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High Storrs School is a
mixed secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
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 ...
college with
academy status located on the south-western outskirts of
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, England. The main school building is
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. It moved to its current site in 1933. The school does not have a set
uniform
A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...
, instead allowing students to wear what they like as long as it follows the dress code.
Admissions
High Storrs has a Sixth Form in
Ecclesall
Ecclesall Ward—which includes the neighbourhoods of Banner Cross, Bents Green, Carterknowle, Ecclesall, Greystones, Millhouses, and Ringinglow—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southwester ...
and is a specialist
Arts College
An Arts College, in the United Kingdom, is a type of specialist school that specialises in the subject fields of the performing, visual, digital and/or media arts. They were announced in 1996 and introduced alongside Sports Colleges to England i ...
in the Performing Arts, with a secondary specialism in
Maths and Computing.
History
Central Technical School
The school opened on 10 March 1880 as the
Sheffield Central Technical School
The former Sheffield Central Technical School (CTS) was housed in the collection of buildings now called Leopold Square in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The complex of buildings home to the school is bounded by Leopo ...
in the centre of Sheffield. Its first headmaster was Mr. A. F. McBean. It built a new Science wing in 1895 and began providing science teaching for boys only. In 1904, the school became officially recognised as a secondary school. In 1906, the school was divided into two schools, one for boys and one for girls. It relocated to its present site at High Storrs in 1933. The Old Centralians was an association for former pupils that operated until 2015.
Grammar school
The building housed two separate grammar schools from the 1940s to 1968: High Storrs Grammar School for Boys, and High Storrs Grammar School for Girls. It was administered by the Sheffield Education Committee. The buildings were improved in the early 1960s.
Comprehensive
These were merged into a single comprehensive school, starting in September 1969 with around 1,600 boys and girls.
In 1993 a 17-year-old pupil was killed by a wound from a bayonet by a pupil of
Notre Dame High School in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
in
Endcliffe Park
Endcliffe Park is a large park in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The park was opened in 1887 to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria. When travelling West from the city centre it is the first in a series of parks and gre ...
.
Renovation
Almost £27 million was allocated for a complete refurbishment and remodelling of the school under the Government's Building Schools for the Future programme, with £2 million being spent on ICT equipment. Due to the school's Grade II listed status, only the interior of the main school building could be refurbished, with the exterior remaining almost unchanged. A new extension was built at the north end of the building to replace the old dining rooms, school hall and performing arts block, whilst a second extension was built to replace the 1960s additions at the south end of the school. This included a modern sports hall. Preparatory work on the field ready for the new temporary teaching rooms began in July 2008. Demolition of the 1960s extensions to the north of the school was completed in November 2008, and the project was completed in 2011. A grand opening event was held at the school on 17 September 2011, shortly after the school year had begun. At the event, the school launched their new commemorative book, titled ''High Storrs The Journey'', which celebrated the school's history. It was sold for £9.99 to raise money for the school. There were also speeches from
David Blunkett
David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough ...
, former
MP for
Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament by Gi ...
.
Post-renovation
On 14 July 2016, the school announced that Claire Tasker was taking over from Ian Gage, the outgoing headteacher. At the time, Tasker was a co-head at
Tapton School
Tapton School is a secondary school with academy status located in Crosspool, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is sited next to another secondary, King Edward VII School in Sheffield, and near to Lydgate Junior School in Crosspool, ...
. She took over from Gage at the start of the 2016–17 academic year.
On 1 March 2018, the chair of the school's governing body and the headteacher jointly announced in a statement on the school website that it had become an academy and a member of the Minerva Learning Trust.
Houses
In 2008 the "Key Stage" system was changed to the Vertical System, where instead of year groups, there are houses with ten forms to each house. Each form has a varied number of pupils from Y7-11 and no sixth formers. There are 2 classes of around 30 in each house, so 8 classes. Forms 1–5 are a class and forms 6–10 are a class. This only applies to most classes in Y7 and Y8. This system is meant to reduce bullying and encourage friendships with pupils of different ages. The four houses are named after the main four theatres in Sheffield:
Crucible
A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. While crucibles were historically usually made from clay, they can be made from any material that withstands te ...
,
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...
, Merlin and Montgomery.
The houses also compete against each other in sporting events such as its annual
sports day
Sports days (British English) or field days (American English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of winning trophies or prizes. Though they are often h ...
, held at the
English Institute of Sport
The English Institute of Sport (EIS), established in May 2002, is an organisation which provides sport science and medical support services to elite athletes through a nationwide network of expertise and facilities, working with Olympic and Pa ...
.
Curriculum
In Y7 and Y8, students receive 3 hours each of Maths, English and
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
a week. They also receive 2 hours of French,
PE,
Design and Technology
Design and Technology (D&T) is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school in England. It is used so children develop a range of designing skills and technology skills for example, using media to design their project. It ...
/
Food Tech
''Food Tech'' is a television series on the History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, ...
(students typically receive 30 weeks of D&T and 10 weeks of Food Tech a year), History and
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 ...
and 1 lesson a week of
PSHCEE and RE. Students also receive a lesson of ICT a week, however this is taught on a rotary basis in Y7, with the other half of the year spent learning
Classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
. Drama, Art,
Music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
and Dance are also taught on a rotary basis in both years, with Y7s receiving one hour of Dance/Drama and two hours of Art/Music. Y8s, however receive one hour of Dance/Music and two hours of Art/Drama. English, Maths, Science, PSCHEE and PE are mandatory for the whole of KS4, whilst RE is only mandatory for Y9.
