Derby High School is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

day school for children aged 3 to 18 in the suburb of

Littleover Littleover is a village and suburb in the city of Derby, in Derbyshire, England, between Rose Hill, Normanton, Sunny Hill and Mickleover, about southwest of Derby city centre. History The history of Littleover's name is simple. It is der ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. Formerly girls only in the Senior School, from September 2019 Derby High accepted boys into Years 7 and 12 (Lower Sixth). In 2022 the school will be fully co-educational with boys in all year groups. The Primary School is co-educational, taking boys and girls from age 3 to 11. The school is a member of IAPS. The school's main premises are at Hillsway,

, and include sports facilities on site. A dedicated Sixth Form and Music Centre was opened by the Earl of Wessex in 2008 and a new infant and nursery building was formally opened at the site in October 2016 by the Duchess of Gloucester.

History

Derby High School opened at Oxford Villas, a semi-detached house in Osmaston Road, in January 1892, later moving up the road to The Field (now demolished). Prior to the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the school was forced to evacuate because of its vulnerable position close to

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and the Locomotive Works, both considered prime targets for German bombers. It moved to Mackworth House, now the Mackworth Hotel, a much smaller premises with no playing fields. Instead, children would play on a street and a teacher would keep watch for traffic. In 1940 the school returned to Osmaston Road but was damaged during an air raid on 19 August. In 1955 discussions were held about moving the school to the site – then known as Hilltop – that it currently occupies in Hillsway, Littleover. The building was purchased but lengthy renovations had to be carried out and was hampered by a fire at The Field that caused more than £4,000 worth of damage. The school entered more troubled times as its buildings at Osmaston Road were flooded after the 1957

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

earthquake damaged some pipes. After much difficulty it finally moved to Hilltop where it has been ever since. Derby High celebrated its 120th anniversary in January 2012. A book, ''High Life'', containing historical information and old photos was published to commemorate the occasion.

Academics

Students achieved a 100% pass rate in the 2018

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

s and A Levels.

Curriculum

The primary department broadly follows the National Curriculum, assessment at Derby High Primary is not, however, via SATS tests. The senior curriculum is built around teaching for

and

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 ...

. In the senior school, all subjects are taught by specialist teachers. The senior school begins with Year 7, which has two forms of equal ability, each with a form tutor. Students are taught in forms for all subjects except

Maths Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, for which there are sets. In Year 7, the traditional core subjects are taught: English (with Drama), Maths, History,

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

, French,

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

, Art, Music, Design Technology, Home Economics, Religious Studies, PE and ICT. In Year 8, German or Spanish becomes a second language. In Years 10, and 11, the sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Biology), humanities (Geography, History and Religious Studies), PE, Art, DT, Home economics and Music are offered to GCSE. All students must take Maths and English and choose six other courses, including at least one language and one science. Years 12 and 13 are the Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth, with most students taking three

A-levels 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 ...

or maybe four.

Sports

Physical education is compulsory for all children in the school. The main school sports are

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, athletics,

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

, and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, plus dance,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a rounded end wooden, plastic, or metal bat. The players score by running aroun ...

, swimming,

trampolining Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more co ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Alumni

There is an active "Old Girls" society, a network for previous pupils of the school.

References

External links

School WebsiteProfile
on

MyDaughter MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Scho ...

* ISI Inspectio
Reports
{{authority control Girls' schools in Derbyshire Independent schools in Derby Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Church of England independent schools in the Diocese of Derby Educational institutions established in 1892 1892 establishments in England