Bushey Hall School
Encyclopedia
The Bushey Academy is an academy in Bushey
, Hertfordshire
, UK, which opened in September 2009 to replace Bushey Hall School. The principal is Andy Hemmings, who joined Bushey Hall School in January 2009. The academy is co-sponsored by businessman David Meller and Sir John Lawes School
in Harpenden
. The academy is benefitting from a number of planned refurbishments such as a media studies suite/ TV studio, a designated student services area and internet cafe.
, while the site it now occupies was originally a private junior boarding school.
In the following year, these were brought together in the Watford Technical School, with an annexe to the old library building opened by Lord Eustace Percy
, an advocate of technical education.
Inspectors praised the school in 1934 for its high employment rate among the skilled trades.
It became a prestigious selective school, though behind Watford Grammar School for Boys and Watford Grammar School for Girls
.
Ambitious expansion plans were drawn up by the county council, but were shelved on the outbreak of the Second World War.
Around 1960 the Watford Technical High School moved to cheaply constructed buildings on the north side of Bushey Hall Road.
The Queen's Road site has since been demolished to make way for the Harlequin Shopping Centre
.
When the school became a comprehensive
in 1971, it was renamed Bushey Hall School.
The new school was simply a continuation of its predecessor, with no change in students, staff, and no special measures.
Both road and school were named after the original Bushey Hall, which was located just to the north on Aldenham Road, and is now the site of a leisure centre and golf course.
The school relocated to the London Road site in 1987.
A housing estate and caravan site now occupy the Bushey Hall Road site.
The buildings were erected in 1928 to house the Royal Masonic School for Boys
junior school, which opened in the following year.
The school was designed to house 400 boarders in a line of four buildings connected by a covered walkway, across the quadrangle from the main building.
The other buildings on the quadrangle were the dining hall (on the east side) and the teaching block (west).
Due to falling rolls, the junior school closed in 1970.
The site was then home to Grange Park School (a secondary school for boys) until it closed in 1987, when Bushey Hall School moved to the site.
Bushey Hall School attained grant maintained status in the mid-1990s, converting to a foundation school
when grant maintained status was abolished in 1999.
Since to the introduction of partial selection
in several other schools in southwest Hertfordshire in mid-1990s, the school's intake has been skewed toward the lower end of the ability range.
Results at the school have been poor for several years and the school was placed in special measures
in April 2008 following an Ofsted
inspection in March 2008.
As part of its improvement measures it is seeking academy status.
appeared as extras in My Dad's the Prime Minister
. The school provides a venue for community activities such as the Bushey Festival and the Bushey Symphony Orchestra. The school also participated in the Watford 10k Fun Run.
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, UK, which opened in September 2009 to replace Bushey Hall School. The principal is Andy Hemmings, who joined Bushey Hall School in January 2009. The academy is co-sponsored by businessman David Meller and Sir John Lawes School
Sir John Lawes School
Sir John Lawes School is a secondary school located in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom . It is a state-run school for both males and females between the ages of 11 and 18. The school has close links to two other local secondary schools—Roundwood Park School and St...
in Harpenden
Harpenden
Harpenden is a town in Hertfordshire, England.The town's total population is just under 30,000.-Geography and administration:There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural....
. The academy is benefitting from a number of planned refurbishments such as a media studies suite/ TV studio, a designated student services area and internet cafe.
History
The school descends from a technical school in WatfordWatford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, while the site it now occupies was originally a private junior boarding school.
Beginnings
Watford was a local pioneer in technical education, restructuring its School of Art, Science and Commerce in 1922, and establishing a Junior Technical School in the old public library building on Queen's Road in 1929.In the following year, these were brought together in the Watford Technical School, with an annexe to the old library building opened by Lord Eustace Percy
Eustace Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Newcastle
Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Newcastle PC , styled Lord Eustace Percy between 1899 and 1953, was a British diplomat, Conservative politician and public servant...
, an advocate of technical education.
Inspectors praised the school in 1934 for its high employment rate among the skilled trades.
It became a prestigious selective school, though behind Watford Grammar School for Boys and Watford Grammar School for Girls
Watford Grammar School for Girls
Watford Grammar School for Girls is an academy for girls in Watford in Hertfordshire, UK.Despite its name, the school accepts girls of all abilities, although a proportion are selected for academic or musical aptitude....
.
Ambitious expansion plans were drawn up by the county council, but were shelved on the outbreak of the Second World War.
Around 1960 the Watford Technical High School moved to cheaply constructed buildings on the north side of Bushey Hall Road.
The Queen's Road site has since been demolished to make way for the Harlequin Shopping Centre
Harlequin Shopping Centre
The Harlequin Centre, in the centre of Watford, is the biggest shopping centre in Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom, and is visited by over 17 million customers each year...
.
When the school became a comprehensive
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...
in 1971, it was renamed Bushey Hall School.
The new school was simply a continuation of its predecessor, with no change in students, staff, and no special measures.
Both road and school were named after the original Bushey Hall, which was located just to the north on Aldenham Road, and is now the site of a leisure centre and golf course.
The school relocated to the London Road site in 1987.
A housing estate and caravan site now occupy the Bushey Hall Road site.
The London Road site
The current site is the location of the former Bushey Manor.The buildings were erected in 1928 to house the Royal Masonic School for Boys
Royal Masonic School for Boys
The Royal Masonic School for Boys was an independent school for boys in England.From 1798 charities were set up for clothing and educating sons of needy Freemasons. They originally provided education by sending them to schools near to their homes...
junior school, which opened in the following year.
The school was designed to house 400 boarders in a line of four buildings connected by a covered walkway, across the quadrangle from the main building.
The other buildings on the quadrangle were the dining hall (on the east side) and the teaching block (west).
Due to falling rolls, the junior school closed in 1970.
The site was then home to Grange Park School (a secondary school for boys) until it closed in 1987, when Bushey Hall School moved to the site.
Bushey Hall School attained grant maintained status in the mid-1990s, converting to a foundation school
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
when grant maintained status was abolished in 1999.
Since to the introduction of partial selection
Partially selective school (England)
In England, a partially selective school is one of a few dozen state-funded secondary schools that select a proportion of their intake by ability or aptitude, permitted as a continuation of arrangements that existed prior to 1997....
in several other schools in southwest Hertfordshire in mid-1990s, the school's intake has been skewed toward the lower end of the ability range.
Results at the school have been poor for several years and the school was placed in special measures
Special measures
Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...
in April 2008 following an 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 ....
inspection in March 2008.
As part of its improvement measures it is seeking academy status.
Community involvement
Students from Bushey Hall and Bushey Meads SchoolBushey Meads School
Bushey Meads School is a foundation secondary school in Bushey, Hertfordshire, UK. The current head teacher is Mr Keith Douglas, B.A. Hons, M.A., who started as a new member of staff in the school in December 2005....
appeared as extras in My Dad's the Prime Minister
My Dad's the Prime Minister
My Dad's the Prime Minister is a British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. It centres around the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor...
. The school provides a venue for community activities such as the Bushey Festival and the Bushey Symphony Orchestra. The school also participated in the Watford 10k Fun Run.