| Motto | Skills for Business, Skills for Life |
|---|---|
| Type | Comprehensive |
| Headteacher | Carole Herman |
| Specialism | Business and Enterprise College |
| Location | Alexander Lane Shenfield Essex CM15 8RY England |
| Local authority | Essex |
| DfE URN | 115383 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1,500 |
| Gender | Coeducational (see article) |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website | www.shenfield.essex.sch.uk |
Shenfield High School is a Business and Enterprise; and maths and computing specialist[1] state school in Shenfield, Essex. It is widely known as being a school that introduced splitting of boys and girls teaching classes in 1994 for Key Stage 3, and in core curriculum subjects in Key Stage 4 in order to combat declining test scores. The school also enjoys local and national sporting success, holding many titles in a wide variety of sports.[2] On 1 October 2009, the Brentwood Gazette carried a lead article entitled "School could be prosecuted over reptile event" which highlighted the moves by the Animal Protection Agency (APA) against the school and organisors of the Reptile Breeders Expo event that took place on 27 September 2009.[3] The school is used to controversy. In April 2000, a furore was generated when the school attempted to sack Dr Ralph Morse, Head of Drama and Media Studies for inappropriate contact with a female student. The media picked this up because Morse was a pagan but this was not an issue with the School.[4] When Dr Morse and Mr Toms left, the Expressive Arts Department lost much of its success.
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The school has a number of buildings, having one of the largest total areas of any school in the local area in order to cope with its 1,500 pupils. It has a total of 10 academic buildings, named A, C, E, H, i, P, S (with two buildings), T, and X, as well as a large sports centre, formerly owned by Brentwood Borough Council.[5]
The school itself has over 20 acres (81,000 m2) of playing fields,[6] which are used for breaktime recreation and physical education, as well as extracurricular activities. The school was also permitted access to the Shenfield Sports Centre building, which is on the school site, during school hours for the purposes of P.E. lessons and extracurricular clubs, and will continue to use the building now it has acquired it. The school also has an expansive playground, which includes facilities for tennis nets to be erected for P.E. or club use. A large astroturf pitch with associated changing and hospitality facilities was completed in 2010.
The school is also home to a variety of wildlife, both in the surrounding fields and trees, and in the small nature garden, which is used for school science lessons. Trees and hedges are planted between school buildings, and along the walkways that lead between the buildings.
The school prides itself with strong music and drama departments, especially with reference to extracurricular acitivites. Shenfield runs extremely successful concerts, which showcase the musical talent of the school. Traditionally, 2 Christmas concerts are held in early December, combining solo performances with ensemble items such as the school orchestra, swing band, and the traditional singing of carols by Year 7 students. Other notable ensembles include the Junior Wind band for younger students, and smaller groups such as the flute group and the clarinet group. The school also has a similar Easter Concert, and a musical is held nearer the end of the school year. In recent years, Shenfield has performed Joseph, Bugsy Malone, Back to The 80's, The Music Man, The Wizard of Oz, The Four Seasons Of Wounded Knee, High School Musical and We Will Rock You.
Shenfield High School was rated as "Good" (Level 2) overall by OFSTED, when the previous inspection happened on 23 January and 24 January 2007. The latest OFSTED inspection took place on 23 September and 24 September 2009, at which point the overall performance was rated as "Satisfactory" (Level 3).[7] This is a lower rating than Sawyers Hall College received on their last inspection, despite the impending closure of the latter. Speaking on Radio 4 in March 2010, the headteacher John Fairhurst was extremely critical of the Ofsted inspection which he claimed was too short in duration and insufficient in depth to reach the conclusions made in the report. The school's specialist status as a Business and Enterprise school has opened a wider range of business-oriented subjects within the school, including Business Studies (at GCSE, A-level and BTEC level 2 & 3), Accounting, Law and Economics. Many subjects are also encouraged to relate aspects of their teaching to business life. The schools' specialist status is confirmed until 2010.[8]
Key Stage 3 at Shenfield High School enjoys above average academic success, with an aggregate average score of 246 in 2005, with the Essex Local Authority average at 224, and national average at 217.[9] This is a trend that has continued on from previous years. Students are examined in English, Science, and Maths at KS3 level, in the National Curriculum assessment exams. Around 80% of students passed each of these exams in 2005.
At Key Stage 4, the schools' policy of splitting boys and girls only applies to English, Maths and Religious Education. All other subjects become mixed groups. In 2005, 58% of students obtained Level 2 (5 or more A* to C grades) in their GCSE examinations, only slightly above par with the Essex LA and national averages of 56%.[10]
The Sixth Form at Shenfield High School enjoys high levels of academic success, with an average UCAS point score of 283.8 per student. The average score per examination entry is 70.2 across the AS Level, A Level, and GNVQ examinations offered by the school.[11][12]