Highgate Wood School is a secondary school located in

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

in the

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

borough of

Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of ...

. It accommodates pupils aged 11–16, providing secondary education to 1,500 pupils. The school also has a

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 ...

(ages 16–18). The school has a uniform. Most pupils come from South Haringey School, Rokesly Primary School,

Ashmount School This is a list of schools in the London Borough of Islington, England In 2000, CEA, a private firm, took over the running of Islington's state schools. The education service returned to the Council in 2011. Islington schools have improved rapidl ...

, Campsbourne School, Weston Park Primary School and Coleridge Primary School.

History

Highgate Wood School was founded as a

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 1967. It replaced Bishopswood and Priory Vale

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 usuall ...

schools. Bishopswood school opened in 1961 and Priory Vale was formed in 1962 from a merger of North Haringey and Crouch End secondary modern schools. Until 1987 the school was located on two sites – a lower school for pupils in year 7 and year 8, and an upper school for years 9 to 11 and the sixth form. The lower school was situated in the former Crouch End secondary modern school buildings, at the corner of Wolsley Road and Park Road, with the Home Economics and CDT wing facing onto Park Road. Some of the original buildings still stand today, converted into modern flats above shops. The upper school (located in the former Bishopswood secondary modern school buildings)- Montenotte Rd, down a small hill- now houses the whole school – including sixth form, computer centre, tennis courts, and sports hall. Former headteachers of the school are Eurof Walters (1967–1979) James McIntyre Smith (1979–1997), and Pauline Ashbee (1997–2006)

Sixth form

The sixth form unit was twinned with that of Hornsey School for Girls in 1987, a union that was dissolved in 2009. The

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 ...

inspection of Highgate Wood School in 2005 commented on its 'improving' sixth form results, which has continued with results improving further year on year and large numbers of students going on to their chosen university places, including places within the Russell Group and at Oxbridge.

Achievements

Highgate Wood School's has enjoyed success in the performing arts and the school's music department has a well-deserved reputation, both for the standard of its concert performances and for the large number of students who benefit from individual instrumental tuition. It has established excellent results in mathematics and science, whilst also nurturing talents in English. Together with strong academic achievement Highgate Wood School has a strong sense of community which was commented on by Ofsted in their inspection in November 2021. Novelist

Romesh Gunesekera Romesh Gunesekera FRSL (born 1954) is a Sri Lankan-born British author, who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for his novel ''Reef'' in 1994. He has judged a number of literary prizes and was Chair of the judges of Commonwealth Short Sto ...

was writer-in-residence at Highgate Wood School. Publications arising from his residency include ''Crumbs on a Page'' (2009), and ''Pages Held With Words'' (2011). The author Keren David also worked with the school as part of the Patron of Reading scheme. Alumni from Highgate Wood School are invited to join their Alumni site a
www.futurefirsthub.org.uk
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Notable former pupils

Anna Shaffer Anna Maureen Barth Shaffer (born 15 March 1992) is an English actress. She gained prominence through her roles as Romilda Vane in the ''Harry Potter'' films and Ruby Button in the E4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. As of 2019, she plays Triss Me ...

- English actress, best known for her role as Ruby Button in teen soap opera Hollyoaks, and for her role as Romilda Vane in the Harry Potter film series. *

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– actress in the BBC soap opera

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(attended from 1995 to 2000)) *

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

– Musical artist *

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(d.1989) – footballer, played for Real Madrid and England *

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– Internationally acclaimed musical artist / performer / producer (attended from 1994 to 1999 *

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– actress in the BBC soap opera

(played role of "Vicky Fowler") (attended from 1997 to 2002) *

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– radio DJ / musical recording artist (attended from 1978 to 1983) *

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– professional footballer (Reading FC) *

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– professional footballer (Reading FC) *

Gary McKinnon Gary McKinnon (born 10 February 1966) is a Scottish systems administrator and hacker who was accused in 2002 of perpetrating the "biggest military computer hack of all time", although McKinnon himself states that he was merely looking for evi ...

(attended from 1977 to 1982) *

Alison Joseph Alison Joseph is an English crime writer based in London where she was born and raised. She studied French and Philosophy at Leeds University, and started her career as a documentary director, making programmes for Channel 4. The first in her c ...

– crime novelist *

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– journalist and ITV Political Editor (attended from 1971 to 1978) * Sonique – musical artist / performer / producer (attended from 1979 to 1984) *

Naomi Kritzer Naomi Kritzer is an American speculative fiction writer and blogger. Her 2015 short story " Cat Pictures Please" was a Locus Award and Hugo Award winner and was nominated for a Nebula Award. Her novel, ''Catfishing on CatNet'' won the 2020 Lod ...

– American science fiction author (attended from 1986 to 1987) *

Mat Zo Matan Zohar ( ; born 30 April 1990), better known by his stage name Mat Zo, is a British producer and DJ. Zohar released his debut album, ''Damage Control'', via the Anjunabeats and Astralwerks labels on 5 November 2013. His second studio alb ...

– British electronic music producer, composer and DJ. * Ozwald Boateng – Fashion designer

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Haringey Community schools in the London Borough of Haringey Educational institutions established in 1967 1967 establishments in England