Billericay School
Encyclopedia
The Billericay School is a co-educational secondary comprehensive school
with a mixed-ability intake and sixth form
college in Billericay
, England
. The school is led by headmistress Sue Hammond. The enrollment of the school is 1655 The school has Artsmark
and Sportsmark
designations and is one of the largest secondary schools in Essex by student numbers. The school
was opened on the 4th May 1938 by admiral Sir Vernon Haggard
using a ceremonial silver key handed to him by the first head teacher Mr P.G. White. (Mr White later gained the nickname 'Tiggy White' amongst pupils). The school originated from The Great Burstead Senior Mixed School which was built in 1923 but became too small as the population of Billericay grew. The Billericay School, originally, had one main building that today would be recognised as 'A Block'. The school is according to Ofsted
: "an over-subscribed Mathematics and Computing specialist school mainly serving the town of Billericay
but also drawing students from Basildon
and nearby areas".
Lee Evans
attended The sixth form was visited in May 2006 by the former MP Tony Benn
who delivered a speech on politics to sixth form students. Other guests who have visited the school include survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp Josef Perl
. Annually John Baron MP, a Conservative Party politician and MP for Billericay, comes to debate with students on political issues of a local, national and international nature. Other alumni include Michael Todd
the former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, and Josh Dubovie
, a singer who has been selected to represent the UK at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. One pupil Charlie Wernham has had success on ITV's Britain's Got Talent
.
status in 2003 allowing some use of selection based on aptitude in these subjects. It was thought that this status would generate an additional £1 million worth of funding, but a government
policy on foundation schools had reduced this sum significantly.
. Development was initially refused but was appealed. In 2009 approval was gained for the proposals which would see 51 homes built upon a six acre plot. The pressure group SOS Billericay continue to oppose the development citing the ecology of the land, the possibility of increased congestion and the status of the land as green belt and the existence of a 400 year old barn.
news report after a gas explosion scare in near-by South Green, down Southend Road. The school was used to house those evacuated from the surrounding area. No explosion from the acetylene and oxygen cylinders occurred but one man suffered burns from the fire. The scare scene was 3 houses away from the South Green Memorial Hall, heading towards the Kings Head Pub. It was basically a junk yard where a man collected scraps, although he had his house very close to the road.
, something that the Essex branch of the National Union of Teachers
has objected to.
In 2010 The School suffered from the cuts from the Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition government and was one of several schools in Essex which lost out on money promised under the Building Schools for the Future
programme.
Billericay School has A, C, D, E, F and V blocks.
The book Images of England: The Billericay School by Sylvia Kent shows that a B block did at one time exist - it was situated where F block and the carpark are currently located.
'B Block did in fact exist on the greenery, next to the car park, where the footpath now leads from the main gate to 'F' Block.
B block was a two storey wooden structure housing metal and woodworking classrooms on the ground floor and art, pottery, home economics and technical drawing classrooms, on the first floor. During the early 1980, the school Bank was also housed in the block along with classrooms used primary for Economics, Business Studies and typing. It was demolished on the last day of term 1989, it took around 2 hours to pull.
In 2004, this trend was reversed when a V block was created. It is thought that this refers to the concept of the block being a 'village' community. The V block was built to house the English department, whilst we awaited the new build block.
There was a small fire in one of the D block demountables, but the fire itself did not contribute to a the installation of V block.
However 2 of the 5 buildings still remain which were not touched by the fire. V block houses the school's English department.
A Block contains mostly Maths classes but some science, French, German, and humanities classes also exist within the building. This was the original building from when the school was first opened. It holds the language department, maths department and Mr Broomhead's science classroom who as been working at the school for about 35 years. It also has the year 11 common room that was painted by a number of students.
The biggest block at the school. C block It contains mainly Science classrooms. The main wing of the block is a 3 stories high with roughly 1 and a half of these rooms as Science labs. This block also contains the RBLC (Resource Based Learning Centre) more commonly known as the Library, which houses over 30,000 books. It also contains (on the top floor) R.E, Media and Biology science rooms and on the ground floor there are Drama Studios, Music rooms, Student Services and the important sick bay.
