Wootton Trust

Wootton Upper School and Kimberley 16 - 19 College (in the nearby village of ), are both operated by Wootton Academy Trust [WAT]. The two institutions are 3 miles apart and linked by a shuttle bus.

WAT is ambitious and its vision is to provide outstanding education in all of its component parts.

Wootton Upper School, with 900 students across Years 9 -11, was rated good by Ofsted in November 2017. Results across the core subjects are very high. Its GCSE English and GCSE Science results in 2017 are well-above the national average. In Mathematics results are above the national average. Progress 8 in 2017 was 0.13 and it is forecast to exceed that in 2018. Outcomes at KS4 in Technology and Engineering are lower than the core subjects; they are forecast to improve in 2018. However, there is still a great deal of potential for further improvement.

Kimberley 16 - 19 College has 400 students. From September this will rise to 550 and it is expected to increase to above 600 in September 2019. Around 200 pupils in each year group join the College from Wootton Upper School; the rest join from other local schools.

Kimberley is rated as good by Ofsted with outstanding for Personal Development, Behaviour and Well-being. For the last two years the College has been in the Sunday Times list of the top 20 Sixth Form Colleges in the UK based on the proportion of students getting 2As and 1B or better in facilitating subjects. In 2017 was ranked as the 11th highest in the UK. Currently, A Level Technology is not offered at the College because too few students have wished to study the course over the last four years. Graphics and Engineering are both very popular and successful. The Design Technology Department

The Design Technology Department at Wootton Upper School consists of three modern workshops and a graphics studio together with storage cupboards and a departmental office. There are ICT rooms nearby which the department accesses. The facilities at Kimberley College for technology and engineering are state of the art.

The Trust is keen that Technology becomes a beacon at both Wootton Upper School and Kimberley College. Our aim is that every student gains enjoyment from their study of Design Technology options. We want all technology lessons to be dynamic, varied and interesting, with all students being challenged in a supportive environment. Currently, Graphics and Product Design are offered as Year 9 options to students; on average four groups run in each subject. At Key Stage 4, current Year 10 and Year 11 students are studying for a BTEC with specialisms in either Graphics or Product Design. This BTEC course was introduced primarily because outcomes in GCSE Graphics and GCSE Resistant Materials were not good. However, Senior Leaders are not wedded to BTEC; the new Director of Design Technology may review the courses offered across Years 9 - 11. In the past the school has also taught GCSE Graphics, GCSE Resistant Material, GCSE Electronic Products [this was discontinued due to the lack of staff specialism] and GCSE Engineering as well as BTEC Engineering at Level 2. The Design Technology Department is therefore in need of refocussing and rebuilding to enable it to become the beacon the Trust wants at Wootton Upper School and also to enable Technology to thrive at the Trust’s STEM College.

In the Sixth Form, students may study for a double award BTEC Level 3 in Graphics or a single award BTEC in Engineering. Engineering at KS5 - led by an Associate Principal in the Science Department - has become very popular; practical engineering lessons are taught by Design Technology teachers. Until a few years ago A Level Technology was taught at Kimberley; however, numbers wanting to study Technology have been very low meaning it has not been viable to offer this course. Given Kimberley’s STEM specialism, the Trust is keen that a Level 3 Technology course is delivered there in the future.

Many Kimberley students go on to study Engineering at university [mostly those who have studied Maths, Further Maths and Physics at A level]; students also go on to engineering apprenticeships. Graphics is a very popular choice at university; the current KS5 Graphics specialist has built links with many higher education institutions.

Department staff

There are currently three members of the Design Technology team; one member of the team – a product design and engineering specialist retires next term. The other two members of the team have graphics specialisms. In the past, when Design Technology was a very popular option there were five teachers in the department. Therefore, there is an opportunity for the department to expand and broaden the specialisms in the team over the next two or three years. There is also a part time Design Technology technician and a part time Engineering Technician.

For further information, please contact Michael Gleeson, Executive Principal, [email protected]