Mottoes | Non nobis sed omnibus |
---|---|
Established | 1958 |
Type | Academy |
Principal | Dr Carin Taylor |
Location |
Sand Street Soham Cambridgeshire CB7 5AA England 52°19′47″N 0°20′21″E / 52.32964°N 0.33904°ECoordinates: 52°19′47″N 0°20′21″E / 52.32964°N 0.33904°E |
DfE URN | 136610 Tables |
Ofsted | Pre-academy reports |
Students | 1,350 pupils |
Gender | Coeducational |
Ages | 11–16 |
Houses | King, Churchill, Radcliffe, Turner, Nelson |
Colours | Black with Red & Black Tie (Yrs 7–10), Black with Blue Tie (Yr11) |
Website | www |
Soham Village College is a secondary school with academy status located in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England. It has around 1,350 pupils, aged 11 to 16. Although its wide catchment area does not include Ely, some pupils from there and its neighbouring villages attend the college. It is split between two adjacent sites: Beechurst, formerly a large house, and Lodeside, built more recently.
The college has its origins in Soham Free School, established in 1686. It became known as Soham Grammar School from 1878 and occupied a site on Churchgate Street. In 1925 the grammar school moved to Beechurst House (built in 1901 and located in Sand Street, which had formerly been the home of the late Newmarket jockey, Charles Morbey. The grammar school took boys aged 11–18 from surrounding villages, and also had a few weekly boarders.
The name Soham Village College comes from the former secondary modern style village college, which was established in 1958. The original village college took boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 15, and was built on a 17-acre (69,000 m2) site next to the Soham Lode known as Moat Fields. It took in senior children from a number of "national schools" which were converted to junior or primary schools. The village college system was the brainchild of Henry Morris, the Chief Education Officer at Cambridgeshire County Council. The college was officially opened by the baronet and MP Sir Edward Boyle, a former Minister for Education. Morris's emphasis was on a community-based establishment, and the college was equipped with a public library and a youth leader.