Chesterfield High School
Encyclopedia
Chesterfield High School is a school located in Crosby, Merseyside
, England, specialising in sports and ICT and officially opened on March 18, 1974, with the first official academic year starting in September 1972. The school has an intake of roughly 1200 students in years 7–11.
The school was founded as a comprehensive school formed from the amalgamation
of Waterloo Park Grammar School for Girls at Haigh Road and the Crosby County Secondary School for Boys, at Coronation Road. There were 1174 pupils on roll upon opening, with a Sixth Form of 162 students, comprising 130 girls and 32 boys. The school has undergone numerous changes since first opening, the biggest of which was the amalgamation
of the Annexe and its pupils into the main school at the Chesterfield Road site, along with the addition of The Mall and its associated redevelopments.
The buildings were constantly a concern for school staff, mainly due to the fire hazard with having the wooden structures. It was difficult for staff working in the Annexe to not feel that the buildings and equipment there were not inferior to those available at the main Chesterfield Road site. It was felt that expenditure on the Annexe buildings would be in vain because it was considered the buildings would not last anywhere near as long as they did. It was only towards the end of their life in the last few years when some attempt was made to bring the Annexe buildings up to a sub-standard of the main school, with new fire door
s and lowered ceilings being fitted. Construction of what would be called The Mall started at the main site in the mid-1990s to open for the 1996/1997 academic year, allowing the final closure of the Annexe.
After its completion and opening in 1996, students from the Annexe were moved across to the main site. Within hours of the move, the Annexe buildings were boarded up and demolished just weeks later. There is now no trace of these buildings, which considering their wooden structures, lasted for an impressive 75 years.
in the centre. These blocks are referred to as A block (Administration), B block, C block and D block respectively.
What is now D block was originally intended as a junior section where the younger forms
could have most of their lessons, away from most of the rigours from the older students within the school. It included a fully fitted kitchen
which was never used, with an adjacent pair of classroom
s. These have since been redeveloped to create technology
workshop
s. Initially the first floor of D block was designed and used as an open-plan
, in accordance with educational philosophy during time of construction. To cut down on construction costs, none of the blocks were designed with any through corridors so the open plan design worked in well with this.
Considering the buildings were cheaply constructed, over time the roof started to wear, opening up holes for heavy rain
water to come through. Due to the weakening of the roof structure, this also caused problems for burglaries
through the roof. A roof renewal programme has gradually been eliminating these problems.
at Chesterfield High School is managed by Mrs J. Giam. During construction of the high school, the Sixth Form building was ready first and Sixth Form students transferred there from Alexandra Hall. The Sixth Form building used a standard ROSLA design amongst other secondary schools throughout the country alike, which first came into use upon the raising of the school leaving age from 15 to 16 in 1973.
In 1984, rumours began circulating that there were plans to change the nature of Sixth Form provision in Crosby
, mainly due to The Conservative Council
deciding to review Sixth Forms throughout the Borough, especially those which had fewer than 140 pupils. Proposals made would take away the Sixth Forms from Crosby schools and place students into an expanded tertiary college
centred on Hugh Baird College
in Bootle
. Numerous meetings where held between Chesterfield High School's and what was then Manor High School's
senior management teams. Overwhelming support to keep the Sixth Form at Chesterfield concluded in the retainment of it during a decisive meeting held in October 1986.
In September 2008 the sixth form block was refubished following work by the head boy and assistant head boy and a £90,000 investment was made. This refurbishment of the sixth form block included 30 new computers and space for the students to work.
The investment was made after the sixth form was criticised during the Ofsted
report. 'Standards in the sixth form are not as high as in the main school and are below the national average.'
invited to unveil the plaque. Also present at the ceremony were the Mayor, Councillor Terence Francis, and Mayoress, Sir Malcolm Thornton, M.P
., Councillor B Reynolds, Chairman of the Education Committee, Mr John Marsden, Director of Education and Mr Alan Moore, Director of Technical Services.
