Beaconsfield High School

Grammar school in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England

Websitehttp://www.beaconsfieldhigh.bucks.sch.uk/

Beaconsfield High School is a girls' grammar school in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. The school takes girls from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 (A-levels). In order to gain admission into Beaconsfield High School, students from Buckinghamshire primary schools are required to take the 11+ examination and score an average of 121/141 across at least one exam, although students who score in the region of 117 will be considered for 'appeal'. The school has approximately 1,100 pupils with around 180 in each year group. The school has around 60 classrooms and built a new 'sixth form area' in 2010 which provided around 12 new classrooms, a computer room, a new canteen with a larger seating area and a new common room.^[1]

Academics

In September 1997, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) awarded the school specialist school status as a Technology College. It has been awarded a second specialism as a Language College.^[2] The school converted to academy status in September 2014.

In the 2008 exam series, it achieved a 100% pass rate at GCSE with an average of 502 points per candidate, and a 100% pass rate at A2 with an average points score of 397 per candidate. As of the 2012 A-Level results, Beaconsfield High School managed to obtain the best A-level results in Buckinghamshire.

This school is also one of only 45 schools in the United Kingdom to be rated 'Exceptional' by Ofsted in 2019.

Facilities

Beaconsfield High School has three netball courts which are converted into tennis courts in the summer, a 400m athletics track, a fitness gym and a sports hall which was opened in 2005 and can be used for sports including indoor hockey, indoor netball, badminton, volleyball, gym, trampolining and indoor athletics. There is a multisports astroturf used for hockey, football, tennis and rugby.

Head Teacher

Penny Castagnoli became the head teacher in 1995 and resigned from her post in August 2009. Owain Johns, deputy head and the head of design and technology department was the acting headteacher, although the school made a decision to employ Sally Jarrett who was offered the role and then stepped down.^[3] In April 2012 Annette France was appointed as headteacher; she resigned from her post in 2015. Rachel Smith was appointed headteacher in April 2015 until she resigned in 2023.^{[citation needed]} She was succeeded by Tina Bond, who was previously Acting Head Teacher in her capacity as Deputy Head.

Alumni

Rebecca Cottrell, Baseball Player in Great Britain Baseball Team 2022-2023
Simone Ashley, actress, known for playing Kate in Netflix's Bridgerton
Serena Evans, actress, and daughter of actor Tenniel Evans, and married to actor Daniel Flynn
Lindsey Fallow, presenter from 1999 to 2000 of Tomorrow's World
Sara Geater FRSA, Head of Production, Drama and Film at Channel 4 from 1987 to 1997, Chief Executive from 2010 to 2014 of Talkback Thames, and Chief Operating Officer since 2015 of All3Media
Lesley Hobley, hockey player in the England team in the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Beth Rigby, journalist
Amelia Thorpe, Managing Director from 1989 to 2002 of Ebury Press
Jane Treays, documentary maker
Melanie Windridge, physicist
Jane Woodhead (nee Angus), Building Societies Ombudsman (Office of Building Societies Ombudsman) from 1991 to 1993

References

^ "Schools Directory". Buckinghamshire County Council. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
^ "Specialist Schools Home". DfES. July 2006. Archived from the original on 3 August 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2006.
^ Nikkhah, Roya (10 August 2010). "Head teacher forced out of new role by student Facebook campaign". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 August 2020.