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Marches, School, school, Oswestry, Shropshire, Town , Council, education, comprehensive
The
Marches School
The
MThe school came into existence in 1988 following the amalgamation of the two smaller schools which served the town. The school was rehoused on one site in 1992 following an extensive building programme, and is a purpose built comprehensive school. Facilities are outstanding.
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The Technology Suite was opened by Gillian Shephard in September 1996 when she was Secretary of State for Education and Employment, and is named after the late Eric Thomas, former chairman of North Wales Newspapers. His generous sponsorship and personal inspiration in the early days enabled the school to achieve the necessary financial support to become a Technology College. Increasingly, the Technology facilities at the Marches School are used as a resource for the whole community. Primary schools can share them during the school week; parents and other community groups use them in the evenings and at weekends.
The school has gained a national reputation for excellence. Results across the school have risen continuously since its foundation and 54% of all pupils gained 5 or more passes at C or above in the GCSE examinations in 1999. This is well above the national average. 15% of all passes were at grade A or A*, and 99°/O of all pupils gained passes at some level.
The school was inspected for the second time in March 1999 and described as "a good school with many strengths." 75% of all lessons seen were described as "good or very good", and 98% were satisfactory or better". All lessons in Information Technology were described as very good. These figures are well above the national average.
The Marches School is very successful in all areas of physical education. School teams regularly win county cups and individual pupils go on to represent the county in a range of sports every year. The school has achieved a national sportsmark in recognition of its work in this area.
All pupils achieve high standards and the school also has considerable expertise in the area of special needs. The learning support department caters for a wide range of learning difficulties. Children who would not otherwise easily be educated in a comprehensive school are given special support in small groups, make exceptional progress as a result and achieve impressive successes.
The Marches School has achieved "Investors in People" status and believes in "Achievement Through Caring". This is the motto it has adopted as a school. The progress of every child is important and there is a strong system for pastoral care. The caring takes place however in the context of a well-ordered school in which good discipline is emphasised. As a result the school has become increasingly popular as a choice for education in the whole community.