Overview of the school Lacon Childe School is an 11-16 comprehensive situated in the small market town of Cleobury Mortimer in rural South Shropshire. There are currently 555 pupils on roll.. The school is very highly regarded within the community it serves. The catchment area extends to about 300 square kilometres and pupils live in small villages, hamlets and isolated farms, 80% of pupils travel to school by bus each day.
The school was established in 1735 and has a strong tradition of achievement and academic excellence. In recent years there has been extensive building work giving purpose-built modern accommodation. There are excellent facilities for Physical Education, Information Technology, Science, Design, the Arts, English, Maths and Modern Foreign Languages.
The pupils achieve above national standards at GCSE, 73% 5+ A* - C and 100% A* - G in 2007 and we have received national awards for improvement. At KS3 over 88% of pupils gained level 5+ in English, Science and Maths. Each year at least 80% of pupils continue in Further Education.
There are 39 teaching staff ranging from young, recently qualified teachers through to a very experienced senior staff. The school has a superb Special Needs department and employs 16 Learning Support Assistants; the majority of support is integrated within the classroom. There are 3 full time Secretaries, 2 ICT Technicians, 2 Science Technicians and 1 part time Librarian. We also provide our own catering and cleaning.
The school was inspected by Ofsted in May 2006 and received an excellent report.
We have received many awards as a result of the outstanding performance of the school such as Sportsmark Gold, FA Charter Mark, Investor in People, Investor in Careers, a NOF grant for 3 years for Out of Schools Hours Learning. In 2003 we achieved a School Achievement Award from the DfES.
We offer a very extensive programme of extra-curricular activities called the L@after club which runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 3.30-4.45pm. We then provide transport home for pupils who live in the outlying villages. In addition to this each term is packed with visits, trips, workshops and activities for pupils to support their learning and provide them with enriching experiences outside the classroom.
We took the decision to apply to become a Specialist Sports College as a result of the great strengths of the PE Department, the range and participation rates in extra-curricular activities and the Community involvement in Sports. The school became a specialist Sports College on the 1st September 2001, and is now considered to be a leading Sports College nationally. We have outstanding facilities for PE and Sport including a Health and Fitness suite, large Sports Hall with viewing gallery and outdoor pitches and courts which provide a centre of excellence for sport in South Shropshire. |