| Motto | Esse Quam Videri |
|---|---|
| Established | 1931[1] |
| Type | Community[2], State[3] |
| Headteacher | Miss Sandra Samwell [2] |
| Specialism | Arts College [2], Science and Mathematics |
| Location | Heath Lane Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire HP1 1TX England |
| Local authority | Hertfordshire |
| DfE URN | 117500 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1190 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Ashridge, Chalfont, Flaunden, Latimer, Nettleden, Pendley |
| Colours | Blue & gold |
| Website | www.hhs.herts.sch.uk |
The Hemel Hempstead School is a specialised performing arts secondary school located in the town of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.
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The school has roughly 1117 students, including a sixth form, and over 115 members of staff. The current headteacher is Sandra Samwell, who was appointed at the beginning of the 2006 academic year. The previous headteacher, Alan Gray, is now head of Sandringham School in St Albans. The school has recently received news that it should be allowed a second specialism, selected to be maths and science. Construction work on new drama teaching rooms and an auditorium has also recently been completed.
Th school was officially opened on 14 October 1931 as Hemel Hempstead Grammar School. It was opened by Lady Cicely Gore, the wife of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury (whose father, Robert Cecil, was the Prime Minister from 1885-1892 and 1895-1902), and the Marchioness of Salisbury. Another grammar school, the Apsley Grammar School, opened in the town in 1955.
It became a comprehensive in 1969, when schools in the town were reorganised.
The pupils are divided in to six house groups, each named after local villages:
Ashridge (green) - Chalfont (purple) - Flaunden (orange) - Latimer (sky blue) - Nettleden (red) - Pendley (yellow)
The houses compete against each other to win annual events such as sports day, house drama, house music, house dance and house Christmas decorating competitions. House captains are picked from the lower sixth to organise their house efforts in these events, save for sports day.
The school teaches the subjects of:
English, Mathematics, Science (broken down into three categories of Biology, Chemistry and Physics later in the school), Physical Education, Sport, Religious Studies, Geography, History, Drama, Dance, Art, Music, Design and Technology (a rota of metal work, wood work, textiles, graphics, food and product design), Psychology, Sociology, Business Studies, Information Technology, Modern Foreign Languages (German, French and Spanish), Home Economics and Catering.
The school has levels of student responsibility. There is a student council (3 students elected from each house, elected each year). The council also elect a chairman each year from the upper sixth. The student council attempts to take some responsibility in making decisions in how the school is run. For example, they may interview new teachers. The student council was also consulted in the selection of the current headteacher.