Beal High School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

secondary school and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

with academy status, located in Redbridge, Greater London, England. The school begins at Year 7 and continues with compulsory schooling through Year 11. Years 12 and 13 form the optional sixth form. In 2014, a business hub and media block were added. The school also has a Communications and Learning Department (CLD Unit) for students on the autistic spectrum. Beal High School is also the sponsor of The Forest Academy (formerly Hainault Forest High School), and the Beacon Business Innovation Hub (BBIH). These schools, alongside the autistic provision form the Beacon Multi Academy Trust.

History

The school converted to academy status on 1 February 2014. The name of the Trust changed from Beal Multi-Academy Trust to Beacon Multi-Academy Trust in 2016.

Staff

The headteacher is Kathryn Burns. The headteacher before was Miss Wilmot. John Manuel, who preceded Wilmot, became head of the Grammar School in 1972 and oversaw the transition from Grammar to Comprehensive. The last Head of Beal, as purely a Grammar school, was Dr. Elvet Lewis (1904–81). In March 2016, it was announced that Sue Snowdon was to retire from her position as Headteacher in April 2016. In December 2006, the school was designated as a 'Highly Achieving Specialist School'. Ofsted rate the school as Outstanding. In 2020, Preeyesh Bhadresha, a maths teacher and a former pupil at Beal, was awarded STEM Teacher of the Year for Redbridge and Newham during the London Teacher of the Year awards ceremony. The school offers extra-curricular activities including a radio station 'Radio XL' that broadcasts locally for a week each year, and musical theatre productions. Students get the chance to participate in debating, enterprise activities a wide range of sport teams and musical groups.

Notable former pupils

Simon Amstell Simon Marc Amstell (born 29 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer and director. He wrote and directed the films '' Carnage'' (2017) and ''Benjamin'' (2018). His work on television has included presenting '' Popworld'' and '' Never Mind th ...

(born 1979) television presenter and comedian * Yolanda Brown (born 1982) jazz musician * Joe Ellis-Grewal (born 1992) cricketer *

Nick Frost Nicholas Jonathan Frost (born 28 March 1972) is a British actor, author, comedian, painter, producer and screenwriter. He has appeared in the ''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz ...

(born 1972) comedian and actor * Marc Seigar (born 1971) - astronomer, author, and academic leader * Louise Wener (born 1966) musician and author *

Hazel Keech Hazel Keech (born 28 February 1987), also known by her modelling name Rose Dawn and married name Gurbasant Kaur, is a British actress and model who has appeared in Indian television programs and films. She has appeared in '' Billa'' and '' Body ...

(Born 1987) model,

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

actress and dancer * Penny Lancaster (born 1971) model and photographer *

Danny Lee Wynter Danny Wynter (born 25 May 1982), known professionally as Danny Lee Wynter, is a British actor, playwright, and activist. He is best known for playing the lead in Stephen Poliakoff's BBC films Joe's Palace and Capturing Mary, alongside Sir Mic ...

(born 1982) actor * Josh Dasilva

Beal Grammar School for Boys

* Gareth Davis, Chairman since 2010 of

William Hill (bookmaker) William Hill is a British gambling company founded in 1934. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are condu ...

* Bill Hagerty (born 1939) writer, author and critic, former national newspaper editor, Editor 1991-92 of ''

The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ...

'' *

Phil Hall (journalist) Phil Hall (born 8 January 1955) is a British journalist, the former editor of the '' News of the World'' and the founder and chairman of the PHA Group, an award-winning London PR agency. Hall entered journalism in 1974, as a reporter on the '' Da ...

, Editor from 1995-2000 of the '' News of the World'' *

Barry Kyle Barry Albert Kyle (born 25 March 1947, in Bow, London) is an English theatre director, currently Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, England. Kyle attended Beal Grammar School in Ilford and then studied drama and Engli ...

(born 1947) theatre director *

Victor Maddern Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, ...

(1928–1993) actor * Allan McKeown (1946–2013) TV producer (''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...

''), married to

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' ( ...

Ian Ridpath Ian William Ridpath (born 1 May 1947, in Ilford, Essex) is an English science writer and broadcaster best known as a popularizer of astronomy and a biographer of constellation history. As a UFO sceptic, he investigated and explained the Rendl ...

(born 1947) astronomer and writer

References

External links

* {{authority control 1931 establishments in England Secondary schools in the London Borough of Redbridge Educational institutions established in 1931 Academies in the London Borough of Redbridge