The Ridgeway School and Sixth Form College

The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Wroughton in the English county of Wiltshire.

The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College
Address
Inverary Road

Wroughton
,
Wiltshire
,
SN4 9DJ

England
Coordinates51.5303°N 1.7916°W / 51.5303; -1.7916
Information
TypeAcademy
Established1967 (1967)
Department for Education URN137160 Tables
OfstedReports
HeadteacherJames Povoas[1]
GenderMixed
Age11 to 18
Enrolment1,586 (in 2020)[1]
Websitewww.ridgewayschool.com

The school was established in 1967 and was the first purpose-built comprehensive school in Wiltshire. Previously a foundation school administered by Swindon Borough Council, it converted to academy status in August 2011 and is part of the White Horse Federation, a multi-academy trust.[2] The school continues to coordinate with Swindon Borough Council for admissions.

The school's catchment area includes Bishopstone, Hinton Parva, Wanborough, Liddington, Coate, Badbury, Chiseldon, Hodson, Bassett Down, Uffcott, Broad Hinton and Winterbourne Bassett. The school offers GCSEs and BTECs as programmes of study for pupils, while students in the sixth form have the option to study from a range of A-levels and further BTECs.

Controversy

In 2005, in an attempt to aid integration after the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the local council began sending British Asian youth from Swindon (outside the regular catchment area) to the school.[3] Some of this group formed a gang which pupils and parents called the "Asian Invasion", who bullied other pupils.[4][5]

On 11 January 2007, Henry Webster, a 15-year-old singled out for his red hair and large size, stood up to a member of the "Asian Invasion" and agreed for a one-on-one fight. However, the boy showed up with several others, including adults and Webster suffered injuries including brain damage from a hammer. In February 2008, four people were convicted for the attack.[6] By May, 13 had been convicted.[3]

In February 2010, the High Court of Justice ruled in favour of the school when it was sued by Webster and his family. He had claimed that although the attack was outside school hours, it had been caused by the school's lack of action against the "Asian Invasion".[7] In September that year, a case review was published about the situation at the school, which recommended that all incidents of bullying should record the ethnicity of perpetrators and victims to look for racial motivations.[3]

References
  1. "The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College". GOV.UK. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  2. "Our Schools". The White Horse Federation. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  3. Winnett, Robert; Watt, Holly (7 September 2010). "Henry Webster race attack: schools ordered on offensive against racist bullies". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  4. "Hammer gang batters boy of 15 in school 'race attack'". Evening Standard. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  5. Bridge, Sarah (12 January 2007). "Demonstration at school after hammer attack". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. "Gang convicted of claw hammer attack". The Guardian. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2018. Jurors were told that Henry, a 6ft 2in rugby player with bright red hair, was targeted because he "stood out".
  7. "Hammer victim loses payout battle". The Argus. Press Association. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2018.



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