Ponteland High School 3.33

Ponteland Community High School, previously Ponteland County High School, is a large secondary school in the village of Ponteland, Northumberland. Operating under the three-tier system in Northumberland, the school takes pupils from ages 13–79.HistoryThe school opened in purpose-built accommodation in September 1972. It was the first state school in the country to gain Language College status in 1995. In 2001, as a result of changes introduced in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, the school changed from being a County High School to a Community High School offering courses and activities to the local community. Since 2000 there have been significant additions to and refurbishment of the school buildings including new science laboratories, a new sixth form centre and a four-classroom block added to the humanities area.Academic and Extracurricular ActivitiesThe school has high academic achievement. At GCSE Level its proportion of A*-C grades including English and Maths is 71%. At A Level, its pass rate is 98% with 57% of students receiving A or B grades. Eighty percent of the school's sixth form pupils go on to university.The school won the Bar National Mock Trial in 2002 and 2009.The school has a vast range of international activities in which pupils may participate, and for which the school was awarded International School Award for 1999–2001, 2002-2004, and 2013-14.