THE DOWNS SCHOOL (BERKSHIRE)

'The Downs School' is a comprehensive secondary school in rural Compton, Berkshire, United Kingdom. It is a state school run by West Berkshire Education Authority.

Contents

Overview

Specialist status

VI form

Past Pupils

External links

Overview

The Downs is a small school of about 1,000 pupils, but with the completion of the new VI form building, the number will rise significantly. The school is located on Manor Crescent. The Downs School in Compton is a relatively remote place - a long way from amenities like supermarkets. The nearest major town is Newbury which is 8 miles away. Other neighbouring towns include Wantage, Didcot, Thatcham and Reading.
Within a short walk of the school is the Compton Village shop and the large Compton recreation ground. It is just over 2 miles from the East Ilsley junction of the A34.
The headmaster until recently was Graham Taylor, but he recently announced his retirement after 22 years at the school. The new headteacher is Valerie Houldey.

Specialist status

The school is a specialist language college. This means that pupils have the chance to learn at least one foreign language, with the opportunity of learning others later on in their school life. The school has exchange visits to France, Germany and Spain. Sports tours are also annually organised. Teams have been to Spain, Holland and in 2007 will go to Cyprus.

VI form

The school also holds a sixth form centre of about 150 students. It is located on the ground floor of the brand new Graham Taylor building (GT). Subjects range from all the sciences to politics, economics, law and media studies. Over the past few years the sixth form has gained great results and is now a high runner in West Berkshire and England.

Past Pupils

Theo Walcott

External links

★ The Downs School Website