Due to a fire only four D block rooms remain. Three of the rooms can be used for a few functions. One is a drama room which is actually the Year 11 common room. The others are used for maths. The last of these rooms is known as the "D-Munchable", it is used primarily as an area where food/drinks can be purchased during the Break and Lunch times. The interior was designed and painted by the School's own students.
E Block is a raising of the school-leaving age (Rosla) building built to house the additional students capacity needed when the school leaving age was raised to a compulsory 16. It is understood that it was sixth form area and common room. This block contains the Art classrooms and the Food Technology and Textiles rooms. Also the Child Development room. F block opened for the first time in September 1988. The original F Block contained the, then CDT Department (downstairs) and the Business Studies Department (upstairs). There were 2 computer rooms, F9 and F5. The server was an RM 286 with 60Mb of hard disk and 1Mb of RAM.There were 3 staff offices downstairs.
Later, there was a major rebuild to the front of F Block, enlarging it to take the ever expanding school administrations. The reason for this was the school had become Grant maintained. A system created by the then Tory party, to give more power and money directly to the schools. This then meant more admin in schools. At the same time the Head Teacher's office was moved from C block (now the Withdrawal unit) to a new room in the new F Block.
As ICT (IT then) expanded, the Business Studies rooms, F7 and F10 became computer rooms. Recently F12 has been converted to house a number of PCs as has F1 with the addition of 30PCs to augment the DT graphics lessons.The old print room from A block, now a Humanities room, (previously heads of lower school office) also moved to a purpose designed room in the new F Block. With the progression in print technology, the old ink-based offset printer, that took a whole day to set up, print and clean for a whole school run, was consigned to the recycle bin. New photocopiers and new small self-contained offset printers took its place.
A group of year 12 students are voted on to a Sixth-Form committee by their peers every year. The members of the committee arrange Sixth-Form events, decide amongst themselves how the Sixth-Form area is used and decide how the Sixth-Form fund is used and what the money is spent on. The committee is also responsible for arranging the Year 13 Prom.Every year students who have left the school are invited back for an awards evening to present their A-level certificates.
The school's music department has appeared on Blue Peter
. and has received recognition from the British Naturalists’ Association for ecological work at Mill Meadows. The school is active in local public speaking competitions. and has organised a trip to Argentina in order to do community work. There is also a magazine run and published in the school library under the title of Reviewz Books. This magazine reviews new and classic fiction and has had interviews with authors such as Stephen Fry, Sheila Norton, Iain Banks and Sharon Osbourne. The magazine is edited by Barnaby Walter (founder editor), Rebecca Bedding (deputy editor) and Frankie Burt (co-editor).
FOBS or Friends of Billericay School is a charity
which raises money for the school. Most of their income comes from various evening events, usually with singers or comedians, and the '200 Club', a monthly prize draw. The latest funding drive was used to fund the school receiving 'maths and computing college' status, and the organisation has recently raised enough funds to purchase a new school minibus.
The schools council is called Backchat. The house captains form a group known as Student Voice.These two groups debate with both students and the Head to work towards a better life within the school.
In 2005, 59% of students gained 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, higher than then national average. A-level students gained an average points score of 278.7. In 2006, the Billericay School Sixth Form ranked higher in terms of A-level performance than the private Brentwood School Sixth Form (see BBC league tables).
As of 2009, 68% of students achieved A*-C grades at GCSE.
