Gosford Hill School set for new sixth form centre

Gosford Hill School in Kidlington is already committed to spending £1 million on repairs and improvements over the next five years, with a further undisclosed sum being spent on the new sixth form.

The extra funding was secured to move its current sixth form from its location in a 1960s-built part of the school, to the top floor of its more modern design and technology department, which will be totally refurbished.

In 2019, the last time A-levels were not disrupted by the pandemic, Gosford Hill reported 28 per cent of all grades were an A* or A.

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Nigel Sellars, headteacher at Gosford Hill, said: “We are incredibly proud of our sixth form students who make great progress, which saw us recognised as the third highest performing sixth form in a comprehensive school in Oxfordshire the last time that exams were normal.

“In terms of facilities, we were already spending £1 million on transforming the environment for our students – what we call our Million Reasons to Love Gosford project.

“But this money for the sixth form centre project is on top of that – and it is going to do even more to transform the school.

“It is going to make a huge difference to the experience of those students who choose to move on or transfer to our sixth form.

“What is particularly exciting about this is that the students themselves are going to be designing their new centre, making sure they get the study and social facilities they think are most important.”

Nigel Sellars, headteacher at Gosford Hill School

The new sixth form is set to feature a large library and private study room, social spaces, vending machines, kitchen facilities and space for pastoral support.

Gosford Hill’s sixth form was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted during its last inspection in February 2018, however the school was deemed ‘requires improvement’.

A monitoring visit in July found ‘leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action in order for the school to become a good school’.

Gosford Hill launched its Million Reasons to Love Gosford refurbishment campaign earlier this year.

The campaign’s £1 million in funding was made available after the school joined River Learning Trust (RLT), which runs more than 20 primaries and secondaries in Oxfordshire.

Gosford Hill joined RLT last December.

RLT’s other secondary schools in Oxford include The Cherwell and The Swan, in addition to The Marlborough School in Woodstock and Chipping Norton School.