Samuel Whitbread Academy is an Upper School and

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 serving the rural communities around the small market town of Shefford in

Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009. Formation Central Bedfordshire was created on 1 April 2009 as part of a structural reform of local government in Bedfor ...

. Its school campus includes a nursery school and facilities for

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

. The school has recently won the schools national vase at Twickenham. Both its under 18 and under 15 division went to Twickenham after both teams winning in the semi-finals at Allianz Park (Saracens' home ground). Impressively, both teams lifted the trophy at Twickenham and came home with two victories. The school were also recently crowned School of the Year at the National Rugby Awards.

History

1970s

Originally designated Shefford & District Upper School, it was as Samuel Whitbread Upper School that it opened on a purpose-built site on 4 September 1973, as part of Bedfordshire County Council's re-organisation into a 3-tier, non-selective school system. Adult education provision was in place from the beginning under Gordon Ainscough, but the name of the institution was not changed to Samuel Whitbread Upper School and Community College until 1975 (when the 'Headmaster' became the 'Head') and it became Samuel Whitbread Community College, (led by a 'Principal') at some point in the late 90s. The Headmaster, when the school opened, was Kenneth Dodsworth, and the Chairman of Governors was Alderman W. Inskip. The original intention was for the school to have an eventual roll of 1100, drawn from the existing secondary modern school
Robert Bloomfield
an

which were to become

middle schools A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, and from 1975, a planned purpose-buil
Henlow Middle School
There were 457 pupils when the school was opened: 249 in what was then the '3rd Year' (now known as Year 9) from the Robert Bloomfield and Etonbury Schools; 94 in the '4th Year' (Year 10) and 117 in the 5th Year (Year 11) who were from Robert Bloomfield only. A vestigial 6th Form of 5 former Robert Bloomfield pupils was enrolled, although 6th form courses were not yet in place. Thirty teachers were employed in September 1973, the last of whom retired in 2007. At that time there were 25 support staff, including 8 cleaners and 9 kitchen assistants.

21st century

The site was extensively updated to provide new facilities and space for school departments as part of a

Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...

with the companies Bilfinger Berger, Galliford Try, Gensler and Helaba. The site is owned by Bilfinger Berger and maintained by Galliford Try Facilities Management. The new buildings were officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 17 November 2006. On 1 March 2012, the school officially became an academy and was renamed Samuel Whitbread Academy. Previously the school had been a specialist

Engineering College Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional development, professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (Bachelor's degree, bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any ...

. Samuel Whitbread's Principal is Nick Martin.

Catchment area

The

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

is bounded by the parishes of Arlesey, Stotfold,

Stondon Stondon is a civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish includes the settlements of Lower Stondon and Upper Stondon. The name "Stondon" derives from the Saxon word meaning Stone Hill. The pa ...

, Shillington, Campton, Chicksands,

Haynes Haynes may refer to: People *Haynes (surname) Places In Australia: * Haynes, Western Australia In Canada: * Haynes, Alberta In the United Kingdom: *Haynes, Bedfordshire ** Haynes Church End In the United States: *Haynes, Arkansas * Haynes, Nort ...

, Southill ,

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, Broom, Langford and

Meppershall Meppershall is a hilltop village in Bedfordshire near Shefford, Campton, Shillington, Stondon and surrounded by farmland. The village and the manor house are mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 - with the entry reading: ''Malpertesselle/Map ...

House System

To help with managing the large number of students, the school employs a

House system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...

, whereby students are separated into five "houses" with which they are associated for their time at the school. Students may change house if they move between form classes, and most change from year 11 to 12 when entering sixth form. The five Houses are: * Whishaw - House colour: * Sims - House colour: * Moore - House colour: * Rashford - House colour: * Obama - House colour: They are named after Ben Whishaw, David Sims, Tom Moore, Marcus Rashford, and

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

. These houses were introduced in September 2021 in an attempt to increase diversity amongst the house names. This was chosen through a combination of pupil votes, nominations, and school council decisions. The house colours and shields were kept the same. While 2 racial minorities were added, the representation of women remained at one. The previous system used Ben Whishaw, Frank Whittle,

Ralph Endersby Harwood Sir Ralph Endersby Harwood (28 March 1883 – 28 February 1951) was Financial Secretary to George V, Edward VIII and George VI. Early life Harwood was born on 28 March 1883, the son of Charles Harwood of Shefford, Bedfordshire. He was educate ...

Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton, (born 24 September 1980) is a British jockey and former track cyclist who specialised in the sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion. With two ...

, and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

as namesakes. All of whom have a historical connection to Clifton, Shefford. Before this the houses were

Curie In computing, a CURIE (or ''Compact URI'') defines a generic, abbreviated syntax for expressing Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs). It is an abbreviated URI expressed in a compact syntax, and may be found in both XML and non-XML grammars. A CURIE ...

and

Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

. These houses are used to simplify school-wide activities and competitions, such as assemblies. Sporting events will often be organised in ‘houses’ culminating in the 'SWA House Olympics' at the end of the year. Pupils' uniform is subtly changed to signify their house, with changes to tie and blazer colour.TotalClothingSho
SWA general uniform
Retrieved 2022.01.02. Houses can earn points throughout the year by succeeding in events like the House Olympics, participating in charity work, or taking more books from the library. The house with the most points at the end of the year are named ‘House Champions.’

The Society

The school provides for its highest attaining Sixth Form students a programme to prepare them for

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

and

Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public university, public research university, research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its memb ...

universities. This programme is headed by the Head of Academia at the school, Professor Hubbard. One aspect of membership of The Society is taking part in the Individual Learning Programme (ILP), in which members specialise in a chosen subject to enhance their learning; they may also participate in activities to prepare them for their applications and interviews with prospective universities.

Notable alumni

* Ben Whishaw, actor, noted for acting the lead roles in Tom Tykwer's film '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'' and the portrayal of Q in '' Skyfall''. *

Jack Collison Jack David Collison (born 2 October 1988) is a Welsh football manager and former player. He is the head coach for Huntsville City in MLS Next Pro. Collison began his career with Peterborough United's youth system in 1998, before moving to Camb ...

, a footballer during his time at the school, who has gone on to represent Wales' u21s and full national side as well as playing for West Ham United's first XI.

Notes and references

*Bedfordshire County Council Education Committee (1973) ''Reorganisation of schools in the Shefford / South East Bedfordshire Area: Information for parents'' The , Bedford *Samuel Whitbread Upper School & Community College (1973–1983) ''School Annals'' (unpublished chronicle) Specific

External links

Samuel Whitbread Academy Website
{{authority control Upper schools in Central Bedfordshire District Academies in Central Bedfordshire District Educational institutions established in 1973 1973 establishments in England