Oulder Hill Community School

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Oulder Hill Community School High School is a mixed gender comprehensive community school secondary school and sixth form for 11 - 18 year olds, located in Rochdale in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England.

History

Merger with Rydings Special School

In 2004 the school announced plans of a merger between Oulder Hill Community High School and Rydings Special School, a local school for children with disabilities. The merger involved a completely reinvented school. The rebuild began in 2005 and finished in 2008. It involved a rebuild of the current site as well as an entirely new building on the old playing fields and tennis courts.

The Oulder Hill School building remains with the same name and the school behind Oulder Hill (Rydings Special School) has been named Redwood Secondary school. The building is now owned by OPERON and Oulder Hill pays one million pounds a year to rent the school between 6am - 6pm.

Sixth form

Once a thriving part of the school, Oulder Hill Sixth Form has suffered a decline over the past few years. As it only has about 150 students attending, they are limited to between four and ten lessons each week. When this sixth form was first established it had over 600 students. The sixth form is set to close as the new Rochdale Sixth Form College opens in September 2010.

Subjects

Oulder Hill offers a range of subjects, with options available both at GCSE level and again at A-level should a student remain in to the sixth form.

• MFL All pupils study two languages from Years 7-9 and then one or two at GCSE. Languages offered are French, German, Italian, Spanish, Urdu and Portuguese. All six languages are available to A Level.
• Physical Education - Compulsory in years 7-9. Can be carried through to GCSE. Everyone has to partake in PE at GCSE at least once a week.
• Textiles, Resistant Materials, Food and Nutrition, and Graphics - these Technology subjects are rotated in termly cycles in years 7-9. At this point, students have the option of studying any of these subjects at GCSE.
• English - A compulsory subject in years 7-11. Combined English Language and Literature is studied until year 10, where it is divided into Literature and Language. English Language, English Literature and English Literature and Language combined is offered at A-Level.
• Mathematics - A compulsory subject in years 7-11. All students are required to take GCSE Mathematics.
• Science - A compulsory subject in years 7-11. All students are required to take GCSE Science, and in years 10 and 11 it is taught separately in lessons by separate teachers as Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
• ICT - A compulsory subject in years 7-11. All students study for a qualification in ICT at GCSE level.
• Geography - A compulsory subject in years 7-9. Geography can be taken as an optional choice at GCSE.
• History - A compulsory subject in years 7-9. History can be studied at GCSE as an option and A-Level
• Music - A compulsory subject in years 7-9. There is an option of taking Music at GCSE level and A-level.
• Food Technology - compulsory for years 7-9 and can be taken as GCSE but named as catering at the moment there is no A-level food tech
• Art - A compulsory subject in years 7-9. There is an option of taking Art at GCSE level and A-Level.
• Dance & Drama - A compulsory subject in years 7-9. Dance and Drama (D&D) is taught as one subject. However, at GCSE students can study both subjects separately.
• Sociology - An option at GCSE level and A-Level.
• Business Studies - An option at GCSE level and A-Level.
• Psychology - An option available only at A-Level.

School Productions

With the Gracie Fields Theatre on Oulder Hill Community School's doorstep the use of the theatre and its amenities has provided the community and the school with a venue for productions;

• 2011/2012- A Night At The Musicals
• 2010/2011- Wizard Of Oz
• 2009/2010 - Disco Inferno
• 2008/2009 - Disney's Aladdin
• 2007/2008 - We Will Rock You
• 2006/2007 - Fame
• 2005/2006 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
• 2003/2004 - The Wiz
• 2002/2003 - The Forbidden Planet^{[disambiguation needed ]}
• 2001/2002 - Grease
• 2000/2001 - Bugsy Malone

Musical department

The department of Music at Oulder Hill is headed by musical director Janet Tilney. One of its students was singer Lisa Stansfield.

International links

Oulder Hill has links with schools in Rome, Italy, Northern Ireland, Germany and Spain. During the last trip to Rome, pupils spent a day in lessons with Italian students at the school's link school Liceo Luciano Manara.

Experience Week and school trips

The school offers students in years 7 - 9 the chance to experience a week of experiences. The week usually takes place in mid June and allows students to choose from a list of activities such as residential visits, day visits and some take place on the school premises. The list of locations has included visits to France, Italy, Spain as well as day trip visits to local entertainment venues. The trio to Biggar in Scotland was one of the ever popular activities. Open only to those in year 7 it involved a coach journey to Scotland and a week of activities and social bonding.

In 2007 it was announced that Experience week would not continue due to the merger with a special school and increased health and safety regulations.

Notable Alumni

• Waterloo Road star Shannon Flynn is currently^[when?] a Year 11 pupil.
• Singer/songwriter Lisa Stansfield attended Oulder Hilll.

External links

• Ofsted Report November 2006

Coordinates: 53°37′03″N 2°11′14″W / 53.6176°N 2.1873°W / 53.6176; -2.1873