Bishop's Stortford High School
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| The Bishop's Stortford High School | |
| Motto | RESPICE - ASPICE - PROSPICE (Look to the past, present and future) |
| Established | 1950 |
| Headteacher | Mr Andrew Goulding |
| Specialism | Maths and Computing College |
| Location | London Road Bishop's Stortford Hertfordshire CM23 3LU England |
| LEA | Hertfordshire |
| Ofsted number | 117577 |
| Students | 1255 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 11 to 18 |
| Website | http://www.tbshs.herts.sch.uk |
| Coordinates: | |
The Bishop’s Stortford High School is a six-form all-ability secondary school, with an integrated sixth form, located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, UK. The school admits boys aged 11 to 16 in the first five forms, with a mixed sixth form of boys and girls aged 16 to 18.[1] A specialist school in Mathematics and Computing, the school focuses on these areas, as well as music, drama, sport, possessing state-of-the-art in-house computing facilities and providing assistance to local schools in this area. The Headmaster is Andrew Goulding.[2]
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[edit] History
From the 1980s onwards the school extensively added to its original buildings. More classrooms, new buildings, a dedicated Sixth Form Centre, the Turing Suite (a vocational learning and training centre with extensive computing and ICT facilities, named after Alan Turing), a large drama studio named 'Broadway', an on-site sports pavilion as well as large set of playing fields (Jobber’s Wood) with modern facilities located some four miles away from the main school site. This was opened by the former Minister of Sport Kate Hoey.
[edit] Awards and recognition
Teacher Paul Noble was recognized as a regional winner in 2000 of the BT Award for Most Creative Use of ICT - Secondary.[3]
In 2003, two students from the school were national champions in the English-Speaking Union's Public Speaking Competition, winning the English national final out of a field of 500 schools. In the faceoff of the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh national tournaments, Nick Devlin and Richard Goodman of The Bishop's Stortford High School were selected as champions and were awarded the Silver Mace.[4][5]
A student from the school was a member of the four-person English team at the 15th World Schools Debating Championships in Lima, Peru.[5] While the English team lost in the semifinals to ultimate-winner Australia, Bishop's Stortford's representative was ranked fifth among all competitors in the competition.[6]
On 5 November 2007 the school won the Becta award for ICT Excellence in Leadership and Management. The school was described as a "successful all-boys school". A developing pedagogy complements the technology-driven strategy.[7]
[edit] Academic performance
Overall, the School was rated Very Good, point two on a seven point scale, whilst the component 'Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities' was rated Excellent, point one, by Ofsted in their report on 22 April 2005.[8]
Ofsted said "This is a very good school which provides very good value for money and is highly thought of in the local community. The high quality of much of the teaching enables the students to achieve very well throughout the school. Standards are well above average by GCSE and above average in the sixth form."
[edit] School organisation
[edit] Schools
In pastoral care the year groups (Years 7 to 11; 12 to 13) are grouped together into 'schools':
- Lower School (Years 7 and 8)
- Middle School (Years 9 and 10)
- Upper School (Years 11, 12 and 13 – Sixth Form)
[edit] Houses
There are six 'Houses'. These Houses centre on local areas or history in the town: Chantry, Dane, Meads, Rhodes, Twyford and Waytemore. The Houses apply to all year groups, and individual pupils are assigned to a House. Each House is also run by a teacher called a 'Head Of House'. There are also House Captains and Deputies. Their job is to make sure their house is being run properly, such as 'house assemblies' and 'house meetings'. Every pupil, from year nine onwards, has the opportunity to be awarded 'House Colours' for outstanding contributions to extra-curricular activities, such as sport, music, drama and debating. Once students progress into the sixth form the House Colours are removed, however, they have the opportunity to earn School Colours.[9]
[edit] Sixth Form
Every 'sixth former' is automatically appointed as a Prefect, which is shown by them wearing a black and gold striped tie, with the school's gold mitre in the black band. However, only in the second year of student's Sixth Form career are they required to carry out break and lunch time duties, which essentially involve ensuring the rules of school are enforced.
A number of Senior Prefects are appointed from applications submitted during the time the students are in lower sixth (year 12).
The Senior Prefects will carry out additional duties for the school.
[edit] Extra-curricula activities
During out-of-school hours, including during lunchtimes, weekends and holidays, pupils and staff provide a wide range of clubs and activities. These centre on sport (which includes an extensive list of fixtures), music, drama, ICT, art, Youth Speaks, Christian Union (students), Young Enterprise and others.
The Bishops Stortford High School has the reputation as being one of the best state schools in the South East of England for rugby union taking on and beating some of the best private schools in the country. The school's Parent Sports Association is actively involved with supporting sport within the school. The Rugby Union squad is going on a tour of Australia in 2009[1].
Interact is the school's charity and raises funds for both local and international charities. Interact is a branch of the Rotary Club and its membership is open for all members of the school.
In December 2006 The Friends of Stortford High Association (FOSHA) replaced SHOBA as TBSHS' Alumni organisation.
[edit] Services
School meals and IT maintenance are managed in-house by school staff and so without the need for contractors.
[edit] References
- ^ About the School. Retrieved on 2006-09-10.
- ^ Headmaster’s Welcome. Retrieved on 2006-09-10.
- ^ The BT Award for Most Creative Use of ICT - Secondary: Spreading the net far and wide, The Guardian, October 31, 2000. Accessed July 11, 2007.
- ^ about the school, The Bishop’s Stortford High School. Accessed July 11, 2007.
- ^ a b Annual Report 2003-2004, English-Speaking Union, p. 12. Accessed July 11, 2007. "The XVth World Schools Debating Championships were held in Lima, Peru, in August 2003. England sent a team comprising Jonathan Bailey (Westminster School), Nick Devlin (The Bishop’s Stortford High School), Sam Kitchener (The Latymer School), and Alyson Thompson (Westminster School)."
- ^ WSDC 2003: Lima, Peru - Top 50 Speakers, World Schools Debating Championships. Accessed July 11, 2007.
- ^ "Leadership and management (secondary) - Joint winner", Becta, 6 November 2007
- ^ "The Bishop's Stortford High School", Ofsted, 22 April 2005
- ^ "school colours", Bishop's Stortford High School
