Wrenn School

Wrenn School is a coeducational secondary comprehensive school and Sixth form with academy status, located in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England.

Wrenn School
Address
London Road Wellingborough , Northamptonshire , NN8 2DQ England
Coordinates	52°17′47″N 0°41′19″W
Information
Type	Secondary Comprehensive Sponsor-led Academy
Motto	"Proud to be Wrenn"
Established	1907: Wellingborough County High School 1930: Wellingborough Grammar School 1975: Merger to form Wrenn School
Trust	Creative Education Trust: 2018
Department for Education URN	139961 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair of Governors	William E Mandeville
Principal	Marianne Blake
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 19
Enrolment	1,304
Colour(s)	Black & Red
Second Site	Doddington Road Wellingborough Northamptonshire NN8 2JJ England
Website	www.wrennschool.org.uk
500m 550yds Roseacre site Doddington Road site London Road site

History

The school's origins lie in Wellingborough County High School for girls (1907) and Wellingborough Grammar School for boys (1930). The Wellingborough County High School was founded in 1907, and moved into the Broadway site in 1911, and the grammar school site was finished in 1930, on Doddington Road. The two schools merged in 1975, under the then headmaster, Mr Wrenn, to form Wrenn School.^[1]

Facilities

Wrenn School is a split-site school, with the three parts of its grounds being a short walk apart. The first site of the school is situated on the A5193 (former A509) in the south of the town, just west of the hospital, on London Road and Broadway (52.2963°N 0.6887°W / 52.2963; -0.6887 (Wrenn School, London Road site)). The other two sites are situated on Doddington Road (52.2959°N 0.6948°W / 52.2959; -0.6948 (Wrenn School, Doddington Road site)), a few minutes from the London Road site. The Doddington Road site, formerly the boys' grammar school, houses years 9-11 along with the Art and Design Technology buildings, and the Roseacre Playing Fields site, for Physical Education, is situated directly opposite the main Doddington Road building. The London Road site, which was the site of the former girls' high school, is attended by years 7-8 and the school's Sixth Form. The oldest buildings are those of the former grammar school, and the most modern additions are the all-weather pitch (AstroTurf) and pavilion, constructed in 2004 and the music block, constructed in 2006.

Inspection judgements and academisation

• 1993: the school became a Grant Maintained School
• 2004: the school became a Specialist Science College
• 2009: the school's Sixth Form was rated Outstanding by OFSTED
• 2013: the school became an Academy, as part of 'The Education Fellowship Trust' .^[2]
• 2015: judgement of Requires Improvement.^[3]
• 2016: judgement of Inadequate.^[4]
• 2017: the Department for Education issued a Termination Notice to the Education Fellowship Trust in January 2017, stating that the Regional Schools Commissioner was considering terminating the academy's funding agreement.^[5][6] This was then confirmed in March 2017.^[7][8]
• 2018: judgement of Good.^[9][10][11]
• 2018: the school was transferred to the 'Creative Education Trust'.^[10][12][13]

Academic performance

In 2018, the school's Progress 8 score at GCSE was average, and its Attainment 8 score below average.^[14]

Wellingborough Music & Arts Centre

The Northamptonshire County Council-run “Music and Arts Centre” takes place every Saturday morning in the Wrenn School, at the London Road site, and the festival band has achieved national recognition in the finals of the national festival of music for youth.^{[15][better source needed]}

Notable people

Wrenn School

• Ashleigh Butler, Entertainer and Britain's Got Talent 2012 winner along with Pudsey the Dog^[16]

Wellingborough Grammar School

• Gerry Bermingham, Labour MP from 1983-2001 for St Helens South^[17]
• Richard Bradshaw, Director from 1998-2007 of the Canadian Opera Company^{[citation needed]}
• Michael Cox (novelist)^[18]
• Sir David Frost OBE^[1]
• Sir Bruce Liddington^[19]
• Giovanni Di Stefano - fraudster^{[citation needed]}
• Sir Terence Streeton KBE CMG, High Commissioner to Bangladesh from 1983-9
• David Thacker, theatre director^{[citation needed]}
• Don White (footballer), rugby player and English national coach from 1969–71^[20]

Former teachers

• Jeff Butterfield - England and Northampton rugby player^[21]
• Bob Taylor - England rugby player^[22]

References

1. Tall, David, and Graham Tall (2006). Memories of Wellingborough Grammar School, with foreword by Sir David Frost. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
2. "Wrenn School". Get Information about Schools. Gov.UK. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
3. Carter-Fraser, Amanda (2015). "Wrenn School". Ofsted. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
4. Connolly, Zarina (2016). "Wrenn School". Ofsted. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
5. Post, Martin (2017). "Termination warning notice to Wrenn School". Gov.UK. Department for Education. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
6. Dickens & Whittaker, John & Freddie (21 January 2017). "School with £1.3m debt now faces closure over inadequate Ofsted". Schools Week. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
7. Staufenberg, Jess (10 March 2017). "Education Fellowship trust gives up all 12 schools over poor performance". Schools Week. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
8. "Funding terminated from failing academy trust". BBC News. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
9. Ofsted report 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
10. Whittaker, Freddie (20 September 2018). "Academy's new start delayed by deficit discussions". Schools Week. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
11. Weaver, Stephanie (4 June 2018). "Wellingborough academy goes from inadequate to good in just 18 months". Northants Telegraph. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
12. "CREATIVE EDUCATION TRUST". Get Information about Schools. Gov.UK. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
13. Zahawi, Nadhim (2018). "Education Fellowship Trust: Department for Education written question". They Work For You. Hansard. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
14. "Wrenn School". Find and compare schools in England. GOV.UK. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
15. "National Festival of Music for Youth".
16. "Ashleigh goes back to school after victory". Northants Telegraph. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
17. Robert Waller; Byron Criddle (1999). The Almanac of British Politics. Psychology Press. pp. 595–. ISBN 978-0-415-18541-7. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
18. Foden, Giles (6 April 2009). "Michael Cox". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
19. "Academy sponsor defends high pay and high expectations". the Guardian. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
20. Stephens, Paul (7 June 2007). "Don White". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
21. Newcombe, Barry (6 May 2004). "Jeff Butterfield". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
22. Tall, T. and Tall, G. (2006). Memories of Wellingborough Grammar School 1930 - 1975 Clock Tower Publications ISBN 0-9548689-1-9 page 125

External links

• Wellingborough High School Old Girls Association (website)
• Wellingborough High School (book website)