Education
In Gloucestershire state education is a serious option for your child. In contrast to central London, they will actually learn something and will not be mugged for their mobile phone on the way home.
Many people moving out of London consider going to the local village school. However it is worth bearing in mind that they do vary in quality and classes can be very small with as few as 8 pupils. Whilst this may be fine at age 5 it can be more of an issue post 8, particularly when it comes to organising sports teams if there are only two or three pupils of the same sex in a class. Also, classes in different years may be merged for some subjects.
Popular schools include Meysey Hampton Church of England Primary, Rodmarton, Sapperton, Oaksey and Kemble. Religious credentials will assist in getting into the oversubscribed Powell’s Church of England primary school in Cirencester. It is a two form entry primary school with over 420 pupils on its roll.Gloucestershire has managed to hang onto its grammar schools which are inevitably very popular. Stroud High for Girls and Pate’s in Cheltenham are serious alternatives to private education.
Stroud High School takes girls from 11-18 years. It is a specialist science school offering a wide range of subjects. Its mission statement says it aims to provide “enriching learning opportunities, particularly in Science and Mathematics, by nurturing the thrill of innovation and discovery and providing young people with the skills and motivation to progress into scientific and mathematical careers.”
The school produces well rounded confident girls who raise thousands of pounds for charity each year. The school has links with several schools and charities around the world. It has a mixed sixth form, Downfield, which is shared with the neighbouring boy’s school, Marling. It is fair to say that Marling’s reputation, although good, is not as good as the Girls school.
Pate’s is highly selective on academic grounds. Some children may find the environment too pressured. You do not have to live in a particular catchment area. Indeed pupils come from a wide geographic area. The school is consistently ranked the top mixed sex school in the Sunday Times table of excellent state schools. Many students have won places at Oxford and Cambridge universities. It is one of the government’s 300 beacon secondary schools and became a specialist language college in 2001. It is possible to study Spanish and Italian to “A” level in addition to French and German. Mandarin is on offer in all sections of the school and there are links with schools in other parts of Europe and China.
Other good state secondary schools in the county include Farmor’s in Fairford and The Cotswold School in Bourton-on-the-Water. The latter was described in its 2006 Ofsted report as "an outstanding 11-18 co-educational comprehensive school." It is a specialist language and science college and offers a broad range of post-16 options. A new £1.6m sixth form centre opened recently. For further details telephone 01451 820554/820938.
Farmor's School is a Business and Enterprise and Science college which has been identified as a high performing school by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. The school, which educates 11-18 year olds, offers a broad curriculum balanced by an extensive range of extracurricular activities. Ofsted recognised this as one of the strength's of the school during the last inspection. The school was described as "outstanding" in the Ofsted report of November 2006. Telephone: 01285 712302.
Cirencester is lucky to have two excellent comprehensive schools in Cirencester Deer Park and Cirencester Kingshill. The latter was described as an “outstanding school” in its most recent OFSTED government inspection report. It has been awarded Beacon School status. The school combines traditional and progressive teaching methods to encourage learning. Great value is placed on getting pupils to become independent learners making use of the library, information technology and other resources. For further details and a prospectus contact the school on 01285 651511.
Cirencester Deer Park is also one of the Government’s Beacon schools. It is a specialist technology and arts college and is also a designated Training school. It recently became the first school in Gloucestershire to be awarded specialist status as a vocational school. It is a big school with over 1000 pupils sharing the same site as Cirencester College. For fourther information about the school visit www.deerparkschool.netPost 16 Education is well catered for by Cirencester College, described as, “an outstanding college” in the OFSTED inspection of December 2006. The college offers A-levels, International Baccalaureate and national diplomas. In addition to strong academic teaching there is a full recreational education programme for adults offering the usual modern languages and photography and the more unusual calligraphy and bird-watching for beginners.
Those wishing to get in touch with their inner farmer can study dry stone walling, chainsaw operation and hedge laying at the Royal Agricultural College’s Rural Skills Centre. The main college offers foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in a number of areas including equine, wine management, rural land management, property and agriculture and international rural development.