Royal Manor Arts College
Royal Manor Arts College is a former secondary school at Tophill, in the vicinity of Easton and Weston. The original Tophill Council School opened in 1927 and accommodated infant, junior and senior pupils. It educated secondary pupils only from the 1950s and became Royal Manor School after major expansion in the 1980s. From that time onwards it served pupils aged from 11 to 16 until its closure in 2016.
History
Original plans for and construction of school
Plans for a new council-built school for Tophill stemmed back to the early 1910s, at a time when Portland's existing schools were suffering from overcrowding. Both of Tophill's schools, St George's and the Easton Council School, were unable to provide enough spaces to meet the educational needs of the parish's children. With the lease of the Easton Council School set to expire in 1915, proposals for a new school had been made as early as 1912 when the Portland School Attendance Committee were asked to find a suitable site to construct a school which could accommodate 500 pupils. While a new council school to serve Underhill would be built in 1913, the planned school for Tophill would not be built until 1925-26, following lengthy negotiations and a variety of different plans.
The original site proposed for the new school in 1914 was the northern region of an open field between Weston Road and St George's Road. However, when the Portland Urban District Council protested on the grounds that the school would be too close to St George's School at Reforne, the Dorset Education Committee proposed having the new school built in the southern region of the same field instead. This newly-proposed site was later confirmed and the Sites and Buildings Committee advised Dorset County Council in March 1917 to purchase the open land for £650, providing that Portland's Local Government Board approved.
While negotiations over the cost of the land between the Education Committee and Commissioner of Woods and Forests continued, a report from the Sites and Building Committee was submitted in 1919 recommending that the school cater for boys and girls with 250 junior spaces and 350 senior spaces, and the plans be tailored to allow potential future expansion of both departments if required. They suggested that the Prison Officers' School at Grove would be left to serve infants only. It was also recommended that the chosen plot of land for the school should be expanded from one and a half to two acres and an offer of £900 be submitted to the Woods and Forests Commissioners for it. The estimated cost of building the school was £35-40,000, which was considered to be "stupendous" by the Education Committee.
Later in 1923, three proposals for the new school were put forward by the Sites and Building Committee, including one for a school that could accommodate 432 children and be built for £13,025. However, with these costs still being considered too high, the Director of Education proposed an alternative scheme for a school capable of accommodating 500 mixed students at infant, junior and senior ages. In July 1924, the Sites and Building Committee adapted their plans accordingly and a school for 560 students was approved shortly afterwards. Tenders were later sought in January 1925 for the school's construction and the council's education committee received eight applicants by the following month. The school was completed in late 1926 and opened by headmaster Mr. Arthur King in January 1927. It was made up of two departments, one on each level of the building; one for infants and juniors, and the other for seniors.
Use of the school from the 1950s and expansion
In 1955, a new school, Tophill Junior School (later known as St George's Primary School), was opened to the south-east of Tophill School, and all junior pupils were relocated there. Meanwhile, St George's School at Reforne became St George's County Infant School, leaving Tophill School to become a secondary school, known as Tophill/Portland Secondary Modern School or County Secondary School. The school saw gradual expansion over the decades, including a new sports hall in the 1960s.
By the early 1980s, the school was serving approximately 600 pupils, but some children on Portland still had to travel to Weymouth for their secondary education. As part of major reforms for schools across Weymouth and South Dorset in 1985, an expansion project for Portland's secondary school was approved. A number of new buildings were constructed on site, including a new sports hall, drama studio, music rooms, library and typing room. The original 1925-26 school building was converted into science laboratories and classrooms, as well as technical studies' workshops. Renamed Royal Manor Comprehensive School, it was able to accommodate over 700 pupils and officially opened in 1986.
21st century use and eventual closure
In September 2002, the school was renamed Royal Manor Arts College after it was successful in gaining Arts College status. Initially the school had launched a fundraising campaign in March 2001 in order to submit a bid for the status and the required £50,000 had been donated by local businesses by June, four months sooner than anticipated. Despite only approximately 25% of all bidding schools achieving the status, Royal Manor School was successful in their first bid, helping them gain funding of £500,000 to "recruit more teachers, build new facilities and increase its community links". During this time, the school described itself as a "co-educational 11-16 specialist college".
