Priory School, Isle of Wight
Priory School is a co-educational independent school in Whippingham, Isle of Wight.
| Priory School of Our Lady of Walsingham | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
Beatrice Avenue , , PO32 6LP England | |
| Coordinates | 50.7387°N 1.2699°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent |
| Motto | semper fidelis |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
| Established | 1993 |
| Local authority | Isle of Wight Council |
| Department for Education URN | 118225 Tables |
| Principal | David EJJ Lloyd |
| Staff | 48 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 4 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 95 boys and 85 girls (summer 2023) |
| Website | prioryschool |
History
The school was founded by Elizabeth Joan Goldthorpe in 1993 out of the closure of Upper Chine School with 14 primary aged pupils based in Shanklin. Later the position of headteacher was taken over by her daughter, Katherine. The school grew to offer education up to GCSE level. In 2009, the school was sold to parent, Edmund Matyjaszek. He expanded the school to A Levels in 2010.
The school received a Good Schools Guide Award for boys at an English Independent School taking biology GCSE in 2010.[1] In 2015 it received a further Good Schools Guide Award for teaching additional science at GCSE to boys.
In 2012, the school moved to the site of Queen Victoria's school at Whippingham, East Cowes, having acquired the freehold site from the local authority. Princess Beatrice visited the school on 16 June 2014 to unveil a plaque to commemorate 150 years of continuous education on the Whippingham site.[2]
In the Department of Education League Tables, published in February 2018, Priory School was ranked best on the Isle of Wight for A Levels, best on the Isle of Wight for GCSE English and maths, and ranked 21st out of 4417 secondary schools in England for A Levels. Since 2019 the school has achieved 100% pass rates for GCSEs and A Levels. In 2023, it secured its first Oxbridge entrant at Jesus College, Oxford.
In September 2017, to reflect the Christian ethos, the school name was extended to Priory School of Our Lady of Walsingham with approval of the Bishop of Portsmouth, Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and Custodian of the Basilica at Walsingham.[3]
In May 2018 the school was rated as good with outstanding features in its latest Ofsted inspection.[4]
Priory School of Our Lady of Walsingham was accepted in 2022 as a member of the Independent Schools Association - ISA. On its first inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate - ISI - in 2023, it was deemed to be fully compliant, the highest accolade, in all areas of school life.
Location
Originally located in the Broadway, Sandown, the school moved to temporary accommodation at Landguard Manor, Shanklin before relocating to Alverstone Manor, also in Shanklin, in 2005. After an initial rejection to this new location, temporary planning permission for 2 years was given to the school in 2005, with the time limit subsequently removed in 2007.[5]
Having sought a new building since coming under new ownership,[6][7] the school purchased and moved into the former Whippingham Primary School, built by Queen Victoria in 1864 to the design of Prince Albert, in February 2012.[8]
References
- Priory School The Good Schools Guide, The Good Schools Guide, retrieved 19 May 2012
- Wright, Richard (4 January 2013). "School meeting its aims say inspectors". Isle of Wight County Press.
- "Isle of Wight Catholic History Society". iow-chs.org. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- Child, Sue (May 2018), Independent school progress report (PDF), Ofsted
- Neville, Martin (24 April 2007), School eviction threat lifted, Isle of Wight County Press, retrieved 19 May 2012
- White, Jamie (14 July 2011), Village school set for new life as private school, Isle of Wight County Press, retrieved 19 May 2012
- Pearce, Emily (20 February 2010), Private school set to move, Isle of Wight County Press, retrieved 19 May 2012
- White, Jamie (2 March 2012), Big move across the Island is a ringing success, Isle of Wight County Press, retrieved 19 May 2012