grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
on White Hill,
Chesham
Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordsh ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. There are about 1,300 pupils aged between eleven and eighteen, including over 400 in the
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 ...
. In 2007, the
Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
A Department ...
awarded the school
specialist school
Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...
status as a
Humanities College
Humanities Colleges are a type of specialist school introduced in 2004 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary and primary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, humanities ...
. In August 2011 the school became an
Academy
An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
.
History
The school was founded in 1947 as the Chesham Technical School - a result of the
Education Act 1944
The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Historians ...
which set up the tripartite arrangements of grammar,
technical
Technical may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle
* Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data
* Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
and
secondary modern
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...
schools. The all-boys' school was originally housed in only one building, which is now the sixth form block known as "The Curtis Centre". In 1961, the school became known as Chesham Technical High School and during the 1960s, there was huge development in the area, and it became a co-educational grammar school. In 1970, the school changed its name to Chesham High School as it moved away from its technical roots. The name of the school changed to Chesham Grammar School on 7 May 2010. As a grammar school, CGS underwent expansion and experienced an improvement in exam results. The school was rated outstanding in all categories by OFSTED in March 2014.
Headteachers
*Sidney Chapman (1947–1966)
*Paddy Evans (1966–1967)
*Ken Stokes (1967–1992)
*Tim Andrew (1992–2007)
*Nigel Fox (2005–2006) (acting during Tim Andrew's sabbatical)
*Philip Wayne (2007–2015)
*Annmarie McNaney (2015–present)
Facilities
Between 1980 and 2010, there was major expansion of the school, including a new maths block, a textiles block, an art block, expansion of the English block, a new library and a new drama/psychology block. In 2015, the sixth form centre, located in the original building, was expanded and reopened as the Curtis Centre.
The Prime Minister's Global Fellowship
Pupils attained places on the
Prime Minister's Global Fellowship The Global Fellowship programme (previously The Prime Minister's Global Fellowship) works with 18- and 19-year-old students from England to give them a strong foundation in interacting with one of the three major emerging economies. It began in 2008 ...
programme in the inaugural year 2008, and in 2009 had two more successful applicants.
Admissions and school performance
Admission to the school is brokered through
Buckinghamshire County Council
Buckinghamshire County Council was the upper-tier local authority for the administrative county and later the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in England, the United Kingdom established in 1889 following the Local Government Act 1888 ...
, which operates a selective secondary education system throughout the county. Pupils have to achieve a mark of 121 or above in the
11-plus
The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...
to be eligible to attend the school. The school's catchment area broadly covers the whole of
Chiltern District
Chiltern District was one of four local government districts of Buckinghamshire in south central England from 1974 to 2020. It was named after the Chiltern Hills on which the region sits.
The main towns in the district were Amersham and Chesha ...
area which includes the towns of
Amersham
Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt.
...
,
Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont.
It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, ...
,
Chalfont St Peter
Chalfont St Peter is a large village and civil parish in southeastern Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe a ...
and
Chesham
Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordsh ...
, and larger villages such as
Great Missenden
Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximately 2,000 residents in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover, with direct rail connections to London Mary ...
and
Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is one of a group of villages known collectively as The Chalfonts, which also comprises Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter. Little Chalfont is located a ...
. A significant proportion of the intake also comes from Hertfordshire. As Chesham Station is a terminus on the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground, pupils also travel in from North London. The school's progress profile shows that these pupils perform at a comparatively similar level at GCSE and A level.
Notable alumni
*
Alex Hales
Alexander Daniel Hales (born 3 January 1989) is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batter who currently plays for Nottinghamshire and the England cricket team in white ball, limited overs formats. He made his One Day Internation ...
, cricketer
*
Eleanor Thom
Eleanor Thom (born 1979 in London) is a British writer. She won the 2006 New Writing Ventures competition with "Burns", a chapter from her first novel ''The Tin-Kin''. The book recalls experiences of her mother's family who were Scottish Traveller ...
, writer
*
Judith Gough
Judith Mary Gough Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (born 8 November 1972) is a British diplomat and the current List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden, Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Sweden.Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Sweden
* Len Worley, footballer
*
Conor Dunne
Conor Dunne (born 22 January 1992 in St Albans) is an Irish former professional cyclist, who competed professionally between 2014 and 2019 for the , , and teams.
Career
He was named in the startlist for the 2017 Vuelta a España.
Following t ...
, cyclist
*
Katy Dunne
Katy Dunne (born 16 February 1995) is a British tennis player who is returning to competition after a long spell of injury.
Dunne has won eight singles titles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 28 May 2018, she reached her best s ...
, tennis player
*
Nick Keynes
Ultra (also recording as Rider) was an English boy band, which was most successful in the late 1990s. The original line-up consisted of James Hearn (born 19 June 1976; vocals), Michael Harwood (born 12 December 1975; guitar and vocals ), Jo ...
, bass player
*
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha; born 4 October 1958 is an Indian diplomat who belongs to the Indian Foreign Service. He is the former High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom. He was sworn in as Central Information Commissioner on January 1, 2 ...
, Indian diplomat
* Eileen Ramsay, maritime photographer.