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
with a mixed-ability intake and sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
college in Billericay
Billericay
Billericay is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, has a population of 40,000, and constitutes a commuter town east of central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The school is led by headmistress Sue Hammond. The enrollment of the school is 1655 The school has Artsmark
Artsmark
Artsmark is a national award scheme managed by Arts Council England. The scheme, that is open to all schools in England, recognises schools with a high level of provision in the arts.There are three levels of award:* Artsmark Gold* Artsmark Silver...
and Sportsmark
Sportsmark
Sportsmark is Sport England's accreditation scheme for secondary schools. The scheme recognises a school's out of hours sports provision.Sportsmark awards are given to secondary schools for provision for sport and physical education. They are currently being reviewed along with Activemark awards...
designations and is one of the largest secondary schools in Essex by student numbers. The school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
was opened on the 4th May 1938 by admiral Sir Vernon Haggard
Vernon Haggard
Admiral Sir Vernon Harry Stuart Haggard KCB CMG was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station.-Naval career:...
using a ceremonial silver key handed to him by the first head teacher Mr P.G. White. (Mr White later gained the nickname 'Tiggy White' amongst pupils). The school originated from The Great Burstead Senior Mixed School which was built in 1923 but became too small as the population of Billericay grew. The Billericay School, originally, had one main building that today would be recognised as 'A Block'. The school is according to Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
: "an over-subscribed Mathematics and Computing specialist school mainly serving the town of Billericay
Billericay
Billericay is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, has a population of 40,000, and constitutes a commuter town east of central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces...
but also drawing students from Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
and nearby areas".
Head teachers
| Year | Head Teacher |
|---|---|
| 1938–1949 | P.G. White |
| 1949–1955 | Ronald Eden |
| 1955–1968 | John Goldwin |
| 1968–1991 | Arthur Lingard |
| 1991–1997 | Robert Goodier |
| 1997–present | Sue Hammond |
Alumni and visitors
Locally it is well known as the secondary school that the comedianComedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Lee Evans
Lee Evans (comedian)
Lee Evans is an English comedian, writer, actor and musician.-Personal life:Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England to an Irish mother and a Welsh father, Dave Evans, a nightclub performer. He left Bristol at the age of 13 and then went to The Billericay School in Billericay, Essex...
attended The sixth form was visited in May 2006 by the former MP Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
who delivered a speech on politics to sixth form students. Other guests who have visited the school include survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp Josef Perl
Josef Perl
Josef Perl is a Holocaust survivor who dedicated twenty years of his life to educating people about the Holocaust. He was born in Czechoslovakia and now lives in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England...
. Annually John Baron MP, a Conservative Party politician and MP for Billericay, comes to debate with students on political issues of a local, national and international nature. Other alumni include Michael Todd
Michael J. Todd
Michael J. Todd QPM , was Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police from 2002 until his death.-Biography:...
the former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, and Josh Dubovie
Josh Dubovie
Josh James Dubovie is a British singer. He represented the UK at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Oslo, Norway in May 2010, finishing last with his performance of "That Sounds Good to Me", written by writers and producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman of Stock Aitken Waterman and Steve...
, a singer who has been selected to represent the UK at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. One pupil Charlie Wernham has had success on ITV's Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
.
Recent history
Mathematics and Computing
The School achieved Maths and Computing CollegeMathematics and Computing College
Mathematics and Computing Colleges were introduced in England in 2002 as part of the Government's Specialist Schools Programme which was designed to raise standards in secondary education. Specialist schools focus specifically on their chosen specialism but must also meet the requirements of the...
status in 2003 allowing some use of selection based on aptitude in these subjects. It was thought that this status would generate an additional £1 million worth of funding, but a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
policy on foundation schools had reduced this sum significantly.
Land sale
It is currently in the process of trying to sell the land adjacent to the school in order to raise funds for improvements throughout the site. This land was used for rural sciences when this formed part of the curriculum. There has been opposition to this as the land forms part of the green beltGreen belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
. Development was initially refused but was appealed. In 2009 approval was gained for the proposals which would see 51 homes built upon a six acre plot. The pressure group SOS Billericay continue to oppose the development citing the ecology of the land, the possibility of increased congestion and the status of the land as green belt and the existence of a 400 year old barn.
