ABSTRACT

Chesterton is an 11-16 community college, based in the heart of Cambridge. The college has an intellectually and ethnically diverse student population with both highly able and less able students, some with behavioural issues. It is perceived as a challenging school at which to teach by staff and by local residents. In recent times the school has sought to address the behavioural issues problem with the appointment of one of the assistant heads, Rolf Purvis, who had also been responsible for coordinating research in the school for over ten years, to lead a behaviour management strategy. The school has a highly stable core staff population but also has a number of staff changes at the end of each year. In September 2004 Chesterton appointed a new headteacher, Mark Patterson, who not only continued with the previous head’s positive policy in terms of supporting research but also developed this further through reforming management structures to enhance and extend the place of research in the school.