Waingels College
 | |
| Motto | School of The Future" |
|---|---|
| Type | Academy |
| Acting Principal | Tom Bartlett |
| Chair of Governors | Mike Reeves |
| Location |
Waingels Road Woodley Berkshire RG5 4RF England Coordinates: 51°27′53″N 0°53′23″W / 51.464722°N 0.889722°W |
| Local authority | Wokingham |
| DfE number | 872/4060 |
| DfE URN | 142166 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
| Staff | c.170 |
| Students | c.1,470 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Astor, Brunel, Da Vinci, Holmes, Rowling, Turing |
| Colours | |
| Website | Official website |
Waingels College (previously Waingels Copse School) is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school located in Woodley, Reading, Berkshire, England. It has a population of 1,500 students but may rise due to overcrowding in the area and an appeals process which now has to take place. Over 400 people apply for entry annually, though there are only 270 places available (a rise from 240 in previous years). The school previously held specialist status as a Mathematics and Computing College, and converted to academy status in July 2015.[1]
Houses
In September 2006 the school was split into six houses. Each house is named after an inspirational role-model. Each house has a learning community, Red, Green and Gold which are seen on the uniform with a Red, Green or Gold collar around it and on the logo. Brunel and Da Vinci are in the Green Zone, Holmes and Rowling are the Gold Zone and Turing and Astor are the Red zone.[2]
| Name of house | Colour | Role Model |
|---|---|---|
| Astor | White | Nancy Astor, the first woman to sit as an MP in the UK. |
| Brunel | Green | Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer and creator of the Great Western Railway. |
| Da Vinci | Blue | Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian scientist, inventor and artist. |
| Holmes | Red | Kelly Holmes, the Olympic gold medalist at middle distance. |
| Rowling | Yellow | J K Rowling the British author who created the Harry Potter series. |
| Turing | Black | Alan Turing, the British mathematician and cryptographer. |
Until 2006 the school was split into two 'houses', Wain and Gels. In the 1970s and 1980s the school had four houses named for local connections: Bader (house colour red), after the airman Douglas Bader who flew from the old Woodley airfield; Brunel (house colour yellow), the only survivor in the current line-up; Jerome (house colour blue), after the author Jerome K. Jerome who wrote about the nearby River Thames; and Miles (house colour green), after the Miles Aircraft company, once based at Woodley airfield.
As of the beginning of the new school year in 2012,the six houses will be split into two parts of the school, each part made up of three houses (one from each color. These two sections are to be renamed the Wains and the Gels.
The school was originally built back in 1970 to replace the old secondary modern school on Loddon Bridge Road, Rivermead Primary School, which is now a primary school. The school has been rebuilt (except for the blocks for Sports, ICT and Maths, which have been refurbished) and was completed in November 2011 at a cost of £31M.
Sports day history
Sports days are held annually in Palmer Park. Before 2011, Years 7-9 were the only years to compete, due to Work Experience for Year 10, and Study Leave for Year 11. However, this came under dispute due to the fact Year 10s may no longer be going on Work Experience. It is currently undecided whether Year 10s can compete. Before sports day, the P.E. teachers are chosen to be Sports Day captains and they are in charge of finding people from their respective house (Da Vinci, Holmes, Turing etc.) and from different years to compete in the sports.
Redevelopment
Waingels College underwent a £31.1 million redevelopment as part of the Schools for the Future building programme, which is now complete. There are now four buildings in total: the "Community Zone" (home to the sixth form common room, staff room, library, canteen and main hall); the "Green Zone" (home to mathematics, science, P.E. and food technology); the "Gold Zone" (home to English, foreign languages and the arts) and the "Red Zone" (home to the humanities, Tech and IT).
The building work has been generally well received, although teachers and students alike were having problems with the open plan design in some parts of the school. There have since been extra walls built during the 2012 summer break.
The new college was officially opened on 26 March 2012 by HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
Notable former pupils
- James Henry – professional footballer (currently playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.)
- Irwin Sparkes – musician (lead singer of The Hoosiers)[3]
- Exit Ten – progressive metal band
- David Warburton – MP, composer and entrepreneur
- Luke Ward – Designer and entrepreneur
References
- ↑ http://www.waingels.wokingham.sch.uk/about-us/latest-news/the-school-designated-as-an-academy/
- ↑ "Inform Waingels Newsletter" (PDF). Waingels College. 2006-09. Retrieved 2009-02-23. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ Interview with the Hoosiers on BBC Berkshire, 18 December 2007 accessed 20 January 2008