The Bishop's Stortford High School
Encyclopedia
The Bishop’s Stortford High School is a six-form comprehensive
secondary school
, with a coeducational sixth form
, in Bishop's Stortford
, Hertfordshire
, England
. The school admits boys aged 11 to 16 in the first five forms, with a mixed sixth form of boys and girls aged 16 to 18. A specialist school
in Mathematics and Computing
, the school focuses on these areas, as well as music, drama, sport, possessing state-of-the-art in-house computing facilities and providing assistance to local schools in this area. The Headmaster
is Andrew Goulding.
) was constructed. A drama studio named 'Broadway' and an on-site sports pavilion were also added to the school, in addition to the set of playing fields at Jobber’s Wood.
In 2003, two students from the school were national champions in the English-Speaking Union
's Public Speaking Competition, winning the English national final out of a field of 500 schools. In the faceoff of the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh national tournaments, Nick Devlin and Richard Goodman of The Bishop's Stortford High School were selected as champions and were awarded the Silver Mace.
A student from the school was a member of the four-person English team at the 15th World Schools Debating Championships
in Lima, Peru. While the English team lost in the semifinals to ultimate-winner Australia
, Bishop's Stortford's representative was ranked fifth among all competitors in the competition.
On 5 November 2007 the school won the Becta
award for ICT Excellence in Leadership and Management. The school was described as a "successful all-boys school".
in their report on 22 April 2005.
In an inspection report, independent government schools adjudicator Ofsted said: "This is a very good school which provides very good value for money and is highly thought of in the local community. The high quality of much of the teaching enables the students to achieve very well throughout the school. Standards are well above average by GCSE and above average in the sixth form."
, which is shown by them wearing a black and gold striped tie, with the school's gold mitre in the black band. However, only in the second year of student's Sixth Form career are they required to carry out break and lunch time duties, which essentially involve ensuring the rules of school are enforced. Unlike the Lower and Middle schools, the sixth form admits girls from the local area, with many coming from Hockerill or The Hertfordshire and Essex High School
.
taking on and beating some of the best private schools in the country. The school's Parent Sports Association is actively involved with supporting sport within the school. The Rugby Union squad went on a tour of Australia in 2009.
The current 1st XV is the most successful of recent years being unbeaten in the 2009/10 season and featuring as School Team of the Month (November 2009) in Rugby World Magazine.
Interact is the school's charity and raises funds for both local and international charities. Interact is a branch of the Rotary Club and its membership is open for all members of the school.
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...
secondary school
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...
, with a coeducational 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,...
, in Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
, 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...
, 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 admits boys aged 11 to 16 in the first five forms, with a mixed sixth form of boys and girls aged 16 to 18. A specialist school
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
in Mathematics and Computing
Mathematics 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...
, the school focuses on these areas, as well as music, drama, sport, possessing state-of-the-art in-house computing facilities and providing assistance to local schools in this area. The Headmaster
Head teacher
A head teacher or school principal is the most senior teacher, leader and manager of a school....
is Andrew Goulding.
History
From the 1980s onwards the school extensively added to its original buildings; a dedicated Sixth Form Centre was built and the Turing Suite (an extensive computing and ICT facility, named after Alan TuringAlan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a...
) was constructed. A drama studio named 'Broadway' and an on-site sports pavilion were also added to the school, in addition to the set of playing fields at Jobber’s Wood.
Awards and recognition
Teacher Paul Noble was recognized as a regional winner in 2000 of the BT Award for Most Creative Use of ICT - Secondary.In 2003, two students from the school were national champions in the English-Speaking Union
English-Speaking Union
The English-Speaking Union is an international educational charity which was founded by the journalist Evelyn Wrench in 1918. The ESU aims to "bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures," by building skills and confidence in communication, such that individuals realize...
's Public Speaking Competition, winning the English national final out of a field of 500 schools. In the faceoff of the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh national tournaments, Nick Devlin and Richard Goodman of The Bishop's Stortford High School were selected as champions and were awarded the Silver Mace.
A student from the school was a member of the four-person English team at the 15th World Schools Debating Championships
World Schools Debating Championships
The World Schools Debating Championships is an annual English-language debating tournament for high school-level teams representing different countries.In recent years, the championships have involved teams from over 40 nations each year.-History:...
in Lima, Peru. While the English team lost in the semifinals to ultimate-winner Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Bishop's Stortford's representative was ranked fifth among all competitors in the competition.
On 5 November 2007 the school won the Becta
Becta
Becta was a non-departmental public body ] funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, in the UK It was a charity and a company limited by guarantee. In the post-election spending review in May 2010, it was announced that Becta was to be abolished...
award for ICT Excellence in Leadership and Management. The school was described as a "successful all-boys school".
