Hampstead School

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Hampstead School
Motto	Learning together, achieving together
Established	1862
Type	Comprehensive
Headmaster	Jacques Szemalikowski
Location	Westbere Road London NW2 3RT England
LEA	Camden
Ofsted number	100052
Students	1,300
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11 to 18
Website	Official site

Hampstead School is a large multi-ethnic comprehensive school located in the London borough of Camden. The school is one of the oldest in the borough, founded in 1862 by Leo Gregory James. It is a specialist Technology College, and is a member of both the Microsoft IT Academy programme and the Cisco Systems Networking Academy.

The school has around 1,300 students ranging from school years 7 to 13. The school has a sixth form centre that was recently built on top of the English block and holds approximately 200 further education students, with around 30 of these students taking on prefecting duties. The school is significant in the local area as a communal gathering place for both religious and secular institutions, most famously including Envision, the Model United Nations and the yearly conferences of the unofficial Julian Joachim fan club, which are regularly attended by over half a dozen loyal supporters.

1 History
2 Academic standards
3 Other Achievements
4 Notable teachers
5 Notable alumni
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

The school was founded as a Haberdasher Aske's school, but became a secondary modern in the 1960s before turning comprehensive. The old school's Latin motto "Is est emendo; tendo quod macula iocus notitia" can still be seen on the face of the main building.

Riot police were called to the school in November 2006 following a flare-up between groups of rival students, some of whom were believed to be from the nearby Whitefield School in Barnet. Police officers arrested eight people aged between 14 and 40. The police were criticised for their handling of the battle. The pupils complained that the strong police presence made matters worse, and headteacher Jacques Szemalikowski filed an official complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.^[1]

School uniforms were re-introduced at the school in December 2006 following a consultation with parents, pupils and staff in an attempt to improve the school ethos. The uniform consists of a black jumper with lime-green tie and maroon shirt, with white trousers for boys or skirts for girls. An official 'Hampstead School, reppin Norf Weezy endz' New Era cap can also be purchased for a small price.^[2]

[edit] Academic standards

The school was awarded a 'gold star' accolade by Ofsted in June 2001, that placed it within the top 6% of schools in the country. This was despite half of its 1,275 pupils speaking English as a second language and 10 per cent being refugees. Compared with similar schools, Hampstead was rated well above average for exam results and given an 'A' grade.^[3] However, standards slipped in subsequent years. In the December 2005 inspection Ofsted rated the school as Satisfactory, point 3 on a four point scale. The effectiveness and efficiency of the sixth form, though, was graded as Good, point 2.^[4]

[edit] Other Achievements

In 2005 a group of 21 students from Hampstead School were the first ever team from a comprehensive school to win the cup for the Best Delegation at the Model United Nations Forum. The conference was held in Belfast and was attended by around 250 delegates from over 20 schools in England, Canada, Burkina Faso and America. The Forum provides participants with the opportunity to debate issues of international concern. The students from Hampstead School also received several awards for outstanding individual performances.^[5]

This winning tradition was replicated by the team of 2007 who won the inaugural Warren Barton's College MUN held in Edinburgh and also stormed to victory in November of the same year at Methodist College, Belfast^[6], staking their claim in the annals of MUN folklore as one of only a couple simultaneous two-time UK champions. They also set a record at MCB for the highest ever yield of awards, with a team of seven delegates garnering five Best Delegate awards and two other mentions, as well as a Highly Commended General Assembly Delegation mention and the Best Overall Delegation award. They then successfully defended their Edinburgh title in 2008, being declared joint winners with Methodist College Belfast. The Hampstead team's record therefore currently stands at nine Best Delegate awards, seven other mentions, three Best Overall Delegation awardss and two Highly Commended General Assembly Delegation mentions in the last three major conferences.

In addition to this, Hampstead Students have enjoyed much success in other forms of debating with a team of sixth-formers becoming Camden Debating Champions in late 2007 and the Junior Debating Society winning several exhibition debates against local rivals Queen's Park Community School in 2008.

[edit] Notable teachers

In the 1998 New Year's Honours List, Tamsyn Imison, then headteacher, was awarded a DBE. The citation stated that Imison had introduced initiatives to improve standards and ensured the best were spread to local schools.^[7]

More recently Tony Cascarino, the former Chelsea, Millwall and Republic of Ireland striker, accepted a place on the PE teaching staff in the summer of 2007, only to stay for merely a term when he decided to pursue other interests in the field of professional poker.