Barnwell School


Barnwell School is a secondary school and sixth form that was established in 1959 and is situated in the south of Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
Between 2002 and 2005 it was the most improved school in Hertfordshire and one of the most improved schools in England. The overall pass rate this year is 48 per cent for grades A to C — a one per cent increase on year before, but still below the national average by far.
The former headteacher, Richard Westergreen-Thorne, has said:
"We have had very big improvements over the last four years and it's down to very hard work. There's no magic potion because, if there was, everyone would be taking it. I think you have to have a willingness to do things differently. We have a mantra: 'If we do things the way we have always done we will get what we have always got. We are extremely pleased with the results."
In September 2006 the school expanded by taking in the students from another nearby school that closed. As a consequence, the school now has two campuses: Barnwell Upper Campus and, less than a mile away, Barnwell Middle Campus.
The school was designated as a Business and Enterprise College in September 2004 due to having a special emphasis on the chosen subject areas of maths, business and IT.

Barnwell podcast

Barnwell School decided that it needed a way to get information across to students while they are enjoying the information and introduced a podcast, that was available to students online. This was launched in October 2007.

Extended schools

Barnwell School has been designated the hub school for South Stevenage Consortium of Extended Schools. The consortium consists of 8 schools plus a federation: