Westcliff High School for Girls
Encyclopedia
Westcliff High School for Girls is a selective non-boarding grammar
school for girls in Southend-On-Sea, Essex
and surrounding areas.
, with the two schools sharing a canteen, and opposite St Thomas More High School for Boys
. If a student attends one of these three schools and an A-level subject is not offered at their school, they may attend the course at one which does- for example, Geology
at Westcliff High School for Boys, Food Technology
at Westcliff High School for Girls and Media Studies
at St Thomas More's.
.
The new English block was completed late 2009 and opened to pupils in the spring term of 2010. The new building has three floors and caters for English, Law, Psychology and other subjects.
On 17th May 2011, HRH The Duke of Gloucester officially opened the new English block.
Subjects taught at GCSE and A-level are Art
, Biology
, Business Studies
, Chemistry
, English
, Food Technology
, French
, Geography
, Graphics
, History
, Information Technology
, Mathematics
, Music
, Religious Education
, Spanish
, Physical Education
, Physics
and Textiles.
Health and Social Care
, a double award vocational course, is taught at GCSE only.
Engineering
is now also taught at GCSE.
Subjects taught at A-level only are Economics
, Further Mathematics
, Geology
(at St Thomas More High School), Government and Politics
, Media Studies
(at St Thomas More High School), Law
, and Psychology
.
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
school for girls in Southend-On-Sea, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and surrounding areas.
Admissions
It caters for those between the ages of 11 and 18. It is opposite to Westcliff High School for BoysWestcliff High School for Boys
Westcliff High School for Boys is a selective academy grammar school for boys aged 11 to 18 in Westcliff-on-Sea, near Southend-on-Sea, Essex and surrounding areas. In September 2001 the school was awarded "Beacon" status for its breadth of achievements and quality of work...
, with the two schools sharing a canteen, and opposite St Thomas More High School for Boys
St Thomas More High School for Boys
St Thomas More High School for Boys is a voluntary-aided Roman CatholicMathematics and Computing College located in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England. It caters for boys between the ages of 11 and 18 but has a mixed sixth form....
. If a student attends one of these three schools and an A-level subject is not offered at their school, they may attend the course at one which does- for example, Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
at Westcliff High School for Boys, Food Technology
Food technology
Food technology, is a branch of food science which deals with the actual production processes to make foods.-Early history of food technology:...
at Westcliff High School for Girls and Media Studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
at St Thomas More's.
History
In September 2003 the school became a specialist Science and Engineering school, the only all girls' one at the time; it was also a Beacon SchoolBeacon School
Beacon School was a government designation awarded to outstanding primary and secondary schools in England and Wales from 1998 to August 2005. The Beacon Schools programme identified schools that were examples of good practice and funded those schools to enable them to build partnerships with each...
.
The new English block was completed late 2009 and opened to pupils in the spring term of 2010. The new building has three floors and caters for English, Law, Psychology and other subjects.
On 17th May 2011, HRH The Duke of Gloucester officially opened the new English block.
Academic performance
Westcliff is a very strong school academically, with 2006 A-level results placing the school 14th in the country. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/displayPopup/0,,113844,00.htmlSubjects taught at GCSE and A-level are Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, Business Studies
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...
, Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Food Technology
Food technology
Food technology, is a branch of food science which deals with the actual production processes to make foods.-Early history of food technology:...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, Graphics
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...
, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Religious Education
Religious Education
Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Textiles.
Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care
In the UK, Health and Social Care is a broad term that relates to integrated services that are available from health and social care providers...
, a double award vocational course, is taught at GCSE only.
Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
is now also taught at GCSE.
Subjects taught at A-level only are Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, Further Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Further Mathematics is the title given to a number of advanced secondary mathematics courses. Higher and Further Mathematics may also refer to any of several advanced mathematics courses at many institutions....
, Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
(at St Thomas More High School), Government and Politics
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, Media Studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
(at St Thomas More High School), Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, and Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
Notable former pupils
- Prof Janet Bateley CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, writer - Pam HobbsPam HobbsPam Hobbs is a travel writer and author. Hobbs is the youngest of seven daughters born in 1929 to Edie and Jack Hobbs in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in southern England.- Life and work :...
, author - Alison Childs, Olympic diver, 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games
- Catherine Bishop, silver medalist, coxless pairs, 2004 Olympic Games
- Nathalie EmmanuelNathalie EmmanuelNathalie Joanne Emmanuel is a British actress best known for her role in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks as Sasha Valentine, which she played from 2006 to 2010....
, actress - Beryl Platt, Baroness Platt of Writtle CBE, Chairman of the Equal Opportunities CommissionEqual Opportunities CommissionThe Equal Opportunities Commission was an independent non-departmental public body, in the United Kingdom, which tackled sex discrimination and promoted gender equality...
from 1983-8, and patron of The WISE CampaignThe WISE CampaignThe WISE Campaign encourages young women, under 19 years old, to value and pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths or Construction related courses in School or College and move on into related careers... - Annabel PortAnnabel PortAnnabel Port is a British radio presenter who currently acts as a sidekick on Geoff Lloyd's Hometime Show, broadcast from Monday to Friday on Absolute Radio from 5 pm to 8 pm. She is known for her witty sense of humour and eccentric behaviour...
, Radio broadcaster - Dr Eileen Rubery CBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, biochemi - Dr Fitzherber