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History of the School

The history of our school dates back to 1641 when it was established as a charitable foundation by Margaret Barkham the wife of a local churchman, Ezekial, respecting the legacy wish of her late husband to provide an education for children of St Cuthbert’s Parish in Wells.

The Blue School has always been for the children of Wells and its local communities

It is understood that our name was derived some time after foundation as a result of the blue dyed uniforms that were eventually provided for pupils at that time.  Numbers were few to begin with and all male, but thankfully this changed in the 20th Century to gradually become the larger, co-educational provision seen today.

Our students are encouraged to take pride in the school's history, which is celebrated annually by each Year 7 in a Founder's Day Service at St Cuthbert’s Church, the parish and civic church of the City of Wells, our school’s church.  The aim of this simple service is to place our students into a community that goes a long way back and which will continue on after they have left the school.  The service aims to make explicit the value of belonging to our community, treating all with empathy, respect and politeness.

The school has been located in various buildings around Wells over the last 380 years.  But in the 1950s a new “state of the art” purpose built Blue School (Kennion) was erected to the north of the City at the foot of the Mendip Hills.   In the late 1960s, a new Milton School was built adjacent to The Blue School with only the West Mendip Way to provide separation.  Some of our local community still remember their “meetings with the other side” on this path at the end of the school day.

In the early 1970s when the Government raised the school leaving age to 16, it was decided to merge both schools into one secondary, comprehensive provision for Wells to be called The Blue School.  The campus today of 35 acres reflects the 1950’s “Kennion” building (named after Bishop of Bath and Wells George Kennion 1845-1922) and the 1960’s Milton School.  Middle blocks were erected as part of this “bringing together” of the two school buildings and were subsequently named after the long-standing Headteacher of the 1980s, Ken Bailey and the two Hanwell brothers, who taught for many years at the school up to the early 1990s. 

In the 1990’s Wells Road Bypass was built by Somerset County Council, slicing off the southern part of the school’s playing field but providing some money to build Wells Blue Sports Centre on the school's site, opening in 1999.   It was not until the turn of the millenium that work was able to start in earnest on modelling of the use of the buildings on-site into one campus.  This was helped significantly in 2007, when a new Science extension was erected to the Kennion building, expanding much needed specialist facilities.

Reflecting an historic oversight, in 2012, a new four classroom teaching block, was named after The Blue School’s founders - Margaret and Ezekial Barkham.  Taking pride of place in the centre of the campus, the Barkham building contains brickwork found on both Milton and Kennion, physically representing the campus being brought together as one school.

In 2022, the Wells Blue School, our foundation charity, with help from the PTA and other benefactors, supported the installation of a new outdoor social area for our students.  This reflected the lessons learnt from the pandemic, with students encouraged to be outside as much as possible in the fresh air.  The Bailey Terrace provides a superb seating area for students with views across our playing fields to Wells Cathedral, St Cuthbert's Church and Glastonbury Tor beyond.

After over 350 years of educating the children of Wells and surrounding areas, the future appears to be secure, The Blue continuing to thrive as one of the largest, state maintained, all inclusive 11-18 year schools in Somerset.

 

