The Castle School | |
---|---|
Address | |
Park Road , , BS35 1HT England | |
Coordinates | 51°36′55″N2°31′30″W / 51.6153°N 2.5250°W |
Information | |
Type | Academy |
Established | 1952 |
Department for Education URN | 139348 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports |
Headteacher | Jessica Lobbett |
Staff | 100 |
Gender | Coeducational |
Age | 11to 18 |
Enrolment | 1,538 |
Colour(s) | Black, Amber/Gold |
Website | www |
The Castle School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England, which serves the town and the surrounding villages. Pupils from Bristol also attend the school. There are around 1,189 pupils, including 360 in the sixth form.
The main school site on Park Road has seen additions in recent years including the community sports centre, [1] and the Octagon art gallery [2] [3] and classroom. The Gloucester Road buildings approximately half a mile away are primarily used as the sixth form centre, but also house the vocational faculty used by lower years. [4]
Former headmaster Adrian Verwoert was appointed a CBE for services to education in May 2004. [5] Joining the school in 1980, he was appointed as head in 1988. He was succeeded by Melanie Warnes in September 2004. She left in 2014. [6]
In 1862, Handel Cossham, a local preacher, built the original village school, a British School, at Gillingstool. [7] Some years later, because of overcrowding, a new infant school building was added adjacent to the original school. In 1952 the school was separated into infants, juniors and seniors and the latter formed the Thornbury County Secondary school. Before this it was an 'all-age' school taking pupils up to age thirteen, known as Thornbury Council School. [8]
In 1962, during the headship of Mr Cliff J. Martin, plans were drawn up for a new building to house the expanding secondary school. [9] Building work started the following year on Park Road, the site used as the school's playing field. In 1965, the building was opened under the new name of The Castle School, which reflected the school's new position adjacent to Thornbury Castle, whilst keeping the same initials (TCS). The official opening ceremony took place in 1966, attended by the Duke of Beaufort, Chancellor at the University of Bristol at the time.
The county infant and junior schools at Gillingstool later formed the Leaze School, which is now known as Gillingstool Primary School. [10]
The school became a comprehensive in 1972, the same year that Thornbury Grammar School moved from its site on Gloucester Road to new buildings in Alveston (also becoming a comprehensive with the new name of Marlwood School). The Castle School took over the Gloucester Road buildings which now form its Sixth Form Centre.
Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town.
Gloucester is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west; it is sited 19 miles (31 km) east of Monmouth and 17 miles (27 km) east of the border with Wales. Gloucester has a population of around 132,000, including suburban areas. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary.
Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area of England, about 12 mi (19 km) north of Bristol. It had a population of 12,063 at the 2011 census. The population has risen to 14,496 in the 2021 census. Thornbury is a Britain in Bloom award-winning town, with its own competition: Thornbury in Bloom. The earliest documentary evidence of a village at "Thornbyrig" dates from the end of the 9th century. The Domesday Book of 1086 noted a manor of "Turneberie" belonging to William the Conqueror’s consort, Matilda of Flanders, with 104 residents.
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol.
Caldicot is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. The town is located between Chepstow and the city of Newport. The site adjoins the Caldicot Levels, on the north side of the Severn Estuary. The population of the built-up area was around 11,000. It has a large school, Caldicot School, and is known for its medieval castle. The built-up area includes Portskewett. Caldicot had a population of 9,604 in 2011.
Alveston is a village, civil parish and former royal manor in South Gloucestershire, England, inhabited in 2014 by about 3,000 people. The village lies 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Thornbury and 10 miles (16 km) north of Bristol. Alveston is twinned with Courville sur Eure, France. The civil parish also includes the villages of Rudgeway and Earthcott.
Little Stoke is a village in the parish of Stoke Gifford, situated in South Gloucestershire, England. It is surrounded by Patchway, Stoke Gifford and Bradley Stoke. Home to Patchway railway station, a minor stop on the railway network, the railway line separates Little Stoke from the large Rolls-Royce factories in nearby Filton. Gipsy Patch Lane Bridge provides access under the line.
Millfield is a public school located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935.
The region now known as Gloucestershire was originally inhabited by Brythonic peoples in the Iron Age and Roman periods. After the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, the Brythons re-established control but the territorial divisions for the post-Roman period are uncertain. The city of Caerloyw was one centre and Cirencester may have continued as a tribal centre as well. The only reliably attested kingdom is the minor south-east Wales kingdom of Ergyng, which may have included a portion of the area. In the final quarter of the 6th century, the Saxons of Wessex began to establish control over the area.
Rudgeway is a village in South Gloucestershire in south west England, located between Alveston and Almondsbury on the A38 trunk road. It lies west of Earthcott, Latteridge, Iron Acton and Yate on the B4059 road.
Handel Cossham was a British colliery owner, lay preacher and Liberal politician who was active in local government and sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1890.
Pucklechurch is a civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, the main settlement of which is the large village of Pucklechurch. The parish also incorporates the hamlet of Shortwood to the west of Pucklechurch village, and Parkfield to the north-west. It has a current population of just over 3200 based on the 2021 census data. The village dates back over a thousand years and was once the site of a royal hunting lodge, as it adjoined a large forest.
Marlwood School is a state-funded secondary school currently part of the CSET academy chain. Located at Alveston, South Gloucestershire, it is situated on the B3561 on the outskirts of the south-west of the village.
Hillfields is an area and ward of north-east Bristol.
MetroWest, formerly known as the Greater Bristol Metro, is a project to improve the rail services in Bristol, England, and the surrounding region. It was first proposed at First Great Western's Stakeholder Event in March 2008. The aim of the project is to develop half-hourly services through central Bristol which will also serve the surrounding West of England region. Transport campaigning groups Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) and Transport for Greater Bristol are actively supporting the proposal, as are the three unitary authorities under the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council.
Mako Vunipola is a professional rugby union player who plays as a loosehead prop for English club Saracens and the England national team. Born in New Zealand to Tongan parents, he qualified for England through residency having lived and been educated in Wales and then England since the age of 7.
Gloucester Premier is an English rugby union league which sits at the eighth level of league rugby union in England with teams largely being based in the county of Gloucestershire and Bristol. Originally a single division called Gloucestershire/Somerset, in 2000 the division split into two county leagues called Gloucester Premier and Somerset Premier.
Viliami Vunipola is a professional rugby union player who plays as a number eight for Premiership Rugby club Saracens. Born in Australia, he represents England at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.
Joseff John Morrell is a professional footballer who plays as a central-midfielder for EFL League One club Portsmouth and the Wales national team.
Thornbury Town Football Club is a football club located in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England. They are currently members of the Hellenic League Premier Division and play at the Mundy Playing Fields.