Shenfield High School

Shenfield High School
Motto	Skills for Business, Skills for Life
Type	State Specialist in Business and Enterprise
Headteacher	Mr. John Fairhurst
Location	Alexander Lane Shenfield Essex England
Students	1,500
Ages	11 to 18
Website	http://www.shenfield.essex.sch.uk/

Shenfield High School is a Business and Enterprise specialist^[1] state school in Shenfield, Essex. It is widely known as being a school that introduced splitting of boys and girls teaching classes in 1994 for Key Stage 3, and in core curriculum subjects in Key Stage 4 in order to combat declining test scores.^[2] The school also enjoys local and national sporting success, holding many titles in a wide variety of sports.^[3]

School Buildings

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, named A, C, E, H, I, P, S (with two buildings), T, and X, as well as a large sports centre, formerly owned by Brentwood Borough Council.^[4]

School Grounds

The school itself has over 20 acres of playing fields^[5], which are used for breaktime recreation and physical education, as well as extra-curricular activities. The school was also permitted access to the Shenfield Sports Centre building, which is on the school site, during school hours for the purposes of P.E. lessons and extra-curricular clubs, and will continue to use the building now it has acquired it. The school also has an expansive playground, which includes facilities for tennis nets to be erected for P.E. or club use.

The school is also home to a variety of wildlife, both in the surrounding fields and trees, and in the small nature garden, which is used for school science lessons. Trees and hedges are planted between school buildings, and along the walkways that lead between the buildings.

Expressive Arts

The school prides itself with strong music and drama departments, especially with reference to extra-curricular acitivites. Though the faculty has been going through a period of change, with several changes of staffing, the high standards have been maintained.

Shenfield runs extremely successful 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 notable 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, The Music Man, The Wizard of Oz and The Four Seasons Of Wounded Knee. It's next production is a stage play of the recent Disney film, High School Musical.

Academic

Shenfield High School is rated as "Good" (Level 2) overall by OFSTED, with the last inspection happening on January 23 and January 24 2007.^[6] 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, Accounting, and Economics. Many subjects are also encouraged to relate aspects of their teaching to business life. The schools' specialist status is confirmed until 2010.^[7]

Key Stage 3

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^[8]. 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.

Key Stage 4

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%.^[9]

Key Stage 5 / Sixth Form

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^[10][11].

References

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