| Motto | Be inspired |
|---|---|
| Established | 1947 |
| Type | Academy Grammar School |
| Headmaster | Philip Wayne |
| Specialism | Humanities |
| Location | White Hill Chesham Buckinghamshire HP5 1BA England |
| Local authority | Buckinghamshire |
| DfE URN | 110504 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1200 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Colours | Red, Black, White, Blue |
| Website | www.cheshamgrammar.bucks.sch.uk |
Chesham Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school on White Hill, Chesham, Buckinghamshire. There are about 1200 male and female students aged between eleven and eighteen, including nearly 350 in the sixth form. In 2007 the Department for Education awarded the school specialist school status as a Humanities College.[1] In August 2011 the school became an Academy.[2]
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The school was founded in 1947 as the Chesham Technical School - a result of the Education Act 1944 which set up the tripartite arrangements of grammar, technical and secondary modern schools. The all-boys school was originally housed in only one building, which is now the sixth form block known as "Tringwood". In 1961, the school became known as Chesham Technical High School and during the 1960s, there was huge development in the area, and it became a co-educational grammar school. In 1970, the school changed its name to Chesham High School as it moved away from its technical roots. The name of the school changed to Chesham Grammar School on 7 May 2010. It is as a Grammar School that CGS has seen considerable expansion, improved results and has carved its niche as a co-educational selective school.
Recent years have seen major expansion of the school, including a new maths block, a textiles block, an art block, expansion of the English block, a new library, and a new drama/psychology block. There is now a new technology/art building built over what was A1, the main art room. A leisure centre has been added, where once a number of the old prefab buildings stood.
In 2011, GCSE level results were the best in the history of the school, with 60% of results being awarded at A*/A.
Admission to the school is brokered through Buckinghamshire County Council, which operates a selective secondary education system throughout the county.
Pupils have to achieve a mark of 121 or above in the 11+ examination to be eligible to attend the school, although some acquire a place via the appeals process. The school's catchment area spans several miles around the school in to Amersham, Chorleywood and Chesham Bois, though as with many Grammar Schools on county borders, a significant proportion of its pupil population comes from Hertfordshire. As Chesham town is a terminus on the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground, many pupils travel from North London. Traditionally with five forms in year 7, and capacity of 180, the school will accommodate pupils who sit the 12 plus exam. The school's progress profile shows that these pupils perform just as well at GCSE and A level. The new 2009/10 academic year saw the highest number of admissions into Year 12 in the history of the school, with 233 pupils being accepted. Although this was untypically large, the school will accept sixth form applications from its own pupils and from elsewhere with a grade B in the relevant subject and with a minimum of grade C in English and Maths (B, if they are to be taken at A level). There is also a requirement for an average of 46 points from the best eight GCSE examinations.
The school is currently consulting on some of its admission arrangements which will ease the transfer to CGS within a school year.
Students in years 7-11 wear a uniform, including a blazer and a tie; sixth formers are expected to wear business dress, essentially a suit.
On average, 95% of the students in Year 11 choose to stay at the school to continue in to the sixth form.
In 2007, one of the school's French teachers at the time, Julie Bois, became involved in a blog incident in which offensive language was used. .[4] [4] Although she removed the comments from her blog, she later resigned her post.[5]
The school has a good record of students attaining places on the prestigious Prime Minister's Global Fellowship programme. The school achieved its first student in the inaugural year of the programme, 2008, and in 2009 had 2 more successful applicants.[6]