The mall created new classroom
s for various number of departments, including English, Mathematics and Geography. It also included a new Library
, replacing the older Library which used to reside where the language classrooms (L1 and L2) now are. Additional Science Laboratories
were also built at the back of the school, bringing the total number of laboratories into double figures.
team was founded in 2007 after a group of students who where relatively new to the sport started training sessions on the school field. The group attended training sessions every Wednesday after school and made steady progression with the game and following the support of geography teacher Mr Chris Tees a rugby player for Southport
RUFC, the sixth form rugby team played their first game against another local sixth form team which was drawn 10–10. The team has made steady progress since then and in September 2008 the teams progression was rewarded when the school provided the funding for rugby posts and a pitch to be marked out on the schools field. This has proved to be a success as the team currently has a 100% home record.
Originally Headmistress of the Grammar School, took on the role of Headmistress of the then-new Chesterfield High School, overseeing its development. She retired in 1988, to be succeeded by Dr. A. K. Irving.
In 1988 Mrs Thomas was succeeded by Dr Alan Irving who had been Deputy Head of Fairfield School, Widnes
. After over 16 years as Chesterfield's Headteacher, Dr. A. K. Irving left the school for promotion to Schools and Young People's Director of Merseyside
in 2005. However, Dr. Irving began a £100,000-a-year job in March 2006 as Schools and Young People's Director of Manchester. The school was left in the capable hands of the even longer serving Brenda Wheeler, then Deputy Headmistress, until appointment of Simon Penney as Headteacher in January 2006.
Even longer serving than Dr. A. K. Irving, Miss B. Wheeler took over the role of Acting Headteacher for the fourth quarter of 2005, until the appointment of Mr Simon Penney, at which point she took her retirement.
Crosby, Merseyside
Crosby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Lancashire it is situated north of Bootle, south of Southport, Formby and west of Netherton-History:...
, England, specialising in sports and ICT and officially opened on March 18, 1974, with the first official academic year starting in September 1972. The school has an intake of roughly 1200 students in years 7–11.
The school was founded as a comprehensive school formed from the amalgamation
Consolidation (business)
Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...
of Waterloo Park Grammar School for Girls at Haigh Road and the Crosby County Secondary School for Boys, at Coronation Road. There were 1174 pupils on roll upon opening, with a Sixth Form of 162 students, comprising 130 girls and 32 boys. The school has undergone numerous changes since first opening, the biggest of which was the amalgamation
Consolidation (business)
Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...
of the Annexe and its pupils into the main school at the Chesterfield Road site, along with the addition of The Mall and its associated redevelopments.
The Annexe
From the founding of the school up until the construction and opening of The Mall in 1996, the school resided on 2 separate sites, with the Chesterfield Road site being the main. The Annexe in some ways was a misnomer, which used the old Waterloo Park Grammar site. Pupils at the Annexe would refer to the main school at Chesterfield Road as 'the other school'. For them, it was Chesterfield High School for their first 2 secondary years until reaching their third year, at which point they moved over to the main site at Chesterfield Road. It was often claimed that the Annexe, although disliked by many staff as an administrative nightmare and the buildings considered substandard, was extremely important in the success of the school. Here, it was felt, pupils were able to find their feet in a homely environment and mix with others of the same age before being subjected to the rigours of bigger pupils. To a certain extent, this was only disproved as when the pupils did come on one site, as there did not seem to be much difficulty of this sort. However, at the time, there is no doubt that parents thought that this was the case and for many of them it was indeed an attraction for choosing Chesterfield's Annexe as their initial secondary home for their children.The buildings were constantly a concern for school staff, mainly due to the fire hazard with having the wooden structures. It was difficult for staff working in the Annexe to not feel that the buildings and equipment there were not inferior to those available at the main Chesterfield Road site. It was felt that expenditure on the Annexe buildings would be in vain because it was considered the buildings would not last anywhere near as long as they did. It was only towards the end of their life in the last few years when some attempt was made to bring the Annexe buildings up to a sub-standard of the main school, with new fire door
Fire door
A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire or smoke between compartments and to enable safe egress from a building or structure or ship...
s and lowered ceilings being fitted. Construction of what would be called The Mall started at the main site in the mid-1990s to open for the 1996/1997 academic year, allowing the final closure of the Annexe.
