William Howard School

Secondary academy in Brampton, Cumbria, England

William Howard School

Location

Longtown Road

Brampton

Cumbria

CA8 1AR

England

Coordinates| 54°56′38″N 2°44′33″W﻿ / ﻿54.94400°N 2.74254°W﻿ / 54.94400; -2.74254
Information
Type| Secondary academy
Motto| Be the best you can be!
Local authority| Cumberland Council
Trust| Cumbria Education Trust
Department for Education URN| 137252 Tables
Ofsted| Reports
Headteacher| Kath Pigdon[1]
Gender| Coeducational
Age| 11 to 18
Enrolment| 1367
Houses| Vindolanda, Talkin, Gelt, Eden
Colour(s)| Blue Yellow
Website| www.williamhoward.cumbria.sch.uk

10km
6.2miles

William Howard School

The William Howard School is a co-educational secondary academy school on Longtown Road (A6071) in Brampton, Carlisle, Cumbria, England for pupils aged 11–18.

## History

[edit]

The school is named after Lord William Howard (1563–1640), who was the third son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. He married Elizabeth, the daughter and co-heiress of William, Lord Dacre, from whom the Naworth Castle branch of the Howard Family is descended. A Grade II monument of William Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle, is positioned on one of the highest hills to one side of the town of Brampton, known as the Mote.

The school used to be known as the Irthing Valley Secondary Modern School, and was built between 1949 and 1953. It merged with another school in Brampton, the White House Grammar School situated on Main Street, in 1980 when comprehensive education replaced the selective education system. The ex-BBC newsreader Anna Ford was a head girl of White House Grammar School in 1961. More recently, the school had to be expanded after the closure of Lochinvar school in Longtown in 2008. A new performing arts block was built in 2010, allowing the old drama suite to be extensively refurbished to become the new sixth form centre, which was officially opened by Radio 1 DJ Greg James on 10 May 2011.[2] The school used to have an outdoor swimming pool, but the block which is currently the sixth form centre was built on the site of the pool in the 1990s.

William Howard School was awarded Specialist Science status in 2004, Leading Edge status in 2005[3] and the International School Award in 2007. The school converted to become an academy in August 2011. It retained its own sixth form centre after some argument over a proposed merger with a larger Carlisle Sixth Form Centre.

In October 2014 it was announced that William Howard School will become the sponsor of the new Workington Academy in Workington in September 2015.[4] The resulting multi-academy trust was called the Cumbrian Education Trust; it accepted responsibility for Whitehaven Academy and six primary schools.[5]

## The school today

[edit]

Currently, the school has approximately 1600 pupils. The school has science laboratories, computer rooms, and a learning resources centre. It has a gym and a full size floodlit all-weather pitch. The school has a partner school in Tanzania.[citation needed]

After school hours the school acts as a centre for adult education, theatrical and music performances, clubs and community meetings.[citation needed] The large open foyer frequently serves as a gallery space for local artists.[citation needed]

## Tanzanian link

[edit]

Founded in 1989, the William Howard School – Uru Secondary School link has been, and continues to be, a great asset to both the Uru and Brampton communities.[citation needed]

The rural village of Uru is located in the Moshi district of Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania. About 8 miles from Moshi, the village itself is on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The Uru Secondary School is a co-ed church school with about 400 students in Forms 1 to 4. The Link was formed in 1987 when the coordinator, Phil Furneaux, met the Chair of Uru School Governors at an Energy Conference in Cumbria. At first WHS sent textbooks and other gifts to Uru. The first exchange took place in 1989 when a group of 13 students from WHS went to Uru. Since then there has been an exchange visit each way every other year except in 2002 when the visit was postponed due to a terrorist threat.

A few Uru students come to study in the sixth form at WHS on long term visits, and a number of WHS students go to teach English at Uru School during their gap years.

## Sport

[edit]

The school regularly competes at local level within Cumbria and has a history of schoolboy level FA Cup runs. Facilities include a fitness suite and also an astroturf pitch.

On the astroturf is run Carlisle and Brampton Six a Side League. There are currently 39 teams playing in five divisions. Fixtures are generally played on astroturf on Tuesdays and Friday nights. In the three Tuesday leagues the two lowest placed teams are relegated to the division below. The two highest placed teams are promoted. Teams play each other three times a season.

## theReview

[edit]

theReview is a sixth form student newspaper that was relaunched after a two-year hiatus, in September 2012. The publication is completely and independently managed by students, all aged 16 to 17.

## Young Enterprise

[edit]

The school has been a strong supporter of the Young Enterprise charity. It teaches young people about business through practical methods. Students have to set up their own company, create a product, and sell it. They also have to write a detailed report on the company, as well as set up two trade stands in Carlisle, and present their findings to a panel of judges.[6]

## Notable alumni

[edit]

* Anna Ford, newsreader and former BBC and ITV broadcaster[7][failed verification]
* Lucy Rose, writer and filmmaker

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Staff – William Howard School".
2. ^ "Ballet star shows off charity portraits". Bucks Free Press. 13 December 2000. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
3. ^ EduBase: Quality Indicators
4. ^ "Stainburn and Southfield schools new academy sponsor found". BBC News. 3 October 2014.
5. ^ "New sixth form launches for students in West Cumbria". West Coast Sixth Form. Cumbria Education Trust. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
6. ^ "Students Miss Win By Narrow Margin". The Westmorland Gazette. 17 May 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
7. ^ "Alumni – William Howard School". Retrieved 13 February 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* William Howard School Website
* Cumbria Education Trust Website
* Brampton Live Festival website[usurped]

* v
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Schools in Cumbria, England 1

Primary schools|

* Chetwynde School
* Holme St Cuthbert School

Secondary schools|

* Appleby Grammar School
* Beacon Hill Community School
* Caldew School
* Cartmel Priory School
* Chetwynde School
* Cockermouth School
* Dallam School
* Dowdales School
* Energy Coast UTC
* Furness Academy
* John Ruskin School
* Keswick School
* Kirkbie Kendal School
* Kirkby Stephen Grammar School
* The Lakes School
* Millom School
* Nelson Thomlinson School
* Netherhall School
* Queen Elizabeth Grammar School
* Queen Elizabeth School
* Queen Katherine School
* Richard Rose Central Academy
* Richard Rose Morton Academy
* St Bernard's Catholic High School
* St Benedict's Catholic High School
* St John Henry Newman Catholic School
* St Joseph's Catholic High School
* Samuel King's School
* Settlebeck School
* Solway Community School
* Trinity School
* Ullswater Community College
* Ulverston Victoria High School
* Walney School
* West Lakes Academy
* The Whitehaven Academy
* William Howard School
* Workington Academy

Independent schools|

* Austin Friars
* St Bees School
* Sedbergh School
* Windermere School

Special schools|

* Oversands School

Sixth form & FE colleges|

* Barrow Sixth Form College
* Furness College
* Kendal College
* Lakes College

Defunct schools|

* Aspatria Agricultural College
* Barrow-in-Furness Grammar Schools
* Barrow-in-Furness Higher Grade School
* Barrow-in-Furness Technical School
* Casterton School
* Eden Grove School
* Hawkshead Grammar School
* John Whinnerah Institute
* Newton Rigg College
* Parkview School
* Salterbeck School
* Southfield Technology College
* Town Bank Grammar School
* Urswick Grammar School
* Wigton School
* Workington School
* Wyndham School, Egremont

1includes schools in Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness.

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* ISNI

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