Peter Symonds College

Peter Symonds College is a sixth form college in Winchester, Hampshire, in the south of England. Founded as a boys' grammar school, it is one of the few specialist sixth form colleges which is also a boarding school. It serves Falkland Islands residents for sixth form. It is the biggest sixth form college in the UK.

Peter Symonds College
Entrance
Address
Owens Road Winchester , Hampshire , SO22 6RX England
Coordinates	51°04′12″N 1°19′12″W / 51.0701°N 1.3201°W / 51.0701; -1.3201
Information
Type	Sixth form college Day & boarding
Motto	Counting in Ones
Established	1607, re-established 1897
Local authority	Hampshire County Council
Department for Education URN	130708 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Sara Russell
Staff	Approx. 200 teaching staff & 150 non-teaching staff^[1]
Gender	Coeducational
Age	16 to 18
Enrolment	c.5000
Colour(s)	Navy blue and yellow
Former pupils	Old Symondians^[2]
Affiliations	Worshipful Company of Mercers
Website	http://www.psc.ac.uk

Curriculum

Most students at Peter Symonds take three A levels, with some taking other vocational courses. General Studies was taken as a compulsory AS and A level on top of this until 2014, when the school dropped the subject. However some students take four or more A levels in their first year and continue with either three or four A levels in their second year. The Level 3 Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is offered at the college.^[3]

Amongst the subjects on offer at the college are Fine Art, Photography, Three-Dimensional Design, Textiles, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Classics, Computing, Criminology, Dance, Drama, Economics, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Studies, Film Studies, French, German, Geography, Politics, Graphics, Health & Social Care, History, ICT, Law, Italian, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Media Studies, Music, Philosophy, PE, Physics, Product Design, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Spanish and Statistics.^[3] The college is also somewhat unusual amongst state sixth form colleges in offering Latin at both AS and A level.^[3]

Courses are available at AS Level, A-level, BTEC Level 2 National Certificate, BTEC Level 3 National Certificate and GCSE at the college.^[3]

Admissions

It has some 4000 students aged 16–18 mainly from central Hampshire, but also British Forces teenagers from Germany and Cyprus, and residents of the Falkland Islands, who live on campus in one of the two boarding houses (Falkland Lodge and School House).^[4] The Falkland Islands Government pays for each student to board at Peter Symonds if they achieve at least five "C" grades in their GCSEs. Therefore, in 2005 principal Neil Hopkins described the institution as "the official sixth-form college for the Falkland Islands".^[5] The college also has a separate site in Winchester where it provides courses for some 2000 adult students (see https://ahed.psc.ac.uk/website/psapps/).

In 2005 it had 2,700 full-time students, with about 15-20 from the Falkland Islands; the overall figure is an increase from the 1,200 students in 1993.^[5]

College life

Extra-curricular activities

At one time the college produced an online magazine named The BUZZ, written and edited by students, which replaced Converse in 2008 but has since ceased to circulate.^[6] There was a student produced college radio station, 7Radio, operating until roughly 2014.^[7] This was revived in 2022, establishing the student-led Symonds Radio, who currently produce ad-hoc programming in partnership with Outreach Radio.^[8]

All students at the college must take part in at least one activity,^[9] including sports and societies. There are also some accredited activities offered by the college. Students also must take part in a set number of "workshops" each year – these are additional time spent doing work in each subject outside of lessons with teachers. In addition, all students attend the "Symonds Lecture Programme", a replacement for General Studies, in which information is delivered in university-style lectures.

The UK Rock Challenge, Duke of Edinburgh's Award,^[10] First Aid, Practical Wildlife Conservation, Choir, Harry Potter Appreciation Society, Libra Foundation, Fencing, Debating and Fantasy Football are all activities on offer at Peter Symonds College.^[11]

Sports

The college has teams in the following sports: athletics, American flag football, badminton, basketball, cheerleading, cricket, cross country, equestrian, football, hockey, lacrosse, netball, rugby, squash, swimming, tennis, skiing, sailing, and volleyball.^[12] The college also enters individual players and teams into competitions for the following sports: Golf, table tennis and trampolining.

Students' Union

The Peter Symonds College Student Union works in conjunction with Student Services to promote student interests alongside organising events for the student body, such as diversity festivals, guest speakers, charity events, concerts and end of year balls.^[13] The SU consists of the Executive Committee (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary) and other officers (Canteens and Environment, Entertainments and Charity, Communications, Equality and Diversity, Officer without Portfolio and others). The Students' Union also has a history of organising and coordinating protests and demonstrations on behalf of the student body.^[14]

The President of the SU also serves on the Board of Governors as a student governor, along with one other student governor who need not be a member of the Executive Committee.^[13] Amongst the roles of the President is to chair the executive committee, and to organise and chair the Student Parliament.

The Students' Union officers are elected at the start of the academic year with the executive committee elected at the year's end.^[13] Participation in the elections has been boosted in recent years through the use of an online system accessible through the student intranet, this system was introduced for the first time in the executive committee election of April 2012.^[13] The electoral system works on a single transferable vote system, with a re-open nominations option available.

The Student Union is affiliated with the National Union of Students.^[13] The college is entitled to send two voting delegates to the Union Conference.

Boarding

Around eighty students board at the school circa 2005.^[5] Students board at the two houses; School House and Falkland Lodge. Boarders are typically from British Armed Forces families or the Falkland Islands. The college and the Falkland Islands government made an agreement for the college to accommodate students from the Falkland Islands. A second boarding house, Falkland Lodge, was built as part of this agreement, and was funded by the Falkland Islands. There were more boarding houses when the college was a boys' grammar school: Wyke Lodge, which is now the environmental studies block, and Kelso, which is home to the music department.

Academic achievement

In 2009 Peter Symonds was placed sixth in The Times top 50 state sixth forms. In the same year the college was ranked 85th in the country (only including institutions with at least 30 exam entrants) based on Average Points Score. And in 2011 the college was placed 4th top 50 state sixth forms in the country. ^[15]

Circa 2005 the yearly matriculation of students to Cambridge University and University of Oxford, the two most prestigious universities in England, was 40–50.^[5]

A2 Results 2015^[16]

	Entries	A*	A	B	C	D	E	U	X	A*-B	A*-C	A*-E
Summary	5169	622	1194	1464	1058	541	243	46	0	3281	4339	5123
Percentage		12.0	23.1	28.3	20.5	10.5	4.7	0.9	0.0	63.5	83.9	99.1

AS Results 2015

Summary	Entries	A	B	C	D	E	U	X	A-B	A-C	A-E
Summary	7132	1873	1579	1512	1039	652	473	4	3452	4964	6655
Percentage		26.3	22.1	21.2	14.6	9.1	6.6	0.1	48.4	69.6	93.3

2015 results showed the pass rate remained at 99% and students performed better than last year, with 83% achieving A*-C at A Level.

Headmasters and principals

• Revd Telford Varley III, 1897 to 1926
• Dr Percy Tom Freeman, 1926 to 1956
• Charles Simpson (acting), 1956 to 1957
• John Shields, 1957 to 1963
• John Ashurst, 1963 to 1972
• John Cooksey, 1972 to 1973
• Stuart Nicholls, 1973 to 1993
• Neil Hopkins, 1993 to 2013
• Stephen Carville, 2013 to 2018
• Sara Russell, 2018–

History

Grammar school

 

CCF training in front of Northbrook building, Peter Symonds c. 1944

The college was founded as a boys' grammar school in 1897 and became a coeducational 16–19 college in 1974, although its roots go back to charities established in the 16th century at the bequest of Peter Symonds, a wealthy merchant. From 1944 it was a voluntary controlled grammar school.

Sixth form college

The school, along with the Winchester County Girls' High School, also a grammar school, became a comprehensive in 1974, becoming a sixth-form college while WCHS became a comprehensive under the name of The Westgate School. The last grammar school intake left in 1979.

Apostrophe

In the late 1990s or early 2000s, for reasons unknown (but possibly because of the difficulty students and correspondents had in spelling the college's name correctly), the College dropped the possessive apostrophe from its founder's name in its official title, and is now known as Peter Symonds College.

New buildings

In 2004, the John Shields Building was unveiled, providing classrooms for the computing, psychology and environmental science departments. Also in that year the Varley Sports Café was rebuilt.

The £4.2M Ashurst Learning Resources Centre was completed in the spring of 2007. Ashurst contains five computer suites, housing over 170 computers (three suites double as classrooms, but remain open access when not in use), a library and silent study areas.

The Conlan building was completed in the summer of 2014, this building is used for a variety of subjects including Photography and Business. It includes a green screen which is used by photography and media students.

The Hopkins Building, named after previous principal Neil Hopkins, was previously known as the Ashurst Quad. It sits alongside the Ashurst (LRC) was opened in September 2015, creating more study space for students. The ground floor of the building is dedicated to the provision of computers and student workspaces, whilst the top floor is occupied by the Geography and Latin departments.

Art centre

The college plans to open a new art complex to replace the current art classrooms. More than 150 local residents have backed a campaign to prevent the construction of the new building. The new complex will be open to the public, and local residents have expressed concerns of a potential safety problem due to the location of a planned new entrance to the college site.^[17][18]

Notable Old Symondians

See also: Category:People educated at Peter Symonds College

• Ben Ainslie^[19][20]—British sailor and four-time (00',04',08',12') Olympic gold medalist, five-time Olympic medalist (4G,1S) – most decorated sailor of all-time. Britain's flag-bearer for London 2012 Closing ceremony.
• Michael William George Lucas, 2nd Baron Lucas of Chilworth British Conservative Peer.
• Kevin Ashman^[21][22]—professional quiz player.
• Gina Beck^[23]—actress, singer, currently playing Miss Honey in the West End production of Matilda the Musical.
• Mike Brown,^[24] —Harlequins and England rugby player. 2014 Six Nations Player of the Tournament.
• Jon Boden^[25] Folk singer and former lead singer and main arranger for Bellowhead.
• Andy Burrows^[26]—former drummer in the band Razorlight.
• Laura Carmichael^[27]—British actress, best known for her role as Lady Edith Crawley in popular TV series Downton Abbey
• Benjamin Cawston^[28][29] Professional Racquets Player. Current World number 1 (May 2022) and two times US Open Champion
• Will Champion^[30]—drummer in the band Coldplay.
• Alexa Chung^[31]—TV presenter, model and fashion designer.
• Julia Copus Poet and children's writer.
• Jack Dee^[32]—Stand up comedian and actor.
• Mark Easton^{[33] __} the Home Editor for BBC news broadcasting on national television and radio news since 2004, also a published author noted for his book titled Britain (2012)
• William Easton artist and writer
• Edward Eveleigh^[34]—High Court judge
• Philippa Forrester^[35] – Television presenter.
• Bernard Harrison^[36] (1934-2006) - Footballer/Cricketer
• Ben Hart (magician)^[37]__ Magician and Britain's got Talent finalist.
• Tom Hayes (trader)^[38] - Former trader who was arrested, tried, sentenced to 14 years in prison for role in the Libor Scandal
• Nigel Healey^[39]—Vice Chancellor, Fiji National University
• Air Chief Marshal Sir Patrick "Paddy" Bardon Hine GCB, GBE^[40]—Senior Royal Air Force commander. Commander of all British forces during the first Gulf War.
• Dermot Hudson – Chairman of United Kingdom Korean Friendship Association
• Phil Hughes^[41]—cricketer
• Jing Lusi^[42]—British actress
• Joe Marchant^{[43] __} rugby player.
• Caroline Nokes^[44]—Conservative MP since 2010 for Romsey and Southampton North
• Christian O'Connell^[45]—Radio presenter on The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio
• Chance Perdomo^[46][47] – British actor, known for Killed by My Debt (2018) and as Ambrose Spellman on the Netflix series the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
• Iain Percy^[48]—British sailor and double Olympic champion.
• Lucy Pinder^[49]—glamour/nude model and Celebrity Big Brother housemate
• Rozi Plain—Singer-songwriter and member of This Is The Kit
• James Buckley Thorp ^__ Founder of fashion corporation Rupert and Buckley
• Sam Youd^{[50] __} a British writer, best known for science fiction under the pseudonym John Christopher, including the novel The Death of Grass.

See also

• Education in the Falkland Islands

References

1. http://intranet.psc.ac.uk/dms/files/www/reports/fstatement2015.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
2. "HOME". symondians.
3. "Course Directory". Peter Symonds College. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
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5. Kingston, Peter (21 November 2005). "'It feels like being punished'". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
6. "Peter Symonds College". www.psc.ac.uk.
7. "7Radio Twitter account".
8. "Outreachradio.co.uk: Symonds Radio | OUTREACH Radio". July 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
9. "Peter Symonds College – Prospectus 2016" (PDF).
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13. "Student Union". Peter Symonds College. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
14. "Hundreds join tuition fees protest in Winchester". Daily Echo. 24 November 2010.
15. "Top A-level results in school league tables". BBC News. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
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18. "Labour Calls for Better Engagement Over Peter Symonds Plans". Winchester and Chandler's Ford Labour. Retrieved 23 February 2016.^{[permanent dead link]}
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20. "Ben Ainslie, the making of...meet the people who made him a star and keep him king of the seas". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
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22. Kevin Ashman (10 October 2013). The Ultimate Eggheads Quiz Book. Simon & Schuster Ltd. ISBN 978-1471131554.
23. Janet Murray (15 May 2007). "College days". the Guardian.
24. "Ex-Peter Symonds ace in England squad". Southern Daily Echo. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
25. "Jon Boden hometown gig at Winchester Theatre Royal". Hampshire Chronicle.
26. Murray, Janet (26 June 2007). "College days". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
27. . thejamielloydcompany.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
28. "Congratulations Ben Cawston! | News".
29. "US Open Round up | North American Racquets Association".
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32. "You're Hired! Jack Dee takes over Apprentice spin-off". Daily Echo. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
33. "Peter Symonds College | What's New". www.psc.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
34. Morton, James (9 October 2014). "Sir Edward Eveleigh obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
35. "Philippa Forrester - television presenter and producer". Hampshire Life. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
36. Smallbone, Kevin (2001). Brushes with the Greats – The Story of a Footballer/Cricketer (Biography of Bernard Harrison). Sportingmemoriesonline.com. ISBN 0-9537880-2-4.
37. "Ben wins Magician's title". 20 July 2007.
38. Vaughan, Liam; Finch, Gavin (22 November 2016). The Fix: How Bankers Lied, Cheated and Colluded to Rig the World's Most Important Number. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118995730.
39. "Hello, Professor! Featured interview with Professor Nigel Healey". QS. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
40. "Air Chief Marshal Sir Patrick "Paddy" Bardon Hine GCB, GBE".
41. "Player profile: Phil Hughes". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
42. How Holby City Changed Me Southern Daily Echo 4 June 2013
43. "Hampshire rising star Joe Marchant called into senior England squad for first time". Daily Echo. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
44. "Gidley goes as Tories win Romsey". Southern Daily Echo. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
45. "My First Job: Christian O'Connell, Virgin Radio's breakfast DJ, who". The Independent. 13 April 2006. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
46. Jube, Anna (16 November 2018). "Chance Perdomo Breaks Out as Sabrina's Cousin Ambrose". THE LAST MAGAZINE. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
47. "Chance Perdomo". IMDb. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
48. Shimmon, Katie (18 July 2006). "College days". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
49. "Lucy Pinder backed by Winchester civic chiefs". Hampshire Chronicle. Newsquest Media Group. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
50. "Summary Bibliography: John Christopher". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter Symonds College.

• Peter Symonds College website
• Weeke history