| Established | 1963 |
|---|---|
| Type | Voluntary aided |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Headteacher | Mr Nick Taunt |
| Chair of Governors | Mr Bernard Adkins |
| Specialism | Technology College |
| Location | Bishop Luffa Close Chichester West Sussex PO19 3LT England |
| Local authority | West Sussex |
| DfE URN | 126097 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Staff | 90 teaching, 40 support |
| Students | c.1430 (2010) |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Bell, Burrows, King, Otter, Ridgeway, Sherbourne, Story, Wilson |
| Colours | Maroon and Gold |
| Website | www.bishopluffa.org.uk |
Bishop Luffa, named after a former Bishop of Chichester, Ralph de Luffa, is a coeducational Church of England secondary school in the City of Chichester, West Sussex, England. The number of enrolled students was around 1,400 in 2010, in eight 'Year' house-forms and the sixth form. The school is a Technology College, holding Leading Edge status, with national Artsmark and Sportsmark also having been awarded.
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The school applied for planning permission for a drama studio to form the start of a new £2.5m creative arts centre for the school[1]. The planning application was approved and the school started construction in August 2006. The drama studio was opened in February 2007. The school has also extended their sports hall, adding an extension onto the original facility, where the climbing wall is now kept.[1][2]
There is an integral sixth form at Bishop Luffa for students who wish to continue their education after the age of sixteen, with an annual intake of around 160. Although 140 existing pupils are given priority, 20 pupils from other schools are also accepted each year for entry in Year 12, for which competition is very keen.[3] A wide range of subjects can be studied, including Business Studies, Computing, Law and Economics. For the most able students, the school also offers the new AQA Baccalaureate 'Bacc' hybrid qualification, including a 100 hour self-directed project.
The academic admissions criteria are rigorous, and progression from Year 11/Lower school into the Sixth Form for existing KS4 students is by no means automatic, with all applicants being offered conditional places; which are then only confirmed for the highest performing 140 students, once final GCSE results are known. At a minimum, five GCSE grades A*-C are required to gain entry *AND* at least a GCSE B grade is needed in each of the subjects that are desired to be studied at AS/A2, except for Maths (GCSE Maths A required) and Further Maths (GCSE Maths A* required).
Typically, around half of GCSE students leave the school aged sixteen for either further AS/A2 College study, vocational training or employment.
A2 level pass rates at Bishop Luffa are well above national average. 2010 % Pass rate= 99.2%. % A2 entries at grades A or B = 60%, with the majority of successful A2 students going onto established universities, including around a dozen each year to Oxford & Cambridge.
The majority of the school's classrooms are equipped with SMART boards to incorporate ICT into learning. Many of the SMART boards have rendered the traditional whiteboard obsolete, in some cases resulting in them being removed.
The school is in the process of rolling out the RM Learning Platform: 'Kaleidos' - with the implementation focus for academic year 2011/12 being on Years 10 and 12. An increasing amount of homework will be set, completed and marked on this web based system, which pupils and parents can access from home.
KS4/Y11: The school consistently ranks within the top three state secondary school for GCSE results in the West Sussex LEA[4] with a 2011 average individual GCSE total point score of 454 and with 86% of students achieving at least 5 A*-C non-vocational GCSE grades.
KS5/Y13: At A2 level in 2010, the school achieved the 2nd highest state establishment average individual candidate point score in West Sussex (behind Collyer's 6th Form College, Horsham), and was ranked 9th from the total of the 56 KS5 establishments overall within the West Sussex LEA. This equated to 62% of all subject entries being awarded either A or B grades at A2.[5] In 2011, 57% of all A2 entries gained A*-B grades, with an average candidate A2 point score of 697, or 779 including AS.
The latest (Oct 2008) Ofsted report rated the school as uniformly "outstanding" across all metrics.[6]The school was praised by the Anglican schools inspectorate for its Christian religious character. [7]
Years 7 - 11 are split into 8 house groups, each named after former Bishops of Chichester:
Bell - Green, Burrows - Blue, King - Pink, Otter - Purple, Ridgeway - Red, Sherborne - Black, Story - White and Wilson - Yellow
Sport at Bishop Luffa is a very important part of the school, with sports competitions taking place every week. The competitions or matches are either 'interhouse' (where students from one house or a particular form within that house play other students from other houses or forms) or externally, against other schools.
At the end of the year all the points from the interhouse competitions are totalled (the points being 1=8th 2=7th ... 7=2nd 8=1st), and the house with the most points are awarded with an interhouse trophy.
Additionally, at the end of the year there is a Sports Day, in which students in years 7-10 participate. This is one of the biggest events in the school calendar, alongside others such as the Sixth Form Fashion Show and Charity Weeks. In the last five years King House have won four times; however last year Sherborne broke their winning streak and took first place.
On Thursday 24th of March 2011, during the school's annual Charity Week, the whole school successfully took part in an attempt to break the previous record (551) for 'Most People in a Human Smiley' with 1349 pupils and teachers.[8] They also fought off fierce attempts by the French to break the record the same day. Pictures were taken from a plane that soared above the school for about 10 minutes during lunch time whilst everyone was being organized by Sixth Form student Hugh Sutton. Bishop Luffa appeared on the BBC local news later on that evening. The Sixth Form aim to use the money raised from this and the rest of Charity Week to support the sixth form's charity Grass roots.
Some students go on to successful business careers. One former student is now managing director of the company Jack Wills university outfitters.