Beal High School
| Established | 1931 |
|---|---|
| Type | Academy |
| Executive Headteacher | Miss Snowdon |
| Associate Headteacher | Ms Willmott |
| Location |
Woodford Bridge Road Redbridge Greater London IG4 5LP England |
| Local authority | Redbridge |
| DfE number | 317/4030 |
| DfE URN | 140575 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
| Staff | 250+ |
| Students | 1,800+ (400+ in sixth form)[1] |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Colours | Gold and black |
| Website |
bealhighschool |
Beal High School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Redbridge, Greater London, England. Beal High School specialises in subjects both media and arts The school begins at Year 7 and continues with compulsory schooling through to Year 11. Years 12 and 13 form the optional 6th form. It has recently built an business hub and media block within the recent years. The school also has a Communications and Learning Department (CLD Unit) for students with learning difficulties on the autistic spectrum.
Beal High school is also the sponsor The Forest Academy (formerly Hainault Forest High School),[2] and both schools form the Beal Multi Academy Trust.
History
Beal's roots go back to the foundation of a senior department to South Park Primary School in 1908 by EastEnder Ian Beale. In 1931, it was transferred to Ley Street (the present Seven Kings High School site) as Beal Modern School. The Boys' and Girls' schools functioned as separate units, although on the same site. They became grammar schools in 1948. In 1957, the Boys' school moved to the present Woodford Bridge Road site.
By 1969, Beal High School had become fully comprehensive. The transition had started in 1976, with the first comprehensive entry, and when the first girls arrived at the school.
A further transition took place in the life of Beal High School in 1997 when, as a result of the shortage of secondary school places in the London Borough of Redbridge, Beal High School expanded from six forms of entry (180 students per year group) to eight forms of entry (240 students per year group).
As a result of the need to accommodate extra students, an enormous building programme took place. Not only were new classrooms built, but also extra specialist facilities: drama studios, science laboratories, a library resource centre, information technology rooms, sixth-form facilities, a new administrative area and expanded dining hall. In addition, the building programme was utilised to provide refurbished suited accommodation for all departments and to improve the circulation of students around the school.
The school gained specialist school status in September 2004, becoming a Media Arts College. In 2007, the school was recognised as a Highly Achieving Specialist School and allocated a second specialism in applied learning.[3]
In April 2007, a new 'Media Factory' was opened, to accommodate the school's new status as a Media Arts College. This new building consists of three media studies classrooms built alongside the existing radio station and drama studies
The school converted to academy status on 1 February 2014, and is the lead school of the Beal Multi Academy Trust.
Students
Most of Beal's students come from Parkhill Primary School, Redbridge Primary School, Glade Primary School, Gearies Junior School, Highlands, Grangewood Independent School.
The uniform is a light tan brown for years seven to nine and a dark brown for years ten to eleven. Year 12 and 13 students studying in the sixth form have a uniform code of business wear, as opposed to previously having a navy blue uniform.
At September 2013 The allocation slots for the number os students rose from 240 to 360
Staff
The headteacher is Miss Sue Snowdon. The headteacher before was Mr John Manuel who became head of the Grammar School in 1972 and oversaw the transition from Grammar to Comprehensive. The last Head of Beal as purely a Grammar School was Dr Elvet Lewis (1904–81).[4]
The School has received a number of awards for achievement and was recently designated as a 'Highly Achieving Specialist School'. Ofsted describe the school as "a very good school with outstanding features".[5]
The school offers a wide variety of extra-curricular activities including a radio station 'Radio XL' that broadcasts locally for a week each year, and musical theatre productions. Students get the chance to participate in debating, enterprise activities a wide range of sport teams and musical groups.
Staff and students are very involved in charity fund-raising events, and once raised over £10,000 for charity.
Notable former pupils
- Simon Amstell (born 1979) – television presenter and comedian
- Yolanda Brown (born 1982) – jazz musician
- Nick Frost (born 1972) – comedian and actor
- Louise Wener (born 1966) – musician and author
- Anthony Garcia (former name Rahman Benouis) – terrorist[6]
- Bill Hagerty (born 1939) – writer, author and critic, former national newspaper editor
- Hazel Keech (Born 1987) – model, actress and dancer
- Barry Kyle (born 1947) – theatre director
- Penny Lancaster (born 1971) – model and photographer
- Victor Maddern (1928–1993) – actor
- Ian Ridpath (born 1947) – astronomer and writer
- Marc Seigar (born 1971) – astrophysicist and head of physics at university of Minnesota
- John Wade (born 1946) – writer, photographer and camera collector[7]
- Danny Lee Wynter (born 1982) – actor
New school
The new school building has been built for KS3 students since September 2014 and since then has flooded and also caught on fire briefly. The flood took place towards the end of the 2014/2015 school year whilst the fire occurred very recently in September 2015.
References
External links
- bealhighschool
.org , the school's official website.uk
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Coordinates: 51°35′10″N 0°03′04″E / 51.586°N 0.051°E