Chelmer Valley High School
Encyclopedia
Chelmer Valley High School (CVHS) is a co-educational
comprehensive school
in Chelmsford
, Essex
, England
. It is a specialist
Engineering College
and is the home of the Blue Falcons Gymnastic Display Team.
Based on a large site, near Broomfield Hospital on the outskirts of Chelmsford, Chelmer Valley High School is one of the best performing comprehensive schools in the Essex, judged to be "outstanding" by Ofsted. The school has a number of blocks, (Old, New, Science, Tech, Richardson, Music and Sixth Form) providing a large amount of classrooms, offices and study spaces for both students and staff. As a result of the extra funding resulting from the school's Engineering College status the Technology and Science departments have seen much improvement. The school recently spent £25,000 on a new fitness suite. Due to the closure of St Peters College in August 2011, Chelmer Valley has stepped in to take in a larger number of students, resulting in a large amount of money being added to the schools fund. The school is currently expanding to make room for the increased number of students.
From the September 2007 inspection, Ofsted
rated the school as "outstanding", the highest award available. Ofsted said "Chelmer Valley is a vibrant and dynamic school that has not stood still since the last inspection. The school judges its effectiveness to be good but, because so much of its work is exemplary, inspectors judge it to be outstanding ... the school is justifiably regarded as a highly successful specialist college in engineering. It has excellent provision for design and technology, mathematics and the sciences and is exceptionally successful in embedding the positive influence of engineering in the wider curriculum."
This follows on from the October 2004 inspection that put the school in the top 10% in the country.
to kit them out. The Blue Falcons appear throughout the year at a variety of fêtes, carnivals, military tattoos, and fun days. They appeared at Wembley Stadium in 1991 as part of the BBC
’s Children in Need
Appeal and have made numerous other appearances on both local and national television. In 1995 the Blue Falcons became the first school gymnastic display team to appear at the Royal Tournament
. They performed in front of the Duchess of Kent
and 10,000 spectators. The performances were so successful that they were repeated in 1996 and 1997. They appeared at the Colchester
Military Festival in 2006 and the Burnham
Carnival in 2007.
On 2 December 1999, a team of ten gymnasts from the Blue Falcons completed a world record 4,093 vaults
in one hour, thus earning themselves a place in the Guinness Book of Records
. Four years later, in September 2003, the Blue Falcons held a sponsored World Record Event at the Meadows Shopping Centre in Chelmsford
, with two teams aiming to beat their own World Record for the most vaults in one hour. Both teams succeeded in breaking the original record with 4,575 and 5,685 vaults respectively, and the team once again became the official Guinness World Record Holders. On 28 April 2007 the team completed 128,506 vaults in 12 hours to raise money for charity.
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
in Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is a specialist
Specialist 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...
Engineering College
Engineering college
Engineering colleges generally refer to institutes of higher education which offer an engineering course at degree level. The duration of the course is four to five years depending upon the university to which the college is affiliated. The students learn little of basic science concentrating...
and is the home of the Blue Falcons Gymnastic Display Team.
Based on a large site, near Broomfield Hospital on the outskirts of Chelmsford, Chelmer Valley High School is one of the best performing comprehensive schools in the Essex, judged to be "outstanding" by Ofsted. The school has a number of blocks, (Old, New, Science, Tech, Richardson, Music and Sixth Form) providing a large amount of classrooms, offices and study spaces for both students and staff. As a result of the extra funding resulting from the school's Engineering College status the Technology and Science departments have seen much improvement. The school recently spent £25,000 on a new fitness suite. Due to the closure of St Peters College in August 2011, Chelmer Valley has stepped in to take in a larger number of students, resulting in a large amount of money being added to the schools fund. The school is currently expanding to make room for the increased number of students.
From the September 2007 inspection, Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
rated the school as "outstanding", the highest award available. Ofsted said "Chelmer Valley is a vibrant and dynamic school that has not stood still since the last inspection. The school judges its effectiveness to be good but, because so much of its work is exemplary, inspectors judge it to be outstanding ... the school is justifiably regarded as a highly successful specialist college in engineering. It has excellent provision for design and technology, mathematics and the sciences and is exceptionally successful in embedding the positive influence of engineering in the wider curriculum."
This follows on from the October 2004 inspection that put the school in the top 10% in the country.
Blue Falcons Gymnastic Display Team
The Blue Falcons Gymnastic Display Team was founded in 1974 and is based at Chelmer Valley High School. The team is composed of current and former students of the school. The Chelmsford Royal Navy and Royal Marines careers office support the team and arranged in July 2005 for the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
to kit them out. The Blue Falcons appear throughout the year at a variety of fêtes, carnivals, military tattoos, and fun days. They appeared at Wembley Stadium in 1991 as part of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
’s Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
Appeal and have made numerous other appearances on both local and national television. In 1995 the Blue Falcons became the first school gymnastic display team to appear at the Royal Tournament
Royal Tournament
The Royal Tournament was the World's largest military tattoo and pageant, held by the British Armed Forces annually between 1880 and 1999. The venue was originally the Royal Agricultural Hall and latterly the Earls Court Exhibition Centre...
. They performed in front of the Duchess of Kent
Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V.-Pre-history:...
and 10,000 spectators. The performances were so successful that they were repeated in 1996 and 1997. They appeared at the Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
Military Festival in 2006 and the Burnham
Burnham, Buckinghamshire
Burnham is a village and civil parish that lies north of the River Thames in the South Bucks District of Buckinghamshire, and sits on the border with Berkshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough. It is served by Burnham railway station in the west of Slough on the main line between London...
Carnival in 2007.
On 2 December 1999, a team of ten gymnasts from the Blue Falcons completed a world record 4,093 vaults
Vault (gymnastics)
The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the vault...
in one hour, thus earning themselves a place in the Guinness Book of Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. Four years later, in September 2003, the Blue Falcons held a sponsored World Record Event at the Meadows Shopping Centre in Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, with two teams aiming to beat their own World Record for the most vaults in one hour. Both teams succeeded in breaking the original record with 4,575 and 5,685 vaults respectively, and the team once again became the official Guinness World Record Holders. On 28 April 2007 the team completed 128,506 vaults in 12 hours to raise money for charity.
External links
- Chelmer Valley High School website
- The Blue Falcons gymnastics display team based at Chelmer Valley High School
- Chelmer Valley Old Students' Association