Vandyke Upper School

Vandyke Upper School and Community College is an Upper School and Sixth Form college in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. There are currently 1,287 students attending compulsory education at Vandyke, with a further 261 students making up the 6th form.

History

The school was opened in 1976 as a comprehensive school for 13-18 year olds.

During the Ofsted inspection that took place between the 13th and 14th of December 2006, Vandyke Upper School achieved a Grade 2 (Good) rating.

Achievements

 

For several years, Vandyke Upper School has been a participant of the Rock Challenge, a dance and drama event promoting healthy lifestyles amongst school pupils. In September 2005, Vandyke Upper School achieved Sports College status. Vandyke Upper was granted £113,940 from the British Government's Big Lottery Fund in July 2006. The funding is to provide out of hours sporting activities to promote healthy living and open up new opportunities in sport for young people. In July 2007, the school was awarded the Government Charter Mark for excellence in customer service. Vandyke Upper School met 63 exacting standards of customer service to qualify for the award. The Government's Key performance indicator, a program that logs school's GCSE and Key Stage Two exam performances, has placed Vandyke's results in the top 25% of schools across the country. According to the log, 61 percent of Vandyke students attained A* to C grades in their GCSE's in 2007.

School Site

The main site of the school is divided into two main buildings. The buildings are divided into blocks which house different departmental sections of the school:

Main Building	Secondary Building
Administrative Block	English Department
Sixth Form Admin. and facilities	Science Department
Media Department	Year 11 Common Room (formerly 10 and 11 Cafeteria)
TV Studio	Humanities and CPRE Department
Cafeteria	History Department
Theatre and Drama Studio	Foreign Languages Department
Music Department	ICT and Business Department
Dance Studio	FT department
Specialist Sports Department	Design and Art Technology Department
Fitness Building (Gym)	Maths Village

Vandyke Upper School and Community college has facilities such as a flood lit artificial turf pitch and theatre. In 2006 and 2007, construction and refurbishment work occurred resulting in the creation of a new library, new administration blocks, new reception area, sports facilities including a dance studio and changing rooms. Over Summer 2007, work was carried out to refurbish the English block, as well as new buildings being developed within the music department.

Currently work is being undertaken in the Humanities department and the Arts Department to refurbish the Arts Room to make a dark room for the new photography course and the old dining room. The old dining room has been made into a extra PE/Dance Area plus a place for students to eat and relax during Lunch and break times.