Melbourn Village College

Melbourn Village College
Address
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
The Moor Melbourn , Cambridgeshire , SG8 6EF England
Coordinates	52°05′15″N 0°01′06″E / 52.087549°N 0.018218°E / 52.087549; 0.018218Coordinates: 52°05′15″N 0°01′06″E / 52.087549°N 0.018218°E / 52.087549; 0.018218
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	Everybody is Somebody
Trust	The Cam Academy Trust
Department for Education URN	137527 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Mr Simon Holmes
Gender	Co-educational
Age	11 to 16
Enrolment	600+
Houses	Darwin, Franklin, Newton, Lewis, Hawking
Colour(s)	Blue, Gold
Publication	MVC News
Website	https://www.melbournvc.org/

Melbourn Village College is a secondary school with academy status, located in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, England that serves an extensive area of South Cambridgeshire. The school has over 600 students aged 11–16. In October 2011 Melbourn Village College became an Academy and in September 2013 joined the Cam Academy Trust. The Trust was set up in 2011 to oversee the conversion of Comberton Village College to academy status, and its role is now to ensure excellence for all in each of the Trust’s academies, which currently also comprise the South Cambridgeshire village colleges in Comberton (including Sixth Form) and Cambourne Village College, St Peter’s School (and Sixth Form) in Huntingdon, Hartford Junior and Infant Schools, Thongsley Fields Primary and Nursery also in Huntingdon, Gamlingay Village Primary, Everton Heath Primary, Everton, Jeavons Wood Primary School, Cambourne, and Offord Primary School, St Neots. Under the headline ‘Excellence For All’, the Trust has six over-arching principles:

1. Excellence: Education must be of the very highest standard.
2. Comprehensive: Education must be for all types and abilities of pupils.
3. Broad Education: Education must incorporate a broad range of subject areas and personal development
4. Community: Every Academy must be at the heart of its local community and serve it well.
5. Partnership: Each Academy must seek to work positively in partnership with others for mutual benefit.
6. International: The curriculum inside and outside the classroom must have a clear international dimension.

The Trust provides a mechanism for sharing good practice across schools and allows for additional professional development opportunities, both as a part of the Cambridge Teaching Schools Network (CTSN) and through the ability to gain experience by working across more than one site.

History[]

Melbourn Village College opened in 1959 and was the sixth of Henry Morris’s village colleges, from which the worldwide community school movement developed. The college fully subscribes to the Henry Morris principal of lifelong learning and schools being at the heart of the local community. Melbourn Village College serves the far south-west corner of Cambridgeshire and the villages of Barrington, Fowlmere, Foxton, Great and Little Chishill, Harston, Hauxton, Heydon, Melbourn, Meldreth, Newton, Shepreth and Thriplow.^[1] Most pupils are drawn from the traditional catchment area, which covers twelve local villages and eight primary schools. Its southern boundary extends to the Hertfordshire border and its northern almost to the city of Cambridge. Some pupils attend from outside catchment areas including Royston and Stevenage.

From September 2002 until conversion to Academy status, Melbourn Village College specialised in Performing Arts with Music, Drama and Dance. The original motto of 'Inspiring Minds' was changed to 'Everybody is Somebody' in 2013, Pupils are encouraged to think of themselves not only as individuals but to see themselves as part of a wider community, be it their class, school, local villages or the wider world. The college aims to develop the full potential and values the success of every individual child, helping them to develop the skills that will equip them for life-long learning in a changing society.

In its report on its 6 October 2005 inspection, Ofsted rated the school Good, saying "Melbourn Village College is a good school with some outstanding features. The college is well viewed by its students and their parents, and with just cause."^[2]

In the most recent full Ofsted inspection in 2013, Melbourn Village College maintained its Good rating. Findings included the following:

• Students make good progress based on their average starting points.
• More-able students achieve particularly well across a range of subjects.
• The gap in attainment between those students entitled to pupil premium and other groups of students is steadily narrowing. Disabled students and those with special educational needs achieve well, compared to similar students nationally.
• Most of the teaching is good, and a small proportion is outstanding. Teachers’ marking is usually very helpful in moving students’ attainment up to the next level.
• Students behave well in lessons and around the college.
• The Principal, two Assistant Principals and the committed governing body have a good understanding of the college’s strengths and areas for development. They monitor students’ achievement and the quality of teaching closely. Consequently, this is a college that continues to improve.^[3]

A further short inspection visit on 12 September 2017 found that the school continued to be rated Good.^[4] In particular:

