Shenfield High School

A secondary school located in England

Shenfield High School is a coeducational 11 18 secondary school located in Shenfield, Essex, England. It has over 1200 students on roll, including 300 in the sixth form. It opened in 1962, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012. It converted to academy status in February 2012. To coincide with the fiftieth anniversary the school adopted a new badge and uniform. The new badge incorporates golden spurs tilted into the shape. As part of its annual Awards Ceremony, the school now bestows the Golden Spurs Award on a student who has given outstanding community service.

The school has had 5 headteachers in its 60 years: Tom Harry, Peter Osborne, John Fairhurst, Carole Herman, and Claire Costello.

The school has a number of buildings, having one of the largest total areas of any school in the local area in order to cope with its 1,500 pupils. It has a total of 10 academic buildings, as well as a large sports centre, formerly owned by Brentwood Borough Council.

The school itself has over of playing fields, which are used for breaktime recreation and physical education, as well as extracurricular activities. The school also has a gymnasium, 25 meter indoor swimming pool, a fitness room, 8 indoor rowing ergs and a 5 badminton court sports hall. As well as being host to local basketball club Champions Academy, EBL division 1 side the London Leopards also play fixtures in the sports hall on occasions. The school also has an expansive playground, which includes facilities for tennis nets to be erected for P. E. or club use. A large 3G astroturf pitch with associated changing and hospitality facilities was completed in 2010 and officially opened by England Women's football manager Hope Powell. The school has a number of buildings as well as a large sports centre. An extension to one block was completed in September 2013 housing study facilities for the school's 6th Form as well as a new drama studio.

Shenfield runs concerts, which showcase the musical talent of the school. Traditionally, 2 Christmas concerts are held in early December, combining solo performances with ensemble items such as the school orchestra, swing band, and the traditional singing of carols by Year 7 students. Other ensembles include the Junior Wind band for younger students, and smaller groups such as the flute group and the clarinet group. The school also has a similar Easter Concert, and a musical is held nearer the end of the school year. In recent years, Shenfield has performed Joseph, Bugsy Malone, Back to The 80's, The Music Man, The Wizard of Oz, The Four Seasons of Wounded Knee, High School Musical, We Will Rock You, Shrek the musical, Our House and bring It On made an appearance this year, musicals and showcases all run by current head of drama Emma Sherwood.

Shenfield High School was rated as "Good" (Level 2) overall by OFSTED, when the previous inspection happened on 11 November and 12 November 2014. The previous OFSTED inspection took place on 23 September and 24 September 2009, at which point the overall performance was rated as "Satisfactory" (Level 3). The school's specialist status as a Business and Enterprise school has opened a wider range of business oriented subjects within the school, including Business Studies (at GCSE, A level and BTEC level 2 & 3), Accounting, Law and Economics. Many subjects are also encouraged to relate aspects of their teaching to business life. The schools' specialist status is confirmed until 2010.

Key Stage 3 at Shenfield High School enjoys above average academic success, with an aggregate average score of 246 in 2005, with the Essex Local Authority average at 224, and national average at 217. This is a trend that has continued on from previous years. Students are examined in English, Science, and Maths at KS3 level, in the National Curriculum assessment exams. Around 80% of students passed each of these exams in 2005.

At Key Stage 4, the schools' policy of splitting boys and girls only applies to English, Maths and Religious Education. All other subjects become mixed groups. In 2005, 58% of students obtained Level 2 (5 or more A* to C grades) in their GCSE examinations, only slightly above par with the Essex LA and national averages of 56%.

Entry to Shenfield High School's Sixth Form is based on a student's work ethic, achievement at GCSE, the desire to achieve further qualifications, a sense of responsibility and the availability of an appropriate programme of study. There are a wide range of subjects on offer. There is a separate Sixth Form Prospectus published each year. The Sixth Form at Shenfield High School enjoys high levels of academic success, with an average UCAS point score of 283.8 per student. The average score per examination entry is 70.2 across the AS Level, A Level, and GNVQ examinations offered by the school.

Since 2004, the school has won six national titles (two for basketball, two for football and two for futsal) as well as numerous county titles in cricket, basketball, futsal and football. The school offers a variety of other competitive sports including netball, swimming, rowing, badminton, cross country running, athletics, table tennis, trampolining and volleyball. In 2011 Shenfield High School formed a football academy in conjunction with Colchester United Football Club. Pupils on the academy are trained for up to 2 hours a day by a UEFA qualified coach alongside their academic studies, as well as competing in the weekly county academy league and national competition framework.