Whitehead House
Whitehead - Principal Pastoral Leader : Mr Musgrove
House Support Assistant : Miss L Athorn
SLT Link : Mr J Gale
In Whitehead House, we take our inspiration from ex-student, Paralympic champion and world record holder, Richard Whitehead.
We are incredibly proud to go by the name of this inspirational ex-student. Richard’s Resilience, Enthusiasm and Drive are guiding principles for all in Whitehead House.
Richard was a pupil at Colonel Frank Seely School from 1987–1992, during which time he was a member of Clumber House, which, like Whitehead House, was also represented by the colour red. Speaking of his time at Seely, Richard has told of how the school helped him to get where he is today: ‘There wasn’t an inclusion spectrum when I was coming through the junior school system. As soon as I went to Secondary school, Colonel Frank Seely, it changed. The headmaster had created inclusion and a support mechanism. I started to believe I could participate in sport at secondary school but also to be successful with it.’
And he’s certainly been successful. Since leaving Colonel Frank Seely, Richard has gone on to accomplish inspirational achievements in the world of sport and beyond. Richard is the 200m T42 Paralympic, World and European Champion. In addition, he is a Marathon World Record Holder and also ran forty marathons in forty days to raise money for charity.
Richard is patron of Sarcoma UK, the bone and soft tissue cancer charity. It is a cause very close to his heart as he lost his very good friend and mentor to the illness. We have adopted Richard’s charity, Sarcoma UK as the Whitehead House charity and aim to do all we can to support this great cause.
As a double leg amputee, life is full of challenges, but that’s never got in Richard Whitehead’s way. This is why ‘Resilience’ is a major feature of our House ethos. Things haven’t always been easy for Richard but he has always displayed tremendous resilience in overcoming barriers and achieving his goals. In Whitehead House, we aspire to be resilient like Richard in all that we do.
You cannot become a Paralympic champion and world record holder without enthusiasm for what you do. This is why ‘Enthusiasm’ is part of our ethos. In Whitehead House we aim to approach every aspect of school life with enthusiasm, always trying our best and always giving 100%.
A key aspect of Richard’s character is the drive to succeed. This is why ‘Drive’ is the third aspect of the Whitehead House ethos. Only with drive can great achievements be made, such as Richard’s forty marathons in forty days. In Whitehead House, we aim to display a similar drive to succeed and achieve the very best that we are capable of.
On behalf of the Governors, staff and pupils, I am extremely proud to introduce you to Colonel Frank Seely Academy. This website will give you an insight into what makes Colonel Frank Seely such a successful, aspirational and high-attaining academic learning community. We provide a strong tradition of academic success whilst offering a wide range of enrichment and enhancement opportunities to both challenge and extend our pupils’ experiences.
Whitehead House core values:
R - esilience
E - nthusiasm
D - rive
Whitehead House charity:
Sarcoma UK is a national charity that funds vital research, offers support for anyone affected by sarcoma cancer and campaigns for better treatments. It is the only cancer charity in the UK focusing on all types of sarcoma. Richard Whitehead is a Patron of the charity.