Paston College

Paston College is a sixth form college in North Walsham, Norfolk, England

Paston College is one of only two sixth form colleges in Norfolk and around 100 nationally. It was created in 1984 from a merger between the Paston School and North Walsham High School for Girls. Sixth form colleges specialise in teaching full time students aged 16-18. Nationally they are the most successful type of sixth form, with excellent results and large percentage of students going on to university from level 3 AS/A and BTEC courses.

Paston College enjoys an excellent reputation, with consistently good examination results, and students achieving grades above those that could be predicted from their qualifications on entry. Paston is in the top 10% of schools and colleges nationally at AS and in the top 25% for A level.

Students come to Paston from a wide geographical area of rural, coastal and Broadland Norfolk: from nearby high schools in Aylsham, Cromer, North Walsham, Sheringham, Stalham and Wroxham, and also from North Norwich, Reepham and the Broads area.

Ofsted

Paston College was inspected by Ofsted in February 2008. The excellent report, published in April 2008, describes a very successful institution with a number of outstanding (grade 1) features. Principal Peter Mayne, said "The report has given us a massive boost in our work to progress from being a good college to an outstanding one."

Curriculum

The curriculum is wide for a college of its size with over 50 AS/A courses AS and A level, BTEC National and First diplomas.

Performing Arts are a feature of Paston. Far East, Paston's own student theatre company, have a well deserved reputation for the high quality of their work, performed in the Paston thetre and on tour.

The college occupies the buildings of its 2 predecessor schools. The two sites are very attractive with buildings dating from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, set in extensive lawns right in the heart of the market town of North walsham. Paston has grown a lot because of its popularity. It is currently involved in an exciting project to relocate to a single site in the town and into purpose built accommodation in 2011.

Paston School

The Paston School, a grammar school was founded in 1606 by Sir William Paston, a libertarian, local magistrate, landowner and a member of an important local family. The emblem of the school was the griffin, which, along with six "fleur de lys" and the motto "De mieux en mieux pour tout" ("From good to better everywhere"), featured on the school coat of arms. [A History of the Paston School - Charles Forder, second edition 1975]

North Walsham High School for Girls

The grammar school for girls was founded in the early years of the 20th century, becoming a Norfolk county girls grammar school in 1919. The present College's Lawns Site was the site of the school. The founders of the school were the Misses Cooke and the girls were known locally as "Cookies".

Notable ex-pupils of "predecessor schools"

Paston School

The school is famous as the school of Admiral Lord Nelson, who attended the school with his brother William 1768-1771. The college still holds a small collection of artifacts relating to Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. Another famous old boy is Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury - 1691-171. Later former pupils include:

*Stephen Fry, actor and writer who was not so much at the school as near it, inhabiting a small café round the corner for most of his short academic career there, [Moab is my Washpot - Stephen Fry] owing to the strange decision not to admit him to the sixth form a year early. Ironically Paston is now a sort of educational institution which Stephen would have enjoyed and excelled in.
* Craig Murray, controversial former ambassador
* William Hoste
* Alan Smethurst, The Singing Postman.

North Walsham High School for Girls

Among the alumni of the Girls High School are
*Baroness Gillian Shephard - politician and former Conservative Secretary of State for Education and Employment
*Carole Walker - BBC Political Correspondent

References

External links

* [http://www.paston.ac.uk Paston College Website]
* [http://www.pastonschool.co.uk The alternative Paston School website] — ex-Grammar school