Corfe Hills School

Corfe Hills School is a co-educational upper school in Broadstone, Poole, Dorset, England, in the urban fringe between Poole and Wimborne. The school became an academy in 2011.[1] The school serves Corfe Mullen, Broadstone, Wimborne, Merley and Sturminster Marshall. The current headteacher is James Sankey.

Corfe Hills School
Address
Higher Blandford Road

Broadstone
,
Dorset
,
BH18 9BG

England
Coordinates50°46′11″N 2°00′22″W
Information
TypeAcademy
MottoHigh Expectations, Exceptional Individuals
Established1976
Local authorityBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Department for Education URN136574 Tables
OfstedReports
HeadteacherJames Sankey
GenderCo-educational
Age13 to 18
Enrolment882
HousesKimmeridge, Lulworth, Sandbanks
Websitehttp://www.corfehills.net/

History

The school was established in 1976.[2] By 2000, the school had 1,600 pupils.[3]

In 2012, the school was reported to be using a £9,000 yurt as a space to encourage reading.[4]

A former chemistry teacher of the school (teaching between 2001 and 2011) was convicted in 2014 and jailed for owning and distributing indecent images and movies of children.[5]

The school was a site of an audio experiment in 2016 with Bournemouth University in which 11 teenage students participated in the listening of radio drama shows.[6]

In 2018, the school had 1,040 pupils.[7] In 2019, the school spent £1.2 million on a renovation of the school heating system.[8]

In 2020, the school had 869 students (less than half the number of students compared with 20 years ago).[9]

In 2022, the school had 882 students.[10]

Productions

For over 30 years the school has produced a musical for a week at the Poole Lighthouse theatre, a regional arts centre. Further music and drama productions take place in the spring and summer terms and a Christmas carol service is held at Wimborne Minster. The school also enters a team into the annual Rock Challenge Dance competition, being placed in several years allowing entry to the regional premier competition. Productions include Guys and Dolls, Hot Mikado, In to the Woods, Calamity Jane,[11] "Anything Goes", Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Fiddler on the Roof,[12] Oliver Twist, Sweet Charity[13] and many more.

Sports and Clubs

The school has international links, of which its rugby, hockey and Netball tours are the best known. In recent years the teams have travelled to Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand and Fiji. The school sporting facilities include an indoor sports hall and outside area, including football and rugby pitches, a cricket strip, a 400m running track and four tennis courts.

In September 2021, the school launched a cadet unit with Dorset Police.[14][15]

County top
Corfe Hills seen from Barrow Hill. The highest point is near the foot of the transmission mast.

The school is located on the county top for Poole unitary authority, called Corfe Hills, hence the name. The actual summit of the hill is on the Higher Blandford Road near the mobile phone tower by the school entrance. At 78 metres, Corfe Hills is the highest point in Poole.[16]

Notable former pupils

James McVey, the lead guitarist with The Vamps was a former pupil of the school.[17]

Headteachers
  • James Sankey (2020–present)
  • Phil Keen (2016-2020)
  • Gary Clark (2012-2016)
  • Alan Hinchliffe (2003-2012)
  • Andrew Williams (c.1990-2003)[18][3]
  • Dr Brian Harper (1976-c.1990)

References
  1. "ACADEMY STATUS". Corfe Hills School. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  2. "Schools Guide UK Search Find Best Top Schools List Reviews Lessons". www.schoolsnet.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. Mosley, Ivo (2000). Dumbing Down: Culture, Politics and the Mass Media. Imprint Academic. p. viii. ISBN 9780907845652.
  4. "Corfe Hills School in Dorset uses yurt". BBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  5. "Retired Corfe Hills School teacher Ian Bell jailed for owning and sharing thousands of child abuse images". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  6. Mcmurtry, Leslie (2019). Revolution in the Echo Chamber Audio Drama's Past, Present and Future. Intellect Books Limited. ISBN 978-1789380439.
  7. "Corfe Hills School downgraded after Ofsted inspection". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  8. "Amiri win £1.2 million project at Corfe Hills School". Amiri Group. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  9. "Corfe Hills School - GOV.UK". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  10. "Corfe Hills School". UK Government. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  11. "A school with a heart | Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine". Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  12. "Fiddler plays at school". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  13. "Archive for Guys and Dolls at Lighthouse (previously known as Poole Arts Centre), Poole. 2004. [POOLE]". www.uktw.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  14. "Police cadet unit launched at Corfe Hills School". Dorset View. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  15. "New police cadet unit launched in Weymouth". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  16. Database of British and Irish Hills. Accessed on 29 Mar 2013.
  17. "Did you go to the same Dorset school as someone famous?". Daily Echo. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  18. "DorsetLife On-Line Magazine". archive.ph. 3 November 2003. Archived from the original on 3 November 2003. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
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