The Abbey School

Story

The Abbey School is a non-selective secondary school in the town of Faversham in Kent, United Kingdom. Founded with the amalgamation of Ethelbert Road Boys School and Lady Capel School for Girls in 1983, the school consists of 953 pupils from the ages of 11-19.In 2004 the school became widely known as the first comprehensive school to introduce random drug testing and the scheme operated until 2008. The School was promoted to academy status in 2011.HistoryThe School was opened in September 1983 with the amalgamation of Ethelbert Road Boys School and Lady Capel School for Girls with the whole process being overseen by its first head, Vin Thomas. The Boys school was decommissioned with students moving to the south side of Faversham where the school currently stands. In 1987, Peter Walker became the school's 2nd headteacher.In February 2000, Walker reported to Ofsted about the deteriorating conditions of the former canteen that was built in the 1940s. The roof had become a thick layer of moss with asbestos that caused paint to peel off the walls.In September 2004, with the support of parents, the school became the first to introduce random drug tests which commenced in January 2005. The tests could be performed only when parents gave permission for their child to be tested. Students who refused to be available for testing or tested positive would undergo a counselling program. Critics of the program stated an infringement of privacy would lead to legal action. At the school, 20 students were tested weekly and were given a mouth swab for cannabis, cocaine and heroin. Supporters of the program including former Prime Minister Tony Blair who endorsed Walker's efforts and called for the program to be expanded. In 2005, the school reported that the scheme helped to boost examination results to 40% compared with 32% in 2004, and 28% in 2003.