• The leadership team has continued to improve the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.
• The school’s vision of ‘everybody is somebody’ is evident in the support you provide for all pupils.
• Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. This is evidence in their comments on the ‘excellent standard of education’ and the ‘very good pastoral support’. Many parents were particularly appreciative of the extra-curricular opportunities afforded to all pupils, saying ‘an exceptional aspect of this school is the ‘enrichment’’.
• Leaders, including governors, have worked hard to create an innovative curriculum that truly meets the needs of pupils.
• Governance at Melbourn Village College is robust. The governing body’s breadth of expertise has added momentum to the school’s improvement plans. For example, the decision to introduce Mandarin as a language option from Year 7 was facilitated by the governing board’s expert understanding of China and language teaching.
• Pupils behave well, both within the classroom and around the school. They are respectful of the needs of other pupils, eager to learn and demonstrate pride in the work they complete.
• Mathematics and English are strengths of the school.
• Strong leadership has ensured that pupils make good progress, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities
• All safeguarding policies and procedures comply with statutory requirements. Pupils speak with confidence about the ways in which the school makes them feel safe and know where to go if they have a concern and are positive that staff will support them effectively.

The school is committed to improving and aims to be outstanding.

Curriculum[]

The following subjects are offered/taught: English, Media Studies and Drama, Maths, Statistics, Computing, Science, Geography, History, Religious Education, Health and Social Care, Music, Spanish, Mandarin, Art, Food Preparation and Nutrition, Systems and Control Technology, Constructing the Built Environment, Electronic Products, Physical Education.^[5]

Pastoral Organisation[]

Pastoral care is a strength of the college. It is overseen by our Assistant Principals and Heads of Year. In addition to these and form tutors, there are four Pastoral Liaison Officers who are part of the Safeguarding Team and who work closely with pupils. Each Pastoral Liaison Office has an area of responsibility for which they are the Lead Person within the college, e.g. Attendance, Mental Health, Child Protection and Pupil Premium.

Extra-Curricular and Enrichment Activities[]

Melbourn Village College runs an extensive range of extra-curricular and enrichment activities to provide pupils with opportunities beyond the classroom. These run for an hour after school and provide many opportunities for pupils to develop interests and to grow in confidence, allowing them to flourish both in and out of lessons. The programme includes both activities which are integrated into the main curriculum time and a full timetable of after-school activities including: music, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Art, Rounders/Cricket, Mandarin, Golf, Table tennis, Pottery, Netball, Basketball, Squash, Football, Drama, Eco-group, Running Club, Minecraft.^[6]

The Cabin[]

The Cam Academy Trust's vision is to provide a centre of excellence for the education of pupils with autism within a number of schools in the Trust, including Melbourn Village College.

The Cabin at Melbourn Village College offers pupils the opportunity to learn in a place of safety, in an environment of stimulation and challenge where they are able to engage in their interests and fulfil their academic and social potential. This is achieved by offering support in mainstream lessons, small groups or on an individual basis.

The Cabin aims are:

• To be a model of excellence for integration into mainstream school.
• To provide a place of safety and belonging as well as a place of challenge.
• To promote social communication and develop life skills.
• To promote the use of person-centred learning plans to offer a broad, balanced, differentiated and relevant education.
• To provide effective guidance and realistic but challenging expectations using clear goals and a consistent approach.
• To provide a place where each pupil is valued as an individual and given the support to help them cope with whatever they find challenging.^[7]

Funding[]

In January 2000 the Secondary Heads Association used this school as an example of the disparity of funding between local authorities. If the school had been in Hertfordshire, two miles away, it would have received £359,000 more for its students.^[8] By November 2005 the school was £148,814 in debt.^[9]

Information about Melbourn's membership of the Cam Academy Trust, including financial information, can be found on the Cam Academy Trust website here.

Notable staff[]

In 1998 Judith Mullen, then warden of the College, was appointed president of the Secondary Heads Association.^[10]

In April 2006 Nicola Dunklin, a teaching assistant, set up the South Cambridgeshire branch of the charity, Friends of Chernobyl's Children.^[11]

Notable former pupils[]

• Luke Chadwick,^[12] professional football player
• Daniel Goodfellow, Olympic bronze medalist at Rio 2016
• Duncan Bellamy, musician - member of Mercury Music Prize nominated band Portico Quartet
• Harry Galloway, National Youth Dance Company and London Contemporary Dance School.
• Lucy Landymore, Young Musician of the Year Finalist and professional musician

For more alumni see here.

References[]

External links[]

• Official site
• Cambridgeshire County Council
• Ofsted Reports
• DCSF Performance Tables^{[permanent dead link]}