The Park Community School

The Park Community School
The Park Community School
Address
	Park Lane; Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 9AX; England
Coordinates	51°04′10″N 4°03′01″W / 51.06956°N 4.05031°W
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	Sic Nos Non Nobis
Local authority	Devon County Council
Trust	Tarka Learning Partnership
Department for Education URN	146094 Tables
Head Teacher	Ms Vicky Owen
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 16
Enrolment	1,440
Houses	Kingsley, Drake, Raleigh, Fortescue, Chichester
Website	www.theparkschool.org.uk

The Park Community School is a coeducational secondary school located in Barnstaple, Devon, England.^[1]

History and houses

It was founded in 1910 as Barnstaple Grammar School,^[2] and was the first secondary school to be built by Devon County Council, educating the youth of much of North Devon. The school's name was changed to The Park School in 1973 when the school became a comprehensive. From 2002 to 2003 the school underwent extensive remodelling with a new maths and science building linking the old North and South Buildings, and a new food hall was also built whilst many of the old classrooms were redesigned and refurbished.

Previously a foundation school administered by Devon County Council, in February 2019 The Park Community School converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by the Tarka Learning Partnership.

The school used to consist of four houses, each of which was named after a prominent person from Devon: Sir Francis Drake, Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue, Charles Kingsley, and Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1999, owing to the number of pupils attending the school, a fifth house, Chichester, named after Barnstaple born Sir Francis Chichester, was created.^{[citation needed]}

Subjects

The school used to specialise in teaching technical subjects, including food, electronics, product design, graphics and textiles, and students were able to take small classes in these subjects.^{[citation needed]}

Notable former pupils

Barnstaple Grammar School

Michael Bowering
Ann Cleeves
Jonathan Hanmer
Nicholas Hooper (1654–1731)
Charles Johnston (priest)
John Johnston (priest)
Thomas Lee (1794–1834)
Gervase Frederick Mathew, naval officer and entomologist
Cuthbert Mayne, martyr
David Shepherd (umpire)
David Spiegelhalter, statistician
David Vine, commentator

References

^ "Home". theparkschool.org.uk.
^ Hill, Trevor (2010). From grammar to park : 100 years of a Barnstaple school, 1910–2010. Wellington: Halsgrove. ISBN 978-1-84114-997-4.