Soham Village College

Soham Village College is a secondary school with "Foundation Technology College" and "Language College" status in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England. It has around 1400 pupils, aged from 11 to 16. It has a wide catchment area, not including Ely, although some pupils from Ely attend the school. The college is split over two adjacent sites, Beechurst (formerly a Newmarket jockeys house) and Lodeside (more recently built).

With a very good local and national reputation for academic achievement, recent results emphasis this. In 2005, out of 266 eligible pupils, 71% achieved at least 5 grade A-C GCSE’s. This is considerably higher than the national average of 56.3% that year.

The college was the centre of media attention after the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002. The school caretaker Ian Huntley, who had been suspected of a series of rapes and burglary (not known at the time of employment) while living in Grimsby, was later convicted of murdering the two girls.

Subjects Taught

• English
• English Literature
• Mathematics
• Mathematics 'Statistics'
• Triple Science (Biology, Physics & Chemistry) (GCSE Option)
• Double Science (Same syllabus as Triple Science, but less lessons)
• Astronomy
• General Science (Key Stage 3)
• French
• German
• Latin
• Classics
• Art
• Drama
• Dance
• Music
• I.C.T. (Information Communications Technology)
• Technology (Construction, Graphics, Engineering, Resistant Materials, Electronics, Food Technology & Textiles)
• Business Studies
• Humanities (Geography, History, Religious Education, Classical Civilisation)
• Home Economics (Commonly associated with Food Technology)
• Health and Social Care
• Media Studies
• P.E. (Physical Education)
• P.D. (Personal Development) (Also known as P.S.H.E. at other schools)

School Legends & Mythos

• The Jockey's Ghost

One of the most popular 'ghost stories' in the College is that of the Jockey who once owned the house that is now Beechurst. According to playground tradition, he was saddled with enormour gambling debts, and thus decided to take his own life. It is said that his ghost still haunts the school - one teacher reports hearing a voice in the English staffroom. Other members of staff also claim they have heard the Jockey's horse running up the woodern staircase. This ghost only haunts the old Beechurst mansion section of the school. The author also once witnessed a bizarre event which involved a water pot moving inexplicably across a table, which was verified by others.

• Science Bomb

The roof of one science classroom has a stain that appears as though it was made by a miniature mushroom cloud, with shockwaves eminating out from the centre. Numerous rumours circulate about what caused it, but the most solid story is it was due to over-use of an alkali metal (believed to be lithium). One science teacher has said such an event happen when they underestimated the power of a new set of metals in a reaction demonstration.

External links

• College website