Stantonbury International School is a secondaryfoundation school located in north Milton Keynes, England, established in 1974. It is the second largest secondary comprehensive school in the United Kingdom with more than 1,800 school students aged 11–18. It is built as part of a community site, including shared facilities including a leisure centre, theatre, health centre and church. Originally established as two schools, during the late 1980s it was restructured into four halls plus a shared sixth form, and eventually merged into one school. The campus held Arts College status as its specialism under the now discontinued specialist schools programme.
Ethos
The concept for the school developed in the early 1970s with Geoff Cooksey appointed by Buckinghamshire County Council in 1971, where he worked with Tim Brighouse to create the first new secondary school of Milton Keynes. When the school opened in 1974, it introduced a first name policy which meant students called staff by their first name. Stantonbury Campus was the first secondary school in the country to not require a uniform, but 38 years later the school introduced a uniform for years 7-9 for the September 2012 term following pressure from governors, from Ofsted and growing discipline issues. The school has a history of educational innovation and has successfully defended the principles of comprehensive education in a climate which has sometimes been hostile to its inclusive and learner-centred ethos. As part of its original concept as a "community school", open to the public as well as the students, the Campus has good facilities such as an athletics track with all athletic sport equipment, a Leisure Centre complete with a swimming pool, a Theatre, and science labs. The Leisure Centre and Theatre formed a separate charitable incorporated organisation - Stantonbury Art and Leisure Trust, establishing in 2014 and later dissolving in mid-2018. The Leisure Centre and Theatre were taken under the umbrella of Griffin Schools Trust when they took over the school in 2018. The original Stantonbury timetable was significantly different to other secondary schools, incorporating long 1 hr and 2 hr sessions, and during the 1970s and 1980s, suspending normal timetables every fortnight for "Day 10", a day of extra curricular activity which was selected by the student. At the end of each school year, the timetable was suspended for a week for "Week 10". Stantonbury International is the second largest comprehensive school in the country by pupil numbers. Having been a 12-to-18 school from its inception, it admitted students in Year 7 from September 2006, following reorganisation of secondary education in Milton Keynes.
Buildings
The campus is a large site with multiple buildings. In addition to the Hall buildings, others are used for specific curriculum areas whilst others are facilities buildings. Some of the many buildings include:
Dansteed 1 and Dansteed 2
Grafton 1
Grafton 2
Portway
Saxon
Activities Block
Upper Level
Leisure Centre
Ashurst
Cooksey
Cooksey 2
Cooksey 3
Theatre
Sixth form
The sixth form is based in its own hall in the centre of the campus; with a library, computer network, and a suite of tutorial and teaching rooms. The sixth-form curriculum and range of activities for students are broad: providing a wide range of academic courses leading to A level and AS level qualifications, along with vocational courses.
Achievement and standards
Students at Stantonbury International School are known in particular for their achievement in the Arts and Sports. The school has a wide range of sporting and Arts facilities which are used to ensure students are able to fulfil their potential. The school's commercial theatre is used by students for performances throughout the year, in conjunction with a range of national and international theatre companies. Students excelling at sports also do well at Stantonbury International School including many who participate in regional and national sporting competitions. The school's athletics track and swimming pool support students in their sporting pursuits. Beyond sports and arts, students have access to a range of traditional academic subjects and are encouraged to excel not only within the classroom but beyond, as part of a holistic approach to education with an emphasis on educating the whole child.
Ofsted
In its December 2018 report, Ofsted rated the school as "Requires improvement"..
