The Romsey School is a mixed community

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

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 ...

. The school was a

secondary modern A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usuall ...

, called Romsey County Secondary School, until the 1970s when it became a comprehensive. In 2000 it became a Specialist Language College jointly with

The Mountbatten School The Mountbatten School is an 11–16 secondary school located on Whitenap Lane in Romsey, Hampshire, England. The school is an Academy, but opened in 1969 as a comprehensive. Specialist status and national awards The school became a Language C ...

. In 2005 the school's specialisation changed to a

Mathematics and Computing College Mathematics and Computing Colleges were introduced in England in 2002 and Northern Ireland in 2006 as part of the Government's Specialist Schools programme which was designed to raise standards in secondary education. Specialist schools foc ...

. In August 2011 the school became an academy. The school has approximately 1100 children aged 11–16 and 100 teachers. The catchment area includes the villages of

Ampfield Ampfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Test Valley in Hampshire, England, between Romsey, Eastleigh, and Winchester. It had a population at the 2001 census of 1,474, increasing to 1,583 at the 2011 Census. Geography Ampfield ...

, Braishfield, Sherfield English,

Michelmersh Michelmersh is a small, scattered village in Hampshire, England some three miles () north of Romsey. It forms a civil parish with Timsbury, Hampshire, Timsbury that forms part of the Test Valley district. The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath ...

, Timsbury and Awbridge. In 2010 81% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*–C grades in their

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

s. 94% of pupils achieved at least a pass on A*-C. In 2018 the Progress 8 measure was average for the school and 50% of pupils achieved Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs, compared to 45% for Hampshire and 40% for England.

ASD Support Base

The school runs an ASD Support Base to support pupils with

Special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in b ...

and

Autistic spectrum disorder The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. The ASD Base was established in September 2002 to help students on the

Autistic Spectrum The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

attend mainstream lessons. In 2009, a sensory garden was built to help resource members relax and carry out gardening work.

Awards

The school won the inaugural 'Community School of the Year' People's Service award from

Children & Young People Now ''Children & Young People Now'' is a magazine and website resource covering policy issues and best practice for all professionals working to improve the life chances of children, young people and families in the United Kingdom. Launched in 2007, ...

magazine in 2006.

Academy Status

The Romsey School converted to an academy under the

Academies Act 2010 An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

on 1 August 2011.

Notable former students

Todd Bennett Todd Anthony Bennett (6 July 1962 – 16 July 2013) was a Great Britain, British athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. Athletics career Bennett competed for Great Britain in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United Stat ...

, Olympic runner * Phil Hughes, cricketer *

Caroline Nokes Caroline Fiona Ellen Nokes (''née'' Perry; born 26 June 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician. She was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Romsey and Southampton North in Hampshire in the 2010 general election. Ele ...

, Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

for

Romsey and Southampton North Romsey and Southampton North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Caroline Nokes for the Conservative Party. For the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer i ...

* James Buckley-Thorp, Entrepreneur, Founder and Director of apparel corporation Rupert and Buckley

References

Secondary schools in Hampshire Academies in Hampshire Romsey {{Hampshire-school-stub