Day structure changes
The current day structure is as follows:| Time | Activity / Event |
|---|---|
| 8:35 | Registration or Year/House assembly |
| 8:50 | Lesson 1 |
| 9:50 | Change Over |
| 9:55 | Lesson 2 |
| 10:55 | Break |
| 11:10 | Lesson 3 |
| 12:10 | Change Over |
| 12:15 | Lesson 4 |
| 1:15 | Lunch |
| 2:00 | Lesson 5 |
| 3:00 | End of school day / lesson 6 for students to which it applies |
Gas explosion fears
In January 2007 the school was at scene of a BBC LondonBBC London
BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily BBC London News and the weekly Politics Show on television, the BBC London 94.9 radio station and local coverage of the...
news report after a gas explosion scare in near-by South Green, down Southend Road. The school was used to house those evacuated from the surrounding area. No explosion from the acetylene and oxygen cylinders occurred but one man suffered burns from the fire. The scare scene was 3 houses away from the South Green Memorial Hall, heading towards the Kings Head Pub. It was basically a junk yard where a man collected scraps, although he had his house very close to the road.
Community Trust
In 2009 it was proposed that the a Billericay Community Trust be formed in order to increase standards at the school. This would involve a partnership with the multinational technology corporation DellDell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, something that the Essex branch of the National Union of Teachers
National Union of Teachers
The National Union of Teachers is a trade union for school teachers in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is a member of the Trades Union Congress...
has objected to.
In 2010 The School suffered from the cuts from the Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition government and was one of several schools in Essex which lost out on money promised under the Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future is the name of the previous UK Government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England. The program is very ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicians from all English political parties supportive of the principle but...
programme.
Campus
The book Images of England: The Billericay School by Sylvia Kent shows that a B block did at one time exist - it was situated where F block and the carpark are currently located.
'B Block did in fact exist on the greenery, next to the car park, where the footpath now leads from the main gate to 'F' Block.
B block was a two storey wooden structure housing metal and woodworking classrooms on the ground floor and art, pottery, home economics and technical drawing classrooms, on the first floor. During the early 1980, the school Bank was also housed in the block along with classrooms used primary for Economics, Business Studies and typing. It was demolished on the last day of term 1989, it took around 2 hours to pull.
In 2004, this trend was reversed when a V block was created. It is thought that this refers to the concept of the block being a 'village' community. The V block was built to house the English department, whilst we awaited the new build block.
There was a small fire in one of the D block demountables, but the fire itself did not contribute to a the installation of V block.
However 2 of the 5 buildings still remain which were not touched by the fire. V block houses the school's English department.
A Block contains mostly Maths classes but some science, French, German, and humanities classes also exist within the building. This was the original building from when the school was first opened. It holds the language department, maths department and Mr Broomhead's science classroom who as been working at the school for about 35 years. It also has the year 11 common room that was painted by a number of students.
The biggest block at the school. C block It contains mainly Science classrooms. The main wing of the block is a 3 stories high with roughly 1 and a half of these rooms as Science labs. This block also contains the RBLC (Resource Based Learning Centre) more commonly known as the Library, which houses over 30,000 books. It also contains (on the top floor) R.E, Media and Biology science rooms and on the ground floor there are Drama Studios, Music rooms, Student Services and the important sick bay.
Due to a fire only four D block rooms remain. Three of the rooms can be used for a few functions. One is a drama room which is actually the Year 11 common room. The others are used for maths. The last of these rooms is known as the "D-Munchable", it is used primarily as an area where food/drinks can be purchased during the Break and Lunch times. The interior was designed and painted by the School's own students.
E Block is a raising of the school-leaving age (Rosla) building built to house the additional students capacity needed when the school leaving age was raised to a compulsory 16. It is understood that it was sixth form area and common room. This block contains the Art classrooms and the Food Technology and Textiles rooms. Also the Child Development room. F block opened for the first time in September 1988. The original F Block contained the, then CDT Department (downstairs) and the Business Studies Department (upstairs). There were 2 computer rooms, F9 and F5. The server was an RM 286 with 60Mb of hard disk and 1Mb of RAM.There were 3 staff offices downstairs.
