Learning Together, Learning for Life Virtual Tour Learning Together, Learning for Life

Map of the school NEXT THE SPORTS FIELD Car park Main entrance Click on each map icon to find out what we do in each building The Graham Taylor Building Maths, CoEn, IT, Geography, Art, RE, Library The Sports Hall Various indoor sports The Hubble Centre Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology The Astro Turf Various outdoor sports Technology Food Technology, Design Technology The Pool Various water based activities The English Block English, SPAG The Sport Fields Performing Arts Music, DRAMA, Dance Music Sheds Music Tribe History CoEn Garden Chicken pen, Vegetable gardens SSC and the 6th Form Centre SSC, 6th Form Centre, Staff offices The Main Hall Assembly, Various indoor sports The Year 7 Area Covered area for break The Downs Diner Food and Drink SUSAN PEASE THE DOWNS DINER TRIBE CoEn GARDEN YEAR 7 AREA THE MAIN HALL POOL ASTRO TURF THE ENGLISH BLOCK SSC AND THE 6TH FORM ROOM Main entrance THE HUBBLE CENTRE PERFORMING ARTS TECHNOLOGY THE GRAHAM TAYLOR BUILDING THE SPORTS HALL MUSIC Car park THE SPORTS FIELD NEXT

The Graham Taylor Building The Graham Taylor Building (GT for short) has the largest amount of subjects for a building in the school. It is where students will spend most of their academic time at the Downs. The GT hosts many different subjects: Maths – The maths department at the Downs is a brilliant, well structured department with classes that accommodate all sets of skills, and abilities. IT – The Downs School has many computer rooms and hosts wonderful IT lessons. The first topic will be making a virtual tour like this one here. CoEn – CoEn or Countryside Environment is a very important subject and at the Downs, is taught very well, with good facilities and even a garden which is covered later on in the tour. Art – Within The GT building there are many specially equipped art rooms suited for providing the best possible learning experience for art Geography – To add to the lessons in the GT there is an amazing Geography department ready to teach about the world and everything in it! RE – The Religious Education at the Downs has good facilities and offers enjoyable lessons The GT building also Hosts other areas for student, staff and parent usage: The Library – The Downs library is a brilliant place. You can go there to carry out research in the non-fiction section, do homework on the computers, read books or magazines or even draw. On Thursday there is a book club in the library (2015/16) The Reception – Located at the front of the GT building, is the reception office. You can go there if you need anything, have lost anything or are injured/sick, or to contact anyone inside or outside the school.. BACK TO MAP

The Hubble Centre BACK TO MAP The Hubble Centre (H) is the newest building in the school as it was built in 2012. The formal opening of the building took place in January 2014, when a plaque was revealed by Professor Lord Robert Winston. The Hubble is the Downs’ science block and is filled many facilities, equipment, brilliant teachers and wonderful, large labs for educating students about science. The science department at the Downs is brilliant. Within the Hubble, the subjects that are taught are:  Science – What I mean by this is science in general, which is taught in year 7 Physics Chemistry Biology BACK TO MAP

Technology The Technology building holds brilliant facilities for textiles, Food tech and Design Technology. It has saws, sewing machines, tools, tons of material such as wood or acrylic, nails, hammers, a laser cutter and even a room filled with small cookers. One of the newest additions to the Technology department is a 3D printer! In year 7 you do not go here very often, only once a week for food tech or textiles, but you come here more during your time at the Downs. The subjects taught here are: Food Technology – At the Downs, food tech is very fun and that is because of the excellent facilities, for example a room equipped with cookers, taps and sinks and a large series of worktops Textiles – At the Downs there are sewing machines and other tools so that students can make all sorts of things out of textiles, headphone wraps, bags for life and various other bits and pieces Design Technology – The Downs, once again, has brilliant resources for DT, with all the correct tools, nails, worktops and saws BACK TO MAP

