Alderman Peel High School is an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Wells-next-the-Sea Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk, England. The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 2,451,Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household c ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England.

History

The founder

Sam Peel, who was born in

Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. It lies on the River Tiffey, south-west of Norwich and just off the A11 road (England), A11 road to London. The pari ...

, was not a Birthright Quaker, but by Conviction who had started off as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. He was permissive and tolerant. His faith and life of service started on him seeing the extreme poverty of the seafolk in Wells during a visit in 1909, which he attributed to alcohol and the public houses being the only social meeting places. He campaigned against drink and extended the

Meeting House A meeting house (also spelled meetinghouse or meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes private meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a: * chu ...

. He constructed the first council houses in

, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

using the powers in the

Housing of the Working Classes Act 1900 The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1900 ( 63 & 64 Vict. c. 59) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Background The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1885 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c. 72) was a public health act, not a housing act. It e ...

. He was chair of the Norfolk Education Committee from 1943 until 1968. He steered through the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Histori ...

The secondary modern school

The school was founded in 1963 by Alderman Sam Peel, chair of the Norfolk Education Committee, as a

secondary modern school 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. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...

. The school became part of the Wensum Trust multi-academy trust in 2017. The trust includes

Acle Academy The Acle Academy, formerly known as Acle High School, is a secondary school which is located in Acle, Norfolk, England. This is in the centre of the Norfolk Broads. The academy status school has 700 pupils, ranging in age from 11 to 16 years old ...

Hellesdon High School Hellesdon High School is a secondary school and, on site, is a sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status in Hellesdon, Norfolk, England. The school is part of the Wensum Trust. The school changed its logo in March 2025. The he ...

and seven

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

Inspection judgements

* In 2009 Ofsted judged the school as Outstanding. * In 2012 Ofsted judged the school as Good.

Headteachers

* 2005–2010: John Platten * 2010–present: Alastair Ogle

Academic results

In 2017

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

results were below average for the

Progress 8 benchmark The Progress 8 benchmark is an accountability measure used by the government of the United Kingdom to measure the effectiveness of secondary schools in England. It bands pupils into groups based on their scores in English and mathematics during th ...

and the linked Attainment 8 measure.

Wells-Next-The-Sea Primary and Nursery School

The nearby primary school was in a 'hard federation' with the secondary school until both converted to an academy in 2017. The primary school had received a warning notice in 2016 because of its poor exam results.

References

External links

Alderman Peel High School at the Wensum Trust
{{authority control Secondary schools in Norfolk Academies in Norfolk Wells-next-the-Sea