The Cottesloe School, formerly known as Wing County Secondary School, is a co-educational secondary school located on the outskirts of Wing, Buckinghamshire, England. It occupies a large rural site with views of the countryside in one direction and overlooking Wing village and its Saxon church in the other. The school takes children from the age of eleven through to the age of eighteen. The school has 1300 students, of which over 170 are in the Sixth Form. The school serves a large rural catchment in the north of Buckinghamshire, as well as parts of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Since 2009 the school has been oversubscribed at Year 7. The last report in 2009 stated; “A high proportion of parents responded to the parental questionnaire. The majority are positive about the work of the school, in particular the recent improvements. Parents value the support provided by the school for students.”
History
The Cottesloe School has grown rapidly over the last ten years with the building of three teaching blocks. The latest build is that of a dining room. Work on the dining room and its kitchens were completed in February 2011. A £3m Sports Hall was expected to be finished in mid-2014.
Sixth Form
In 2005 fewer than 70 students attended the Sixth Form but in 2010 there were over 170 on roll. This has impacted on facilities but with the new dining hall in place as of February 2011, more space has been freed up. Each year there is a Head Boy, Head Girl and Deputies appointed and these help constitute the Sixth Form Committee. Other members include the Head Boy and Head Girl, plus two deputies, from each of the four Houses.
Houses
There are four main Houses, Austen; Churchill; Nightingale and Shakespeare, each led by a member of staff and a Head Boy, Head Girl and two deputies. In 2010 Churchill won the overall house competition. These houses are, however, no longer in use at the school.
In January 2008, the school was awarded Sports mark status by the English Sports Council. During the last academic year, the school was presented with a Healthy Schools award The school has received funding from the local council to build a dining hall. This was completed and opened in February 2011. The dining hall seats 250 students at any one time. In addition to this, the kitchen operates as a satellite kitchen to feeder schools in the area.
The school has worked closely with feeder schools, providing support through its Arts Specialism. Two local feeder schools were involved in the productions of ‘Joseph' and the performance of ‘Oliver'. As part of their Sixth Form study, students participate in an Enrichment Programme. For the last three years, this has involved students working with MacIntyre School and Carey Lodge, Wing. , Wingrave, is an independent special boarding school which meets the needs of 36 young people who are described as having complex learning difficulties. Many of the students have autism, severe learning disabilities, epilepsy, behavioural problems, communication difficulties, sensory impairments, and may exhibit challenging behaviour if frightened or confused. The Cottesloe School students support them in the classrooms when their enrichment programme. is a 75-room residential and dementia care home built on the site of the old ‘Wing Lodge'. The students have been involved in projects, such as designing a sensory garden for the residents, as well as visiting on a weekly basis and reading to the residents, playing cards and board games and just communicating with the residents.
