Joseph Whitaker School
School in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Whitaker School is a secondary school with academy status in Rainworth near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, in England. The school takes its name from Joseph Whitaker, a naturalist who lived in Rainworth at Rainworth Lodge.[1][2]
| Joseph Whitaker School | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Staff entrance | |
| Location | |
 | |
Warsop Lane , , NG21 0AG 53°06′52″N 1°07′13″W | |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Motto | Spes et fides (Hope and faith) |
| Established | 1963 |
| 137628 Tables | |
| Ofsted | Reports |
Head teacher | Carey Ayres |
| Staff | 79 FTE teaching staff, ~30 support staff |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 1,338 (as of 2024) |
| Houses | Sherwood (Green), Rufford (Red), Clumber (Yellow), Newstead (Blue) |
| Colours | Blazer: Navy Blue Necktie: Navy Blue with Blue, Green, Red and Yellow stripes (according to students' house) Trousers: Middle Grey |
| Website | www |
History
Secondary modern school
The school opened in 1963.
A large fire gutted the building on Monday 19 March 1973, with £250,000 in damage.[3]
Comprehensive
An arson attack on the lunchtime of Monday 31 October 1994 caused £750,000 in damage, and destroyed the sports hall, laundry, gym, two squash courts, and changing rooms. The arson was featured in a Newsround documentary on arson in schools.[4][5]
Structure
Headeacher John Loughton started in 1991 when there were 980 pupils, and retired in 2010 after the school had achieved specialist sports college status with 1230 pupils.[6]
The school is part of the East Midlands Educational Trust (EMET) which it joined in September 2016.[7] The headteacher is Carey Ayres, who took over from Mr Bell in 2020.
The school has its own sixth form college for post-16 A-Level studies. In November 2012, the school's flagship £1,000,000 sixth form centre opened. It contains teaching rooms, a media suite, various study areas and a café. All post-16 students have access to the school's on-site fitness suite as part of their membership to the sixth form.[citation needed]
