Hampstead School is a large

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

, England. The school building is one of the oldest in the borough. It has about 1,300 students between the ages of 11 and 19 attending the Lower School (Year 7 through to Year 11) and the Sixth Form College (Year 12 and Year 13).

History

The main building on Westbere Road was originally the site of Haberdashers' Aske's Hampstead School having relocated from its

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

premises in January 1903 and before moving again to its current location in

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

to become

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The school is a me ...

. Hampstead School was founded as a

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 ...

in 1961 and incorporated Harben Secondary Modern School in Netherwood Street, Kilburn, before becoming a comprehensive. The old school's Latin motto ''Is est emendo; tendo quod macula iocus notitia'' (to correct faults, give direction and impart knowledge) can still be seen on the face of the main building.

Academic standards

The school was awarded a 'gold star' accolade by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

in 2001, which placed it within the top 6% of schools in the country. This was despite half of its 1,275 pupils speaking English as a second language and 10 per cent being refugees. Compared with similar schools, Hampstead was rated well above average for exam results and given an 'A' grade. Some aspects of the school's performance according to Ofsted dipped after the 2005 inspection. In particular, attendance and GCSE results fell sharply in 2006. However, according to Ofsted this dip was corrected by 2008.Ofsted report October 2008
/ref> GCSE students sitting their examinations in 2010 achieved the school's highest Key Stage 4 results to date, surpassing the record set by the 2009 cohort. The 2012 Ofsted report graded the school as 'good' for both achievement of pupils and quality of teaching.

Sixth Form

The school's approach means that students enter the sixth form with below average standards. Most go on to university when they leave.

''The Hampstead Trash''

In 2013 the head teacher reported to the police a student who had set up a website critical of the school.

Debating

The school's Debating Society meets every Friday and includes students from all year groups. In 2005, 21 students from the school were the first team from a comprehensive school to win the cup for the Best Delegation at the Model United Nations (MUN) Forum held in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. The conference was attended by around 250 delegates from over 20 schools in England, Canada, Burkina Faso, and America. The forum provides participants with the opportunity to debate issues of international concern. The students from Hampstead School also received several awards for outstanding individual performances. In 2017 the school sent two teams to compete at the biennial MUN competition at

Woodhouse College Woodhouse College is a single site selective state sixth form centre situated between North Finchley and Friern Barnet on the eastern side of the London Borough of Barnet in North London, England. It is one of the most successful sixth form colle ...

in Barnet. One of their teams, representing North Korea, won the award of Best Delegation at the conference.

Notable teachers

In the 1998

New Year's Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, Tamsyn Imison,Millennium Dame - interview with Tamsyn Imison: Times Educational Supplement, 20 March 2008 includes a large amount of comment on the school
accessed 20 July 2010 then

headteacher A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...

, was appointed a DBE. The citation stated that Imison had introduced initiatives to improve standards and ensured the best were spread to local schools.

Notable former pupils

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, music producer * Anita Klein,

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, novelist, poet and playwright * Andrew McIntosh, Baron McIntosh of Haringey, politician *

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Helen Storey Helen Storey, MBE,

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, footballer * Amelia Toomey,

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References

External links

Hampstead School official website
*
The Hampstead Trash
' - Critical blog opposed by the school administration {{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Camden Educational institutions established in 1862 1862 establishments in England Schools in Hampstead Community schools in the London Borough of Camden