ABSTRACT
Bridgehurst is a small city of some 100,000 inhabitants in southern England. The once separate village of Rushmead was by 1984, hardly distinguishable from the various suburbs of Bridgehurst. Leafield School is located on flat meadow land between Rushmead and Leafield Estate and is the 'natural' choice of upper school for both these areas. Rushmead itself has a large council estate of prewar origins. The major council estates of Leafield, Hillrise and Rushmead, inhabited as they are by predominantly manual and unskilled workers, provide a mainly working class catchment area for Leafield School. Leafield School was formed in 1968 when the two co-existing grammar and secondary modern schools, on sites adjacent to each other, were merged to form one, new comprehensive school. In addition to the standard curriculum, the school prided itself in a number of special projects and activities.
