The Pingle Academy
The Pingle School is a state comprehensive school located on Coronation Street in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire, England.
Overview
The Pingle School educates over 1500 students, from Years 7 to 13. SATs, GCSE and A-Levels are taught at Pingle throughout the different years.
History
The Pingle School was founded in 1965 and opened by a local dignitary. The school has been through five headteachers in this time and the current headteacher is Mrs Susan Tabberer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the headteacher was Mr Joe Bradley. The school is a typical 1960s wooden clad building with an ongoing renovation programme to try and counter aesthetic issues associated with this style of architecture.
Alumni
- A former pupil, Andrew Bridgen (born 1964 and left the Pingle School in 1983) is the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for NW Leicestershire and runs his own business, AB Produce.
- Another former pupil, Jason Hylton, left the school in 1990 and joined the Royal Marines in 2003. Whilst serving with 539 Assault Squadron RM in Iraq, he was killed with three other service personnel on Sunday 12 November 2006 when his boat was hit by an IED on the Shatt al-Arab waterway. His name is on a metal plaque on the Church Gresley war memorial opposite the Maurice Lea park. It is inscribed "Marine J M Hylton Killed In Action Basra, 1st September 1973 - 12th November 2006". On Wilmot Road, Swadlincote,as at July 2008, a new housing development named Jason Hylton Court is taking shape. It has 14 x 2 bedroom apartments.
Running of the School
The school year, similar to many state schools is split into three terms, Autumn, Spring and Summer.
These terms are then split in half, with each half of terms lasting around six weeks. The holidays between halves of terms are one week and the holidays between terms last two weeks.
The school day starts at 8.25 and ends at 3.10, with five lessons, a break and a dinner in that time.
Uniform
At Pingle, Years 7 through 11 must wear the full school uniform of a Black Jumper; bearing the school logo, a white plain shirt, the school tie, plain black trousers and plain black shoes. Girls are permitted to wear a plain black skirt in place of the trousers.
Years 12 and 13 have no set uniform and may attend school in whatever clothes they wish, as long as they are sensible and do not bear offensive slogans.
Sport
The school has a football team, rugby team and a basketball team for all years up to Year 11. Also in 2006, the school had an Astro turf added to their large range of facilities. These facilities include:
- An Olympic-sized swimming pool
- Multi million pound sports hall with gym suite
- Gymnastics Hall
- Tennis/Basketball Courts
The 2005 Pingle School fire
In December 2005, several students from the Pingle School set fire to the Sixth-Form Centre at the school, resulting in the near total destruction of this building. The fire was started in school hours and required the evacuation of the entire school. Since the sixth-form centre was destroyed in the fire, a new one has been under construction at the school, whilst temporary accommodation for lessons has seen the use of portable classrooms. The new 6th form area was officially opened in December 2007 by former students Matthew Benstead, James Dennis, Rachael Ellis and Griff Tilley, being in full use from February 2008.
