Ifield Community College
| Ifield Community College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
Crawley Avenue , West Sussex , RH11 0DB England  | |
| Information | |
| Type | Community school |
| Established | 1966 |
| Founder | Sarah Robinson |
| Closed | 2011 |
| Local authority | West Sussex County Council |
| Department for Education URN | 126071 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Principal | Dr W. Lind |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrollment | 1018 |
| Colour(s) | Black (and red logo) |
| Former name | Ifield Grammar School |
| Website | http://www.ifieldcc.w-sussex.sch.uk |
Ifield Community College (ICC) is a maintained comprehensive secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18.
Admissions
It caters for around 1000 pupils in years 7 to 13, including over 100 in its sixth form. It is situated in the west of Crawley, next to the A23. Ifield railway station is nearby to the south.
The school is entirely comprehensive, providing education for around 1000 pupils aged between 11 and 18 of all abilities.
Most pupils attending the school live within the catchment area, and transfer from one of the local primary schools:
- Mill Primary School, Crawley|The Mill Primary School
- Waterfield Primary School
- West Green Primary School
- Bewbush Primary School
- Gossops Green Primary School
- Langley Green Primary School
History
The school has history dating back to 1852 - nearly 100 years before the coming of the new town. It began life as a free school opened by Mrs Sarah Robinson in the village of Crawley. A new building was opened in 1854 in what was later to become known as Robinson Road in honour of the teacher. In 1953, the school lost its primary-aged pupils with the opening of the new West Green county junior and infants' school. Many older pupils were moved to the newly-opened Hazelwick School with the remainder transferring to the new Sarah Robinson secondary modern School buildings opened on the Ifield campus in 1956.[1]
Comprehensive
At this time, the secondary modern school shared a campus with the newly-opened Ifield County Grammar School, built in 1955. The schools worked closely together, eventually merging in 1966 to become Ifield comprehensive school following retirement of the Headteacher at the Sarah Robinson school.[2] A distinguished headmaster, Mr Bomford, was brought in to oversee the transition and he introduced a new formality, with senior teachers wearing gowns in assemblies for the first time. As one of the biggest schools in England, Ifield had a considerable reputation for sport, particularly soccer and athletics. The pupils at this time included Jeff Bryant, who went on to be a professional footballer with Wimbledon and Alan Minter, a future World Boxing Champion.
By 1984 there were some 1600 pupils on roll[3] - including Keith Newell who went on to play cricket for Sussex County Cricket Club.
Developments in the early 1980s saw the two separate buildings co-locating, with former buildings becoming the home of Ifield Middle School in 1985. In 2005, a new school building opened in the centre of the campus, with the old buildings being demolished.[4]
Campus
The campus for the school was Killed
Choir
Ifield Community College has a very successful and accomplished choir made up of students from all age groups in the school. The choir has recently completed a short tour of Barcelona in July 2009, performing at Barcelona Cathedral, amongst other venues.
The choir, led by Patrick Allen (music educator), has performed at some of Europe's major venues, including St Mark's Basilica in Venice (2008),the Royal Festival Hall, London, Barcelona Cathedral, the Auditorium Stravinski in Montreux and a recent collaboration with the BBC Singers saw them performing and recording at Maida Vale Studios. They have been five times finalists at the National Festival of Music for Youth, most recently in 2009 and 2010.
Alumni
Ifield Grammar School
- Michael Keating, Director of Education since 2005 at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
References
- ^ Hudson, T.P. (ed.). "Ifield: Education". A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 3: Bramber Rape (North-Eastern Part) including Crawley New Town. Oxford: Institute of Historical Research by Oxford University Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0197227686. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help); External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Report and Recommendations on Reorganisation of Secondary Education. West Sussex County Council. 1966.
- ^ Hudson, T.P. (ed.). "Ifield: Education". A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 3: Bramber Rape (North-Eastern Part) including Crawley New Town. Oxford: Institute of Historical Research by Oxford University Press. pp. 93–95. ISBN 0197227686. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help); External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ "New Crawley Schools get ready to welcome pupils" (Press release). West Sussex County Council. 2005-08-16. Retrieved 2007-01-04.