Phone zones policy
Unlike many other schools, High Storrs allows mobile phone usage on the school premises, as long as it is within one of their phone zones. The areas where mobile phone use is permitted include the Piazza, Field, Dining Room and within classrooms so long as the teacher has given permission to use them. Use outside phone zones is prohibited and may result in
confiscation
Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, o ...
. Use of
headphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an au ...
are also prohibited anywhere on the school site unless they are required for the lesson.
Exam pass rate
In 2019 66.4% of pupils who took
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 ...
exams achieved grade 5 or above in
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 ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
The average points score for AS and A2 Level students in 2008 was 675.8, below the national average of 739.8.
[BBC News A Level League Tables 2008](_blank)
/ref>
It gets above-average GCSE results and A-levels at the England average.
Former teachers
* Veronica Hardstaff
Veronica Mary Tutt Hardstaff Billings (born 23 October 1941) is a British politician, who has served as a City councillor in Sheffield and as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). A member of the Labour Party, she is on the left of the par ...
, Labour MEP 1994–1999 for Lincolnshire and Humberside South and Sheffield City Councillor 1970–1978 and 2002–2007, taught French and German at the girls' school 1963–1966.
Notable former pupils
* Nick Matthew
Nicholas Matthew (born 25 July 1980 in Sheffield) is a former English professional squash player who has won the two most prestigious tournaments in the professional game, the British Open and the World Open, three times each. He reached a c ...
, squash player
* Jessica-Jane Clement, television presenter
* Tom Ellis, actor
* Leslie Evans, Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government
* Jayne Irving, GMTV
GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...
presenter
* Jack Lester
Jack William Lester (born 8 October 1975) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who is a first team coach at EFL Championship side of Sheffield United.
As a player Sheffield born Lester played as a forward from 1994 ...
, footballer
* Chloe Newsome
Chloe Newsome (born 1 December 1976) is an English actress who is best known for starring in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', appearing on and off between 1991 and 1998. She was the second actress to portray the role of Vi ...
, actress
* Jessica Ransom
Jessica Ransom (born 1 December 1981) is a British actress and writer, best known for her role as medical receptionist Morwenna Newcross in the ITV drama '' Doc Martin'' (2011–2022). She won a Children's BAFTA Award in 2015.
Early life a ...
, actress
* Kyle Walker
Kyle Andrew Walker (born 28 May 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Manchester City and the England national team.
Walker started his career at his boyhood club Sheffield United which he had join ...
, Manchester City FC
Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Footba ...
& England footballer
* Michael Jolley, football manager
* Steve Heighway
Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Li ...
, Ex Liverpool footballer
* Grace Clough
Grace Elizabeth Sorrel Clough (born 21 June 1991) is a former British Paralympic rower who competed in the mixed coxed four event. She won multiple gold medals at the World Rowing Championships and World Rowing Cup alongside a gold at the 2016 ...
, paralympic rower
* Esme Morgan, Manchester City footballer
High Storrs Grammar School for Girls
* Judith Bingham, composer
* Janet Brown, Chief executive since 2007 of the Scottish Qualifications Authority
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. It is partly funded by the Ed ...
, and managing director from 2000 to 2007 of Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...
* Stella Greenall, involved in the introduction of student grants in 1962
* Tessa Bramley, Michelin-starred chef
High Storrs Grammar School for Boys
* Joseph Ashton OBE, Labour MP from 1968 to 2001 for Bassetlaw
* Peter Glossop, opera singer
* Steve Heighway
Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Li ...
, footballer
* Paul Heiney
Paul Heiney (born Paul Wisniewski; 20 April 1949) is a British radio broadcaster and television reporter most notable as a former presenter of ''That's Life!''.
Early life
He was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, the son of Norbert Wisniewski and Ev ...
, BBC reporter
* Very Rev Alfred Jowett
Alfred Jowett CBE was Dean of Manchester in the last third of the 20th Century. Born on 29 May 1914, educated at High Storrs and St Catharine's College, Cambridge and ordained in 1945, he began his career at St John the Evangelist, Goole. A ...
, Dean of Manchester
The Dean of Manchester is based in Manchester, England and is the head of the Chapter of Manchester Cathedral. The current dean is Rogers Govender MBE.
List of deans
*1840–1847 William Herbert
*1847–1872 George Bowers
*1872–1883 Benj ...
from 1964 to 1983The Very Reverend Alfred Jowett – Telegraph
/ref>
* Jeff Rawle
Jeffrey Alan Rawle (born 20 July 1951) is an English actor. He is known for portraying George Dent in the news-gathering sitcom ''Drop the Dead Donkey''. He also portrayed Silas Blissett in ''Hollyoaks'' from December 2010 until 2012. Rawle retu ...
, actor
References
External links
High Storrs School Website
Ofsted Report (2005)
Ofsted Report (2008)
Ofsted Report (2022)
EduBase
{{Authority control
Secondary schools in Sheffield
Educational institutions established in 1933
*
1933 establishments in England
Academies in Sheffield