Fearnhill School
| Motto | 'Labora Lude Strenve' (Work hard, play hard) |
|---|---|
| Type | Community school |
| Headteacher | Mr Jed Whelan |
| Location |
Icknield Way West Letchworth Hertfordshire SG6 4BA England  Coordinates: 51°58′35″N 0°14′51″W / 51.97634°N 0.24746°W |
| Local authority | Hertfordshire |
| DfE number | 919/4010 |
| DfE URN | 117504 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 750 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | 4 (Gorst, Pearsall, Howard and Neville) |
| Colours | Yellow, green, blue and red |
| Publication | Fearnfile |
| Website | Fearnhill School |
Fearnhill School is a comprehensive school located in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England.
Admissions
Fearnhill School (formerly Letchworth Grammar School) is a community comprehensive school located in Letchworth Garden City. There are over 750 students on roll including students in the sixth form. The school is part of the Letchworth Sixth Form Consortium with The Highfield School.[1]
It is situated in the west of Letchworth, just north of the railway line to Baldock and Cambridge. It is on the Icknield Way.
History
The school's origins lie in Letchworth Grammar School, which moved to the site in 1976 after the former site closed in July of that year.
Academic standards
The school is notable for leading the way in personal finance education.[2] The GCSE results announced in August 2005 were the best since 2001. 59% of the students achieved A*-C grades.[3] In 2009, it received GCSE results slightly under the England average, and A-level results well under average. In February 2011 the school was put in special measures by Ofsted after a two day inspection for "failing to give its students an acceptable standard of education".[4][5] In March 2012, the school came out of special measures when it was judged by Ofsted to be satisfactory. Further comments included "The school provides a supportive and inclusive environment for its students ... with attainment broadly average. The sixth form is good."[6] The A Level results in August 2013 were the best the school has ever achieved. [7]
Sport
Fearnhill has very successful athletics teams. In April 2008, 2009 and 2010 the school won the combined boys' and girls' North Herts schools' athletics finals.[8] This follows on from being the overall winners at the North Herts Schools' District Athletics Championships in June 2005 and 2006.[9]
Notable former pupils
- Dave Kitson, Premier League footballer
- Victoria Pendleton, Olympic and world champion track cyclist [10]
- Simon West, film director
- Claire Rushbrook, TV actress
- Nicky Hunt, Double Commonwealth Gold medallist for Archery 2010
- Ruth Goodman (historian), Social historian and TV personality
- Zain Hussain (Formerly known as Lilu Miah), Golf Professional
Letchworth Grammar School
- Prof William Bonfield CBE, Professor of Medical Materials from 2000-5 at the University of Cambridge, who founded the Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine
- Prof Meir M. Lehman, known for Lehman's laws of software evolution, and Professor of Computing Science from 1972-84 at Imperial College London
- John Ransford, Chief Executive since 2009 of the Local Government Association, and of North Yorkshire County Council from 1994-9
- Richard Wiggs, founder of the Anti-Concorde Project
Former teachers
- Richard Parry, Director of Education since 1998 for Swansea Council (Head of Maths from 1983-8)
- Ian Roberts, England Athletics Team Coach (Head of Physical Education from 1995 - 2003)
- Chris Husbands, Director, Institute of Education since 2011 (head of Humanities 1988-1990)
References
- ↑ "Fernhill School", Fearnhill School, Ofsted, accessed 29 May 2008
- ↑ "Fearnhill School leads the way in teaching students how to better manage their money ", Ofsted, 12 March 2008
- ↑ "North Herts GCSE Results", The Comet 24, 26 August 2005
- ↑ 'Letchworth school placed on special measures by Ofsted' - The Comet 9 March 2011
- ↑ Ofsted report into Fearnhill School - 2 - 3 February 2011
- ↑ Ofsted Report 27 March 2012
- ↑ The Comet, 22 August 2013
- ↑ "Fearnhill claim inaugural schools' title", The Comet 24, 1 May 2008
- ↑ "Fearnhill School from Letchworth were the overall (Grand Prix) winners at The Comet sponsored North Herts Schools' District Athletics Championships.", The Comet 24, 26 June 2006
- ↑ http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/sport/Olympics-Pendleton39s-going-for-gold.4369841.jp