Our History
Opened in September 1912 as The County School, Whitby, the College began life as a co-educational grammar school, with about 300 pupils.
In 1972, it received its first comprehensive intake and a new name – Whitby School. At this time, students also began to transfer at age 14, rather than age 11 as in the past.
In 1993, we became Whitby Community College. The Governors were determined to encourage more people of all ages to take advantage of the opportunities the College could offer and widen the horizons of its students. Whitby Community College, a 14-19 community College, was designated as a Specialist Technology College in September 2002. The College was redesignated with joint status in July 2008 with Caedmon and Eskdale Schools but operated without a specialism since 2011. It had a wide and varied curriculum at both Key Stage 4 and Post-16, and mature students joined the College’s day-time Post-16 courses, where they made a significant and enriching contribution. The College had worked in an informal joint collaborative arrangement with Caedmon and Eskdale Schools (both 11-14) for many years for the benefit of all students in the area. In 2014, we undertook a consultation process to enlarge the College to become an 11-19 school with effect from September 2014, through an amalgamation with Caedmon School (11-14) in Whitby, and are now known as Caedmon College Whitby.
As a College, we work in close partnership with a range of other organisations. In particular, we are partners with the Red Kite Alliance, The Academy (Malton) Hair Academy and are currently looking at rebuilding links with the Adult Education Service.
In 2019, we formed a Federation with Eskdale School in Whitby and work closely with the school under the banner of the Whitby Secondary Partnership.
The College strives for continuous improvement, aiming to bring leading edge teaching and learning to one of the most beautiful and historic places in the country.
Our mission: ‘To be the best we can be’
Our aims: to enable our students to develop a real passion for 21st Century learning and work, through engaging teaching and learning in a safe environment. We will facilitate learning which our students and community value and which brings out the best in them. We will motivate students to succeed both now and in the future, allowing them to achieve their best. To do this, we will offer the best possible opportunities for personal development and optimism for adult life.
This is what we believe in: Excellence, Friendship, Respect.
All members of the College community have a duty to develop themselves, and to encourage others in our core values.
More specifically:
Excellence is giving your best. It is not only about being your best but also about participating, making progress against personal goals, striving to be and to do our best in our daily lives and benefiting from the healthy combination of a strong body, mind and will. A resilient, growth mindset is essential and adopting a healthy lifestyle is important and expected.
Friendship encourages us to develop mutual understanding among individuals and people from all over the world. We will develop empathy and inspire humanity to overcome political, economic, gender, racial or religious differences and forge friendships in spite of those differences.
Respect incorporates respect for yourself, for others, for the rules and regulations of our society and the environment. Respect also stands for fairness and for the fight against unethical behaviour; being a good citizen.
- These values will be developed by using them overtly to remind ourselves of how we would like to be and providing a focus for all our aspirations.
- Students have a duty to apply themselves to their learning and personal development, making best use of all the support and opportunities available to them; high expectations and effort is paramount for lifelong learning. Involvement in College life using their voice will be expected from all.
- The College staff and governors have a duty to create the conditions for safe, successful learning and personal development, meeting to the best of their ability the needs of the full range of learners equally, using all available resources as effectively as possible and safeguarding the students. Consistency and fairness is developed through our ‘House Style’.
- Parents have a duty to work with the College to support the successful learning of their sons and daughters, through challenge and encouragement.
Leadership at Caedmon College will:
- Develop, with stakeholders, a clear vision and common purpose that inspires confidence, motivation and ultimately success for all
- Be authentic, optimistic, ambitious and realistic: working with humility and stewardship
- Ensure joint ownership and responsibility for driving the College towards outstanding/excellence where the talents of all are respected and valued
- Be visible and pro-active with shared commitment and harmony
- Be built on trust, effective communication and support.
The College last had a full Ofsted inspection in October 2013 and was judged to be good with many features better than this. In March 2012, the College celebrated its Centenary year, culminating in an awards’ ceremony in September and the unveiling of a legacy object in the form of an outdoor seating arrangement for students. Students helped in the design and planning of the object.
A College Centenary Exhibition ran at Whitby Museum until April 2013 and the artefacts from this are now archived in the College itself. If you have any information, photographs or documents from former decades from the College or Caedmon School, please get in touch with us – we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by email using the following address: post@ccwhitby.co.uk.