Sedgehill School

Sedgehill School is an 11–18 mixed, community secondary school and sixth form in Lewisham, Greater London, England.

Sedgehill School
Address
Sedgehill Road

Lewisham
,
Greater London
,
SE6 3QW

England
Coordinates51.42269°N 0.02303°W / 51.42269; -0.02303
Information
TypeCommunity school
MottoWorking together to build bright futures
Local authorityLewisham London Borough Council
Department for Education URN100743 Tables
OfstedReports
HeadteacherClare Cassidy[1]
Executive headteacherJan Shadick[1]
GenderMixed
Age range11–18
Enrolment780 (2019)[2]
Capacity1,711[2]
Websitewww.sedgehillschool.co.uk

The school opened in 1957 as a flagship campus for the new comprehensive education strategy, intended to replace the existing grammar, central and secondary modern schools. Much of the interior and fittings were avant garde and included specially designed 'Sedgehill furniture' that was later adopted by other schools run by the London County Council education department.

History

It opened in 1957 as a flagship campus for the new comprehensive education strategy. In 2001 it had 1700 pupils.[3] In 2008, the School had over 1,800 pupils with over half from ethnic minorities. The school was re-built in 15 months (while the old school was still open) by the London Borough of Lewisham to create a state-of-the-art learning environment. The project cost £6.3m and was carried out by Costain. The students moved into the new building in January 2009.

Lewisham Council and the parents of the pupils were concerned in 2014 about suitable interventions to improve pupils' results, and support was offered from Bethnal Green Academy and Hayes School.[4]

By September 2017 the school had contracted to under 1,000 students. The United Learning academy trust became a 'school improvement partner',[5][6] and the school became a sister school to Lambeth Academy. This was to be for a three-year period and the school was governed by an interim executive body. Sister schools are financially connected and can have joint social activities for students.[5] The partnership was successful from the interim board's point of view and parents have been told that this arrangement will become permanent.

Governance

The school remains a local authority maintained community school, the local authority being Lewisham. In September 2017, Lewisham entered into a partnership[5] with United Learning Group to address the longstanding criticism from Ofsted.[6] The governing body comprises five members who are all appointed by the Interim Body. All five are women, but none are elected by the staff, parents or the local community.[2]

Ethos

The school has adopted the United Learning Ethos while remaining a local authority maintained school. It has developed multiple model policies that are published in the governors' handbook.[7]

Curriculum

The mastery curriculum is based on four principles:

  • Entitlement – students have the right to learn the full breadth of the offer.
  • Mastery – teaching should not move on until students have mastered the topic.
  • Stability – stability of the offer over many years, so that teachers can develop their expertise and build teaching materials.
  • Concepts not context – students study fewer topics to a greater depth.[8]

Incidents

In 1971 the joint head of science at the school, Donnahadh O'Shea, was jailed for 12 months for possessing explosives after an explosion on a train injured a woman. He was convicted of possessing 2 lb. of nitrocellulose powder and 3,454 priming caps.[9][10][11]

An assistant headteacher, Patrick Stack, was found hanged in an outbuilding in the school grounds in 2001. He had been suffering from depression. He had been awarded the MBE for his outstanding contribution to education in the Queen's birthday honours for 2000.[3][12]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Welcome". Sedgehill School. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  2. "Sedgehill School". Get information about schools. GOV.UK. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  3. Woodward, Will (26 January 2001). "'Teacher in a million' found dead in school". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  4. "Agenda item - Sedgehill School". councilmeetings.lewisham.gov.uk. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  5. Wilson, Alex (10 July 2017). "Sedgehill School to enter academy partnership". Eastlondonlines. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. Ofsted full inspection May 2018
  7. UL Governance Handbook PDF
  8. "Curriculum Statement - Sedgehill School". www.sedgehillschool.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  9. 'Train blast denial by science master', The Times (26 January 1971), p. 3.
  10. 'Teacher cleared of throwing bomb from train', The Times (2 February 1971), p. 4.
  11. 'Teacher jailed over explosives', The Times (4 February 1971), p. 4.
  12. Liz Lightfoot (26 January 2001). "Teacher's body found hanging at school". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  13. "Before NEC Residency, Django Bates Writes Own Biography". Allaboutjazz.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  14. "AIM25 collection description". Aim25.ac.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  15. Archived 8 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  16. "Moses Heads Back To School – News – Leyton Orient". Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  17. Archived 6 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  18. https://www.econbiz.de/Record/a-comparative-analysis-of-the-incentive-effects-for-investment-of-irish-and-uk-policies-toner-kieron/10001554243
  19. Toner, Kieron, The Cart Before the Horse: Australian Exchange Rate Policy and Economic Reform in the 1980s, Earlybrave Publications, 2000.
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