Cowes Enterprise College, previously known as Cowes High School, is a coeducational

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 ...

and

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 ...

with academy status located on the outskirts of

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...

at Crossfield Avenue on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, England.

History

As Cowes High School, the school was designated a

Business and Enterprise College Business and Enterprise Colleges (BECs) were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in England. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields. Schools that successfully applied to the Specialist Sch ...

. As part of the reorganisation of the education system on the Isle of Wight, Cowes Pathfinder Partnership was successful in their bid against Academies Enterprise Trust take over the school. In 2011, the school opened with the age range extended to years 7 through 13. It is now one of five secondary providers on the Isle of Wight. As part of the reorganisation, a bid for £30.5 million was won from the Department for Education and Skills to rebuild the school with a carbon-neutral building, with an aim of being completed by 2012. In December 2008, it was announced that redevelopment of the school had been delayed, caused by procurement rules following court rulings elsewhere, by up to a year with an opening of summer 2012 as the latest opening date,. The 2014 pass rates for the school were 58% for five or more GCSE A* to C passes including English and Maths, significantly higher than the average for the

and 97% pass rate with 67% of students gaining at least 3 A Level passes. In September 2012, the college was due to move across into a new £32 million building, however, due to a sustained period of wet weather the opening was delayed until November 2012. At the beginning of December 2012, parents received a letter stating that occupation of the new building now would not take place until September 2013. Prior to the new opening of the school, headteacher David Snashall stated he would be standing down, with Dave Goodhead taking over. Jonathan Russell was appointed principal for the new Cowes Enterprise College. Cowes Enterprise College appointed Rebecca Pearce (current vice principal of The City Academy Bristol) as the new principal for January 2014 and converted to academy status in September 2014 joining the

Ormiston Academies Trust Ormiston Trust is a charitable trust based in London, England. It is a grant-making trust that chiefly assists schools and organisations supporting children and young people. The trust was established in the memory of Fiona Ormiston Murray who ...

. "Personal circumstances" forced Pearce's departure in November 2014 and former Ofsted inspector John Peckham was appointed to "take the school to the next stage"

Notable former pupils

* Si Genaro, British musician and featured contestant on

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing reality competition television series. Created by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen, it premiered on BBC One on 24 March 2012. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', and ...

. * Mark King, lead singer and bass player with Level 42, attended Cowes High School. * Mornington Lockett, jazz saxophonist * Kay Marriott, High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight * Cliff Michelmore, British television presenter and producer. * Helen Roy, British ecologist, entomologist, and academic

References

External links

*
Ofsted reports
{{authority control Secondary schools on the Isle of Wight Academies on the Isle of Wight Ormiston Academies Cowes Specialist business and enterprise colleges