Lakers School
Coordinates: 51°48′32″N 2°36′32″W / 51.809°N 2.609°W
 | |
| Motto | "Creating success for all through, challenge and support" |
|---|---|
| Established | 1985 |
| Type | Foundation school |
| Headteacher | Mr John Reilly (interim head) |
| Location |
Five Acres Coleford Gloucestershire Gl16 7QW England |
| DfE URN | 115774 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 608 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Houses | Phoenix, Gryphon, Dragon, Hydra |
| Colours | |
| Website | Lakers School |
Lakers School is a secondary school in Five Acres area of Coleford, Gloucestershire, England. Mr John Reilly is the interim head teacher. The school's mission is "Creating success for all through, challenge and support".
Lakers School was placed in Special Measures on 21 January 2016 by Ofsted following the publication of a critical inspection report from December 2015, which branded the school's overall effectiveness as 'Inadequate'. Following one of the first Ofsted reports since the school was placed in Special Measures, Ofsted said the school had made massive improvements and was striving towards moving out of Special Measures.
About Lakers
The school opened in 1910 as a small secondary school serving the local area. Its buildings only covered an area the size of the present administration block with 4 classrooms catering for pupils staying on until the age of 14.
The school grew steadily as other small secondary schools closed, with students arriving from Joys Green and Lydbrook and to accommodate the extra students the school was largely composed of wooden sheds in the area where the quadrangle is presently. One of the biggest changes was in 1965 when, after a major building programme, Coleford Secondary Modern School closed and joined this site. Around this period the Royal Forest of Dean Grammar School was also built on a plot of land adjoining us and Bells (Coleford) and East Dean (Cinderford) Grammar Schools were closed.The school has been renamed a number of times from Five Acres to Berry Hill Secondary Modern and more recently Lakers Secondary School.
Berry Hill grew to become one of the largest Secondary Modern schools in Gloucestershire, when in 1985 local reorganization took place and Lakers Comprehensive School was formed.
The school is situated on the same site as Gloucestershire College, because of this the school has shared access to the facilities at The Forest Of Dean Leisure Centre-buildings which are owned by the college. The schools PE Department owns and has access to a 400m redgra with an area to play sports such as football and softball as well as their own sports hall which they are looking to expand. Lakers celebrated 100 years of education on the same site on 1 April 2014 as the school first opened on 1 April 1914. The school labeled it a 'Century of Success'.
The school currently places students into tutor groups depending on the houses they are in, these are; Dragon, Gryphon, Hydra and Phoenix.
Mrs Alison Elliott, the longest serving Headteacher of Lakers School retired at the end of 2015 after being in charge for 15 years. Mr John Reilly has replaced her as interim Headteacher until the School is expected to become an academy and join the SGS Multi-Academy Trust at Christmas, SGS are the preferred sponsor of the Region Schools Commissioner for Lakers.
Lakers School in Recent Years
It was announced on 9 September 2015 through a local newspaper, that the Headteacher Mrs Alison Elliott would retire. Following that newspaper report, The Gloucester Citizen also re-printed the article as 'The Forest Of Deans Longest Serving Headteacher is to Retire'. On 16 December 2015 an article was written, titled 'Thanks for 15 years, Miss!'. The newspaper also displayed an image of staff and students at the school spelling out 'Thanks'.
Mr John Reilly replaced Mrs Alison Elliott in January 2016 as interim Headteacher and will stay on until the School becomes an Academy.
Following GCSE Exam Results in August 2016, the schools results showed massive improvement across the board but in particular-English results showed a rise in the number of students getting a grade C and above up from 41% to 56%.