Coteland's School Ruskington

Coteland's School Ruskington was a secondary-level community school in the village of Ruskington, Lincolnshire, accommodating pupils aged 11–16 through years 7 to 11. It formally opened as Ruskington Secondary Modern School in 1957, although teaching had begun the previous year. It federated with St George's College of Technology in nearby Sleaford in 2007, and then closed at the end of 2009 to allow the schools to merge into St George's Academy. The buildings and grounds were significantly redeveloped in 2012–15 to serve as a satellite school for the Academy.

The Education Act 1944 made secondary education available to all children up to the age of 15; a 'tripartite system' of secondary schools was established to provide curricula based on aptitude and ability: grammar schools for "academic" pupils, secondary moderns for practical studies, and technical schools for science and engineering. Pupils were allocated to them depending on their score in the eleven-plus examination. In 1947, Kesteven County Council outlined its 15-year plan for secondary education, which included the construction of a new secondary modern school at Ruskington. The buildings were completed in the 1950s and teaching commenced at Ruskington Secondary Modern School in 1956; the buildings were officially opened by Sir John Wolfenden, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, the following year. Built on a 9-acre (3.6 ha) site at a cost of £100,658, the new school buildings consisted of a three-storeys of classrooms and a gymnasium, assembly/dining hall, library and greenhouse. The buildings were built around a prefabricated steel frame and modular concrete blocks clad in brick. Much of the site was devoted to playing fields, which were supplemented by eight grass tennis courts and playground. The first headmaster was George Morris Butler (died 2004), who served until 1976.

In 1993, Coteland's was threatened with closure due to declining rolls, as parents began sending children to other schools; it was operating at half capacity, with 170 pupils on roll. David Veal took over as head-teacher in 1994 and later recalled that there was "a stigma attached to the school", which he suggested contributed to pupils lacking self-esteem and becoming demotivated, a matter compounded by the eleven-plus exam which primary school leavers sat. Budget restrictions had also reduced the number of staff. According to The Independent, Ruskington was then a village of about 6,000 people, "many working in local food-processing factories, in agriculture or in nearby RAF bases on lowish incomes", and "very few professional families" sent children to Coteland's. Many of the most academic pupils from local primary schools were instead choosing to attend the grammar schools in Sleaford after passing the eleven-plus exam; in 1994, there were only three children in the school who were classed as 'above-average' in terms of academic ability. By 1998, Coteland's was ranked the second-worst school in Britain when 2% of pupils attained five GCSEs at grades A*–C. But by 2001, this had increased to 38%, making it one of the most improved school's in the country. Veal said this was largely due to changing the "ethos ... so parents can be confident it is somewhere pupils can learn."

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