Cramlington Learning Village, formerly Cramlington Community High School, is a large high school with academy status in Cramlington, Northumberland, England; it is a comprehensive school of around 2100 students.

The school became an 11–18 school in September 2008 as part of a local authority reorganisation of education in the town which saw the former three-tier system, of first, middle and high schools, become a two-tier system of primary and secondary schools. The school takes students aged 11 to 18 years, the latter two school years in the Sixth Form.

History

The school was established in 1969 as Cramlington County High School, after the upgrading of Cramlington to a new town under the New Towns Act 1946. In line with Northumberland Local Education Authority's other high schools, the name was changed to Cramlington Community High School in the early 1990s as part of a scheme that enabled wider community use of the schools. Though a second high school was originally planned, as of 2026, it remains the only secondary school in the town.

Former head teachers include Peter Dines CBE, Daniel Joseph Wilks PhD, later the Chief Executive of the Schools Council from 1988 to 1993 and the National Curriculum Council, Angus Taylor OBE and Derek Wise CBE (born 6 June 1949). Wise, head from 1990 until 2010, led a turnaround in the school's performance and began to implement the process of "Accelerated Learning" in 1997. By 2004, it was performing significantly above local authority and national averages on all key measures.

For a number of years, the school used the tagline "where the science of learning meets the art of teaching". Wise, along with former deputy headteacher Mark Lovatt, wrote Creating an Accelerated Learning School, a book explaining their implementation of accelerated learning techniques.

Wendy Heslop succeeded Wise as headteacher. Upon her retirement in 2021, she had worked at the school for 35 years. Jon Bird and Kim Irving were then appointed Co-Heads in the same year.

thumb|Proposed development

In October 2024, DPP Planning revealed the plans for the construction of a new three-storey learning complex in the location of the existing car park and field. Bowmer + Kirkland was the appointed contractor for the project, where they would demolish all existing blocks apart from the newer additions of the Junior Learning Village and Sporting Club buildings. DPP Planning originally anticipated the construction would commence in the summer of 2025, and for students to move into the new block by 2027.

In May 2025, it was officially announced by the school that the development would go ahead. This came after the planning application was brought to the attention of the Northumberland County Council Strategic Planning Committee and gained a majority of supporters in a vote. The school's sixth form, the Advanced Learning Village, will also be incorporated into the new block with an Independent Learning Centre on the ground floor. The contractors confirmed that the total cost was to be £40.8 million, where Bowmer + Kirkland's North East and Scotland team would work alongside offsite manufacturing specialist Innovare - with H. Malone & Sons providing mechanical and electrical works.

Construction officially commenced on 15 September 2025, with the contractors securing the build area with hoarding fences around the school site. The field in which the new school is being constructed is susceptible to flooding, so an underground water storage basin was erected to gather rainwater from trees in the car park - that feed water from the soil to the underground tank to prevent floods.

The formal 'ground breaking' ceremony took place on 22 October 2025, exactly 1 year after the initial plans were released. Cramlington councillors Cllr Wayne Daley and Cllr Mark Swinburn viewed the plans for the redevelopment on the same day, with a presentation from the contractors. The contractors confirmed that the build is to take place in four main phases:

  • Phase 1 (site groundwork and new car park) - August 2025 to February 2026
  • Phase 2 (school building construction) - February 2026 to October 2027
  • Phase 3A (demolition) - Summer/Autumn 2028
  • Phase 3B (landscaping work), full site completion - November 2028

The school was presented with a commemorative engraved spade to signify the start of construction on the site. Bowmer + Kirkland has set the full site completion date for 24 November 2028, if all work is completed on schedule.

The newly constructed car park opened to the public on 23 February 2026. The old car park was closed to allow for the new 10,000m² school building to be constructed into the north of the school site.

Facilities

Technology

The school has over 1500 PCs on site, with at least some in every classroom. Classrooms are also equipped with a teacher's PC, projector, interactive whiteboard and speakers. The school has its own monthly payment scheme for the provision of mobile devices to students. Initially, a Samsung Galaxy tablet was offered. From September 2014 onwards, the scheme provided Chromebooks for Year 7s, before being opened to all year groups the following year.

thumb|260px|right|The JLV TV Studio which has 2 cameras, an autocue, vision mixer, sound desk, green screen and computers. On the opposite side featuring two musical recording rooms, featuring a piano and electronic drum set.

In the late 1990s, the school began to develop its own Intranet, initially hosted subject-specific pages, but later also hosting online lesson plans for staff and student access. It has since implemented a Frog VLE (Virtual learning environment), offering access to timetables, attendance and punctuality, home learning facilities, school notices, a cashless catering provision and reward system. Parents are provided with their own access to the portal with specific information for their child.

'The Hub', a fully functional music venue, features a sound and lighting control systems and a 3D projection installation.

Further facilities include a recording studio, with two live rooms, and a TV studio, with green screen for chroma key. The studios have the capability to broadcast live across the school campus.

Ofsted

Most recently, the school was judged to be Good in an inspection published in May 2022.

It had previously been rated Good in an inspection published in February 2017. A monitoring inspection, the report of which was published in October 2016, removed the Special Measures status, allowing the school to once again recruit newly qualified teachers.

  • Graeme Owens, former footballer who played for Middlesbrough
  • Martin Taylor, footballer who played in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City

References

  • Cramlington Learning Village website