Sponne School

Sponne School

Established	15th Century
Type	Academy of Music and Science
Head of School	Mr Iain Massey
Location	Brackley Road Towcester Northamptonshire NN12 6DJ England Coordinates: 52°07′56″N 0°59′37″W / 52.1323°N 0.9935°W / 52.1323; -0.9935
DfE URN	122051 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Students	1358
Gender	Mixed
Ages	11–19
Colours	Red, Blue and White
Website	School website

Sponne School in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England is the oldest secondary school in Northamptonshire, and one of the oldest in the country.^[1] Part of the school was originally Towcester Grammar School, until Grammar schools were abolished in Northamptonshire. In 1968, the Grammar school was joined with the next-door Secondary Modern school, and the school was renamed Sponne, after Archdeacon William Sponne, who was Rector at the nearby St. Lawrence Church in the 15th Century and the original founder of the school.

Sponne School is a mixed gender Secondary School and Sixth Form College, with 1358 pupils on the roll, around 200 of whom are in the 6th Form.^[2] It is registered as a specialist science and music academy. The current Executive Head Teacher is Jamie Clarke and the Head of School is Iain Massey. In October 2007, the school became a "Foundation" school and in November 2009, changed to Trust school status. Since October 2010, the school has started a consultation process and has been approved to become an Academy.^[3]

The Sponne School time-table is run on a two-week rota, blue week and red week, due to of the two colours of the schools badge.

Physical layout

• The staff room, main reception and senior staff offices are in the centre of the school. Pupils are no longer permitted to enter unless directed by staff.
• C Block - Consists of most of the art rooms, a computer room and senior staff offices.
• D Block - Business and Innovation block, including 5 computer rooms, 3 workshops, 2 kitchens and 1 Textile room and 1 Business/Economics teaching room.
• T Block - Rather than a block of classrooms, this block is a series of mobiles, used for humanities, drama, and music. T2, T3, T4 and T5 mobiles are situated next to S block. The T1 mobile is an extension teaching room with electronic keyboards for the M block.
• E Block - The ground floor is where the 6th form common room is, along with some social sciences rooms and 1 computer room. The 1st floor is used to teach modern foreign languages, mainly French and German. The 3rd floor is dedicated to Mathematics. One room, E40, resides halfway between the second and third floors. This is a computer room and in 2008 was reassigned from the ICT faculty to the Mathematics faculty.
• H Block - This is the main hall.
• M Block - Until September 2006, separate from the rest of the School. It contains most of the Music classrooms. It has been extended with more rooms and a Practise hall to accommodate more pupils.

On the right end of the school is the Sports Hall and changing rooms, located opposite the E Block.

• S Block - Used for all the Science Subjects. Also used as an introduction area for primary school children moving up to Sponne. The one way system to this building has been recently changed.
• W Block - The old Grammar School building, rebuilt in 1928 after a fire. This area is for Humanities, English, Business Studies and Drama. The front section of the block is a grade 2 listed building.
• HLRC - Hesketh Learning Resource Centre, technically part of the C block. It is a library containing computers, books, newspapers and desks for pupils to work. It is managed by employed library staff.

There are two residential houses in the school; they both used to be occupied by the care-takers. The house at the front of school is now the GUTP office. There is also a 4-acre (16,000 m²) field at the back of the school. It is repainted in the summer and the winter with two football pitches, a hockey pitch, 2 rugby pitches, a 400 m track and a 100 m track. It also has two long jump sandpits, and 2 discus circles. Adjacent to the field is a set of tennis courts.

Media attention

Sponne was one of the first schools in Britain to switch its dietary policies following celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's anti–obesity TV campaign. In July 2006, William Guntrip (13), set up a playground sweet shop to counteract what he considered to be 'overpriced health food'. Mr Guntrip was taking more than £50 a day, selling chocolate bars and fizzy drinks to other pupils during break times. He was allegedly threatened with expulsion and the story was picked up by the national media.^[4]

Sixth form

Sponne School offers a Sixth Form for pupils in Year 12 and 13. The sixth form provides A-Level grade education and provides the same courses as a sixth form college. Uniform is smart casual. In Year 12, pupils may choose up to 5 AS Level subjects to study. The school holds a sixth form open evening for both internal and external candidates and provides prospective pupils with choice application forms. The subjects differ slightly from GCSE level and the school offers an extended range of courses, including economics and a full range of music and science courses. Pupils can stay on a second year as long as they earn a minimum of 60 UCAS points from their AS results. Pupils can then continue to work towards gaining points for university entry. At the end of year 12, pupils generally drop one subject; the majority of year 13 pupils take 3 subjects on to A2 level. Sixth form classes are much smaller than standard secondary school lessons, allowing teachers to provide a more in depth level of teaching.^[5]

Notable pupils

England international and Nottinghamshire offspin bowler Graeme Swann attended the school between 1990 and 1997. Swann's older brother, Alec, also a first class cricketer for Lancashire, was at the school between 1988 and 1995. His father Raymond, who had previously played cricket for Northumberland and Bedfordshire, was a Mathematics and P.E. teacher at the school.

The Doncaster Rovers attacking midfielder Harry Forrester attended the school between 2003 and 2008. Elliot Parish is an English professional footballer who plays for Blackpool as a goalkeeper. Hannah Barnes, a cyclist who has represented Great Britain, attended the school.^[6] International orchestral and opera conductor, Martyn Brabbins attended Sponne school in the 1970s.

Head Teachers

• 2014–present Iain Massey
• 2003–2014 Jamie Clarke (Sponne Executive Head Teacher 2014-present)
• 1991–2003 Ian Brown
• 1969–1991 John Mayes
• 1960–1969 Jack Searle
• 1955–1960 Mr Beacock
• 1920–1955 P.G.F.Clark
• 1890–1920 John Wetherell

References

External links

• Sponne School Technology College Website
• Chronology of Towcester Grammar School - Towcester and District Local History Society web site.