50°42′25″N 3°32′24″W / 50.707°N 3.540°W / 50.707; -3.540

West Exe School
West Exe Technology College
West Exe School
Address
Map
Hatherleigh Road

, ,
EX2 9JU

England
Information
TypeAcademy[2]
MottoBringing Learning to Life[1]
Excellence for All, in all that WE do[1]
Established1889 (predecessor established)
2014 (present name and logo adopted)
Local authorityDevon
Department for Education URN145404 Tables
OfstedReports
ChairDavid Kernick[4]
Head teacherJulie Fossey[3]
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 16
Enrolment1,300
HousesMalala(green) Romero(Blue) Daley(Red) Boyan(Yellow)
Colour(s)Green, Blue, Yellow and Red
PublicationWest Express (2012)[5]
Exe Press (2018-present)
Websitehttp://www.westexe.devon.sch.uk/

West Exe School is a coeducational secondary school located in Exeter, with a catchment area covering St Thomas, Alphington, and some parts of Exwick.

History

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The origins of the school date back to the Victorian times, when the mergers of a number of smaller schools resulted in the creation in 1889 of two National Schools: one for boys at the end of Cowick Street, and another for infants and girls adjacent to Emmanuel Church on Okehampton Road.[6] In 1900, when St Thomas became part of the city of Exeter, control of these schools moved to the Exeter School Board. The Board moved the boys' school to the bottom of Dunsford Road, and in 1917 the girls' school was destroyed by fire.[7]

In 1921, the Dunsford Road Boys' School was renamed to the John Stocker School, after John Stocker, the recently retired chairman of the Education Board.[8] In 1930 the boys' school was split into John Stocker Senior Boys' School and John Stocker Junior Boys' School, both of which still used the Dunsford Road site. The site on Cowick Street used by the boys' school until 1900 was taken over by a number of girls' and infants' schools that had previously been based in different locations around St Thomas, Redhills and Exwick.[citation needed]

The schools were all merged into a single Boys' Secondary Modern School and Girls' Secondary Modern School in 1967,[citation needed] and in 1972 the two were merged into a single comprehensive school. In 1973 the two halves of the newly united school started using a new site on Cowick Lane, being renamed to Exeter St Thomas High School under the headship of Bill Ridley, who was in post from 1973 until 1997.[citation needed] Under new headteacher Steve Maddern the school was renamed to West Exe Technology College and a new school logo designed in 1998 to reflect its status as a specialist Technology College under the Government's Specialist Colleges programme. In 2005, a new school building was completed on the playing fields of the St Thomas High School and a new rugby field was built on top of the old building.[citation needed]

Following the end of the Government's Specialist Colleges programme, the school was renamed to West Exe School in 2014, and a new logo was adopted. On 28 February 2018, it became an academy and joined the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust.[citation needed]

In April 2024, West Exe School was named in the top five best secondary schools in Devon.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "About us - West Exe School". Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  2. ^ "West Exe School - GOV.UK".
  3. ^ "Contact us".
  4. ^ "Governors - West Exe School". 27 April 2020.
  5. ^ "West Express - our new student newspaper!". Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Exeter Memories - West Exe Technology College".
  7. ^ "Okehampton Road Girls' School destroyed by fire, 1917". Devon and Exeter Gazette. 12 February 1917. p. 4. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Dunsford Road School to be renamed John Stocker School, 4 May 1921". The Western Times. 4 May 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  9. ^ Merritt, Anita (29 April 2024). "Devon's best and worst secondary schools for pupil progression". Devon Live. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
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