Blaise High School (formerly Henbury School) is an 11–18 mixed, secondary school 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 ...

with academy status in

Henbury Henbury is a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately north west of the city centre. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle Estate, Blaise Ha ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England. It was formerly a community school that was established in 1956 and converted to an academy in June 2012. It adopted its present name in September 2019 and is part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust.

History

Henbury School was a community school that was established in 1956 as one of the first purpose-built

comprehensive schools 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 re ...

in the country. It was completely rebuilt under a £17.3 million private finance initiative in 2005 where a financial agreement was made in April 2004 between

Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England. The council is a unitary authority, and is unusual in the United Kingdom in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Bristol. Bristol has 34 ward ...

and Bristol Schools Ltd; a company set up by HBG Construction Ltd to oversee the construction and management of the school for 26 years, including three other schools that were also being rebuilt, after which it will become the property of the local education authority. The features of the new building include a sports hall, all-weather pitch, swimming pool, fitness suite, dance studio and coffee bar. It was used as a filming location for the Roundview College in the television series '' Skins'' and its American-style yellow school bus service was discontinued by Bristol City Council after December 2005 following a two-year pilot, due to it not being cost effective and students were already using sustainable transport. The service was launched in June 2003 as a joint initiative between the council and

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.traffic congestion and improve

child safety Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to ...

It has been involved in the Rugby Football Union's All Schools programme since 2012 and is linked with

Clifton Rugby Football Club Clifton Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club founded in Clifton, Bristol. Over the years the club's home games have been played in a variety of locations in northern Bristol, though never in Clifton itself; since 1976 they have ...

. England announced their 2019 Rugby World Cup squad at the school on 12 August 2019, and its students who were involved in rugby programmes and Clifton took part in rugby sessions with the players and coaches. It converted to 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 philosop ...

in June 2012. It was rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted following its inspection in November 2018 and the governing body subsequently began looking into the future of the school and evaluating its options. It agreed unanimously that it believed the best way forward was to join the Greenshaw Learning Trust and was confirmed in March 2019 following consultation with parents and other stakeholders. The trust had also been providing support to the school since the start of the year and Katherine Brown was appointed as the new headteacher from September 2019. It joined the trust and renamed to Blaise High School in September 2019 with a new logo and uniform as part of its "journey of improvement to ensure it provides the best possible learning environment for all of its students". The name was selected after receiving the highest number of preferences in a survey and reflects its place in the local community with it being close to the

Blaise Castle Estate Blaise Castle is a folly built in 1766 near Henbury in Bristol, England. The castle sits within the Blaise Castle Estate, which also includes Blaise Castle House, a Grade II* listed 18th-century mansion house. The folly castle is also Grade I ...

. The new logo retains the school colours of green and black with a castle design representing Blaise Castle on a traditional heraldic badge shape. The new uniform was devised in discussion with the school community and subsidised by the trust.

Notable alumni

Henbury School *

Rob Hopkins Rob Hopkins is an activist and writer on environmental issues, based in Totnes, England. He is best known as the founder and figurehead of the Transition movement, which he initiated in 2005. Hopkins has written six books on environmentalism ...

, environmental activist and writer * Simon King, naturalist, author, conservationist, television presenter and cameraman

Notable staff

Henbury School *

Geoff Gollop Geoffrey Richard Gollop, OBE (born 23 February 1955)

, former school governor

References

External links

* {{authority control Henbury Secondary schools in Bristol Academies in Bristol Educational institutions established in 1956 1956 establishments in England