Shenfield High School

Shenfield High School

Motto	Learning for Life
Type	Academy
Headteacher	Carole Herman
Location	Alexander Lane Shenfield Essex CM15 8RY England Coordinates: 51°38′17″N 0°19′49″E / 51.6381°N 0.3302°E / 51.6381; 0.3302
DfE number	881/5467
DfE URN	137877 Tables
Ofsted	Reports Pre-academy reports
Students	1,500
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11–18
Website	www.shenfield.essex.sch.uk

Shenfield High School is a coeducational 11-18 secondary school located in Shenfield , England. It has over 1200 students on roll, including 300 in the sixth form. It opened in 1962, celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2012. It converted to academy status in February 2012.

To coincide with the fiftieth anniversary the school adopted a new badge and uniform. The new badge incorporates golden spurs tilted into the shape. As part of its annual Awards Ceremony, the school now bestows the Golden Spurs Award on a student who has given outstanding community service.

Headteachers

The school has had only four Headteachers in its 50 years: Mr Tom Harry, Dr Peter Osborne, Mr John Fairhurst and Ms Carole Herman.

School buildings

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, as well as a large sports centre, formerly owned by Brentwood Borough Council.^[1]

School grounds

The school itself has over 20 acres (81,000 m²) of playing fields,^[2] which are used for breaktime recreation and physical education, as well as extracurricular activities. The school also has a gymnasium, 25 meter indoor swimming pool, an fitness room8-indoor rowing ergs and a 5 badminton court sports hall. As well as being host to local basketball club Champions Academy,^[3] EBL division 1 side the London Leopards alsoplay fixtures in the sports hall on occasions.^[4] The school also has an expansive playground, which includes facilities for tennis nets to be erected for P.E. or club use. A large 3G astroturf pitch with associated changing and hospitality facilities was completed in 2010 and officially opened by England Women's football manager Hope Powell.^[5]

The school has a number of buildings as well as a large sports centre. An extension to one block was completed in September 2013 housing study facilities for the school’s 6th Form as well as a new drama studio.

Performing Arts

The school prides itself with strong music and drama departments, especially with reference to extracurricular activities. Shenfield runs 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 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.

Academic

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).^[6] 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.^[7]

Key Stage 3

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.^[8] 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.

Key Stage 4

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%.^[9]

Key Stage 5 / Sixth Form

Entry to Shenfield High School’s Sixth Form is based on a student’s work ethic, achievement at GCSE, the desire to achieve further qualifications, a sense of responsibility and the availability of an appropriate programme of study. There are a wide range of subjects on offer.

There is a separate Sixth Form Prospectus published each year.

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.^[10][11]

Physical education and sport

The Shenfield High School Physical Education department prides itself on being one of the most successful schools in the east of England by providing over 30 hours of extra-curricular clubs a week^[12] and providing hundreds competitive sports fixture in the friendly, local Mid-Essex, County and National framework each year.

Since 2004, the school has won six national titles (two for basketball, two for football and two for futsal) as well as numerous county titles in cricket,^[13] basketball,^[14] futsal^[15] and football.

However, the school also offers a variety of other competitive sports including netball, swimming, rowing, badminton, cross-country running, athletics, table-tennis, trampolining and volleyball.

In 2011 Shenfield High School took the momentous step of forming a football academy in conjunction with Colchester United Football Club.^[16] Pupils on the academy are trained for up to 2 hours a day by a UEFA qualified coach alongside their academic studies, as well as competing in the weekly county academy league and national competition framework.

Notable former pupils

• Sarah Champion, television presenter and disc jockey
• Sam Faiers and Billie Faiers, stars of The Only Way Is Essex
• The Rt Hon Philip Hammond, MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Sarah Kane, Playwright
• Ross Kemp, Actor
• Richard Madeley, television presenter
• Russell Tovey, Actor

References