William Howard School
The William Howard School is a co-educational secondary academy school on Longtown Road (A6071) in Brampton, Carlisle, Cumbria, England for pupils aged 11–18. History The school is named after Lord William Howard (1563–1640), who was the third son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. He married Elizabeth, the daughter and co-heiress of William, Lord Dacre, from whom the Naworth Castle branch of the Howard Family is descended. A Grade II monument of William Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle, is positioned on one of the highest hills to one side of the town of Brampton, known as the Mote. The school used to be known as the Irthing Valley Secondary Modern School, and was built between 1949 and 1953. It merged with another school in Brampton, the White House Grammar School situated on Main Street, in 1980 when comprehensive education replaced the selective education system. The ex-BBC newsreader Anna Ford was a head girl of White House Grammar School in 1961. More recently, the school had to be expanded after the closure of Lochinvar school in Longtown in 2008. A new performing arts block was built in 2010, allowing the old drama suite to be extensively refurbished to become the new sixth form centre, which was officially opened by Radio 1 DJ Greg James on 10 May 2011. The school used to have an outdoor swimming pool, but the block which is currently the sixth form centre was built on the site of the pool in the 1990s. William Howard School was awarded Specialist Science status in 2004, Leading Edge status in 2005 and the International School Award in 2007. The school converted to become an academy in August 2011. It retained its own sixth form centre after some argument over a proposed merger with a larger Carlisle Sixth Form Centre. In October 2014 it was announced that William Howard School will become the sponsor of the new Workington Academy in Workington in September 2015. The resulting multi-academy trust was called the Cumbrian Education Trust; it accepted responsibility for Whitehaven Academy and six primary schools. The school today Currently, the school has approximately 1600 pupils. The school has science laboratories, computer rooms, and a learning resources centre. It has a gym and a full size floodlit all-weather pitch. The school has a partner school in Tanzania. After school hours the school acts as a centre for adult education, theatrical and music performances, clubs and community meetings. The large open foyer frequently serves as a gallery space for local artists. Tanzanian link Founded in 1989, the William Howard School – Uru Secondary School link has been, and continues to be, a great asset to both the Uru and Brampton communities. The rural village of Uru is located in the Moshi district of Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania. About 8 miles from Moshi, the village itself is on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The Uru Secondary School is a co-ed church school with about 400 students in Forms 1 to 4. The