Work started on a new all-weather sports pitch for the school in 2004, sited on the opposite side of Weston Road within the playing fields. However, construction had to be halted when workmen discovered ancient remains under the topsoil. The council commissioned a land survey to discover more about the finds, which led to the discovery of a well-preserved first century Roman building and related artefacts. After campaigners were successful in saving the findings from being covered over by the new pitch, Dorset County Council announced in December 2004 that the proposed pitch would be built in a new location within the playing fields, allowing a full excavation on the original site to go ahead.
In 2012, the school elected to merge with four other local schools to become part of the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy. From September that year, Royal Manor Arts College reopened as one of five campuses, known as "Royal Manor Campus". Two months later, headteacher Mr. Paul Green retired and was placed by head of campus Mr. Rob Russell. The academy put forward plans for a new £14 million campus to be established at Southwell Business Park in October 2012. The controversial plans were rejected by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, but overturned by government in 2014 after an appeal. The new campus opened in September 2016, resulting in the closure of both the Royal Manor and Southwell Campuses.
Redevelopment plans and demolition (2016-)
Following its closure, the school was returned to Dorset County Council in July 2016. The council then approved the disposal of the property, along with several others under their ownership, in the attempt to make savings of £100,000. The site was sold to the Homes and Community Agency (now Homes England), who in 2018 revealed outline plans for the demolition of the school and the construction of 52 dwellings at the site. Meanwhile, the existing lease for the playing fields opposite was acquired by Portland Town Council from Dorset County Council in 2018, with a remaining duration of 35 years.
In November 2019, outline planning permission was sought by Homes England for the demolition of the school and the construction of up to 98 dwellings on the site (a mixture of two, three and four bedroom houses, and two bedroom apartments). The application was approved in July 2021 and demolition work by the Walters Group commenced on 27 September 2021. The proposed development is to be split into three phases. Once the demolition work and groundwork of phase one is completed, phase two will see the construction of up to 41 dwellings on the southern part of the site. Phase three, which proposes the construction of up to 57 dwellings on the rest of the site to the north, will be completed once Albion Stone's mining operations below are completed and the mines are backfilled.
Awards
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) BBC - Domesday Reloaded - D-block GB-368000-69000 - Description of ref. 03680071 - website page
2) BBC - Domesday Reloaded - D-block GB-368000-69000 - The Royal Manor School - website page
3) Dorset Council - Planning application: WP/19/00919/OUT - 29 November 2019 - website page
4) Dorset Echo - numerous articles from the online archive from 2001 to 2018 - website page
5) Free Portland News - Portland 40 Years Ago: 1977 (Taken from the late George Davey's diary) - October 2017 - Issue No. 468
6) Thanks to Lisa Kelly of IPACA for providing some details on the school's history
7) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
8) The Independent - Shows improvement, but could do better - Judith Judd/Fran Abrams - February 1995 - website page
9) The Megalithic Portal - More prehistoric discoveries on Portland - November 2004 - website page
10) The National Archives - Portland County Secondary and Secondary Modern School (Tophill) - website page
11) The National Archives - Royal Manor School, Portland - website page
12) Web Archive: Royal Manor Arts College (Official Website) - Arts College Status - Archived from the original in 2004 - website page
13) Web Archive: Royal Manor Arts College (Official Website) - Home - Archived from the original in 2006 - website page
14) Web Archive: Royal Manor Arts College (Official Website) - Home - Archived from the original in 2007 - website page
History
Original plans for and construction of school
Plans for a new council-built school for Tophill stemmed back to the early 1910s, at a time when Portland's existing schools were suffering from overcrowding. Both of Tophill's schools, St George's and the Easton Council School, were unable to provide enough spaces to meet the educational needs of the parish's children. With the lease of the Easton Council School set to expire in 1915, proposals for a new school had been made as early as 1912 when the Portland School Attendance Committee were asked to find a suitable site to construct a school which could accommodate 500 pupils. While a new council school to serve Underhill would be built in 1913, the planned school for Tophill would not be built until 1925-26, following lengthy negotiations and a variety of different plans.
The original site proposed for the new school in 1914 was the northern region of an open field between Weston Road and St George's Road. However, when the Portland Urban District Council protested on the grounds that the school would be too close to St George's School at Reforne, the Dorset Education Committee proposed having the new school built in the southern region of the same field instead. This newly-proposed site was later confirmed and the Sites and Buildings Committee advised Dorset County Council in March 1917 to purchase the open land for £650, providing that Portland's Local Government Board approved.
While negotiations over the cost of the land between the Education Committee and Commissioner of Woods and Forests continued, a report from the Sites and Building Committee was submitted in 1919 recommending that the school cater for boys and girls with 250 junior spaces and 350 senior spaces, and the plans be tailored to allow potential future expansion of both departments if required. They suggested that the Prison Officers' School at Grove would be left to serve infants only. It was also recommended that the chosen plot of land for the school should be expanded from one and a half to two acres and an offer of £900 be submitted to the Woods and Forests Commissioners for it. The estimated cost of building the school was £35-40,000, which was considered to be "stupendous" by the Education Committee.
Later in 1923, three proposals for the new school were put forward by the Sites and Building Committee, including one for a school that could accommodate 432 children and be built for £13,025. However, with these costs still being considered too high, the Director of Education proposed an alternative scheme for a school capable of accommodating 500 mixed students at infant, junior and senior ages. In July 1924, the Sites and Building Committee adapted their plans accordingly and a school for 560 students was approved shortly afterwards. Tenders were later sought in January 1925 for the school's construction and the council's education committee received eight applicants by the following month. The school was completed in late 1926 and opened by headmaster Mr. Arthur King in January 1927. It was made up of two departments, one on each level of the building; one for infants and juniors, and the other for seniors.
Use of the school from the 1950s and expansion
In 1955, a new school, Tophill Junior School (later known as St George's Primary School), was opened to the south-east of Tophill School, and all junior pupils were relocated there. Meanwhile, St George's School at Reforne became St George's County Infant School, leaving Tophill School to become a secondary school, known as Tophill/Portland Secondary Modern School or County Secondary School. The school saw gradual expansion over the decades, including a new sports hall in the 1960s.
By the early 1980s, the school was serving approximately 600 pupils, but some children on Portland still had to travel to Weymouth for their secondary education. As part of major reforms for schools across Weymouth and South Dorset in 1985, an expansion project for Portland's secondary school was approved. A number of new buildings were constructed on site, including a new sports hall, drama studio, music rooms, library and typing room. The original 1925-26 school building was converted into science laboratories and classrooms, as well as technical studies' workshops. Renamed Royal Manor Comprehensive School, it was able to accommodate over 700 pupils and officially opened in 1986.
21st century use and eventual closure
In September 2002, the school was renamed Royal Manor Arts College after it was successful in gaining Arts College status. Initially the school had launched a fundraising campaign in March 2001 in order to submit a bid for the status and the required £50,000 had been donated by local businesses by June, four months sooner than anticipated. Despite only approximately 25% of all bidding schools achieving the status, Royal Manor School was successful in their first bid, helping them gain funding of £500,000 to "recruit more teachers, build new facilities and increase its community links". During this time, the school described itself as a "co-educational 11-16 specialist college".
Work started on a new all-weather sports pitch for the school in 2004, sited on the opposite side of Weston Road within the playing fields. However, construction had to be halted when workmen discovered ancient remains under the topsoil. The council commissioned a land survey to discover more about the finds, which led to the discovery of a well-preserved first century Roman building and related artefacts. After campaigners were successful in saving the findings from being covered over by the new pitch, Dorset County Council announced in December 2004 that the proposed pitch would be built in a new location within the playing fields, allowing a full excavation on the original site to go ahead.
