Trinity School is a co-educational secondary school with academy status in Newbury, Berkshire, England. The school opened in 1999 when two existing schools and one new school combined - hence the name Trinity. Trinity School caters for pupils between the ages of 11 and 19 and currently has approximately 1025 students on roll, including 108 in the Sixth Form.
Description
Trinity School sits adjacent to Shaw House, a mansion completed in 1581. Shaw House originally formed part of the school however it is now managed by West Berkshire council and is used as a conference venue and public attraction. Trinity School became an academy in May 2012 and in January 2013 was graded as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. In March 2013 Trinity sponsored Fir Tree Primary School and Nursery, forming the Newbury Academy Trust; a multi-academy trust of which Trinity is the lead school. Speenhamland Primary School joined the Newbury Academy Trust in February 2017. Charlotte Wilson is the Executive Headteacher of all three schools and CEO of the Newbury Academy Trust. The school has had refurbishment work in recent years. A £4 million sports complex was opened in October 2011; comprising sports hall, fitness club, gymnasium and an outdoor multi-use-games-area with areas for class based learning. In September 2012 a Sixth Form Centre was opened; based over three floors it includes study rooms equipped with IT facilities, a servery, an open-learning centre, silent-study area and an open-plan student lounge. In September 2015, a new ASD Unit was opened, a 25 place local authority resource for students on the Autistic Spectrum and in May 2016, a new library was officially opened by Ian Pearson, Head of Education at West Berkshire Council.
Houses
When pupils join Trinity School they are placed in one of three houses: Dragon, Griffin and Phoenix.
Sixth form
Trinity School has a sixth form, which pupils from the school and the surrounding schools attend. The sixth form centre is located in its own building, consisting of three floors. The centre contains a large, open-plan Common Room which is used as a socialising space, a Classroom, Three Study Rooms equipped with Computers, a Silent-Study Area and a Servery.
Qualifications
Courses
The school offers a wide range of GCSE and BTEC subjects, which students begin in Year 9. In Sixth Form, students are offered a wide range of AS and A Levels, as well vocational qualifications including BTECs. Since the school's opening in 1999, the grades have notably improved, from 40% to 65%.
School Units
ACE Unit
The school has an ACE unit which specialises in aiding pupils with dyslexia and learning difficulties. Many pupils with dyslexia who been helped by ACE unit have gone on to universities across the country.
ASD Unit
The school has an ASD unit. This resource caters for students who have an Education and Health Care Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder and, without specialist intervention would struggle in a mainstream school. The unit opened in September 2015. The ASD Unit is run by Kate Hinks who is assisted by an additional teacher and five Teaching Assistants. The unit will have up to 45 students with Autism Spectrum Disorder when full and the staff team will grow as more students join the unit. The unit is a space with two classrooms, various meeting and small group rooms, a kitchen/common room, an office and a sensory free quiet zone.
Isolation Unit
The school also uses an Isolation Unit. Its purpose is to keep students learning away from the Classroom when they're behaving disruptively and disturbing the rest of the class, hurting other students, attending an after-school detention or breaking the School Code. It has 50 spaces available and is run by 3 Staff at the most, who keep an eye on the Students from the Front Desk.
Headteachers
Trinity School's past and present headteachers, since its establishment in 1999, are as follows:
