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Dean Close School, Cheltenham

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Dean Close School details

Address:

Dean Close School
Shelburne Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 6HE

Telephone:

01242 258000

Fax:

01242 258 003

Email:

registrar@deanclose.org.uk

Website:

www.deanclose.co.uk

Authority:

Gloucestershire

Gender of entry:

Mixed

Age range:

12-19

Number of students:

476

Affiliation:

HMC

Gender of sixth form:

Mixed

General information

Headteacher: Tim Hastie-Smith, appointed in 1998.

Staff: 57 (men 40, women 31).

Background: An exceptionally vibrant cultural life is a key component of Dean Close and must go some way to inspiring its steady rise through the ranks of our league table in recent years. The school is principal sponsor of the Cheltenham Literature Festival and regularly hosts events featuring the likes of John Humphrys and Sebastian Faulks. Art exhibitions and major theatrical productions are an integral part of life. Over the summer, the school took five plays to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and garnered glowing reviews. There are more than 100 non-sporting clubs and societies including video-making, astronomy and electronics, plus the CCF and the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. Facilities for drama and music are excellent. The school has its own theatre and outdoor amphitheatre for al fresco summer performances. More than half the students play a musical instrument, and more than 40 concerts are staged each year. The modern music school houses a recording studio, computer-equipped classrooms, a library and a small concert hall. Building begins this year on a new sports hall. Sports facilities include two artificial turf pitches, squash courts, an indoor swimming pool, a climbing wall and a trampoline. The school upholds strong Christian values, encouraging mutual respect and integrity. Most pupils take 10 GCSEs, some as many as 13. A large sixth form benefits from a choice of 28 A-level options. Sixth-form boarders are allocated their own study bedrooms, many with en-suite facilities shared with one other. Day pupils normally share a twin study.

Alumni: Frances Bacon, artist; Rt Revd Jim Thompson, former Bishop of Bath and Wells.

Higher education: 95%.

Special needs: A learning support department offers literacy support for dyslexia, curriculum support and numeracy support for individuals or pairs of students.

Inspection: 2005: Please click the SEE FULL REPORT button to view this information online.

Feeder schools: Dean Close Preparatory School; St Andrew's Prep School, Turi (www.standrewsturi.com); Swanbourne House School; Hatherop Castle School; Cheltenham College Junior School.

Boys' age range: 13 to 18.

Girls' age range: 13 to 18.

Percentage admitted according to academic ability: 100.

Average class size (seniors; 11-16): 17.

Average class size (sixth form): 10.

Gifted pupils: 110.

Bursary pupils: 62.

Dean Close School Statistics

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