Joseph Whitaker School

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.

History
Founded in 1963, the school expanded considerably in 1971, when it became an 11-18 years mixed comprehensive.

A large fire gutted the building on Monday 19 March 1973, with £250,000 in damage.

Comprehensive
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.

Secondary modern school
In 2004, the school was awarded specialist sports college status and became a foundation school in 2006. The school gained academy status in 2011 and extended its specialism to include the performing arts in 2013.

Structure
The school is part of the East Midlands Educational Trust (EMET) which it joined in September 2016. 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.