Beaconsfield High School
Encyclopedia
Beaconsfield High School is a girls' grammar school
in Beaconsfield
, Buckinghamshire
. It is a Foundation School
, which takes girls from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. 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 both exams, although students who score in the region of 117 will be considered for 'appeal'. The school has approximately 1,100 pupils with around 150 in each year group. Girls are split into one of five houses in entry to the school. The school has around 60 classrooms and built a new 'sixth form area' last year which brought around 12 new classrooms, a fully equipped computer room, a new canteen with a larger seating area and a new common room which have all proved to benefit the majority of the school.
status as a Technology College
. It has also been awarded a second specialism as a Language College
.
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.
'House identities' are also achieved through the organisation of interhouse competitions; the main ones being Pip Cups, Pantomimes and Sports day. Pip cups are inter-house sporting competitions such as netball, hockey and gymnastics. Each year group from year seven to eleven are required to take part.
However, this changed and the timetable now consists of 5 different periods, each an hour long, and 2 breaks- one lasting 20 minutes starting from 11:10 am and another lasting an hour for lunch at 1:30 pm with the school day finishing at 3.30pm.
8.50: Registration/ Assembly
9.10: Period 1 lesson
10.10: Period 2 lesson
11.10: Break (20 minutes)
11.30: Period 3 lesson
12.30: Period 4 lesson
1.30: Lunch (one hour)
2.30: Period 5 lesson
Since the school is a recognised as a specialist language and technology college, these facilities are excellent. There is a language lab for students taking either French, German, Latin or Spanish and these are where the oral examinations take place in the summer. The school's newly opened sixth form building consists of a well equipped computer room and the library also provides computers as well as a 'study area' for students who wish to work in a silent and unobtrusive environment. All of the classrooms have interactive white boards.
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. It is a Foundation School
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
, which takes girls from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. 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 both exams, although students who score in the region of 117 will be considered for 'appeal'. The school has approximately 1,100 pupils with around 150 in each year group. Girls are split into one of five houses in entry to the school. The school has around 60 classrooms and built a new 'sixth form area' last year which brought around 12 new classrooms, a fully equipped computer room, a new canteen with a larger seating area and a new common room which have all proved to benefit the majority of the school.
Academics
In September 1997, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) awarded the school specialist schoolSpecialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
status as a Technology College
Technology College
Technology College is a term used in the United Kingdom for a secondary specialist school that focuses on design and technology, mathematics and science. These were the first type of specialist schools, beginning in 1994. In 2008 there were 598 Technology Colleges in England, of which 12 also...
. It has also been awarded a second specialism as a Language College
Language College
Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages...
.
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.
Houses and Form groups
On entering the school in year seven, each student is placed in a form group in which the entire form are in the same house. Students stay in the same form groups until year 8, where they will be required to move and meet other students from different houses. There are five houses; Beech, Cedar, Maple, Rowan and Willow. Students in year 12 can apply to be prefects, and one can apply to become a head of house prefect which is considered to be a senior role. The heads of houses are required to encourage students to adopt a 'house identity', run house focuses every other week and organise the house pantomimes all by themselves.'House identities' are also achieved through the organisation of interhouse competitions; the main ones being Pip Cups, Pantomimes and Sports day. Pip cups are inter-house sporting competitions such as netball, hockey and gymnastics. Each year group from year seven to eleven are required to take part.
Timetable
Previously, the school ran on a timetable of 8 lessons a day, each lasting 40 minutes and the school day ended at 3.45pm.However, this changed and the timetable now consists of 5 different periods, each an hour long, and 2 breaks- one lasting 20 minutes starting from 11:10 am and another lasting an hour for lunch at 1:30 pm with the school day finishing at 3.30pm.
8.50: Registration/ Assembly
9.10: Period 1 lesson
10.10: Period 2 lesson
11.10: Break (20 minutes)
11.30: Period 3 lesson
12.30: Period 4 lesson
1.30: Lunch (one hour)
2.30: Period 5 lesson
Facilities
Beaconsfield High School have a wide range of high quality facilities; both for sporting and academic hobbies. The school is equipped with 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 such as; indoor hockey, indoor netball, badminton, volleyball, gym, trampolining, indoor athletics and many more. Both the astroturf and sports hall have benefited the local community since clubs often hire out these facilities after 6pm.Since the school is a recognised as a specialist language and technology college, these facilities are excellent. There is a language lab for students taking either French, German, Latin or Spanish and these are where the oral examinations take place in the summer. The school's newly opened sixth form building consists of a well equipped computer room and the library also provides computers as well as a 'study area' for students who wish to work in a silent and unobtrusive environment. All of the classrooms have interactive white boards.