Biddenham International School and Sports College (formerly John Howard Upper School) is a mixed

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

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 ...

located in

Biddenham Biddenham is a large village and a civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, located to the west of Bedford near the A428 road. The village largely serves as a dormitory settlement for Bedford, and also for commuters to London, being on the same si ...

in the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. The school serves the

Brickhill Brickhill is a civil parish and electoral ward within northern Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. The boundaries of Brickhill are approximately Kimbolton Road to the east, Bedford Park and the old Bedford cemetery to the south, with Cemetery Hi ...

Harpur Harpur is an electoral ward and area within the town of Bedford, England. The boundaries of Harpur are approximately Manton Lane to the north, De Parys Avenue to the east, Bromham Road to the south, with the Midland Main Line railway line to t ...

and Queens Park areas of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

as well as the villages of Biddenham and Great Denham. The school holds Specialist

Sports College Sports Colleges are senior secondary schools which promote sports alongside secondary education. United Kingdom Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist schools programme, Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdo ...

status.

History

It was established in 1979 as

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

Upper School (for pupils ages 13 to 18). The headmaster for the entire time the school was as John Howard Upper School was Roy Grace. In 1988 the school was merged with Pilgrim Upper to form Biddenham Upper School on the John Howard site. Garry Fitzhugh took over as head when the merger was complete. In October 2008 Biddenham Upper School was awarded International School status by the British Council. The award was made in recognition of Biddenham's international ethos and its links with schools abroad. Following this, the school planned to offer the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

to its

students as an alternative to

A level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

courses from September 2010, however a lack of interest amongst students has led to the baccalaureate being withdrawn at the school. In January 2010, Bedford Borough Council confirmed its intention to move St John’s School in Kempston in the next few years to a new campus on the site of Biddenham Upper School. However since 1 September 2011, St John’s School has gained academy status and the plans for the move are on hold. In September 2015 the school began admitting 11 year old pupils. The change meant that Biddenham converted from being an upper school to full-age range secondary school, with pupils aged 11 to 18.

Notable former pupils

Etienne Stott Etienne Stott MBE (born 30 June 1979) is an English slalom canoeist who started competing at the international level in 2002, initially in the K1 category, but switching to C2 in 2005. He retired from the sport in 2016. He is the ...

, slalom canoeist * Sam Oldham, gymnast

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1979 Educational institutions established in 1988 1979 establishments in England 1988 establishments in England Foundation schools in the Borough of Bedford Secondary schools in the Borough of Bedford