The Downs School (Berkshire)
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- For the prep school in Colwall, Herefordshire, see The Downs School (Herefordshire).
The Downs is a comprehensive secondary school in rural Compton, Berkshire, United Kingdom. It is a state school run by West Berkshire Education Authority.
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[edit] Overview of the School
The Downs is a small school of about 900-1000 pupils, but with the completion of the new sixth form building, the number will rise significantly. The school is located along Manor Crescent. The school is in a very remote place - a long way from amenities like supermarkets. The nearest major town is Newbury which is approximately 10 miles away. Other neighbouring towns include Wantage, Didcot, Thatcham and Reading. Within a short walk of the school is a small corner shop and a large park. It is also near, 3 miles, the East Ilsley junction of the A34. The headmaster is Mr. Graham Taylor, but has recently announced his retirement after 22 years at the school.
[edit] Houses
There are five houses at the school: Lowbury, Aldworth, Perborough, Beechwood and Ridgeway and are represented by colours: Lowbury - red, Aldworth - yellow, Perborough - green, Beechwood - purple and Ridgeway - blue. The houses compete with each other in sport, music and performing arts in the form of talent contests. They also compete with each other for house points during the year for academic achievement. All the points are collected up at the end of the year, and the winning house is awarded with a trophy.
[edit] Specialist Status
The school is a specialist language college. This means that pupils have the chance to learn at least one foreign language, with the opportunity of learning others later on in their school life. The school has exchange visits to France, Germany and Spain. Sports tours are also annually organised. Teams have been to Spain, Holland and in 2008 - Cyprus!
[edit] The Sixth Form
The school also holds a sixth form cewtre of about 150 students. It is located on the ground floor of the brand new Graham Taylor building (GT). Subjects range from all the sciences to politics, economics, law and media studies. Over the past few years the sixth form has gained great results and is now a high runner in West Berkshire and England.
