Forest School (Winnersh)
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The Forest School is an all-boys secondary school and mixed
sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
with academy status, located in
Winnersh Winnersh is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around northwest of Wokingham town centre and around southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by the ...
, Berkshire,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is located on Robin Hood Lane, the B3030 road, next to Winnersh railway station. Since September 2012, the Forest has educated academy players from local Football League Championship football club
Reading FC Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is managed by Paul Ince. Reading are nicknamed ...
.


History

The Forest School began as Woodley Hill Grammar School in 1957, becoming the Forest Grammar School. The school was founded by Walter G. Jackson (also the mayor of Wokingham in 1953), the first headmaster of the school. Jackson retired in 1968, to be replaced by J. Piercy. In November 1965, the
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...
company donated an Elliott 405 computer to the school, which was a first generation valve computer. The BBC science television programme ''
Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...
'' broadcast a story on 5 February 1969 about how the school used this computer to teach the pupils. Houses during the grammar period were named after local watercourses,
Kennet Kennet may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom *Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland People *Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist *Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...
,
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
,
Enborne Enborne is a village and civil parish, in West Berkshire, England that bounds to the east, across a road from Newbury. The River Enborne shares its name, although it does not run through the village; rather, it runs through and rises near the ne ...
, and Loddon. The Forest School became a comprehensive school in 1974. It has been a Business and Enterprise College since 2003 and was appointed by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust as the "Enterprise Hub School for Berkshire" in 2006. On 1 July 2013 Forest School formally converted to academy status.


Sport

In 2006 the school's under 15s (U15) football team won the National Cup. In 2007 the school's under 16s (U16) football team were runners up in the National Cup, losing narrowly to the opposition. In 2009 the school's under 14s (U14) football team were runners up in the National Cup, losing 2–1 to
Audenshaw School Audenshaw School is an all-boys secondary school in Audenshaw, Greater Manchester, England. Previously, the school was known as Audenshaw Grammar School. It opened to boys in 1932. History On 29 July 1932, Audenshaw Grammar School for Boys was ...
. The match took place at Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium in front of over 600 Forest School supporters. The school has also produced several rugby players, the most notable being
Rhodri McAtee Rhodri McAtee (born 2 August 1984 in Newport, Wales, Newport) is a Wales, Welsh rugby union player. A Wing (rugby union), winger, he was selected for the victorious Wales national rugby sevens team, Wales Sevens squad to play at the 2009 Rugby ...
, ex-England school boy who is now consistently selected for the Welsh International Sevens team, whilst playing for Cornish Pirates in National League One.


House system

There are currently seven houses at The Forest School, all named after English forests. Students are given a house upon entry in Year 7, and any future siblings are placed in the same house. The houses were assigned animals in September 2015. The seven houses and their animals are: Ashdown ''Antelope'' Bramshill ''Bear'' Kielder ''Kite'' Langdale ''Lion'' New ''Nighthawk'' Sherwood ''Shark'' Windsor ''Wolf''


Pastoral care

Whenever possible, students keep the same Form Tutor and Head of Year throughout Years 7–11. The school currently has a 'Drop In Centre' which consists of the Pastoral Support Officer's office, confidentiality boxes, support rooms and the school counsellor's office for each year group.


Business and Enterprise specialism

As a Business and Enterprise specialist, the school encourages pupils to develop their own businesses. Students are involved in managing a business, talking to potential clients, producing quotes and providing goods and services to both internal and external clients.


Forest Enterprises

Forest Enterprises is a group of student-run businesses. All of the divisions are managed by students. Forest Design is a graphic design company run by students. Clients include Wokingham Borough Council and BBC Radio Berkshire.


Forest Sixth

The school won a bid in early 2014 to build a new sixth form centre. The planning application was approved on Monday 19 January 2015. The building has ten classrooms, ICT work space, a lecture theatre and a cafe.


Significant events

* Caretaker murders wife and leaves body on school grounds (2006). * Mary Sandell calls for funding; "6 million" short; gains national attention (2015).


Subjects taught

* Further Maths is optional at A Level. ^ Students can opt for one of the following: Electronics, Graphics or Product Design.


Notable former pupils


The Forest School

* Jake Cooper, footballer, defender currently playing for Millwall F.C. * Sam Duggan
Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...
athlete currently playing for Cardiff Devils * Tyler Frost, footballer, midfielder currently playing for
Crawley Town F.C. Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...
* Jon Harper – former drummer from the Cooper Temple Clause *
Daniel Howell Daniel James Howell (born 11 June 1991) is an English YouTuber, presenter, comedian and author. He gained prominence through his YouTube channels ''Daniel Howell'' (formerly known as ''danisnotonfire''), which reached over six million subscrib ...
YouTube personality A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influen ...
and former
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
DJ * Danny Kingston – European Judo Champion 1996 *
Steven Lewington Steven Paul Lewington (born 25 February 1983) is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he performed under the ring name DJ Gabriel on the ECW brand. Lewington currently wrestles i ...
– former professional wrestler, known for performing as DJ Gabriel on ECW * Mark Littlewood – political commentator and Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free market think tank based in Westminster, London * Danny Loader, footballer, forward currently playing for FC Porto *
Rhodri McAtee Rhodri McAtee (born 2 August 1984 in Newport, Wales, Newport) is a Wales, Welsh rugby union player. A Wing (rugby union), winger, he was selected for the victorious Wales national rugby sevens team, Wales Sevens squad to play at the 2009 Rugby ...
– ex-England school boy and former winger for Wales Sevens * Gabriel Osho, footballer, defender currently playing for
Luton Town F.C. Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
* Ian Parton – lead singer and founder of the
Go! Team The Go! Team are an English six-piece band from Brighton, England. The band initially began as a solo project conceived by Ian Parton; however, after the unexpected success of The Go! Team's debut album, '' Thunder, Lightning, Strike'', Parton r ...
* Steve Seddon, footballer, defender currently playing for Birmingham City F.C. *
Nathan Tyson Nathan Tyson (born 4 May 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Grantham Town. He represented the England under-20 team in February 2003. A pacey, left-footed forward, he began his career at Reading, where he ...
, footballer, former
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
and
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
Under-20 side; was at
Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is managed by Paul Ince. Reading are nicknamed ...
and now plays at Chesterfield F.C. * Johnny Williams – centre currently playing for
Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
*
Marcus Willis Marcus Willis (born 9 October 1990) is a British professional tennis player. Willis made his tour debut at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships after qualifying for the main draw, where he gained recognition after playing against Roger Federer in t ...
– British tennis player ranked 772th in the world, playing at Wimbledon 2016 * Joshua Zeller
Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...
Hurdles athlete, Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Finalist


Forest Grammar School

* Dr John Bramley – Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics; President of the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...
, 2011-2012 * Prof Martin Chalkley - Professor of Health Economics from 2011 at the University of York and Professor of Economics at the
University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...
, 1999–2011; President of the Scottish Economic Society, 2006-2008 * Prof Ivor Goodson -Ivor Goodson
/ref> Professor of Learning Theory since 2004 at the
University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achiev ...
; Professor of Education at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
, 1996-2004 * Dr Trevor Hince – Director since 2004 of The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine * Michael Anthony Price LVO – High Commissioner to Fiji, 2000–02


References


External links


Official website

Ofsted: The Forest School (pre-Academy)

Ofsted: The Forest School (Academy)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forest School, Winnersh, The Secondary schools in the Borough of Wokingham Boys' schools in Berkshire Educational institutions established in 1957 1957 establishments in England Academies in the Borough of Wokingham