Academic performance
Overall, the School was rated Very Good, point two on a seven point scale, whilst the component 'Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities' was rated Excellent, point one, by OfstedOffice for Standards in Education
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 ....
in their report on 22 April 2005.
In an inspection report, independent government schools adjudicator Ofsted said: "This is a very good school which provides very good value for money and is highly thought of in the local community. The high quality of much of the teaching enables the students to achieve very well throughout the school. Standards are well above average by GCSE and above average in the sixth form."
Schools
In pastoral care the year groups (Years 7 to 11; 12 to 13) are grouped together into 'schools':- Lower School (Years 7 and 8)
- Middle School (Years 9 and 10)
- Upper School (Years 11, 12 and 13 – Sixth Form)
Houses
There are six 'Houses'. These Houses centre on local areas or history in the town: Chantry, Dane, Meads, Rhodes, Twyford and Waytemore. The Houses apply to all year groups, and individual pupils are assigned to a House. Each House is also run by a teacher called a 'Head Of House'. 5 boys from each house represent the house as Captain, Deputy, Sports, Music/Drama, and Charity. Their job is to make sure their house is being run properly, such as 'house assemblies' and 'house meetings'. Every pupil, from year nine onwards, has the opportunity to be awarded 'House Colours' for outstanding contributions to extracurricular activities, such as sport, music, drama and debating. Once students progress into the sixth form the House Colours are removed, however, they have the opportunity to earn School Colours.Sixth Form
Every 'sixth former' is automatically appointed as a PrefectPrefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
, which is shown by them wearing a black and gold striped tie, with the school's gold mitre in the black band. However, only in the second year of student's Sixth Form career are they required to carry out break and lunch time duties, which essentially involve ensuring the rules of school are enforced. Unlike the Lower and Middle schools, the sixth form admits girls from the local area, with many coming from Hockerill or The Hertfordshire and Essex High School
The Hertfordshire and Essex High School
The Hertfordshire and Essex High School and since 2004 named as The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College, commonly referred as Herts and Essex is a secondary level comprehensive single-sex school and a mixed-sex sixth form on Warwick Road in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England...
.
Extra-curricular activities
The Bishops Stortford High School has the reputation as being one of the best state schools in the South East of England for rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
taking on and beating some of the best private schools in the country. The school's Parent Sports Association is actively involved with supporting sport within the school. The Rugby Union squad went on a tour of Australia in 2009.
The current 1st XV is the most successful of recent years being unbeaten in the 2009/10 season and featuring as School Team of the Month (November 2009) in Rugby World Magazine.
Interact is the school's charity and raises funds for both local and international charities. Interact is a branch of the Rotary Club and its membership is open for all members of the school.
Notable Alumni
- Ben SkirvingBen SkirvingBen Skirving is a rugby union footballer who plays at Number Eight for Bath and has been capped for the England national side...
- England Rugby Player - Timothy SmithTimothy Smith (cricketer)Timothy Stewart Smith is an English cricketer. Smith is a right-handed batsman who bowls slow left-arm orthodox. He was born at Henham, Essex and later educated at Bishop's Stortford College in Hertfordshire.-Hertfordshire:...
- cricketer - Greg JamesGreg JamesGreg James may refer to:*Greg James , BBC Radio 1 DJ and broadcaster*Greg James , Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales...
- Radio 1 DJ - Matthew RichardsMatthew RichardsMatthew Lee "Matt" Richards is an English footballer who currently plays for Shrewsbury Town in the English League Two.-Ipswich Town:...
- Footballer, Shrewsbury Town, former England U21 - Ed DrewettEd DrewettEd Drewett is a singer-songwriter signed to EMI Virgin Records. Drewett first came to public attention in 2007 on the BBC television show Any Dream Will Do but he did not make the final 12 chosen for the live shows. He is best-known, however, for the single "I Need You Tonight" produced by The...
- Rising star in the pop music world who featured in Professor Green's I Need You TonightI Need You Tonight"I Need You Tonight" is a single by English rapper and singer Professor Green which was produced by The ThundaCatz. The track is based upon a sample replay of "Need You Tonight" , commissioned by EMI -Virgin Records and produced for them by Mark Summers at Scorccio Sample Replays...
that reached No 3 on the UK singles chart - Ben BowditchBen BowditchBen Bowditch is an English footballer, who plays as a midfielder for Thurrock.-Playing career:His previous clubs include Tottenham Hotspur, Colchester United, Akademisk Boldklub and Barnet. He has also captained his country at Under-18 level, and represented the national side at Under-19 and...
- Footballer, Bishop's Stortford, formerly England Under 19 and Under 21 - Dean BowditchDean BowditchDean Peter Bowditch is an English footballer who is currently playing for Milton Keynes Dons after having rejected a new contract with Yeovil Town...
- Footballer, Yeovil Town, formerly Ipswich Town and England Under 19