| Joseph Whitaker School | |
| Coordinates: | 53.1144°N -1.1203°W |
| Motto: | Latin: Spes et fides (Hope and faith) |
| Established: | 1963 |
| Type: | Academy |
| Head: | Carey Ayres |
| Address: | Warsop Lane |
| City: | Rainworth |
| County: | Nottinghamshire |
| Country: | England |
| Postcode: | NG21 0AG |
| Dfeno: | 891/4408 |
| Ofsted: | yes |
| Urn: | 137628 |
| Staff: | 79 FTE teaching staff, ~30 support staff |
| Enrolment: | 1,250 |
| Gender: | Mixed |
| Lower Age: | 11 |
| Upper Age: | 18 |
| Houses: | Sherwood (Green), Rufford (Red), Clumber (Yellow), Newstead (Blue) |
| Colours: | Blazer Navy Blue |
Joseph Whitaker School is a secondary school with academy status in Rainworth near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in England. The school takes its name from Joseph Whitaker, a naturalist who lived in Rainworth at Rainworth Lodge.[1] [2]
The school opened in 1963.
A large fire gutted the building on Monday 19 March 1973, with £250,000 in damage.[3]
An arson attack on the lunchtime of Monday 31 October 1994 caused £0.75m in damage, and destroyed the sports hall, laundry, gym, two squash courts, and changing rooms. The arson was featured in a Newsround documentary on arson in schools.[4] [5]
Headeacher John Loughton started in 1991 when there were 980 pupils, and retired in 2010 after the school had achieved specialist sports college status with 1230 pupils.[6]
The school is part of the East Midlands Educational Trust (EMET) which it joined in September 2016.[7] The headteacher is Carey Ayres, who took over from David Bell in 2020.
The school has its own sixth form college for post-16 A-Level studies. In November 2012, the school's flagship £1,000,000 sixth form centre opened. It contains teaching rooms, a media suite, various study areas and a café. All post-16 students have access to the school's on-site fitness suite as part of their membership to the sixth form.