In 2012, the school elected to merge with four other local schools to become part of the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy. From September that year, Royal Manor Arts College reopened as one of five campuses, known as "Royal Manor Campus". Two months later, headteacher Mr. Paul Green retired and was placed by head of campus Mr. Rob Russell. The academy put forward plans for a new £14 million campus to be established at Southwell Business Park in October 2012. The controversial plans were rejected by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, but overturned by government in 2014 after an appeal. The new campus opened in September 2016, resulting in the closure of both the Royal Manor and Southwell Campuses.
Redevelopment plans and demolition (2016-)
Following its closure, the school was returned to Dorset County Council in July 2016. The council then approved the disposal of the property, along with several others under their ownership, in the attempt to make savings of £100,000. The site was sold to the Homes and Community Agency (now Homes England), who in 2018 revealed outline plans for the demolition of the school and the construction of 52 dwellings at the site. Meanwhile, the existing lease for the playing fields opposite was acquired by Portland Town Council from Dorset County Council in 2018, with a remaining duration of 35 years.
In November 2019, outline planning permission was sought by Homes England for the demolition of the school and the construction of up to 98 dwellings on the site (a mixture of two, three and four bedroom houses, and two bedroom apartments). The application was approved in July 2021 and demolition work by the Walters Group commenced on 27 September 2021. The proposed development is to be split into three phases. Once the demolition work and groundwork of phase one is completed, phase two will see the construction of up to 41 dwellings on the southern part of the site. Phase three, which proposes the construction of up to 57 dwellings on the rest of the site to the north, will be completed once Albion Stone's mining operations below are completed and the mines are backfilled.
Awards
- In a 1995 HM's Chief Inspector's report, Royal Manor School was listed as one of 52 'examples of excellence' nationwide, as chosen by the Chief Inspector of Schools.
- In 2001, the school was awarded one of the first Arts Council's Artsmark Gold awards in the country, recognising its commitment to the arts.
- In 2002, the school was awarded top marks for its commitment to PE and sport, receiving the national Sportsmark status for the second time. Around the same time, the school gained a FA Charter standard in recognition of the quality of curricular and extra-curricular football on offer.
- In 2004, following an Ofsted inspection, it was announced that the inspectors were so impressed with the work-related learning programme run by the school that it was to be used as an example of good practice across England.
- In 2007, the school gained a Contextual Value Added score of 1014. This was the top score out of all the secondary schools in Dorset.
- In 2008, the school was awarded the national Future Vision Tour Award for building links with feeder schools and the local community.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) BBC - Domesday Reloaded - D-block GB-368000-69000 - Description of ref. 03680071 - website page
2) BBC - Domesday Reloaded - D-block GB-368000-69000 - The Royal Manor School - website page
3) Dorset Council - Planning application: WP/19/00919/OUT - 29 November 2019 - website page
4) Dorset Echo - numerous articles from the online archive from 2001 to 2018 - website page
5) Free Portland News - Portland 40 Years Ago: 1977 (Taken from the late George Davey's diary) - October 2017 - Issue No. 468
6) Thanks to Lisa Kelly of IPACA for providing some details on the school's history
7) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
8) The Independent - Shows improvement, but could do better - Judith Judd/Fran Abrams - February 1995 - website page
9) The Megalithic Portal - More prehistoric discoveries on Portland - November 2004 - website page
10) The National Archives - Portland County Secondary and Secondary Modern School (Tophill) - website page
11) The National Archives - Royal Manor School, Portland - website page
12) Web Archive: Royal Manor Arts College (Official Website) - Arts College Status - Archived from the original in 2004 - website page
13) Web Archive: Royal Manor Arts College (Official Website) - Home - Archived from the original in 2006 - website page
14) Web Archive: Royal Manor Arts College (Official Website) - Home - Archived from the original in 2007 - website page
Gallery
These images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Some images have information attached to them, and to view this you can either enlarge the image or hover the mouse over each thumbnail.
Many thanks to Lisa Kelly for arranging access for the interior photographs of the school to be taken. A thank you to Joss Hayes of IPACA for her assistance too.
Many thanks to Lisa Kelly for arranging access for the interior photographs of the school to be taken. A thank you to Joss Hayes of IPACA for her assistance too.
Exterior
Interior
Demolition
These photographs show the school in October 2021. Preparations began the previous month for demolishing the school.
