Which is the biggest school n the UK by pupil numbers?

[LittenTree]

Just curious!

You'd need to say whether it's Y7-11 or 13, mind!

Ours is Y7-11, 280 per year, 1450 in the school but I know there are bigger ones.

[DeWe]

I think there's a couple of local ones with over 10 form entry-that's more than 300 a year

[LucyManga]

I went to a comp in London that had just under 2,000 pupils years 7-13. That was some years ago, not sure what the numbers are now.

[KS2L6]

Someone posted yesterday about a Scottish documentary about Holyrood School in Glasgow which is supposedly the biggest school in Europe. It has a PAN of somewhere around 400 which is pretty big!

[EdithWeston]

I found this article from 2008 which says the number of schools with over 2000 pupils had risen from 6 in 1998 to 25, and the number with 1,500-1,999 had doubled and stood at 263. It didn't say which was the biggest though.

There were plans at that time for a new school in Nottingham that would have 3,500. Any MNetters from there know if that happened?

[IShallWearMidnight]

DD2s school has around 300 pupils per year, plus 400 or so in 6th form. It's one of the biggest in the country, but not THE biggest.

[bagelmonkey]

Exmouth Community College is pretty big. I think it has around 2,600 pupils (11-18)

[mummytime]

I think there are quite a few with 2000 ish. DCs school does and about 400 in sixth form and it isn't even the biggest in the County.

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

Nottingham Academy has around 2200 I think as does Whitchurch High in Cardiff. Exmouth has 2500 on the roll.

[takeonboard]

Didn't the TV programme say that Holyrrod in Glasgow is the biggest in Europe?

[notatigermother]

some high schools in the US have over 5000 pupils, and thats just for grades 9 - 12

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

Holyrood has capacity for 2300 so Exmouth would seem to be bigger.

[TalkinPeace2]

Excluding 6th form colleges, I believe this is the largest secondary schoolwww.education.gov.uk/establishments/urn/135263/thomas-deacon-academy
and it has NO outside play areas

[TalkinPeace2]

NB Exmouth has capacity higher but may not be full
www.education.gov.uk/establishments/urn/136612/exmouth-community-college
(Thomas Deacon again //www.education.gov.uk/establishments/urn/135263/thomas-deacon-academy )

[Ingles2]

the school my son will go to in Sept, has about 2500 pupils y7-13
Homewood school

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

TalkinPeace - Nottingham has capacity for 3500 but is currently at 2200+ so it is bigger.

www.education.gov.uk/establishments/urn/135881/nottingham-academy

[TalkinPeace2]

and the important thing to remember about schools is that above a certain level, size does not matter
SO LONG as the pastoral system is geared up to look out for every child all day every day in class and out.
Eton has 1300 pupils and lack of personal attention is rarely a complaint there!

My DCs are at a 1,600 11-16 (300 per year) and I was more worried about the tutor system and student services than the absolute numbers
but I do take great care NEVER to be parked outside at 3.25pm as the tidal wave of distracted teenagers is pretty intimidating!

[TalkinPeace2]

Chazs
WOW, that is big.
When DH went to the one in Peterborough, he was REALLY struck by the total lack of outdoor pace
and the gact that groovy new build architecture did not save it from feeling like a gigantic goldfish bowl - especially for staff.

[LittenTree]

No, the size of a school isn't the issue, it's the organisation of it which is what I keep telling a work-colleague of mine who is basically choosing her pfb DD's secondary using size as the principle criteria! Bet she'll moan when the small, intimate school only offers French MFL and netball as sport, mind!

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

We have a couple of smaller 1000+ academies near us with virtually no outside space (a carpark and 2 basketball courts at one of them). It's crazy - don't 11 year olds need to run around.

[TalkinPeace2]

Chazs
Schools with no outdoor space - look at the timetable.
I'll bet that the lunchbreak is under 40 minutes.
That way the kids cannot stray far, have less time to bully each other and do not come into afternoon lessons really tired.
DH has noticed that the shorter the lunch break, the rougher the kids.
Nayce schools let him sit down to a cooked lunch with the staff, ruff schools encourage him to check that his car is still OK!

Litten
She's mad. The smaller schools round here (non fee ones anyway) have spaces for a reason ....

[mummytime]

I know people who chose the smaller state secondaries in my town over my DCs bigger one. Well in my opinion DCs school actually offers the better pastoral care. One mother didn't even bother looking at it as it was "too big"; she ended up moving her daughter to DCs school in the end due to bullying in the smaller school.

[UniS]

Ivybridge Community college - another Devon comp with a town and rural surrounds catchment like exmouth CC - is in the big league with around 2600 in years 7-13.

[LittenTree]

Blimey!

That's big! Wonder how big the campus is?

[LittenTree]

Just read yours Talk: ie:
"Schools with no outdoor space - look at the timetable.
I'll bet that the lunchbreak is under 40 minutes.
That way the kids cannot stray far, have less time to bully each other and do not come into afternoon lessons really tired.
DH has noticed that the shorter the lunch break, the rougher the kids".

I must say it surprised me a bit that Th (you know where) has a relatively short lunch break being a naice school etc etc, whereas M'batten has a way longer one (although that, too is going 'naice, innit?!) BUT the 'new' HT said basically 'We trust our DCs to behave over a longer lunch break, we have loads of clubs etc for them to do, they aren't allowed out of the school grounds, it's up to them to learn to use unsupervised time wisely' which I thought was wise indeed!

[TalkinPeace2]

Ivybridge has a huge campus (google maps)
Thomas Deacon is all one building with no proper outside space at all.