The Bishop's Stortford High School

The Bishop's Stortford High School (often abbreviated to TBSHS) is a comprehensive secondary school, with a coeducational sixth form, in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. The school admits boys aged 11 to 16 in the first five forms, with a mixed sixth form of boys and girls aged 16 to 18.[1] The school has specialisms in Mathematics and Computing, focusing on these areas as well as music, drama and sport, possessing state-of-the-art in-house computing facilities and providing assistance to local schools in this area. The current Headmaster Mr D Reeve was appointed in January 2014.[2]

The Bishop's Stortford High School
Address
London Road

Bishop's Stortford
,
Hertfordshire
,
CM23 3LU

England
Coordinates51°51′24″N 0°09′44″E
Information
TypeFoundation school
MottoRESPICE – ASPICE – PROSPICE (Look to the past, present and future)
Established1950
Local authorityHertfordshire
Department for Education URN117577 Tables
OfstedReports
HeadteacherDale Reeve
GenderBoys and Mixed Sixth Form
Age11 to 18
Enrolment1255
Websitehttp://www.tbshs.org

History

From the 1980s onwards the school extensively added to its original buildings; a dedicated Sixth Form Centre was built and the Turing Suite (an extensive computing and ICT facility, named after Alan Turing) was constructed.[3] A drama studio named 'Broadway' and an on-site sports pavilion were also added to the school, in addition to the set of playing fields at Jobber's Wood.[4] The school site also has 'Newton', a combined Design technology, Science and Languages block[5] named after Sir Isaac Newton which opened in 1995.[6]

Awards and recognition

Deputy Head Paul Noble was recognised as a regional winner in the 2000 BT Award for Most Creative Use of ICT – Secondary.[7]

In 2003, two students from the school were national champions in the English-Speaking Union's Public Speaking Competition, winning the English national final out of a field of 500 schools. In the faceoff of the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh national tournaments, Nick Devlin and Richard Goodman of The Bishop's Stortford High School were selected as champions and were awarded the Silver Mace.[8]

A student from the school was a member of the four-person English team at the 15th World Schools Debating Championships in Lima, Peru.[9]

On 5 November 2007 the school won the Becta award for ICT Excellence in Leadership and Management. The school was described as a "successful all-boys school".

Academic performance

Overall, the School was rated Very Good, point two on a seven-point scale, whilst the component 'Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities' was rated Excellent, point one, by Ofsted in their report on 22 April 2005.[10] In a subsequent inspection in 2008, the school was rated as Outstanding.[1]

In an inspection report, independent government schools adjudicator Ofsted said: "This is a very good school which provides very good value for money and is highly thought of in the local community. The high quality of much of the teaching enables the students to achieve very well throughout the school. Standards are well above average by GCSE and above average in the sixth form."

In a more recent inspection on the 1–2 May 2013 and under a new scheme of inspection, the school was rated overall as Good with the category 'Behaviour and safety of pupils' being rated as Outstanding.[11]

In the most recent inspection, performed in March 2017, the school was rated overall as Outstanding, with the report highlighting "high-quality teaching [that is] typified by the exceptionally strong working relationships established between staff and pupils".[12]

The most recent GCSE results certified the fact of the high importance and focus on maths within the school with TBSHS getting best boys school in the country for further maths at GCSE level and classed as one of the top 10 state schools in the country.

School organisation

Schools

In pastoral care the year groups (Years 7 to 11; 12 to 13) are grouped together into 'schools':

  • Lower School (Years 7 and 8)
  • Middle School (Years 9 and 10)
  • Upper School (Years 11, 12 and 13)

Houses

There are six 'Houses'. These Houses centre on local areas or history in the town: Chantry, Dane, Meads, Shaw, Twyford and Waytemore. The Houses apply to all year groups, and individual pupils are assigned to a House. Each House is also run by a teacher called a 'Head Of House'. 5 boys from each house represent the house as Captain, Deputy, Sports, Music/Drama, and Charity. Their job is to make sure their house is being run properly, such as 'house assemblies' and 'house meetings'. Every pupil, from year 9 onwards, has the opportunity to be awarded 'House Colours' for outstanding contributions to extracurricular activities, such as sport, music, drama and debating. Once students progress into the sixth form the House Colours are removed, however, they have the opportunity to earn School Colours.[13]

Due to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement that began in 2020, the school decided to rename the Rhodes House (named after Cecil Rhodes) to the Shaw House, which is named after former Headmaster Ian Shaw who died in 2018.

Sixth Form

Every 'sixth former' is automatically appointed as a Prefect. However, only in the second year of student's Sixth Form career are they required to carry out break and lunch time duties, ensuring that the rules of school are enforced and that younger pupils do not go out of bounds. Unlike the Lower and Middle schools, the sixth form admits girls from the local area, with many coming from Hockerill or The Hertfordshire and Essex High School.

Extra-curricular activities

The Bishops Stortford High School has the reputation as being one of the best state schools in the South East of England for rugby union taking on and beating some of the best private schools in the country.[14][15] The school's Parent Sports Association is actively involved with supporting sport within the school. The Rugby Union squad went on a tour of Australia in 2009 and again in 2012.[16] In 2018, the Rugby Union squad went on a tour of South Africa, playing against four teams, including the prestigious Paarl Boys' High School.[17]

In addition to having a strong rugby focus, the school has multiple capable football sides ranging from Year 7 to Sixth Form. In 2016, the U15 side won the English Schools National Football Cup, compromising of 650 teams around England.[18]

Interact is the school's awareness and fundraising organisation, serving as the hub of charity within the school. Founded by former headmaster Ian Shaw, and now overseen by Head of Religious Studies and Citizenship, Simon Etheridge, Interact has for many years been a core part of the school. Interact raises funds for both local and international charities as a branch of the Rotary Club. It is run by Sixth Form students, with students of all ages being welcome at events and meetings.

Notable former pupils

References
  1. Sheila Nolan (15 May 2008). "The Bishop's Stortford High School Inspection report" (PDF). Ofsted. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  2. Alan J Fordham (12 June 2013). "Appointment of a New Headteacher". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  3. "THE BISHOP'S STORTFORD HIGH SCHOOL" (PDF). The Bishop's Stortford High School. 2006–2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  4. "Jobbers Wood". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  5. Mr David Hows. "Physics". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  6. Kate Doyle (August 2006). "The Bishop's Stortford High School, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire – Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment" (PDF). Archaeological Solutions Ltd. §6.7. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  7. Phil Revell (31 October 2000). "Spreading the net far and wide". The BT Award for Most Creative Use of ICT – Secondary. Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  8. "About The School". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  9. "Former Winners". The English-Speaking Union. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  10. "School inspection report" (PDF). Ofsted. 22 April 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  11. "The Bishop's Stortford High School". School report. Ofsted. 24 May 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  12. Haines, Helen. "Ofsted Report - Outstanding!". The Bishop's Stortford High School. The Bishop's Stortford High School. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  13. "School Colours". TBSHS. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  14. David Rimmer (23 March 2013). "Stortford High School rugby quartet continue to make strides". Herts And Essex Observer. Archived from the original on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  15. David Rimmer (12 November 2012). "High School wins Daily Mail clash with Stortford College". Herts And Essex Observer. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  16. Alastair Cook (9 July 2012). "High School Rugby Teams Travel to Australia". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  17. "Photo Gallery: Rugby Tour to South Africa, July 2018". The Bishop's Stortford High School. The Bishop's Stortford High School. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  18. Haines, Helen. "National Champions!". The Bishop's Stortford High School. The Bishop's Stortford High School. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
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