Saddleworth School

An Introduction to Saddleworth School

Oldham Metropolitan Borough

The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham was created in 1974 by the amalgamation of the former County Borough of Oldham with Division 23 of the former Lancashire County Council, together with a small part of the former West Riding of Yorkshire (Saddleworth). The Borough has a population of about 220,000 and an area of 55 square miles. A considerable part of the Borough consists of open space including part of the Peak National Park, and there is easy access to the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, via the excellent motorway system. There is a wide range of cultural and sporting activities within the Borough and in the neighbouring City of Manchester.

Oldham is an amalgamation of towns and villages, new suburbs and isolated farms, well-built terraces and executive homes. There is a comprehensive range of housing available over a wide price band.

Saddleworth School

Saddleworth School is a 9-form entry, 11-16 Comprehensive School and Specialist Language College, situated in pleasant rural surroundings at the foot of the western slopes of the Pennines, some four miles east of Oldham. The school enjoys a good reputation (“good” in all Ofsted categories September 07) and caters for the whole rural district of Saddleworth and also for the nearby residential areas on the eastern side of Oldham. This district contains nine large villages with varied industrial undertakings and farming activities. Manchester and the M62 are within easy reach and the region is popular with commuters. Housing development is mainly of the higher class residential type. A wide range of housing is available within reasonable travelling distance. The school is situated at the northern end of Uppermill Village on the main A670 Ashton-Huddersfield Road which links with the A669 Oldham Road. A bus service from Manchester via Oldham terminates in Uppermill Square.

Numbers on roll are in excess of 1290. The school is highly regarded and very popular.

The school was opened in 1911 and has had a number of buildings added over the years with the major capital project being completed over 30 years ago. In addition to the normal classrooms, facilities include 8 Science laboratories, 11 Art design and Technology rooms, multi-media resource centre, a gymnasium, sports hall, computer facilities, assembly hall, dining hall, and separate social areas. The outdoor sports facilities are rather limited in area, but considerably enhanced by a brand new all-weather pitch this year; further playing fields and swimming pool are available, some 15 minutes walk away. We are looking forward to having a brand new school through “Building Schools for the Future”.

On entry, children in Year 7 are placed in mixed ability classes, but set by ability in core subjects as soon as possible. From Year 8 onwards, there is increasing use of setting, the nature of which varies from subject to subject. There is a long standing record of high success rates in external examinations; at GCSE, the proportion of pupils who gain 5 or more higher grade results has shown consistent improvement over the years. 2007: 69% and 2008: 74%. 100% of our pupils left school with at least one GCSE. A wide range of extra curricular activities is available. Fieldwork and outdoor pursuits are very strongly supported, a full programme of sporting activities is maintained, as are a wide range of excellent musical and drama activities and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is particularly well represented.

The pastoral system is organised on a year basis, with the form tutor playing a crucial role. It follows, therefore, that all candidates for teaching posts at the school must be fully committed to the education of the ‘whole child’ and be prepared to contribute to the school’s PSE programmes. Standards of pupil dress and behaviour are good and children are encouraged to play a part in the running of the school, through the elected prefect body, the student environmental council and the school council.

The school has become the focus of many of the leisure pursuits of the local community. It is widely used after school and in the evenings for sport and cultural activities. The element of community service in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme has involved helping the Tame Valley wardens with their conservation work, helping at the museum, and the St John Ambulance, and giving support to the old people in the area. In 1993 a team of students produced the first Saddleworth School Yearbook, a most successful venture which has become an annual production. The school keeps in touch with the community via a termly newsletter, Insight, which is distributed to local shops, offices and businesses as well as local primary schools and libraries. We have some very strong and profitable links with local businesses and industry.

The school is now a specialist Language College, from September 2002, and benefits from additional resources to enhance language teaching, for the school and community, and promote internationalism. In 2007 Ofsted graded our pupils’ cultural awareness as ‘outstanding’. The school’s high standard of inclusion is well supported by the Learning Mentor team at our Learning Base for vulnerable pupils in need of the “extra mile”.

Saddleworth School is a stimulating and rewarding environment in which to work. This is a school where teachers really flourish as teachers and pupils as learners. Successful candidates have an excellent opportunity to fulfil their full potential in the teaching profession.