Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Language College
Motto	Fortiter et fideliter (Bravefully and faithfully)
Established	1960s
Type	Voluntary-aided
Religion	Church of England
Headteacher	Mr Alan Davies
Specialism	Language College
Location	Highfield Road Leyland Lancashire PR26 9HJ  England
LEA	Lancashire
Ofsted number	119787
Students	900-950
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11 to 16
Website	http://www.bishoprawstorne.lancsngfl.ac.uk/
Coordinates: 53°39′49″N 2°46′12″W / 53.66348°N 2.77005°W / 53.66348; -2.77005

Bishop Rawstorne C of E Language College is a high school situated in the village of Croston, Lancashire, England.

[edit] About the school

Bishop Rawstorne was founded in the 1960s. Pupils are drawn from a wide area, and is regularly over-subscribed every year.^[1] The school was awarded DfES Teacher Training in late 2000, by the then Secretary of State for Education, David Blunkett MP.^[2] The school caters for ages 11 to 16, ranging from year 7 to 11. After the final year, students can pursue further education, get a modern apprenticeship or employment. In January 2008 there were 933 pupils.^[3]

The school is a small campus containing a main block (which includes the main hall, cafeteria, maths, music, foreign languages and humanities departments), a science block, technology block, administrative block and English block, which also has a small cafeteria. The school underwent a large development project in the early 2000s which involved the construction of a layby for buses, a new block at the front of the school, a new sports hall to the rear of the school and renovations of classrooms. A recent extension of the music department (opened by Paul McKenna, captain of Preston North End FC) allowed the opening of a music school and a new road was constructed to ease congestion. The main hall was redecorated in the summer of 2008. Much of the teaching is increasingly being conducted on electronic whiteboards.

The current headteacher is Alan Davies, who succeeded George Lloyd in 2008.

In 2009, the school was visited by the current Archbishop of Canterbury where we toured around the school, met pupils and help raise the new school flag.

[edit] Performance

According to a 2007 OFSTED report, the schools' performance was rated as outstanding.^[4] In 2008, the school had 29% A* to A grades earning a rank of 35, down on the previous year of 34% with a rank of 11.^[5]. However, scores are usually above average in the country and in local league tables.^[6][7] The school enjoys increasingly high GCSE grades, where in 2007 the school attained 84% A*-C grades, compared to 58% in 2001, making it within the top 10% of UK schools.^[4][8]

[edit] Religious ethos

The school has a strong religious emphasis. Being a Church of England school, it is located in the Diocese of Blackburn. In 2007, the school was rated highly in a denominational report ^[1]. The school has a Chapliancy team made up by priests from the Church of England.

[edit] Language status

The schools' specialist language status was awarded in 1996.^[9] Language exchanges have taken place between Bishop Rawstorne and foreign schools, since twinning with Honore^de Balzac Collège, Azay-le-Rideau, France, in 1982 and a foreign exchange in 1985 ^[10]. The school currently teaches compulsory French and German to year 11, and Spanish up to year 9 with an option to continue to GCSE level. Other languages such as Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Swedish, Magyar and Polish form part of extra-curricular activities. The school undertakes various trips abroad to Europe each year for years 7, 9 and 10. The school has won awards for its language status, including the International School Award in 2004, awarded by the Department of Education and Skills and the British Council. In 2006 the school successfully applied to participate in the Connecting Classrooms project, which involves linking UK schools with schools in Mozambique and Uganda.

[edit] Bands

The school has three bands. The first band is a school band, which only students of the college are allowed to attend,the second is a higher-level jazz band called RawJazz, where former students are allowed to participate, and the third is the Swing Band, a small group reserved for senior players in the school. All three take part in concerts, including at the Preston Guild Hall every February, and at the Southport Floral Hall in July.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bishop Rawstorne official website
• Raw Jazz Myspace
• [1]