Trinity School, Newbury
| Trinity School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Love Lane , , RG14 2DU | |
| Information | |
| Type | Comprehensive community school |
| Motto | Personal excellence and collective responsibility |
| Established | 1999 |
| Local authority | West Berkshire |
| Specialist | Arts College |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Headmistress | Ms D Forster |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrollment | 967 |
| Website | http://www.westberks.org/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=2651 |
Trinity School is a co-educational comprehensive of about 1000 pupils in Newbury, Berkshire. The school is relatively new and has been open since 1999 when two existing schools and one new school combined - hence the name Trinity. The Elizabethan Grade 1 listed Shaw House mansion is located in the grounds of the school. Trinity School caters for pupils between the ages of 11 and 18.
The school is a Performing Arts College and the department houses many facilities including a music/ICT suite, a drama studio, a recording studio, practice rooms and an underground costume store. The school is currently producing their performance of The Boyfriend (2009) as an annual production. Students are actively encouraged to take part in performing arts. The schools provides extra lessons for students who are especially able, gifted and talented in drama, music and dance. Trinity has a close relationship with neighbouring company Vodafone whereby the company and its staff both help the school and we help them too.
The site
Trinity School of Performing arts is situated in the grounds of Shaw House, a 16th-century mansion, completed in 1581. Shaw House is a distinctive red brick house which has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade 1 listed building.[1] The house was used by King Charles I as his headquarters for the Second Battle of Newbury in 1644. The school incorporates both the old buildings and the new ones.
ACE unit
The school has an ACE unit which specialises in aiding pupils with dyslexia and learning difficulties. The unit is unique in West Berkshire and shows that the school is fully comprehensive. Many pupils with dyslexia who been helped by ACE unit have gone on to universities across the country.
Qualifications
GCSE
The school offers GCSE subjects of a varied range, from mathematics to DiDA (Diploma in Digital Applications). Since the school's opening in 1999, the GCSE grades have improved dramatically due to the academically minded pupils and determined teachers. However, they are still the lowest in West Berkshire by the percentage of pupils getting 5 or more grade A*-C (42%) and the Value added figure from KS2 to KS4 (971.4).[2]
A-levels
The sixth form at Trinity has also seen giant improvements in grades; in recent years the majority of Trinity's GCSE students, and an increasing number from other schools, have chosen to continue their education at Trinity's sixth form. The school offers a range of A-level courses to suit most interests and abilities. A-levels range from accounting to psychology. Trinity is one of just a few schools in Berkshire which offers the Performing Arts Double award at A level. Sixth form pupils are given the chance to take responsibility for their future with an office-style dress code and home study in Year 13. Trinity's sixth form students are well known on the social website Facebook for their events both in and outside of the school, for students past and present. They students are found on their own facebook group, but we won't mention the name incase you find it. The sixth form took a step to transforming its poor local reputation with the appointment of Ms Benger in 2006, however, due to various eductational politics and memos swept under the carpet that come hand in hand with the management style of Ms Forster and her brigade of "Yes Men" know as the "Senior Leadership Team", she was replaced by Ms Wilson in 2008; It is debatable whether this was a move for the better. The Sixth Form common room is much like a paradox of the Tardis. It is smaller on the inside than it looks on the outside, and whilst being adequate for the original sixth form quota of 40 students, the current rota of over 100 are squeezed in much like battery hens, with bloody battles taking place to claim a space on one of the 40 chairs.