Riddlesdown High School

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A photo of the School

The School's embelem, a shield

Riddlesdown High School is a secondary school located in the Riddlesdown area of the London Borough of Croydon, England. Riddlesdown is a mixed school, of about 1700 pupils and students (about 250 of those are Post 16 Students). The School takes its pupils mainly from the Sanderstead, Selsdon, Purley and South Croydon areas, and recently gained Specialist Science College status. Its current motto, as of 2007, is "Learners of today, Leaders of tomorrow" as voted for by the schools student body.

At Riddlesdown High School they strive to provide a pleasant and motivational environment in which students can excel to the best of their ability. Although critics (mainly students and pupils would argue that this isn't always true). With all this in mind many would say that the school provides a satisfactory learning environment. The uniform for the lower school is black, however the 5th year/year 11 have a coloured jumper. This is decided by the year group. Next years 5th years, current year 10s have chosen Purple. The current Colour is green.

The London Borough of Croydon has the largest youth population in London and there are many state run High schools, so competition for better grades between them can be fierce at times. Riddlesdown year 8 won the Surrey Science competition, where years 7-9 from all different schools across Surrey battled it out in a problem solving test. Riddlesdown proved that State schools are just as good as Comprehensive, seeing off all the other competitors winning £250 for the school science club.

[edit] History

The school has changed a lot throughout the years. Although it is surrounded by a Green Belt, it has been able to expand greatly.

Recent notable extensions;

• School foyer built with 3 new classrooms above.
• Glass corridor built on the side of the school Dining Hall/Canteen.
• An extension to the Science department was built, with 16 new classrooms. This building is mainly used for the increased focus on its sixth form students although other years do use downstairs rooms.
• A bridge was built to join the two buildings of Humanities Faculty.
• The technologies faculty is extended so it is now conjoined with the sports hall with the sixth form common room residing above.
• An extension to the Centre of the Arts was built, situating 8 sound proofed practice rooms, and two music tech class room and a separate Music technology class room in which the computer equipment needed is used. This also allowed for a performance hall to be made more accessible to all.
• A fence has been erected on the field sectioning a large portion off. This has been put in place so that PE lessons can be taught without litter getting onto the sports fields.
• About 10 Widescreen televisions have been placed around the school.

In 1992, Riddlesdown was the first school in Croydon to be awarded Grant Maintained status by the Secretary of State for Education, and since then about 300 pupils have been admitted to the school by the Board of Governors each year. However each year Riddlesdown takes in more students than the last, which has led to some criticism because of increasing class sizes.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999, a Sixth Form Centre was established on the site and Riddlesdown became a Voluntary Aided School under the Bourne Foundation. It is widely accepted that the quality of education provided by the Sixth Form is inferior to that of the main school due to the "afterthought" nature of its creation. Results are not particularly impressive either, with between 4-6% of A-Level grades being Grade A. Much to the disappointment of the school, the most academically able and gifted students tend to leave Riddlesdown in favour of other establishments for further education, which in many ways leaves Riddlesdown in a cyclic state whereby the potential room for improvement is limited, due to the lack of academic potential in the remaining students.

[edit] Aims of the School

The school Sets out the following aims on their website:^[1]

1. To ensure that pupils leave us educated to their highest possible potential.
   • To assist pupils in the development of lively, questioning minds.
   • To assist pupils in the development of rational attitudes and values.
   • To encourage the development of creativity, imagination and physical well-being.
   • To provide a wide and balanced variety of experiences.
2. To ensure that pupils leave the School thoughtful, considerate and mature.
   • To provide an environment in which pupils are positively motivated to work hard, but without oppression
   • To encourage self-discipline and the acceptance of responsibility for one's own actions.
   • To develop respect for moral and religious values and an acceptance of other races, religions and ways of life.
   • To develop a sense of unity and purpose among the staff so that differences in viewpoint or emphasis do not present barriers to progress.

[edit] Governor's Statement

"We believe that Riddlesdown High School should strive for all-round excellence by adopting a quality approach in all that it does for pupils and parents. Our underlying sense of purpose is to promote individual achievement for pupils of all abilities by acknowledging and building on our strengths, values and traditions, thus creating a school, of which all the staff, pupils and parents can be proud."

[edit] School Ducks

The school runs the 'Jack Petchy' Award scheme, whereby one pupil is nominated to win £300, which they must spend on the school, and improving it as they see fit. One winner of the award, Matthew Morgan, decided that he wanted to spend the money on buying ducks, a cage and a "Fox Proof" run for the ducks. They are located next to the pond on the front lawn. The school will soon be investing in an enclosure for them, in which they will be able to roam freely.

[edit] Uniform

The Riddlesdown Uniform, consists of a Black, green and grey striped tie, shirt or blouse, outer blazer with school badge on (a plain black jumper is optional) and trousers or skirts that are charcoal grey. Shoes must be black and not have high heels, or be ‘trainer like’. The year 11 uniform is different with a coloured jumper (green this year and purple next) and black skirts for girls.

Riddlesdown Believes that in keeping with tradition girls should have to wear skirts. Recent consultation with parents showed no interest in allowing girls to wear trousers.

[edit] References