Cramlington Learning Village

Cramlington Learning Village, formerly Cramlington Community High School, is a large high school with academy status in Cramlington, Northumberland; it is a comprehensive school of 2300 students recognized as "Inadequate" by Ofsted and currently placed in special measures. The school became an 11-18 school in September 2008 as part of a local authority reorganization which saw the old three-tier system become a two-tier system of primary and secondary education in England. The school takes on students from year 7 up to year 11 as well as year 12 and 13 in the sixth form. The school is also a specialist science and vocational college.

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.

Former head teachers include Peter Dines CBE, later the Chief Executive of Schools Council from 1988 to 1993 and the National Curriculum Council, and Derek Wise CBE (born 6 June 1949). Wise, who led the school from 1990 until 2010, began to implement the process of "Accelerated Learning" in 1997. He died on 16 June 2010 after having suffered for some time with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

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.

Campus and buildings

The school is 'split' into separate villages: The Junior Learning Village for Years 7 and 8, the Senior Learning Village for Year 9-11 and the Advanced Learning Village (Sixth Form) for Years 12 and 13. Although named differently, they are all part of the same school; Cramlington Learning Village.

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 and politics.

Another addition is the Sporting Club, owned by Northumberland County Council and used by students for physical education which was opened on 12 February 2002. 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.

The JLV is part of Cramlington Learning Village's campus and includes a central 'street' area.

The most recent addition, completed in the summer of 2008, is the Cramlington Junior Learning Village. Costing £102 million, the centre contains resources for teaching Years 7 and 8 after the council reforms of 11 September 2001 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. The building is made up of other isolated 'blocks' called Enquire, Explore, Discover, Create, Communicate and Care. Other features of the JLV include its “Village” street, open science learning Plaza, Cyber Café, and flexible learning spaces. The school also boasts its very own 3D screen used across the curriculum and the 'Biome' which was the result of a successful bid through the “Faraday” project designed to take the teaching of science into the 21st Century. The building also has a multipurpose space called 'The Hub' which is used for assemblies, conferences, socialising at lunchtimes and hosting live shows and performances for music and drama/performing arts.

Technology

The school is 'technology rich', and has over 1500 PCs^[2] on site for use within all classrooms; which tend to have at least one computer for each student. In the Imagine block where ICT is taught, there is a computer for every student. In each classroom there is a teacher PC with a projector, interactive whiteboard and speakers. The school has its own Mobile Device Scheme^[3] which provides all students with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet for use within lesson, which the school provides with a monthly payment being received. As they are for educational use, this is cheaper than buying from home and once fully paid for, the students then own their tablet. From September 2014 onward, Chromebooks are the newer device given to Year 7s upon arrival to the school, also being carried on through their school career. From September 2015, Chromebooks are effectively being introduced to all year-groups.

The JLV TV Studio which has 2 cameras, an autocue, vision mixer, sound desk, green screen and computers. On the opposite side featuring two musical recording rooms, featuring a piano and electronic drum set.

The school for many years used its own Intranet to host online lesson plans which staff and students could access as well as subject pages and other tools. This is still used presently but has been sidelined by the schools Frog VLE^[4] (Virtual learning environment), provided by FrogTrade. The school has used Frog since 2008 and since then, the majority of content from the Intranet has been moved over, though some lessons on Frog will link back to the older pages. The current version of Frog used is Frog3, though it is expected for the new version, Frog OS, to be pushed out for use in September 2014. Frog OS and been particularly optimized for use on mobile devices as well as use on desktop computers. Some of the main points the school highlights about its VLE is the ability to access their timetable attendance and punctuality, home learning, school notices, cashless catering data and reward points. Parents of students have their own account to access a part of Frog called the 'Parents Portal', which allow them to see relevant information for their child.

As mentioned previously, the JLV has a space called 'The Hub' which has its own 3D projectors and screen. As well as this, the space is a fully functional music venue with a sound desk for general use such as lessons and assemblies; but also a larger Yamaha EMX 5000 24+ channel desk in the dedicated sound and lighting booth positioned at the top of the auditorium. For sound to be diverted to the top sound desk, there are two wall patches on either side of the stage with 12 XLR ports. All 24 ports from both patches are then run up to the top sound desk and plugged in accordingly for the shows and performances being held. There is a lighting rig with over 50 different lights and a disco ball. This is all controlled using a Jester ML48 lighting console with 48 channels available.

The school also has a dedicated music recording studio with two recording booths. Opposite is a TV studio with two cameras, autocue, green screen, vision mixer, sound desk and computers. This is used for lessons such as Create where children will act out plays they have written using the green screen for backgrounds. This is also used for languages, allowing students to carry out their own Spanish weather forecasts. The studio have the capabilities to broadcast live across the school campus which is used for video assemblies, which can also be pre-recorded.

Ofsted

The school has been rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted four times in a row, most recently in 2013. However, the most recent review published in July 2015 found the school to be 'Inadequate' and that the school will be placed in special measures. This most recent review has been the subject of controversy, even making it onto the local news on the night of the report's publication. Many locals have tended to reject the recent report and do not consider it to be accurate. However, GCSE results have continued to decrease for the last three years. In 2014, the school's result was in the bottom 40% of similar schools' results, and in the middle 20% of all schools.

Foreign exchange visits

• - The school has a biennial exchange to Bettendorf, Iowa with Bettendorf High School.
• - 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 Levante, Spain. Students swap places with other students.

Shows and productions

The sound and lighting booth used for shows and productions, situated at the top of the JLV Hub at Cramlington Learning Village.

• High School Musical - March 2008
• Return to the Forbidden Planet - March 2009
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - March 2011
• We Will Rock You (musical) - March 2012
• CLV Christmas Spectacular - December 2012
• The Wizard of Oz - March 2013
• More Than Soulful Christmas - December 2013
• Our House (musical) - March 2014
• Now That's What I Call...CLV Xmas! - December 2014
• Footloose (musical) - March 2015
• Grease (musical) - March 2016

Notable alumni

Ross Noble with Cramlington Learning Village headmistress, Wendy Heslop - his former English teacher.

• Ross Noble, Comedian
• Mark Clattenburg, Premiership and FIFA referee
• Graeme Owens, footballer who played for Middlesbrough F.C
• James Brown (footballer), footballer with Gateshead FC
• Stephen Miller, Gold medal-winning British paralympics athlete
• Martin Brittain, former Newcastle United footballer, who played for Gateshead FC
• Martin Taylor, footballer who last played for Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

References

External links

• Cramlington Learning Village website