Coopers' Company and Coborn School
| Coopers' Company and Coborn School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Comprehensive voluntary aided school |
| Motto | Love as brethren |
| Established | 1536 |
| Local authority | London Borough of Havering |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Website | http://www.cooperscoborn.org.uk |
The Coopers' Company and Coborn School is a 11-18 school in Upminster, in the London Borough of Havering.
The school is (since 2002) a non-selective voluntary aided state comprehensive school describe by Ofsted as "an exceptional school of real excellence". The school excels at Performing Arts and Sports. In 2004 as part of the European Year of Education through Sport it won the award of "Europe's most sport minded school". [1]
There have been no tests since 2001 nor interviews since 2002 for admission due to DfES pressure. Current applications are made via application form completed by the prospective students' parents and, months later, by a second form completed by the students themselves. It is important to note that this is not an examination but is heavily scrutinised. The school is heavily oversubscribed with approximately 5 applicants for each of the 180 places.
History
The Nicholas Gibson Free School was founded in 1536 by a prominent citizen of the City of London who earned his living as a grocer. On his death in 1549 Gibson's wife, Avice, took over the running of the school which could take up to sixty boys. In 1552 she asked the Coopers' Company to undertake the management of the School for her and thus the school included the Company's title in its name. The school was situated in Ratcliff, now present-day Stepney.
Prisca Coborn, the widow of a brewer, established a coeducational school in Bow in 1701 as a result of the terms of her will, published in the year of her death. The school was first housed in a site east of Bow Church, quickly moving to a site between the church and Bow Bridge. In 1814 the School moved to a site which later became part of the Bryant and May match factory. In 1870 the school moved to a site in Tredegar Square, later to be occupied by the Coopers' Company's Boys' School.
In 1891 the two foundations were united with the boys moving to Tredegar Square; Coborn, now an all-girls school, moved to 86 Bow Road. In 1898 Coborn School was moved to 29-31 Bow Road where it remained until the move to Cranham, near Upminster. As a result of the amalgamation of the two schools to form the then voluntary aided school, the new site was first occupied at Cranham in 1971 and by 1973 the whole school had moved into these new premises.
Location And Geographics
The school and sixth form college is located in Cranham, near Upminster, In the East London borough of Havering, along St. Marys Lane. Being on the outskirts of Upminster, it has area a sense of countryside and there is a farm to the south of the school. A strong feature of the school is its central pond, with its own ecological habitat, which contains anything from fish, to ducks, to algae. The settings are generally very green and well-kept, meaning a good, (if somewhat snobby) environment for students to learn in. The only exception to this would be the school's Technology blocks and the sixth form block (formerly the Science block), which are now the only reminder of the School's 1970's origins at the Upminster site, as nearly all other original buildings have been demolished and since rebuilt.
Additionally the school is well served by public transport. Upminster Railway Station is only a 10-15 minute walk away from the School, which has C2C services to Basildon and Barking amongst others and is also the terminus of te District Line on the London Underground. London bus route 346 connect the school to Upminster town centre. There are also School Bus services from Cooper's to both Laindon and Brentwood in the nearby county of Essex.
Notable alumni
- Anita Dobson - Actor, Eastenders (Angie Watts) [citation needed]
- Lorne Spicer - Daytime Television Presenter [citation needed]
- Cheri Allcock - Fashion Designer [citation needed]
- Peter Scrivener - Former Wasps and England Rugby Player
-->
References
- ^ Euractiv - European Year of Education through Sport draws to a close. Retrieved 16 September 2006.