Balcarras School 3.7

Balcarras School is an academy school for 11- to 18-year-olds, located in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.HistoryBalcarras School was opened to pupils on 2 September 1986 replacing Charlton Kings County Secondary School, which was closed as part of a secondary education re-organisation scheme in Cheltenham.The secondary re-organisation re-shaped the local education system resulting in school closures and also marking the demise of single sex education in the town (except in the private sector). It also gave birth to a new comprehensive school in Charlton Kings, Balcarras, with an intake between the ages of 11 and 18.The official opening, which was hosted by the new headteacher, Nigel Cooke, took place on the afternoon of Wednesday 12 November 1986. The guest of honour was the Mayor of Cheltenham, Don Perry, T.D. and the vicar of Charlton Kings dedicated a sundial in commemoration of the occasion. The Chairman of Governors, Barrie Anderson, also welcomed the four patrons of the school: Winifred Foley, Tom Graveney, O.B.E., Gordon Ottewell and Peter Selvey. Each of whom had a house named after them: Foley, Selvey, Graveney and Ottewell. Each house has a head of house, and one or two assistant heads of house. Also in the house each year group has one or two tutor groups.The accommodation originally comprised ten classrooms, an assembly hall, with a stage, a canteen, a gymnasium with changing rooms and showers, a library, science and rural science laboratories and special rooms, (in some cases also used as classrooms), for woodwork, metalwork, domestic subjects, art, needlework and light crafts.This original building is just a small part of what Balcarras has become. Firstly the science block was added, followed by the building which now houses history and maths. After that came the dining room block and then the addition of a sports hall temporarily brought the building programme to a close. The playing field boundary was marked by a hedge which had at its centre the Balcarras oak tree, the field was extended towards the foot of the Cotswold Hills and the oak tree now stands proudly in the centre of the field.