After its completion and opening in 1996, students from the Annexe were moved across to the main site. Within hours of the move, the Annexe buildings were boarded up and demolished just weeks later. There is now no trace of these buildings, which considering their wooden structures, lasted for an impressive 75 years.
A, B, C and D block
The original school was designed in blocks, with an outdoor quadQuadrangle (architecture)
In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...
in the centre. These blocks are referred to as A block (Administration), B block, C block and D block respectively.
What is now D block was originally intended as a junior section where the younger forms
Form (education)
A form is a class or grouping of students in a school. The term is used predominantly in the United Kingdom, although some schools, mostly private, in other countries also use the title...
could have most of their lessons, away from most of the rigours from the older students within the school. It included a fully fitted kitchen
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...
which was never used, with an adjacent pair of classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s. These have since been redeveloped to create technology
Design Technology
Design and Technology is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school. In some countries such as England it is a part of the National Curriculum. It is offered in many countries around the world such as Brunei, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan...
workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s. Initially the first floor of D block was designed and used as an open-plan
Open classroom
An open classroom is a student-centered classroom design format popular in the United States in the 1970s. In its most extreme form, entire schools were built without interior walls, which made teaching loud and disruptive in worst case scenarios - for most schools this has not been as big a...
, in accordance with educational philosophy during time of construction. To cut down on construction costs, none of the blocks were designed with any through corridors so the open plan design worked in well with this.
Considering the buildings were cheaply constructed, over time the roof started to wear, opening up holes for heavy rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
water to come through. Due to the weakening of the roof structure, this also caused problems for burglaries
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
through the roof. A roof renewal programme has gradually been eliminating these problems.
The Sixth Form Block
The Sixth FormSixth 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,...
at Chesterfield High School is managed by Mrs J. Giam. During construction of the high school, the Sixth Form building was ready first and Sixth Form students transferred there from Alexandra Hall. The Sixth Form building used a standard ROSLA design amongst other secondary schools throughout the country alike, which first came into use upon the raising of the school leaving age from 15 to 16 in 1973.
In 1984, rumours began circulating that there were plans to change the nature of Sixth Form provision in Crosby
Crosby, Merseyside
Crosby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Lancashire it is situated north of Bootle, south of Southport, Formby and west of Netherton-History:...
, mainly due to The Conservative Council
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
deciding to review Sixth Forms throughout the Borough, especially those which had fewer than 140 pupils. Proposals made would take away the Sixth Forms from Crosby schools and place students into an expanded tertiary college
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
centred on Hugh Baird College
Hugh Baird College
Hugh Baird College is a further education College situated in Bootle, Merseyside, England. It is the largest provider of education and training in the area and enjoys a student population of roughly 6000. Since April 1993, the College has been an independent Further Education Corporation under the...
in Bootle
Bootle
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
. Numerous meetings where held between Chesterfield High School's and what was then Manor High School's
St. Michael's Church of England High School
St Michael's Church of England High School is a comprehensive school located in Crosby, Merseyside. The school's missionary statement is: We will ensure that each individual is valued and achieves success within a caring Christian community.Facilities at the school include 5 computer rooms ,42...
senior management teams. Overwhelming support to keep the Sixth Form at Chesterfield concluded in the retainment of it during a decisive meeting held in October 1986.
In September 2008 the sixth form block was refubished following work by the head boy and assistant head boy and a £90,000 investment was made. This refurbishment of the sixth form block included 30 new computers and space for the students to work.
The investment was made after the sixth form was criticised during the 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 ....
report. 'Standards in the sixth form are not as high as in the main school and are below the national average.'
The Mall
TheMall was officially opened Tuesday, 18 March 1996, with The Duke of WestminsterGerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster
Major-General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, , is the son of Robert George Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, and his wife Hon. Viola Maud Lyttelton. He is the owner of property company Grosvenor Group...
invited to unveil the plaque. Also present at the ceremony were the Mayor, Councillor Terence Francis, and Mayoress, Sir Malcolm Thornton, M.P
Malcolm Thornton
Sir George Malcolm Thornton , known as Malcolm Thornton, is a British Conservative politician.Thornton was first elected to Parliament in the 1979 general election, winning the marginal seat of Liverpool Garston from Labour's Eddie Loyden. In the early 1980s, however, all seats were re-organised...
., Councillor B Reynolds, Chairman of the Education Committee, Mr John Marsden, Director of Education and Mr Alan Moore, Director of Technical Services.
The mall created new classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s for various number of departments, including English, Mathematics and Geography. It also included a new Library
Learning Resource Centre
Learning Resource Centre is a term which is used in the United Kingdom to describe a type of library that exists within an educational setting such as Secondary Schools, Further Education Colleges and Universities...
, replacing the older Library which used to reside where the language classrooms (L1 and L2) now are. Additional Science Laboratories
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
were also built at the back of the school, bringing the total number of laboratories into double figures.
Rugby
The Sixth Form RugbyRugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
team was founded in 2007 after a group of students who where relatively new to the sport started training sessions on the school field. The group attended training sessions every Wednesday after school and made steady progression with the game and following the support of geography teacher Mr Chris Tees a rugby player for Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
RUFC, the sixth form rugby team played their first game against another local sixth form team which was drawn 10–10. The team has made steady progress since then and in September 2008 the teams progression was rewarded when the school provided the funding for rugby posts and a pitch to be marked out on the schools field. This has proved to be a success as the team currently has a 100% home record.
Mrs Sybil Thomas
Duration: 1972–1988Originally Headmistress of the Grammar School, took on the role of Headmistress of the then-new Chesterfield High School, overseeing its development. She retired in 1988, to be succeeded by Dr. A. K. Irving.
Dr. Alan K. Irving
Duration: 1988–2005In 1988 Mrs Thomas was succeeded by Dr Alan Irving who had been Deputy Head of Fairfield School, Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
. After over 16 years as Chesterfield's Headteacher, Dr. A. K. Irving left the school for promotion to Schools and Young People's Director of Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
in 2005. However, Dr. Irving began a £100,000-a-year job in March 2006 as Schools and Young People's Director of Manchester. The school was left in the capable hands of the even longer serving Brenda Wheeler, then Deputy Headmistress, until appointment of Simon Penney as Headteacher in January 2006.
Miss Brenda Wheeler (Acting Head)
Duration: 2005 (Q4)Even longer serving than Dr. A. K. Irving, Miss B. Wheeler took over the role of Acting Headteacher for the fourth quarter of 2005, until the appointment of Mr Simon Penney, at which point she took her retirement.
Notable Alumni
- Andy Jameson, swimmer and bronze medal winner at the 1988 Olympics1988 Summer OlympicsThe 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
- Helen JamesonHelen JamesonHelen Jameson is a former British swimmer.She was a member of the silver medal winning British women's 4×100 m medley relay team at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. She swam the backstroke leg alongside Margaret Kelly, Ann Osgerby and June Croft...
, swimmer and silver medal winner at the 1980 Olympics1980 Summer OlympicsThe 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament... - Jack RobinsonJack Robinson (footballer born 1993)Jack Robinson is an English professional footballer playing for Liverpool. He is the youngest ever player to have played for the club, having made his debut at the age of 16 years and 250 days old....
, footballer and youngest ever player for Liverpool FC.
See also
- List of North West England Schools
- CrosbyCrosby, MerseysideCrosby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Lancashire it is situated north of Bootle, south of Southport, Formby and west of Netherton-History:...