About Horizon Community College

Horizon Community College opened its doors in September 2012 as a brand new ‘state-of-the-art’ £50 million BSF 11 – 16 school with over 2000 students. It is the amalgamation of two Barnsley town centre schools: Holgate School Sports College and The Kingstone School – a performing arts college and is located centrally in Barnsley, just 5 minutes from J37 of the M1. Horizon has maintained and developed its specialism in sport and the performing arts and has added the additional dimension of Community Enterprise. In July 2014, the college won the award for ‘The Most Enterprising School in the UK at the National Enterprise Championship 2014.

Intake for both the two predecessor schools was broadly in line with national average. Combined results for 5A*- C (E&M) for the last three years before closure, however, were 44%, 44% and 47% respectively. In 2013 63% of Horizon students achieved 5A*- C (E&M) – a rise of 16% in the first year!

In the second year of the journey to be one of the best colleges in the country, Horizon Community College has already reached a key milestone ahead of schedule: In July 2014, Ofsted judged Horizon Community College to be a ‘Good School’ in every category giving it the perfect platform to push on for outstanding. The report stated that ‘Attainment has improved rapidly in all year groups since the college opened.’ For further details, please click here.

In terms of examination results, 72% of students at Horizon achieved A*- C in English and 72% achieved that figure in maths too - significantly higher than the national average.

The glowing Ofsted report and these excellent examination results are a real endorsement of the amazing work going on at Horizon and the pace in which this change has come about in only two years.

As well as the fantastic examination results our school productions are a stunning example of what we try to instill and nurture in the college community. We are proud of our sporting successes and our work with the local community. We also won the UK’s most enterprising school at the National Enterprise Challenge. All of these and more are well documented in our outstanding newspaper: The Horizon, which comes out quarterly with The Chronicle and which is another prime example of quality that is becoming synonymous with our school.

Horizon operates a ‘Schools within a School’ model for Year 7, with its own block, Leadership Team and support staff, where students in effect attend one of the smallest secondary schools in the country, but with access to some of the best facilities in the country. Year 7 students spend most of their time in their own school for most of their lessons accessing the wider college for practical Science, Technology, Art, Performing Arts and PE. There are 13 staff bases around the college allocated on a department basis, in order to aid collaborative planning, which is timetabled for all teaching staff.

Horizon Community College is very much a community school. The car parks are often as full at 9.30pm and at weekends as they are during a school day, as the local community access our facilities supported by our dedicated Extended Services Team. Student Leadership, through Community Enterprise, is supported by a large team of full time dedicated staff, led by a Vice-Principal and ensures that all students have the opportunity to lead community projects and enterprises within both the college and in partnership with community groups and the wider community.

Horizon Community College hosts the Local Authority Sensory Resource Provision, integrating into mainstream school students with hearing and visual impairments, Local Authority Adult Education provision, Springwell Pupil Referral Unit and a Wellbeing Centre to support our students and their families.

Facilities in our Community College are amongst the very best in the country – particularly in the areas of sport and performing arts, with an outstanding array of facilities for both school and community use. Our 420 seat theatre and high specification dance and recording studios in addition to our science, technology and art and creative media facilities are the envy of schools up and down the country.

We want to open up new horizons to the children of Barnsley and their families. We want to provide opportunities for them to be enterprising and entrepreneurial, prepared for working life in the 21st Century; we want them to be ambitious, expanding their horizons and aspirations, experiencing success regardless of background. We want our young people and their families to be creative, confident and questioning, safe within their environment to be themselves and to take risks; ‘proud to be here and from here’. We want them to be giving of and accepting of praise and we want them to cope effectively with and contribute effectively to their local, regional, national and global communities.

Horizon Community College, now in its third year is on a mission to put Horizon and Barnsley on the map for high performance, high expectations, raised aspirations and outstanding teaching and learning.

To learn more about the day to day life at Horizon please visit our website.