The Commonweal School is a secondary school and sixth form (also referred to as Commonweal Sixth or simply C6) in the Old Town area of

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

The Commonweal School was opened as a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

in 1927, and most of the first pupils transferred from the College and Euclid Street secondary schools. The original building was designed for 410 pupils. September 1939 saw a sudden rise in numbers to 530 as evacuees arrived, half of them from East Ham Grammar School, London. In 1965, it became a Senior High School, taking pupils of all abilities aged 14 to 18. There was another re-organisation in 1983 when Commonweal became a seven-form entry

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

for pupils aged 11 to 16, therefore losing its sixth form. Its

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 ...

status was awarded on 1 August 2011; previously, it had been a

foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the school governor, governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in Community school (England and Wales), community schools. Foundation schools ...

. An expansion in September 2014 saw the reinstatement of its sixth form, known as C6.

Leadership

'Tam' Hartley was the school's first headmaster. Doctor C.E Jones was appointed headmaster in 1932, and his name is commemorated in the shield awarded to the house that wins the annual

Sports Day Sports Day (British English & Canadian English), field days (American English), or play days (Canadian English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of w ...

. Keith Defter become headmaster in 1998. Robert Linnegar, formerly deputy headmaster, took over in September 2017 and retired at the end of August 2021. Charles 'Chas' Drew was appointed to the post in September 2021. James Matcham is currently the Head of Sixth form, a role he has held since sixth form's reinstatement in 2014.

Commonweal Sixth Form

In December 2012, it was announced by head teacher Keith Defter that the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

had accepted the school's bid for a

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

. This opened in September 2014 with places for up to 300 students in new, purpose-built facilities such as a café, rehearsal rooms, recording studio, an editing suite and a 150-seat auditorium, funded by the Department for Education. The sixth form provides a range of academic courses, alongside a varied enrichment programme.

Academic performance

At the most recent

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

inspection, in November 2017, the school received a rating of 'Good' in all categories, leading to an overall effectiveness rating of 'Good'.

Alumni

Keith Browning Keith Anthony Browning (born 31 July 1938) is a British meteorologist who worked at Imperial College London, the Met Office, and the University of Reading departments of meteorology. His work with Frank Ludlam on the supercell thunderstorm at Wo ...

, atmospheric scientist * Justin Hayward, musician * Lyndon Ogbourne, actor

References

External links

* {{authority control Academies in Swindon 1927 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1927 Secondary schools in Swindon