Fairfield 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 located in

Peterchurch Peterchurch is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, England. The countryside around is spectacular, with views of the Black Mountains but the village itself is architecturally undistinguished, except for the award-winn ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

, England. Fairfield High School is located in the Golden Valley. It is situated among the communities of Peterchurch,

Dorstone Dorstone is a village within the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, England. There is a thriving community with a church and public house with restaurant. The Golden Valley area offers excellent hillwalking and horseback riding countryside and is no ...

Abbey Dore Abbey Dore ( cy, Abaty Deur) is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, known for Dore Abbey, a 12th-century Cistercian abbey, which was expanded in the 13th century. The name Abbey Dore came into being in the 18th century, combi ...

and

Ewyas Harold Ewyas Harold () is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire, England, near the Wales-England border about halfway between Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and Hereford. The population of this civil parish at the 2011 cens ...

, around 5 miles from the Welsh border. The local environment lends itself to its house names: Dore ( River Dore), Escley (Escley Brook), Monnow (

River Monnow The River Monnow ( cy, Afon Mynwy) marks the England–Wales border for much of its length. After flowing through southwest Herefordshire, England, and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales, its confluence with the River Wye is approximately south of ...

), Olchon (Olchon Valley) and Arrow (River Arrow) . Fairfield High School is one of the top state schools in the country. In the October 2013 Ofsted inspection, the school received the best possible score - "Outstanding" in every category. The school converted to academy status in May 2014.

Curriculum

Fairfield offers traditional subjects are provided alongside vocational learning opportunities. ''Students in Key Stage 3 study:'' * English and Literacy * Mathematics * Science * Humanities ''(History, Geography, Ethics)'' * Modern Foreign Languages ''(French, Spanish)'' * Food Technology * Art and Textiles * Design & Technology * Computer Science / Computing * Performing Arts ''(Music, Drama)'' * Physical Education * Religious Studies ''Students in Key Stage 4 may add vocational subjects:'' * Animal Care * Construction and the Built Environment * BTEC Physical Education * Life Skills Studies

Animals

A large number of exotic and farm animals are kept at the school, including

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can success ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

s, reptiles, rabbits,

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus '' Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ...

s, ferrets,

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s. These are looked after by the students themselves as part of their learning for Key Stage 4 Animal Care studies.

Notable past pupils

* Josie Pearson - Paralympic champion

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in Herefordshire Academies in Herefordshire