Cramlington Learning Village

Cramlington Learning Village

Established	1969 as Cramlington Community High School 2008 as Cramlington Learning Village
Type	Community High School
Religion	Secular
Headteacher	Mrs Wendy Heslop B.A
Specialism	Science College Vocational education
Location	Highburn Cramlington Northumberland NE23 6BN UK
Local authority	NorthumberlandN
DfE URN	122357
Ofsted	Reports
Gender	Unisex
Ages	13–19
Colours	Black, red, purple, gold, green, blue (according to year)
Publication	The Crameltonian
Website	cramlingtonlv.co.uk

Coordinates: 55°04′36″N 1°35′33″W / 55.0766°N 1.5925°W / 55.0766; -1.5925

Cramlington Learning Village, formerly Cramlington Community High School, is a large high school in Cramlington, Northumberland, England.

History

The school was established in 1969 as Cramlington County High School, after the upgrading of Cramlington to a new town under the New Towns Act 1946. The name was changed to Cramlington Community High School in the early 1990s as part of Northumberland County Council's plan to encourage community use of all of its formerly county high schools.

The incumbent head teacher, Derek Wise CBE (born 6 June 1949), who had joined the school in 1990 and in 1997 pioneered the process of "Accelerated Learning" died after a long fight with Hodgkin's Lymphoma on 16 June 2010.

Present day

Operating under the new two-tier system in Northumberland implemented September 2008, the school takes students from age 11-18. It is a Science College and was recently awarded a second specialism in Vocational education. In 2003 it was selected as one of the nation's "Leading Edge" schools by the office of Public Service Reform (Cabinet Office).

The school claims to be a place "where the science of learning meets the art of teaching".^[1] Headteacher Derek Wise and Deputy Head Mark Lovatt wrote the book, Creating an Accelerated Learning School, explaining their implementation of accelerated learning techniques including Information Technology at CLV. It is published by Network Press as part of their Accelerated Learning series.

The main buildings of the school were originally constructed in 1969, consisting of a tin-plastic mixture. The main buildings include two 'blocks' (known as Inspire and Innovate) with general classrooms, 'Imagine' (a design, craft, food & ICT block), two dining halls attached to Inspire and Innovate (known as Inspire Cafe and Innovate Cafe respectively), 'Investigate', where the school's unique "Learning to Learn", "TDU" and "iCitizen" subjects are taught, the 'Learning Plaza', which is a mixture of a social area frequented by Years 9 to 11 (formerly the Social Block) equipped with computers, conferencing facilities and even a recording studio. Additionally there is a Vocational Studies block (formerly Music & Drama) where subjects such as hairdressing and construction are taught.

More recent additions to the school's architecture include the Sixth Form centre (now known as the Advanced Learning Village), built in 1996 for the purpose of hosting AS-Level and A-Level students. Its features include a social area, a small café and the 'Independent Learning Centre', a room for self-study with computers. Also housed within are two small classrooms for subjects such as sociology, psychology and government & politics.

Another more recent^[when?] addition is the Sporting Club, owned by Northumberland County Council and used by students for physical education. It contains a fitness suite, a dance studio, tennis courts, several fields (for football and rugby as well as cricket in the summer), a student-built cricket pavilion, and Astroturf for sports during wet weather, and also for hockey. There are also several large halls suitable for indoor sports.

Cramlington Junior Learning Village, built 2008 for Years 7 and 8, viewed from Highburn.

The most recent addition, completed in the summer of 2008, is the Cramlington Junior Learning Village. Costing £11 million, the centre contains resources for teaching Years 7 and 8 after the council reforms of September 2008 which moved the education system in Northumberland to the two-tier system after decades of using the three-tier system. Also contained within are resources for music and performing arts, after they were relocated to make way for the Vocational Centre.

Foreign exchange visits

• - The school has a biennial exchange to Bettendorf, Iowa.
• - In 2008, the school undertook a cultural and linguistical exchange with Polyvalente Hyacinthe-Delorme in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
• - Yearly exchange with an unknown school in Spain. Students swap places with other students.

Notable alumni

• Ross Noble, Comedian
• Mark Clattenburg, Premiership and FIFA referee
• Graeme Owens, footballer with Middlesbrough F.C
• James Brown (footballer), footballer with Hartlepool United F.C
• Stephen Miller, Gold medal-winning British paralympics athlete
• Martin Brittain, former Newcastle United youth footballer, currently at Gateshead FC
• Martin Taylor, footballer with Birmingham F.C.

References

1. ^ Wise, Derek. "When the Art of Teaching Meet the Science of Learning", "CCHS Online". Accessed April 4, 2008

External links

• Cramlington Learning Village website