Greenford High School

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Greenford High School

Type	Foundation School Comprehensive
Headteacher	Kathleen Griffin
Specialism	Language College
Location	Lady Margaret Road Southall Middlesex UB1 2GU
LEA	Ealing
Students	c.1700 (Whole School)
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11 to 19
Website	Greenford High School

Greenford High School (abbreviated as GHS) is a mixed 11-19 secondary school with a comprehensive intake located in the London Borough of Ealing.

Greenford High School Website

1 History
2 Education
3 Language college
4 Sixth form
5 Ethos
6 School uniform
7 Notable alumni
8 Links

[edit] History

When it was built, in 1939, the then Greenford County School was a grammar school for boys and girls. It served the needs of the rapidly growing population of the western edge of the Borough of Ealing and was provided by the County of Middlesex. It remained a selective county school until 1974, when the new London Borough of Ealing reorganised to a comprehensive system, and the school undertook expansion to cope with greater numbers of pupils and the raising of the school leaving age. In 1992, Greenford High School became a grant maintained school; the change was made in order to keep its sixth form, which was threatened by proposed reorganisation of post-16 education. The following year, the roll increased again when Year 7 students were admitted to the school for the first time since 1974. Greenford High School now a foundation school, which has over 1600 students on roll, with over 550 in the new sixth form. In addition to this there is a very proactive School Governing Body made up of 16 members. Consisting of staff, parents, LEA and community School Governor's.

The head teacher (since 1991) is Kate Griffin, who is a former President of the Association of School and College Leaders and currently President of the International Confederation of Principals, the first British head elected to lead the worldwide organisation representing headteachers. (She is also an additional member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), a board member of the Catholic Education Service and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts).

Greenford High School now occupies a new suite of buildings completed September in 2007 in mini-campus style whilst the former buildings are to be demolished to provide up to date sports facilities. The new school's ICT resources boasts state of the art and latest technologies. School's ICT case study appears on website of its ICT partner, Dell Corp. Ltd.

The school is one of the most ethnically mixed in Ealing, and includes students from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds; Bangladeshi, Somalian, Indian, and Caribbean And Irish, including students from many faiths, such as Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians.

[edit] Education

Greenford High School is dedicated to providing the very best for all the students in its care. It combines an excellent and innovative pastoral system, which has received national acclaim, together with very high academic standards in order to provide a supportive, purposeful and stimulating learning environment.

The 2006 examination results were the best ever achieved. 99% of students were awarded 5 or more G grades and 1% of students achieved A+. It is notable that 80% of students were awarded grade C or better in English, and 71% received C or above in Mathematics. (See DFES Performance Tables)

The school is designated as a Specialist Language College, a Training school, a Leading Edge School and a hub for Student Voice and Deep Learning, and has held Investors in People status since 1995. The school received the national 'School Achievement Award' on all three possible occasions. All of this has enabled all the students, from the most to the least able, to benefit from innovative programmes designed to build their confidence and expertise. Its success has been recognised by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust through inclusion in the list of high performing specialist schools. In recognition of these outstanding achievements the headteacher has been elected an additional member of HMC (The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference).

The school has an extremely strong commitment to the equality of opportunity for all its students and seeks to use the school’s cultural diversity in a positive way through initiatives such as Student Voice. The Junior Leadership Team, established to mirror the school's Senior Leadership Team and make a real contribution to student-focussed education, won the national competition organised by the SSAT in 2007 for outstanding practice in Student Voice.

Greenford was the first school to have a non-teacher as the head of social inclusion, and the school has effectively brought in-house a multi-agency team of professionals – many of whom had not worked in schools before – led by the non-teaching social inclusion manager who is part of the senior leadership team.

[edit] Language college

As a Specialist Language College, students have benefited from such things as classes with British Airways (regularly using their training centre), visits to the Japanese Embassy, visits to the French Theatre and participation in Language Study Conferences. new links are being developed in China, South America and Africa.

In addition the school provides French teaching in eight Primary Schools and is currently working with the London Borough of Ealing to increase this provision. It provides after school classes, free of charge, in Gujarati and Punjabi for school-aged children in the Borough. The adult evening Spanish classes are always popular and very successful. A variety of languages are offered within the school: Spanish, French, German, Punjabi, Japanese, Gujarati (after school) and Chinese. There are a variety of assessment and accreditation opportunities, not just GCSE. The “Certificate in Business Language Competence” has proved very successful amongst Advanced Vocational Business students in the Sixth Form.

Being a Language College allows the school to further develop an awareness of the “world” and celebrate the cultural and linguistic differences in all countries.

[edit] Sixth form

Greenford High School has a very large and flourishing Sixth Form offering a wide variety of courses and has an excellent “track record” in obtaining University places for its students. 97% of 2006’s A level students have now progressed to Higher Education. The school's achievements in developing the aspirations of pupils from a wide variety of backgrounds were recognised by the 2007 London Education Partnership Awards, when Greenford received the award for the most outstanding individual institution in developing access to Higher Education.

[edit] Ethos

Greenford High school is justly proud of the quality of its teachers. They are a team of dedicated professionals who have proved time and again that they are prepared to work exceptionally hard to help students achieve their best. For them the welfare and progress of their students are paramount. The most recent Ofsted Inspection team were very impressed by the harmonious and welcoming ethos within the school and said:

“Greenford High School is a very effective school. There is a good, inclusive ethos in which staff and pupils work well together. The positive attitude of the pupils enhances their learning and the behaviour of the pupils is very good” (see OFSTED report)

[edit] School uniform

• Black school blazer with Greenford High School badge. • Greenford High School tie • Blouse • Black school knee-length skirt • Plain black shoes (no high heels) • Plain socks(Black or white) • No tops • NO make-up allowed • Studded ear rings only

PE uniform

• White collared PE shirt • Black shorts • White socks • Training shoes • Towel • Greenford High School sweatshirt • Football socks • Black socks • Training shoes • Towel

6th formers however are free to wear their own clothes as long as they are not indecent or offensive. Hats are not permitted to be worn in the school.