The English Block BACK TO MAP The English Block has brilliant facilities for teaching English, it has amazing teachers, a large stock dictionaries, thesauruses, a whole set of dedicated classrooms, and everything else you need to teach English. In the English Block (R) the subjects that are taught are: English SPaG – Short for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Within the R block, there are other areas for staff and student use: The Conservatory – Equipped with a large glass skylight, toilets and changing rooms, it is one of the most flexible rooms in the school as it can be used for sports, getting changed, eating lunch, or even assemblies, etc. The Old library – As the name suggests, this is the old library, the new library is in the Graham Taylor Building. The old library is now used for assemblies when the main hall is full. BACK TO MAP

Performing Arts BACK TO MAP The Performing Arts building has lots of different subjects to do with performance. It has brilliant equipment, facilities and a drama studio with mood lights, speakers and a stage. There are amplifiers, computers and a wide variety of musical instruments. The subjects taught here are: Drama – With wonderful facilities, equipment, a stage, mood lights, speakers and brilliant drama teachers, you can make almost any performance in the drama studio, making drama a fun and highly enjoyable subject Music – The music studio is great, it has amps, a variety of musical instruments like keyboards, drums, flutes and a large number of computers to compose music on. BACK TO MAP

Tribe CoEn Garden BACK TO MAP The Tribe Building holds only one subject, history, but has many rooms for teaching, all of which are decorated in politics, history, castles and other history related content. The lessons are very entertaining, educational and engaging in a very calm environment. The CoEn garden doesn't hold lessons, but instead it is a garden. We grow vegetables and also have chicken pens with four chickens. This is used to educate students about looking after nature. Also the chickens lay eggs for meals in the Downs Diner.  BACK TO MAP

The Sports Hall The Sports Fields BACK TO MAP The sports hall at the Downs is a large room with large male/female changing rooms and plenty of equipment. The hall is fitted with multiple basketball hoops and courts. At the back there is a large storage room with badminton rackets and nets, tennis, basketballs, footballs and much more. The downs school has two large sports fields for various outdoor sports. As the fields are outside, they can get very muddy and wet. These fields are always kept in immaculate condition, with cut grass and marked pitches. Many PE lessons and after school training sessions are held here, and this is where the school’s Sports Day takes place! BACK TO MAP

The Astro Turf & Swimming Pool Near the English block, is the astro turf, an artificial grass pitch suited for sports that can’t be played on the muddy fields or in the sports hall. Sports played here include: Basketball, netball, hockey, tennis, handball and athletics. This allows us to play whatever the weather because the sports fields can often get very muddy and slippery. It is a great addition to the sporting facilities of the Downs School. Next to the astro turf, sits the swimming pool, a five race lane, heated swimming pool. Swimming is taught in the pool from year 7 up, alternating between girls and boys each half-term. Some of the water sports taught here include: Water Polo, Water Volleyball The pool is brilliant asset to the Downs School’s sporting facilities, as it allows for water sports to be taught on school grounds. BACK TO MAP

Year 7 area The Main Hall BACK TO MAP At break, year 7s receive the privilege of having their own covered area for eating at lunch, chatting with friends or just avoiding the rain. There are benches at the year 7 area to sit on. The most recent addition is the really popular table tennis table! You have to bring your own bats though. The Main Hall is used for a whole range of things, including assemblies, gymnastics, clubs or performances. BACK TO MAP

The Downs Diner BACK TO MAP At the Downs, there is a canteen which serves a large variety of brilliant food for lunch or as a snack at break. The food or drink is paid for using money on an account that you remove with your thumb. The Downs Diner caters for most allergies and vegetarians. In December, a Christmas lunch is served for students. On the right is an example of a weekly menu at the diner. BACK TO MAP

The Student Support Centre (SSC) 6th Form Centre The SSC is there to maintain good behaviour. You can come here to report bullying, bad behaviour, swearing or any other negative activity. SSC contains Mr P Wilson’s office in case you need to talk to him. The Downs has a 6th Form of around 340 students, with a friendly and supportive atmosphere. The centre is comfortable and well equipped with a café to provide a relaxing base for 6th formers. The building also contains a computer area. BACK TO MAP

We are looking forward to meeting you! Headteacher: Mr C Prosser The Downs School Compton Newbury Berkshire RG20 6AD T: 01635 270000 F: 01635 579084 www.thedownsschool.org.uk