Harrow High School
Encyclopedia
Harrow High School is a state secondary school
in the London Borough of Harrow
in the north-west of London
. The headteacher is Paul Gamble. The school is a specialist Sports College
. It is not to be confused with the independent school
Harrow School
, situated nearby at Harrow on the Hill.
of education, the school became known as Gayton High School, an all boys school.
. The name "Harrow High School" had belonged to an independent school
which, until its closure in the late 1980s, occupied a site across the road on Gayton Road.
The school was formerly a boys’ school, only becoming co-educational in 1998, and recently completed its first year as a specialist
Sports College. It has gained a number of national awards for the quality of its provision, including the Artsmark Gold award (2003), Sportsmark award (2002), Investors in People (1999) and Careers Education and Guidance award (1996).
Harrow Campus.
Pupils are drawn from, in and around Harrow, though a significant minority travel long distances from areas such as Brent, and they reflect an extensive range of social, ethnic and cultural mix. The school is nondenominational and caters for a number of different religious groups. About one quarter of the pupils are from Asian or Asian British-Indian backgrounds and white British pupils make up about another quarter. Pupils from other ethnic groups are also significantly represented and include about one in five who are refugees and a small number of Traveller children. Over half of the pupils do not have English as their first language, which is much higher than average, and sixty five of these are at an early stage of learning English. A large minority of pupils come from homes that are economically and socially disadvantaged.
Over 30 per cent of pupils receive free school meals, which is above the national average, and the numbers of pupils that join or leave the school midway through the year is high. Pupils’ attainment on entry represents the full range of abilities. Mostly it is below average, but literacy and numeracy skills are very low. About a quarter of the pupils are identified as having special educational needs and twenty of these have a high level of learning difficulty. These proportions are above the average for most secondary schools.
The school is often thought to be below average. This is what Ofsted thought of the school's characteristics:
"Harrow High School is a comprehensive community school for boys and girls aged 12-16 years (Years 8 to 11). It is smaller than most secondary schools with 719 pupils and in all year groups boys significantly outnumber girls".
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in the London Borough of Harrow
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
in the north-west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The headteacher is Paul Gamble. The school is a specialist Sports College
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
. It is not to be confused with the independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, situated nearby at Harrow on the Hill.
History
The site was formerly the home of Harrow County School for Boys. In 1975, when the London Borough of Harrow adopted a comprehensive systemComprehensive 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...
of education, the school became known as Gayton High School, an all boys school.
Comprehensive
Gayton High School was the last school in Harrow to become comprehensive in September 1975. Later, in 1998, the school became coeducational and changed its name to Harrow High School, a specialist Sports CollegeSports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
. The name "Harrow High School" had belonged to an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
which, until its closure in the late 1980s, occupied a site across the road on Gayton Road.
The school was formerly a boys’ school, only becoming co-educational in 1998, and recently completed its first year as a specialist
Sports College. It has gained a number of national awards for the quality of its provision, including the Artsmark Gold award (2003), Sportsmark award (2002), Investors in People (1999) and Careers Education and Guidance award (1996).
Admissions
It is situated close to the University of WestminsterUniversity of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
Harrow Campus.
Pupils are drawn from, in and around Harrow, though a significant minority travel long distances from areas such as Brent, and they reflect an extensive range of social, ethnic and cultural mix. The school is nondenominational and caters for a number of different religious groups. About one quarter of the pupils are from Asian or Asian British-Indian backgrounds and white British pupils make up about another quarter. Pupils from other ethnic groups are also significantly represented and include about one in five who are refugees and a small number of Traveller children. Over half of the pupils do not have English as their first language, which is much higher than average, and sixty five of these are at an early stage of learning English. A large minority of pupils come from homes that are economically and socially disadvantaged.
Over 30 per cent of pupils receive free school meals, which is above the national average, and the numbers of pupils that join or leave the school midway through the year is high. Pupils’ attainment on entry represents the full range of abilities. Mostly it is below average, but literacy and numeracy skills are very low. About a quarter of the pupils are identified as having special educational needs and twenty of these have a high level of learning difficulty. These proportions are above the average for most secondary schools.
GCSE Examination Performance
| School | A*-C Pass Rate 2008 | A*-C Pass Rate 2009 | A*-C Pass Rate 2010 | English Baccalaureate Pass Rate 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrow High School | 52% | 43% | 31% | 5% |
| Average for London Borough of Harrow | 57.7% | 60.8% | 60.7% | 22.6% |
| Average for England | 47.6% | 50.7% | 60.7% | 15.1% |
- The table on shows the percentage of students gaining five A* to C grades, including English and Maths
- The rightmost column shows the percentage of students gaining five A* to C grades, in five core subjects - maths; English; two science qualifications; a foreign language and either history or geography.
- Source: Department for EducationDepartment for EducationThe Department for Education is a department of the UK government responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education....
- Full GCSE results for the London Borough of HarrowLondon Borough of HarrowThe London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
OFSTED Inspection Performance (Office of Standards in Education)
- 2004 - Satisfactory
- 2007/2008 - Outstanding
- 2008/2009 - Outstanding
The school is often thought to be below average. This is what Ofsted thought of the school's characteristics:
"Harrow High School is a comprehensive community school for boys and girls aged 12-16 years (Years 8 to 11). It is smaller than most secondary schools with 719 pupils and in all year groups boys significantly outnumber girls".
Harrow County School for Boys
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