Latest Tweets

@BlueSchoolWells - 13th Nov 2023
Happy Diwali to all our families who have been celebrating.#Diwali2023— The Blue School () November 13, 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 10th Nov 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 10th Nov 2023
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them#RemembanceDay pic.twitter.com/eBOer0oArx— The Blue School () November 10, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 31st Oct 2023
Celebrating BHM.Today's recommendation is for KS3 students. Winner of the Book of the Year, Children's Illustrated and Non-Fiction at The British Book Awards, 2021, ‘Black and British’ by David Olusoga. Available in the school library.#bhm2023— The Blue School () October 31, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 30th Oct 2023
Celebrating BHM. Today's recommendation is for KS5 students. The classic, PULITZER PRIZE-winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name, ‘The Colour Purple’ by Alice Walker. Available in the school library.#BHM2023— The Blue School () October 30, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 18th Oct 2023
Celebrating BHM. Today's recommendation is for KS5 students. ‘The Fire This Time’ by Jesmyn Ward, a two-time National Book Award winner and Women's Prize shortlist. Jesmyn Ward gathers a new generation of writers and thinkers to speak on race. Available in the school library.— The Blue School () October 18, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 17th Oct 2023
Celebrating BHM. Today's recommendation is for KS4 students. Winner of the Waterstones children’s book prize, ‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas. Available in the school library. Make sure you have your half term reading ready!#BHM2023— The Blue School () October 17, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 17th Oct 2023
Celebrating BHM. Today's recommendation is for KS3 students. Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal,‘The Fastest Boy in The World’ by Elizabeth Laird. Available in the school library. Make sure you have your half term reading ready!#BHM2023— The Blue School () October 17, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 16th Oct 2023
We currently have a vacancy for a Cover Assistant. Please view our website for more details.https://t.co/jBx3R4HeAO— The Blue School () October 16, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 10th Oct 2023
Macmillan Coffee Morning!We are delighted to announce that we raised a huge £723 for Macmillan! Many thanks to all the wonderful bakers and to those that helped. — The Blue School () October 10, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 10th Oct 2023
Celebrating BHM.Today's recommendation is for our KS4 students, 'The Poet' by Elizabeth Acevedo, winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Available in the school library with many other books in our BHM display. — The Blue School () October 10, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 10th Oct 2023
Celebrating BHM. Today's recommendation is for our KS5 students. Michelle Alexander is a lawyer, civil rights activist and author of 'The New Jim Crow'. Available in the school library. — The Blue School () October 10, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 6th Oct 2023
Throughout Black History Month we will be sharing resources available for students and families.In line with BHM 2023 theme, ‘saluting our sisters’, our first recommendation for KS3 is by author Jewell Parker Rhodes, 'Ghost Boys'. Available in the school library. — The Blue School () October 6, 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 29th Sep 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 29th Sep 2023
For the last 9 yrs, The Blue School have raised a significant amount of money for Macmillan. Once again, we are getting involved with The World's Biggest Coffee Morning! Take a look at just some of the wonderful cakes staff have donated!#MacMillanCoffeeMorning pic.twitter.com/YXkRFKXMl2— The Blue School () September 29, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 28th Sep 2023
There has been much media interest following on from Mr Woodlock’s letter last week regarding the growing concerns around vaping. Here is the interview with Mr Woodlock and Greatest Hits Radio... https://t.co/NXbyVyrT0p— The Blue School () September 28, 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 17th Aug 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 17th Aug 2023
Another fantastic set of A Level & BTEC Results for Blue School students this year. Almost half of over 350 entries were awarded one of the highest grades. Full details on our school website here: https://t.co/x7MIPBIt3Q pic.twitter.com/eJCu9KnA2U— The Blue School () August 17, 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 12th May 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 12th May 2023
Good luck to our Y9 students getting ready to head out into the wild on their DofE Bronze training expedition!#dofe pic.twitter.com/5xuTuG3tUa— The Blue School () May 12, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 3rd May 2023
We have a variety of vacancies for the following positions at the Blue School;Team Leader of Business and ICT, Teacher of PE (Female), Teacher of DT Food Preparation & Nutrition and Team Leader of Geography.Please click the link below for more details.https://t.co/jBx3R4HeAO— The Blue School () May 3, 2023
@BlueSchoolWells - 19th Apr 2023
Would you like to join our Team?We are currently looking for colleagues to join our Business, ICT and Geography teams. Please look at our website for more information regarding this role.https://t.co/jBx3R4HeAO— The Blue School () April 19, 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 28th Mar 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 28th Mar 2023
Spring has sprung at the Blue School! look at our beautiful Daffodils! pic.twitter.com/vaFyJCQyNx— The Blue School () March 28, 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 23rd Mar 2023

@BlueSchoolWells - 23rd Mar 2023
We're so proud of the support that we have been able to provide for children displaced by war in their home country of Ukraine. We've now appointed two Ukrainian tutors to support students with their English, enabling them to better communicate and access the curriculum. pic.twitter.com/yXCHoC8KSK— The Blue School () March 23, 2023