Boston High School
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| Boston High School Grammar School for Girls BHS |
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| Motto | Non Nobis Solum (Not ourselves alone) |
| Established | 19?? |
| Type | Grammar School |
| Students | 800 (approx.) |
| Location | Boston, Lincolnshire England |
| Website | www.bostonhighschool.co.uk |
Boston High School, also known as Boston High School for Girls, is an all-female selective state secondary school for ages 11-18 in the north of Boston in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It is on Spilsby Road (A16/A52), near the Pilgrim Hospital.
Its motto is Non Nobis Solum, which means Not Ourselves Alone. Its results are slightly poorer than the male grammar school.
Both the High School and the Grammar School operate a sixth form system: sometimes, girls and boys transfer between the High School and the Grammar School to complete their sixth form education.
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[edit] School Emblem, colours and uniform
[edit] Emblem
The school emblem comprises two mermaids holding a shield. Underneath on a banner is the school motto 'non nobis solum'.
The emblem is similar to that of Boston Borough council.
On the shield are four quadrants. One is three coronets. Their origins are not known for definite, but it is said that they represent the Dukes of Brittany, Richmond and Suffolk - also represented on the Boston Borough council arms.
A second quadrant shows three wheatsheaves to represent the arable farmland of the fens; the community which Boston High School is based in is essentially rural, and thrives on agriculture.
Two further quadrants are of a fleur-de-lis on a background of the cross of St George.
The two mermaids represent Boston's nautical connections and its heritage as a port; again, taken form the Borough Council arms.
[edit] Colours
The school colours are navy and emerald green.
[edit] Uniform
[edit] School Uniform
The uniform consists of a navy blue blazer, white revered-collar blouse (short or long-sleeved), navy trousers or skirt, black or navy shoes and an optional navy v-necked jumper. Blazers do not have to be worn in the summer, and shirts may be untucked if they are not beneath a jumper. Up until September 2005, uniform included a tie in navy and grey, with a stripe in the pupils' house colours. However, this was abolished in favour of open-necked shirts.
[edit] PE kit
The PE kit is an emerald green polo shirt with the pupils' initials embroidered on. This is worn with either a navy wraparound skirt and emerald knee-length socks, or navy tracksuit trousers. A navy sweatshirt with the school logo emblazoned in the front is available from the school, as is a school tracksuit.
[edit] Curriculum
From September 2006, the new year seven intake study the following curriculum: In year seven, pupils study:
- English
- Maths
- Science
- French
- Spanish
- Religious Studies
- Technology (this is divided into Food Technology, Textiles and Resistant Materials)
- History
- Geography
- Music
- Art
- Citizenship/PSHE
- Physical Education
These subjects are taken until year 8, when pupils take their SATs, and they begin their options in year 9 (ages 13-14)
In around May of year 8, pupils select their options from 3 blocks. The compulsory subjects at present are English, Maths Science, RS, ICT, either French or Spanish and PE (non-GCSE). Pupils can select options from subjects including geography, history, art & design, health and social care, sociology, business studies and PE as a GCSE.
The GCSE course lasts two years; years 9 and 10. Pupils can then take extra GCSE subjects in year 11, before studying A-levels in the sixth form, or moving to college.
There is a huge variety of subjects that can be taken at A-level at Boston High School, such as, as well as the GCSE subjects, critical thinking and psychology.
[edit] RS and collective worship
There are a great many different religions worshipped in school: the religions include Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and various denominations of Christianity. The collective worship at the school is of a broadly Christian nature: there are prayers in whole-school assembly, and thoughts for the day in form, house ad year assembly. However, pupils and teachers can opt out of these assemblies, or Religious Studies, on religious grounds.
[edit] Houses, Forms and Teaching Groups
[edit] Houses
There are five different houses at Boston High School:
- Allen
- Conway
- Ingelow
- Kitwood
- Lindis.
These are named after people who have played a part in the school's history.
[edit] Forms
There are 30 form groups at Boston High School. The forms are divided into House groups; there are 6 forms in each House, named A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, C1, C2, etc, etc.
The new form system came into effect in September 2005: rather than being in mixed-house, year-group forms (four forms per year group) there is a system of vertical forms: in each form, there are 2-5 members of each year group, and all are in the same house. There is also a form tutor.
The Form groups, arranged by house, are also arranged by department. For example, Ingelow forms are all in the maths block: the form tutors are all maths teachers. Lindis is in the English department, and so on.
[edit] Teaching Groups
Teaching groups are different from form groups: a teaching group is composed of 28-32 pupils from the same year group, who have their own form name. There are four teaching groups per year group: each one's name is made up of their year group, followed by the letters W, X, Y or Z. So a pupil's identity might be '10Y / 10L5'.
[edit] Staff
- Headmistress: Mrs H. A. McEvoy
- Deputy Head: Mrs J. Thornalley
- Assistant heads: Mr M. Cook, Mrs T. Hills
[edit] Heads
Heads of Lower School: Mrs C. Sumner and Mrs M. Wilson
Head of Middle School: Mrs P. Ross
Head of VI form: Mrs B. Anderson
[edit] Heads of Department
English: Mr N. Guilliatt
Music: Mrs S. Leake
Maths: Dr Warr
MFL: Mr F. Vié
Science: Miss L. Belford
ICT: Ms Z. Roberts
History: Mr R. Busby
Geography: Mr D.A. Acheson
Art: Miss R. Hunt
RS: Mrs A. Lloyd
Technology: Mrs B. Anderson
PE: Mrs M. Day
[edit] Pastoral
The idea of the vertical form system is that the pupils have certin members of their form who they can take any problems to; a sort of 'peer mentoring' system. Certainly, some forms, for example, L5, have introduced a 'buddy system' in which each member of the form is assigned a partner who they listen to and to listen to them. If something occurs which cannot be sorted in a peer mentoring or buddy session, then the matter is referred to the form tutor. From here, a tier system is operated: members of the pastoral team are the form tutor, school nurse/counsellor, heads of department or subject teachers where applicable, the assistant head/child protection officer and the headteacher.
[edit] Proposed merger
In July 2006, Lincolnshire County Council proposed to merge the school with the Boston Grammar School. This was not met with enthusiasm by the parents.
[edit] Update on the merger
As of December 2006, Boston High School and Boston Grammar School have proposed a federation system, with the schools having both a shared governing body and two independent governing bodies. It is proposed that the first mixed intake will occur in September of 2008, with the schools operating on one site from around 2011. There is still widespread disapproval of these plans, ranging from the parents of pupils at both schools and at the feeder primary schools to the teachers at the two schools.
