Oldfield School

History

Oldfield School was founded in 1892 to serve the city of Bath; in 1959 the school moved from the city centre to agricultural land on the western outskirts of the city, overlooking the River Avon valley, and now attracts pupils from a wider area including the eastern outskirts of Bristol.

Recent buildings include a drama studio, dance studio, sports hall, and a new teaching block for Mathematics and Humanities. Some expansion classroom blocks date from the 1970s and 1980s. The school has on-site playing fields.

In the 1990s and early 2000s the school took an early opportunity to gain more independence from local authority control by becoming a grant-maintained school and then a foundation school.

In 2010 the school applied for academy status becoming an academy in February 2011. Ultimately, under pressure from Bath and North East Somerset Council which offered to provide £1.85 million for conversion works, the school decided to become co-educational from 2012.

Recent PE teacher Helen Glover won the gold medal for the women's coxless pairs at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She took up rowing in 2008 whilst teaching at the school and trained at the Minerva Bath Rowing Club nearby. In November 2012 she returned to the school to open the £1.85 million sports centre.

Penn House

Penn House, or Penn Hill House, dates from the mid-1800s. It has two storeys faced with limestone ashlar, and Welsh slate roofs; a small belvedere tower with a pyramidal roof rises above the house. Originally an Italianate villa, the building was extended to the left and rear in Baroque style in 1904 and 1924, to designs of Reginald Blomfield. Both phases of extension were under the ownership of Sir Ernest Pitman, son of Isaac Pitman (who developed Pitman shorthand) and father of Isaac James Pitman (inventor of the Initial Teaching Alphabet). The house was designated as Grade II listed in 1994.

Oldfield School was built on land to the west of the house in 1959. In the 1960s, Penn House was a separate special school, but it was later absorbed into Oldfield School. Today the house is largely used as sixth form accommodation and by the English and Social Sciences departments.

Academics

The school is a National College for School Leadership National Support School and a former Headteacher is a National Leader of Education.

Uniform

The school uniform consists of a navy blue jacket with a white logo of a swan. A tie should be worn and the grey jumper is optional. A white shirt must be worn under the jumper. Students in years 7, 8, 9,10 and 11 must wear navy blue trousers or skirt. Shoes must be black and leather with no clear logo.

2013 breakdown in management and governance

In December 2013, Ofsted made a surprise inspection to investigate concerns over child safeguarding, following some complaints. Ofsted concluded that safeguarding procedures met requirements, but the school governors had an inadequate understanding of their statutory responsibilities, were overly reliant on information provided by the headteacher, and an external review of governance should be undertaken. A fuller Ofsted report has not been published, despite a petition of over 1,000 signatures. The Bath Chronicle, which had seen a copy of the fuller report, reported that it "would have regraded the school rated as outstanding in 2012, and which contains more serious criticisms", but was limited in what it could report for legal reasons.

In March 2014, in the week a Department for Education review team visited the school, Stuart Weatherall was appointed chair of governors, with the previous chair becoming vice-chair of governors. The NASUWT teachers' union called for the resignation of the headteacher following the leaking of the unpublished 2013 Ofsted report which accused the headteacher of "managing staff through a culture of fear, intimidation and bullying".

On 30 April 2014 the headteacher resigned. On the same day it was announced that a pre-warning notice letter had been issued by the Secretary of State for Education to the governors, requiring major improvements after a serious breakdown in the way the academy had been managed and governed. The remedial actions recommended by the Education Funding Agency included the establishment of an Interim Academy Board, to take over the powers and functions of the governors for a period of time. In July 2015 the Interim Academy Board was dissolved, and a normal governance regime resumed.

References

References

1. (2023). "Headteacher Welcome".
2. (1 February 2011). "Oldfield School in Bath is the city's first academy". BBC.
3. "Oldfield School".
4. Duncan Overy. (26 July 2013). "Oldfield School – Archaeological Deskstudy". ARUP.
5. "Oldfield School Internet Site". Oldfield School.
6. (26 November 2012). "Olympic rower Helen Glover returns to Oldfield School to open sports centre". Bath Chronicle.
7. (14 April 2010). "A Review of Secondary Schools in Bath". Bath and North East Somerset Council.
8. David Marley. (30 May 2010). "Schools eye up Tory offer of greater independence". TES Newspaper.
9. (17 September 2010). "11th hour U-turn sees Oldfield School agree to go co-ed". Bath Chronicle.
10. (January 2013). "EduBase2 – Establishment: Oldfield School". Department for Education.
11. (16 September 2010). "Council tells Bath school to 'admit boys or close'". BBC.
12. (17 September 2010). "All-girls school in Bath to admit boys". BBC.
13. {{National Heritage List for England
14. "Current list of National Leaders of Education and National Support Schools". National College of School Leadership.
15. "Essential Information". Oldfield School.
16. (15 February 2014). "Ofsted calls for governors at Oldfield School to take stronger line on dealing with complaints". Bath Chronicle.
17. (20 February 2014). "Oldfield School headteacher Kim Sparling accused staff of being 'treacherous' and suggested they look for new jobs". Western Daily Press.
18. (25 February 2014). "Petition to get full Oldfield Ofsted report published tops 1,000 signatures". Bath Chronicle.
19. Warwick Mansell. (25 February 2014). "Parents say rejection of Institute of Education free school plan is 'political' – Petition calls for Ofsted to publish report". The Guardian.
20. Paul Wiltshire. (14 March 2014). "Oldfield School chair of governors Julie Cope 'forced to resign'". Bath Chronicle.
21. (14 March 2014). "Chair of governors replaced at troubled Oldfield School". Bristol Post.
22. (21 March 2014). "Union calls for resignation of Oldfield head teacher Kim Sparling". Bath Chronicle.
23. (1 May 2014). "Oldfield School head teacher Kim Sparling resigns". BBC.
24. Paul Wiltshire. (1 May 2014). "Exclusive: Kim Sparling steps down as headteacher at Oldfield School". Bath Chronicle.
25. Siobhan Prideaux. (2 May 2014). "Government report outlines improvements needed at Bath's Oldfield School". Bath Chronicle.
26. Lord Nash. (7 April 2014). "Pre-Warning Notice Letter to the Governors of Oldfield School". Department for Education.
27. (April 2014). "Review of Oldfield Academy Trust". Education Funding Agency.
28. Anne Moore. (23 July 2015). "Full responsibility returned to Bath's Oldfield School after changes are made". Bath Chronicle.