Valentines High School

Valentines High School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the Ilford area of the London Borough of Redbridge, England. It has approximately 1300 pupils and 93 teachers.[1] Valentines has been a teaching school since 2011, and is a member of the Leading Edge partnership programme.[2] In 2006, it was designated as a specialist school for technology and had technology college status.[3]

Valentines High School
Address
Cranbrook Road

Ilford
,
London
,
IG2 6HX

England
Coordinates51.5741°N 0.067°E / 51.5741; 0.067
Information
TypeCommunity school
MottoLatin: Consequi Magnitudo In Concordia
In Harmony, Achieving Excellence
Local authorityRedbridge
Department for Education URN102857 Tables
OfstedReports
Chair of GovernorsMr Andrew Bern
HeadteacherMr Richard Laws
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 18
Enrolment~1300
Websitehttp://www.valentines-sch.org.uk/

History

The school was first opened in 1901 as the Park Higher Grade School, a coeducational secondary school, located at the opposite side of Valentines Park from the school's present location. The school had over 600 places and taught Latin and French among other subjects.[4]

In 1929, the girls' wing of the school was moved to a new building on Cranbrook Road and was named Ilford County High School for Girls, a selective grammar school for girls, while the original site became known as Ilford County High School for Boys, which in 1935 moved to its present-day location in Barkingside.[4] In 1977, the school was renamed Valentines High School, and became coeducational, admitting boys for the first time the following year.

In 2007, a new sixth-form building was opened with state-of-the-art physical education facilities including a new astro-turf pitch, tennis courts, sports hall, and drama studio. The sixth-form building currently houses the modern languages, and humanities departments. Following demographic changes to the local area, the school has become very multicultural, with more than 80% of pupils speaking a first language other than English.[5]

The current headteacher, Mr Richard Laws, took over as acting Headteacher in 2014, taking over from Mrs Sylvia Jones, who was Headteacher for over 10 years. The former PE teacher has put an emphasis on "discipline, respect and good behaviour" and considerably reduced the size of the sixth form. Ofsted have not inspected the school since before this change in leadership.[6]

Currently, the school is extremely culturally and ethnically diverse. Over three-quarters of the school's students speak English as an additional language, while the proportion of students eligible for free school meals is above the national average.[7]

Results

The school was last inspected by Ofsted in 2006, when it was graded 'outstanding' in every category.[3] As of 2018, the school has a 'Progress 8' score of 0.75, meaning that it is within the top 5% of schools nationwide for pupil progress, and therefore well above average.[1]

In 2015, 66% of students achieved 5 GCSEs at A*-C including Maths and English, which is well above the national average, and the average within the London Borough of Redbridge, but was the school's worst result for over a decade. For A-level students, the average point score per student was 766, which is below the national average. 3% of students leave the sixth form with less than 2 A-level passes. The attendance rate for 2014-15 was 95.1%, which is marginally higher than the national average.[1] Results have improved since. In 2018, 67% of students achieved Grade 5 or above in English and Maths GCSEs, placing the school in the top-bracket of non-selective schools.[8]

Notable former pupils

References
  1. "Valentines High School - GOV.UK". www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  2. "Teaching School | Valentines High School". www.valentines-sch.org.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  3. "Ofsted Reports - Valentines High School". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  4. "The borough of Ilford | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  5. dabluelaser (25 September 2009), Valentines High School on BBC News, retrieved 3 January 2017
  6. "Values & Ethos | Valentines High School". www.valentines-sch.org.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  7. https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/102857/valentines-high-school/absence-and-pupil-population
  8. https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/102857/valentines-high-school/secondary
  9. "Obituary: Nina Bawden; author who wrote as beautifully and intelligently for children as she did for adults". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
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