St Birinus School, previously known as Didcot Boy's County Modern and Didcot Senior Boys, is a boys'

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 ...

Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, located south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. Historically part of Berkshire, the town is noted ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

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 ...

. St Birinus was founded in 1936 as 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. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupils ...

before becoming a comprehensive in 1973. In September 2012 the school became an

with the same name. St Birinus' key catchment area includes the town of Didcot and the surrounding

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

, from Harwell in the west to

South Moreton South Moreton is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about east of Didcot, west of Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Wallingford, and south of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. It is only separated by the Great Western Railway cu ...

in the east and from

Long Wittenham Long Wittenham is a village and small Civil parishes in England, civil parish about north of Didcot, and southeast of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire until the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 boundary changes transfe ...

in the north to Chilton in the south, however the school also caters for parents in other parts of Oxfordshire who wish their children to be educated in a single-sex environment. As of September 2019 the headteacher is Will Manning. The school is a dual specialist

technology college In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were 598 ...

and

language college Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the specialist schools programme (SSP) in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages. Schools that successf ...

. The school takes boys from the age of 11 until the end of their

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 ...

s at the age of 16. After this students may continue to the associated Didcot Sixth Form College for their

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

s. This mixed

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 ...

is shared with Didcot Girls' School and geographically spread across both school sites. As of January 2015 the most recent OFSTED inspection was in 2012 (prior to the school becoming an academy) and the school was given an overall rating of 'good'.

History

In 1931 St Frideswide's School opened in Didcot as a coeducational secondary modern school. Then, in 1936, the Didcot Boy's County Modern school was opened in the town, enabling single sex education and, in 1951, the school acquired its present name: St Birinus School. The school is named for

Birinus Birinus (also ''Berin'', ''Birin''; – 3 December 649 or 650) was the first Bishop of Dorchester and was known as the "Apostle to the West Saxons" for his conversion of the Kingdom of Wessex to Christianity. He is venerated as a sain ...

, the first

Bishop of Dorchester The modern Bishop Suffragan of Dorchester in the Diocese of Oxford, usually contracted to Bishop of Dorchester, is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The ...

, although the school is secular. In 1973 the school became a comprehensive school and in 1997 gained specialist technology college status. In 2006 the school became one of the first in Oxfordshire to acquire a second specialism: languages. In September 2012 the running of the school was transferred to a limited company, of the same name, when the school became an academy. In 2011 St Birinus announced its intention, in conjunction with Didcot Girls' School and

Abingdon and Witney College Abingdon & Witney College is a further education provider in the United Kingdom. It was established in April 2001 after the merger of Abingdon College and West Oxfordshire College. It has four campuses: Abingdon, Witney, Common Leys Farm and a ...

, to bid to run a new academy school in the town, however their bid was not shortlisted by

Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. Established in 1889, it is an elected body responsible for most strategic local government ...

. In 2006, the school celebrated its 70th anniversary.

Campus

The school is primarily based around its Mereland Road site, however it has additional off-site sports facilities at the nearby Hagbourne Triangle. In recent years the school has updated many of their facilities including the science centre, mathematics block and humanities centre. The new Science Centre was constructed on the site of the old Greenmere Primary School, now relocated a short distance away. The school shares its site with Didcot Leisure Centre and, thus, has access to additional sports and assembly facilities. Students at Didcot Sixth Form College also have access to facilities at Didcot Girls' School.

Curriculum

As an academy St Birinus is required to follow the

national curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or othe ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

maths Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, theories and theorems that are developed and proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include num ...

and

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

; however it has considerable freedom over the remaining aspects of its curriculum. At

key stage 3 Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...

the school broadly follows the national curriculum. At

key stage 4 Key Stage 4 (KS4) is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other examinations, in maintained schools in England normally known as Year 10 and Year 11, when pupils are aged between 14 and 16 by August 31 ...

the school offers a full range of "core" GCSEs, as well as further optional GCSEs and vocational qualifications such as BTECs. Through a partnership with

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

the school is able to offer

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

lessons to its GCSE pupils. The school has made several attempts to integrate new technologies with teaching and learning, and, in 2006, received an excellence award from

RM plc RM plc is a British company that specialises in providing information technology products and services to educational organisations and establishments. Its key market is UK education including schools, colleges, universities, government educati ...

in recognition of this.

Notable alumni

Joel Cliffe Joel Alexander Cliffe (born 2 April 1980) is an English former first-class cricketer. Joel was born at Oxford in April 1980. He was educated at St Birinus School, before going up to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. While studying at Cam ...

, cricketer * Ben Fergusson, writer * Antony Hansen, actor and contestant on ''Any Dream Will Do'' *

Matt Richardson Matthew Jeffrey Richardson (born 28 May 1991) is an English comedian and broadcaster, known as a co-presenter on the ITV2 spin-off show ''The Xtra Factor (British TV series), The Xtra Factor'' with Caroline Flack in 2013. In 2016, Richardson be ...

, comedian and co-host of ''The Xtra Factor'' * Daniel Rivers,

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

Gold and Bronze medalist - 50m Rifle 3 Positions and 10m Air Rifle * Ben Watson, 2014 Commonwealth Games Bronze medalist in weightlifting (105 kg Category) & 2018 Commonwealth Games competitor in weightlifting (105+ kg Category)

References

External links

School website

DfES Performance Tables

Alumni Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Birinus School Boys' schools in Oxfordshire Secondary schools in Oxfordshire Educational institutions established in 1936 1936 establishments in England Academies in Oxfordshire Didcot