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| Oriel High School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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Maidenbower Lane ,, RH10 7XW England | |
| Coordinates | 51°06′23″N0°09′27″W / 51.1063°N 0.1576°W /51.1063; -0.1576 |
| Information | |
| Type | Community school, withSpLD Centre. |
| Motto | Empowered to Achieve, Inspired to Excel (2009 – present) Opening Windows of Opportunity (2004–2009) |
| Established | 2004 |
| Founder | Gillian Smith |
| Local authority | West Sussex County Council |
| Department for Education URN | 134042Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Chair of Governors | Ben Chubb |
| Headteacher | Philip Stack |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11 (Secondary Entrance) to 18 (6th Form) |
| Enrolment | 1497 (Oversubscribed) |
| Capacity | 1450 |
| Houses | Africa,Asia,America,Australasia |
| Colour(s) | Oriel Purple |
| Website | https://oriel.w-sussex.sch.uk/ |
Oriel High School is a maintainedcommunity secondary school andsixth form for pupils aged 11 to 16, and 16 to 18 respectively. It opened in September 2004 as part of a reorganisation of secondary education inCrawley, catering for just 370 pupils in years 7 and 8. It was expected to grow to around 1450 pupils by 2009. It then grew to roughly 1600 students by 2015, and expanded once more to 2100 students in 2021, significantly oversubscribed due to only 1450 places available. This has reduced by 500 since 2024.
Oriel is rated "Good" byOfsted as of 2019, and ranked as second to last out of all schools in Crawley.[1]
The school is located at Maidenbower Lane in theMaidenbower neighbourhood ofCrawley, West Sussex. With Student and Vehicular access from Matthews Drive, and pedestrian access fromFurnace Green via a railway underpass as part of the 20-21 link,[2] part ofNational Cycle Route 20.
The school was opened byWest Sussex County Council in early 2004 following a wholesale review of education provision in Crawley. After more than twenty years of providing education in a three-tier structure of first andmiddle Schools, with pupils transferring to secondary school at age twelve, the council reverted to the more traditional two-tier structure. Part of the plan for accommodating the larger number of pupils in secondary education in the town was to build a new school for the newly developed neighbourhood of Maidenbower. Twoprimary schools and onemiddle school had operated in the neighbourhood for some time, but secondary pupils had to travel toHazelwick School orThomas Bennett Community College
Oriel High School opened to pupils in September 2004, initially for an intake of around 370 pupils in years 7 and 8. The school continues to accept a new entry of pupils in each academic year, gradually increasing the provision offered. A sixth-form opened in 2008, with a full 11–18 school operating by 2009.
Famous alumni includeDr Emily Rickman operations scientist for theEuropean Space Agency (ESA) atthe Space Telescope Science Institute.[3][4]
