Philip Morant School and College (originally known as Norman Way School) is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located within the Prettygate suburb of Colchester, Essex. The school is named after Philip Morant, a local 18th-century historian and archaeologist who was chosen as the school's eponym a few months after its achieving technology college status in 1994. In November 2011 the school became an academy. After Sue Cowan's retirement, Roger Abo Henrikson became Headteacher for two academic years. During the school's 50th year, Rob James was appointed Acting Headteacher and is largely credited for returning the school to a 'good' OfSTED rating, which took place two terms after Catherine Hutley's appointment as Executive Headteacer. Philip Morant School joined the Sigma Trust in 2018, moving from the then defunct Thrive Partnership, which it co-founded.
History
The school was founded in September 1965 as a comprehensive secondary school and for the first two years it was located in the Greyfriars area of Colchester where it only took on first and second year pupils (Years 7 and 8). During this time the current House Block, Hall and Gym were built in Prettygate. Thereafter the school expanded in several stages but the main work took place in 1974 and 2003. In 1993 the school became a specialised Technology College and in 1996 a sixth-form college was added to the school. The school converted to academy status in 2011 but continues to have technology as a specialism.
Philip Morant
Philip Morant was born in 1700 and died in 1770. Morant's most notable work is the detailed History of Essex, which remains a standard work of reference. A copy of his History, in two volumes dated 1768, is on permanent loan to the School by the Essex Archaeological Society.
Badge
The school badge is surrounded by a design of brickwork as a reminder of the parish (St Marys-at-the-Walls) in which Morant lived and worked for over thirty years and in which the school stands. The quartering of the badge is formed by the representation of a cross signifying both Morant's work as a churchman and also the School's spiritual life. The emblems in the quarters are: A crown from the arms of the Borough of Colchester (on which the crown of the Three Kings appear to commemorate the work of Helena, patron saint of Colchester). A torch, to signify learning and endeavour in games and sports. A chevron (part of the arms of the Morant family) An open book (both to commemorate Morant's great interest and achievements in the field of history and to represent the academia within the school)
Motto
The school's motto is "Hold fast to that which is good".
During Ms Hutley's tenure as headteacher, the motto was briefly changed to "Aspiration, Success, Kindness", which had an associated logo that comprised a circle with a thought box circumscribing the text "ASK".
Students
There are around 1600 students (as of 2008) who are divided into 5 houses: Aylward, Churchill, Faraday, Nuffield, and Ryder. There was a sixth house, Mandela, but this was removed after a single year of existence from 2018-19. Each house has around 300 students. A certain day of the week is allocated to each house for when Prefect duties are undertaken. Each house also has a 'House Manager' to provide pastoral support to students alongside their tutor.
Houses
Ofsted reports
Currently, the school is awaiting an Ofsted inspection since the school left the Thrive Partnership and joined the Sigma Trust.
The most recent inspection under the Thrive Partnership resulted in an “Inadequate” rating from Ofsted (4/4), the lowest rating available. This took place shortly after Nardeep Sharma's (CEO of Thrive) and Catherine Hutley's suspension from their roles. Both later resigned.
Since 2001, when the school was described as "Outstanding ... with many excellent features and no significant weaknesses", the school has seen mixed results from the inspections until 2018, as shown below: