The Ecclesbourne School is a secondary school situated in Duffield, Derbyshire, England. It is one of the most in-demand secondary schools in Derbyshire and has been awarded the top grade "Outstanding" in its past four Ofsted inspections.

History

Since opening in 1957 as a small county grammar school in the grounds of Duffield Hall, The Ecclesbourne School has had a varied organisational history. It became a co-educational 11 – 19 comprehensive school in 1976, grant maintained in 1990 and a Foundation School in 2001. Central Government recognised its excellence in 1999 by awarding ‘Beacon’ status.
The School was successful in its bid to become part of the ‘Specialist School’ programme when it was awarded Technology College status in 2001. The school has been involved in a Leading Edge Partnership

Leading Edge Partnership

The Leading Edge Partnership programme is an educational scheme organised by the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in 2005 as a programme for High Performing Specialist Schools, a designation launched in 2004....

 since 2003; at first in the South East Derbyshire Secondary Schools Improvement Partnership, but now is focused on collaborative work with John Flamsteed Community School

John Flamsteed Community School

John Flamsteed Community School is a comprehensive secondary, or high school, in the village of Denby, Derbyshire, England named after Sir John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, who was a native of Denby and made early and accurate predictions of a solar eclipse in 1666.-History:There is...

. The school has been awarded the Careermark twice (2004 and 2008), the 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...

 in 2004, and was one of only two schools in Derbyshire to receive the ‘Health Promoting Schools’ award. The school is regarded by students as being good.

Extracurricular activities

Student groups and activities include charity fund raising, choir, debating, drama, environmental teams, instrumental music ensembles, orchestra, mock trials, Duke of Edinburgh award and young enterprise.

Sports include athletics, basketball, cricket, cross-county, football, hockey, netball, rugby, squash, swimming and tennis. The Under-14 hockey team won the national title in 2004.

Notable former students

• Nigel Hitchin
  Nigel Hitchin
  Nigel Hitchin is a British mathematician working in the fields of differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and mathematical physics.-Academic career:...
  
  , mathematician
• Stefan Buczacki
  Stefan Buczacki
  Dr. Stefan T. Buczacki is a British horticulturist, broadcaster and author.After growing up in Duffield, Derbyshire, where he was educated at The Ecclesbourne School, he gained a first-class honours degree in botany at Southampton University, and a D.Phil...
  
  , horticulturist and broadcaster
• Lucinda Coxon
  Lucinda Coxon
  -Plays:Coxon's plays include Nostalgia and Vesuvius at South Coast Repertory, California; Improbabilities at Soho Poly; Wishbones and Waiting at the Water's Edge at the Bush Theatre, London; Three Graces at Lakeside Theatre, Colchester and the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester...
  
  , playwright
• Edward Hogan, novelist