History of Darton High School

Darton High School is one of 14 comprehensive co-educational community secondary schools maintained by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. The school is situated to the North West outskirts of Barnsley in the village of Kexborough on the edge of open countryside approximately one mile from Junction 38 of the M1 motorway. The school is very popular and pupil numbers have risen over a number of years, currently levelling at 1,158 pupils aged 11-16, with staff increasing to 120 through workforce reform, numbers of support staff rising and becoming equal in number to teachers.

Darton High School on its present site first opened in 1957, adding to existing provision in the village of Darton approximately 1.5 miles away, therefore creating a split site school. The boys moved up to the new Kexborough site and the girls remained at the Darton site. The original school at Darton, then known as Darton Hall Senior School opened in August 1935. The buildings were built of timber on brick on 3 acres of land. The site cost £411, cost of building was £16,000 and cost of furnishings £2,000. The school accommodated 280 boys and 280 girls of over 11 years (Dearnely).

The buildings on the Kexborough site were extended during the 1970s following re-organisation in September 1972 to the comprehensive system. The school at this time accommodated 890 pupils. Major extensions were planned in consultations with the Local Authority including provision of joint sports facilities for public use. New buildings during the 1970s included an Administration block, additional classrooms, a Sportshall and Squash Courts, Science and Technology blocks, providing the school with a mixture of 50s brick built and 70s standard 'clasp' type flat felt roofed buildings, creating a widespread campus with separate blocks. Years 7 and 8 were sited at the Lower School in Darton and Years 9 to 11 at Kexborough. During the 1970s Darton High School benefited from the opening of a new Sixth Form. 1990 saw the transition from split site to single site school in addition to a re-organisation and centralisation of Barnsley Schools Sixth Form provision to Barnsley College.

Additional provision includes Dance and Drama Studios, a gymnasium, an eighth Science laboratory, Science Information Technology suite, Science Staff Work Room, Science Conference Room, and a Library/Learning Resource Centre. Recent provision of a double classroom and Music accommodation and ICT Suite in the form of temporary modular units has provided much needed additional specialist accommodation due to increasing pupil numbers. The school has benefited from Capital funding, providing full refurbishment of two Food Technology classrooms and the main entrance and toilet area in the Technology block.

The school grounds are extensive, with 14 hectares of land, providing 3 football pitches, rugby, hockey, rounders and an athletics track. The school has recently benefited from New Opportunities Funding through linking with the LEA and the United Villages Partnership, providing a floodlit synthetic turf pitch enhancing provision for hockey and providing a multi-use facility. Building is currently in progress to provide associated changing rooms, an Activity Room and Fitness Suite for school and community use. Revenue funding will enable the school to continue with and develop the revised role of PE and Sports Development Worker to enhance sport, health and fitness activities for all. The school has achieved the Sportsmark Award.

The school external environment is an important feature of the school; pupils and staff were involved in planning and producing a Landscape Master Plan, working on various projects over a number of years and providing a woodland area with 3,000 trees, a pond and wetland conservation area, a dramatic wall sculpture featuring the elements 'Earth, Air, Fire and Water', and more recently a tree sculpture by Simon Todd. Environmental projects are ongoing and have resulted in the school achieving the Barnsley MBC Schools' Environment Award for several years, the school linking with the community and engaged upon various environmental activities both within school and outside in the community.

Darton High School's successful bid for specialist status has been successful and the school is a designated Humanities College specialising in English, Citizenship and Religious Education (Ethics and Philosophy). Sponsorship funds provided by businesses, parents, pupils, staff and Darton High School Association has been successful in providing additional funding from the government to support the Specialist School capital project that will provide ICT equipment, new furnishings and refurbishment and adaptation of the English and RE areas. Additionally, revenue funding has been secured for the next few years to provide enhancement for our current student population.

With the age and widespread nature of the majority of buildings, the school welcomes the arrival of Building Schools for the Future. The Dfes has designated Barnsley LEA for funding provision for all secondary schools as part of the BSF programme to be phased in over a three-year period commencing 2008 through to 2011. Darton High School is in the Phase 1/B of the programme, and the school community, together with the LEA are in the early stages of planning for a new school to be built on the site during 2009/10 as part of the Local Authority wide scheme to reorganise all secondary schools in Barnsley with the aim to amalgamate some schools and provide new build for all schools in the area.

Lorraine Wood CSBM, AInst AM (Dip)
School Business Manager

Bibliography:
Dearnely J, History of Darton Part 1
Darton Urban District Guide