As ICT (IT then) expanded, the Business Studies rooms, F7 and F10 became computer rooms. Recently F12 has been converted to house a number of PCs as has F1 with the addition of 30PCs to augment the DT graphics lessons.The old print room from A block, now a Humanities room, (previously heads of lower school office) also moved to a purpose designed room in the new F Block. With the progression in print technology, the old ink-based offset printer, that took a whole day to set up, print and clean for a whole school run, was consigned to the recycle bin. New photocopiers and new small self-contained offset printers took its place.
Sixth-form
Sixth-form students (years 12 and 13) are located in an exclusive area of the school and have their own study areas and common room. although the unit does not have its own classrooms and so shares these with the rest of the school. However, many sixth form classes take place in converted rooms that are much smaller than ordinary classrooms (such as A9, A24 and C13) and therefore can be classified as 'for' the sixth form exclusively. The sixth form elects a sixth form committee which aims to raise money for the end of year prom held annually, and performs other duties within the 6th form.A group of year 12 students are voted on to a Sixth-Form committee by their peers every year. The members of the committee arrange Sixth-Form events, decide amongst themselves how the Sixth-Form area is used and decide how the Sixth-Form fund is used and what the money is spent on. The committee is also responsible for arranging the Year 13 Prom.Every year students who have left the school are invited back for an awards evening to present their A-level certificates.
Houses
House crests incorporate a windmill because at one time a windmill stood near the school site.| House Name | Head of House | Named After |
|---|---|---|
| Curie | Mr P Fifield | Marie Curie Marie Curie Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry... |
| Edison | Mr G Howells | Thomas Edison Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial... |
| Keller | Ms S Cook | Helen Keller Helen Keller Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.... |
| Newton | Mrs L Cripps | Isaac Newton Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."... |
| Scott | Mr J Stokes | Captain Scott |
School life
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
. and has received recognition from the British Naturalists’ Association for ecological work at Mill Meadows. The school is active in local public speaking competitions. and has organised a trip to Argentina in order to do community work. There is also a magazine run and published in the school library under the title of Reviewz Books. This magazine reviews new and classic fiction and has had interviews with authors such as Stephen Fry, Sheila Norton, Iain Banks and Sharon Osbourne. The magazine is edited by Barnaby Walter (founder editor), Rebecca Bedding (deputy editor) and Frankie Burt (co-editor).
FOBS or Friends of Billericay School is a charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
which raises money for the school. Most of their income comes from various evening events, usually with singers or comedians, and the '200 Club', a monthly prize draw. The latest funding drive was used to fund the school receiving 'maths and computing college' status, and the organisation has recently raised enough funds to purchase a new school minibus.
The schools council is called Backchat. The house captains form a group known as Student Voice.These two groups debate with both students and the Head to work towards a better life within the school.
Reputation
| Absence rate | 6.8% |
| 5 GCSEs A-C | 59% |
| Level 2"Value Added" | 999 |
| A/AS average points | 815.8 |
| Level 3 "Value Added" | 983.7 |
In 2005, 59% of students gained 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, higher than then national average. A-level students gained an average points score of 278.7. In 2006, the Billericay School Sixth Form ranked higher in terms of A-level performance than the private Brentwood School Sixth Form (see BBC league tables).
As of 2009, 68% of students achieved A*-C grades at GCSE.
See also
- Secondary schools in Essex
- Mayflower High SchoolMayflower High SchoolMayflower High School, founded in 1966, and named after The Mayflower, is a coeducational, secondary school located in Billericay, Essex in the East of England in the United Kingdom. The school has a mixed intake of students aged 11–18 and is a community comprehensive. As of June 2006 the number...
, BillericayBillericayBillericay is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, has a population of 40,000, and constitutes a commuter town east of central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces... - St John's SchoolSt John's School (Billericay)St John's School is an independent school in Billericay, Essex. for students aged 3–16. The school is split into the preparatory school and the senior school.-External links:*...
, BillericayBillericayBillericay is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, has a population of 40,000, and constitutes a commuter town east of central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces...