Philip Morant School and College

Philip Morant School and College (originally known as Norman Way School) is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located within the Prettygate suburb of Colchester, Essex. The school is now named after Philip Morant, a local 18th-century historian and archaeologist,[1] who was chosen as namesake a few months after its opening. In November 2011 the school became an academy and joined the Sigma Trust in 2018, moving from the then defunct Thrive Partnership,[2] which it co-founded.

Philip Morant School and College
Address
Rembrandt Way

Colchester
,
Essex
,
CO3 4QS

England
Coordinates51°52′53″N 0°52′18″E
Information
TypeAcademy
Motto"Aspiration, Success and kindness"
Established1965
Department for Education URN146794 Tables
OfstedReports
Chair of GovernorsLorna Kean
Executive HeadteacherScott Holder
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 18
Enrolment1,700
HousesAylward, Ryder, Churchill, Nuffield, Faraday
Colour(s)Dark green  
Websitehttps://www.philipmorant.essex.sch.uk/

History

The school was founded in September 1965 as a comprehensive secondary school and for the first two years it was located in the Greyfriars area of Colchester where it only took on first and second year pupils (Years 7 and 8). During this time the current House Block, Hall and Gym were built in Prettygate. Thereafter the school expanded in several stages but the main work took place in 1974 and 2003. In 1993 the school became a specialised Technology College and in 1996 a sixth-form college was added to the school. The school converted to academy status in 2011 but continues to have technology as a specialism.

Philip Morant

Philip Morant was born in 1700 and died in 1770. Morant's most notable work is the detailed History of Essex, which remains a standard work of reference. A copy of his History, in two volumes dated 1768, is on permanent loan to the School by the Essex Archaeological Society.[3]

Badge

The school badge is surrounded by a design of brickwork as a reminder of the parish (St Marys-at-the-Walls) in which Morant lived and worked for over thirty years and in which the school stands. The quartering of the badge is formed by the representation of a cross signifying both Morant's work as a churchman and also the School's spiritual life. The emblems in the quarters are:

  • A crown from the arms of the Borough of Colchester (on which the crown of the Three Kings appear to commemorate the work of Helena, patron saint of Colchester).
  • A torch, to signify learning and endeavour in games and sports.
  • A chevron (part of the arms of the Morant family)
  • An open book (both to commemorate Morant's great interest and achievements in the field of history and to represent the academia within the school)[3]

Motto

The school's motto is "Hold fast to that which is good".

During Ms Hutley's tenure as headteacher, the motto was briefly changed to "Aspiration, Success, Kindness", which had an associated logo that comprised a circle with a thought box circumscribing the text "ASK".

Students

There are around 1600 students (as of 2008) who are divided into 6 houses: Aylward, Churchill, Faraday, Nuffield, Ryder and Mandela (2018). Each house has around 300 students. A certain day of the week is allocated to each house for when Prefect duties are undertaken. Each house also has a 'House Manager' to provide pastoral support to students alongside their tutor.

Houses
Name Motto Namesake
  Aylward "Be Straight - Be True" Gladys Aylward, missionary
  Churchill "Service before Self" Sir Winston Churchill, former PM
  Faraday "To thine own self be true" Michael Faraday, scientist
  Nuffield "Out of Difficulties grow Miracles" Lord Nuffield, motor manufacturer and philanthropist
  Ryder "It takes courage to care" Sue Ryder

Ofsted reports

Currently, the school is awaiting an Ofsted inspection since the school left the Thrive Partnership and joined the Sigma Trust.

The most recent inspection under the Thrive Partnership resulted in an “Inadequate” rating from Ofsted (4/4), the lowest rating available.

Since 2001, when the school was described as "Outstanding ... with many excellent features and no significant weaknesses", the school has seen mixed results from the inspections until 2018, as shown below:

Type Year Result Headteacher
Academy [4] 2018 [5] XAwaiting InspectionScott Holder
2018 [6] 4InadequateColin Green & Michele Myers
2015 [7] 2GoodCatherine Hutley
2013 [8] 3Requires ImprovementRoger Abo Henriksen
Foundation [9] 2010 [10] 2Good Sue Cowans M.Sc.
2006 [11] 3Satisfactory
2001 [12] "Outstanding"Russell Moon

Notable alumni

Controversies

Planning

Norman Way was originally planned in the 1960s to be an inner ring road for Colchester with the "Norman Way School" (and several neighbouring schools) facing onto the road. Instead the metalled road was truncated a short distance before the school for safety reasons, and a footpath set on the original route. The alternative vehicular route requires driving through narrow residential streets. Several times since then the school has applied to have Norman Way extended along part or all of the original route so that pupils and visitors would not have to walk the extra 100m, but each time this was vetoed by the Council after vigorous protests against the increased traffic expected by the local residents.

In the summer of 2009, the school again applied to extend the road through fields in the southern residential area, but this time it was to be linked to a £130m government-funded expansion of the school which would allow it to take on pupils from other two schools. Council policy was set in October 2009 to allow the road extension if it can be proven that the grant is genuinely conditional on the altered road access.[14] In mid-2010 it was announced that there would be no cash for the school expansion from Building Schools for the Future programme. However, Colchester council has not announced that it will halt its road building programme, in spite of local demands to preserve the green space.[15]

In July 2015, the school once again caused controversy when it erected a metal fence across a stretch of the Norman Way footpath without consulting residents.[16]

Homework policy

In 2016, Philip Morant decided to ban traditional homework and take a different approach to out-of-school learning.[17]

At the start of the 2016/2017 academic year, the school implemented their new homework policy: 'Prove It +'. The idea 'Prove It +' is to give students the opportunity to make their own decisions concerning what tasks they complete as a substitute to traditional homework. Students can select tasks from the Prove It + website,[18] and then submit the task to their teacher either using a 'digital postcard' which is sent directly to the member of staff's email inbox, or complete a Prove It + card along with the task completed.

The decision to ban traditional homework has caused mixed views on the idea. Some parents describe the move to ban traditional homework as "creating a generation who will flunk their GCSE's",[19] however others agree with the move from traditional homework and continue to support the idea of "Prove It +".

In 2018 homework was reintroduced by the Acting Headteachers.[20]

See also

References
  1. "{title}". Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  2. "Under-fire schools to be taken over by new trust". Gazette. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  3. "{title}" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  4. [email protected], Ofsted Communications Team (31 December 2018). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  5. https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/146794
  6. https://files.api.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50006444
  7. https://files.api.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/2473992
  8. https://files.api.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/2217755
  9. [email protected], Ofsted Communications Team (8 April 2019). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  10. https://files.api.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/957065
  11. https://files.api.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/843363
  12. https://files.api.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/763063
  13. "Silver screen comes calling for Colchester author". Gazette. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  14. Colchester: Council cabinet agrees to release schools' land - with conditions Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Essex County Standard
  15. Colchester: Give up field! Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Essex County Standard, 19 November 2010
  16. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Colchester Gazette 3 August 2015
  17. "The secondary school that is banning homework". Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  18. "{title}". Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  19. Noble, Jason. "Parents voice fears over Philip Morant School's no-homework stance warning it is allowing pupils to fail". Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  20. "Parents welcome news that homework is back". Gazette. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
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