School brings in drug dogs". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2003. p. 11. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  • "A dog's life: Sniffer for drugs at school". The Guardian. 28 January 2003. p. 13. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  • "Head of housekeeping". The Guardian. 29 March 1983. p. 11. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  • "Duke of Edinburgh's Award". Heart of England School. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  • Walker, Dorothy (15 April 1996). "Pupils in Pole Position". The Independent. p. 31. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  • "Mary Schofield". The Daily Telegraph. 21 August 1981. p. 7. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  • "Solihull Education News". Solihull News. 26 June 1998. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  • "Parent poll says no to grammar school". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 23 February 1984. p. 9. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  • "Playground drugs scandal hits school". Solihull Times. 10 July 1998. p. 1. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  • "Heart of England School - Inspection Report". ofsted.gov.uk. Ofsted. 2013.
  • "Sports and dance centre opens". Coventry Live. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2024.

External links[edit]


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