Welcome to the Whitby Community College website.

We are a ‘local’ College, serving an area which is geographically large but socially close-knit. We strive to provide the widest possible range of opportunities for our learners, both young and more mature. We take students in at 14, at the start of GCSE courses, and the majority stay into the Sixth Form. At any given time, we have 800 full time students on roll.

Our technology specialism is reflected in the curriculum offer– Design Technology, Engineering, ICT, Electronics, Psychology and appear alongside the more traditional Science and Maths subjects.

However, our curriculum has strengths beyond technology, with excellent provision in the visual and performing arts and a host of other subjects, including vocational and work related areas.

I hope you find our website an interesting and enjoyable introduction to the College, and that you will contact us with any further enquiries.

Mr K Prytherch

Dear Parent/Carer

As you will no doubt be aware, one of the school service buses was involved in a collision with a gritting vehicle last week. This resulted in the bus driver suffering a bone fracture and some of the students sustained minor injuries and were very shaken by the accident. Both this unfortunate accident and a complaint from a coach company, saying that students from schools in the area have been causing problems on the coaches, has brought to light some very serious matters that I must draw to your attention. The complaint included students not wearing seat belts, standing up whilst travelling, throwing bottles around the coach and distracting the driver. In the light of this, on 1 December members of the police arranged with the coach company to travel on the coach for a journey home from school. They found that only students on the two front rows of the coach were wearing seat belts. They informed the students that the next time they would take their names and addresses and contact parents. The Regulations of the Wearing of Seat Belts and The Road Traffic Act require that children aged 14 and over must wear seat belts where provided; if they do not, they can be prosecuted and the police are adamant that they will this. The police intend to travel on the coaches in question in the future and no advance warning will be given to students of the dates.
The School and Road Safety Officer for North Yorkshire County Council, Andrew Santon, also supports the police in this matter. He has reported that ‘when seated, without wearing a seat belt, people travelling at 30 miles per hour become 20 to 60 times heavier. For example, for someone weighing 11 stone, their weight would be 245 stone when travelling at 30 miles per hour. Children aged 12 and below become a similar weight to a baby elephant and new born elephants can weigh anything up to 263lbs. If they were to hit the windscreen, coaches have enforced windows and it is doubtful they would survive.’
I find this very alarming and am sure you will too. Can I please ask therefore that you discuss this very serious matter with your son or daughter and stress the need for them to wear their seat belt at all times when travelling on any bus where seat belts are provided. Please also talk to them about behaving appropriately on their school transport so that they will not find themselves in danger of being charged by the police and/or causing a serious accident by disrupting the driver. Your support in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Keith Prytherch
Headteacher