Colchester High School
Encyclopedia
Colchester High School is a profit-making
For-Profit School
For-profit education refers to educational institutions operated by private, profit-seeking businesses....

 coeducational Independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

 located in 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...

 in 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...

. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita
Cognita
Cognita is a private company which owns and operates independent schools throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, Cognita operates a number of international schools in Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam...

 Group. Colchester High is the only coeducational independent school in Colchester to offer secondary education.

History

The school was a girls' school only when it opened in 1882. It took boys from 1910, with the first Principal, Mr. Groene, stoutly refusing all approaches by the County Education Committee to incorporate the School into its education remit. It has pursued its independent course ever since, despite a spell as a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

 annexe from 1917–18 and being strafed in 1941. For many years the school was family owned. In 2005, it was bought by Cognita
Cognita
Cognita is a private company which owns and operates independent schools throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, Cognita operates a number of international schools in Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam...

, the largest independent schools business in the UK. The school is still affectionately known by many of the Old pupils from before it became co-educational as the "Boy's" or "Boy's High".

The school today

The school admits pupils aged 3 to 16 from a wide catchment area including Colchester, Braintree
Braintree
Braintree may refer to:* Braintree, Essex, a town in England** Braintree ** Braintree ** Braintree Town F.C., a football club in the town....

, Marks Tey
Marks Tey
Marks Tey is a large village in Essex, England located six miles west of Colchester.Marks Tey railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line, and is a junction for the Sudbury Branch Line to Sudbury...

, Coggeshall
Coggeshall
Coggeshall is a small market town of 3,919 residents in Essex, England, situated between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road of Stane Street , and intersected by the River Blackwater. It is known for its almost 300 listed buildings and formerly extensive antique trade...

, Kelvedon
Kelvedon
Kelvedon is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex in England, near to the town of Witham. It has a population of 3,485.-Origins:...

, Tiptree
Tiptree
Tiptree is a village in the English county of Essex, situated south-east of Colchester and around north-east of London. Surrounding villages include Messing, Tolleshunt Knights, Layer Marney, Inworth, Birch, Great Braxted, Great Totham and Little Totham....

, Maldon
Maldon
-Placenames:* Maldon, Essex is a town on the Blackwater estuary in England** Maldon , a local government district based in Maldon, Essex** Maldon Town F.C., an English football club** Maldon *The Battle of Maldon...

,and Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe is a town in north eastern Essex, England, approximately south east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two separate settlements but with considerable development in the 19th century the...

. Entry is normally at ages 3-16 . Children are able to join at other ages if there is a vacancy. Younger children spend an informal morning at the school whilst entry to the Senior School from the Juniors is via an Entrance assessment, often held in March. Admission is on the basis of interview and/or assessment, but pupils will not be disadvantaged by the school by virtue of gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...

, race, background
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...

 or religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

. The 2008 GCSE results for the school were at a high standard, making Colchester High one of the top ranking schools in Essex.

Class sizes are typically small ranging from between 1 to 24 pupils.

The school has an 'Old Boy's Association' which all Old Colcestrians are eligible to join once they have left the school, often after their exam year. Membership of the OBA allows the members to wear the association tie and attend the "social events" of the year.

The school has four houses: Normans (Royal Blue); Saxons (Old Gold); Romans (Scarlet); and Danes (Forest Green). . Each house has its own House Master and two senior boy's who act as a Captain of the House and a Sport's Captain as well as approximately three to four Prefects. The school has traditionally tried to place pupils in the same house as any relatives who have attended the school before them.

The school plays several sports during school 'Games', they are mainly: Rugby; Cross Country; Hockey; Athletics; and Cricket. During each Year's PE lessons the main sports are: Badminton; Indoor Cricket; ; Darts; ; ; Circuit Training; Volleyball and Basketball.

St Marys School, which is nearby, is often paired with Colchester High School in sport, education and leisure (such as the annual Christmas ball).

External links

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