Hugh Christie School is a

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 ...

based in

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In November 2006 the school moved into a new £14 million building. The school currently has a roll of approximately 1150 students. Hugh Christie is part of the Tonbridge School Federation, which includes Long Mead Primary School and Little Foxes Children's Centre. The Principal of the Federation is Jon Barker while the Head of School is Mark Fenn.

School history

The school first opened in 1957, founded by

Hugh Christie Hugh Christie OBE (died 1962) was an English farmer and educator. He was a founder member of the National Farmers Union and was also involved in the formation of the Women's Institutes. Hugh Whitmore Christie was married to Nellie Christie. Their ...

, with Roy Howard as the head teacher under the name "Hugh Christie Secondary Modern." It was originally a one-building school in Norwich Avenue. Between the 1960s and 2006, it was located at two neighbouring sites, Norwich Avenue and White Cottage Road. The school's motto, taken from Acts 27:23 of the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

, was "Whose I am I Serve". Deputy headteacher Daphne Whitmore received the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

list of 1988. In 1994 the school was re-branded as "Hugh Christie Technology College" and became well known for its specialities in

Information and Communication Technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...

. A new logo and new uniform were subsequently introduced. The motto changed to "Learning to succeed". In March 2006, the school began an extensive rebuilding project, which was completed in September 2007, allowing the school to be located on a single site, White Cottage Road. An updated logo and uniform were also introduced. An all-weather playing field has recently been completed. Hugh Christie is also home to the Tonbridge Tennis Club. The school's motto is "The Place to Be" and was re-branded to Hugh Christie School in 2018, following the loss of the technology college status.

Notable former pupils

* Dame

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British ...

, Olympic athlete *

Rob Smith (racing driver) Rob Smith (born 21 May 1992) is a British racing driver currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently o ...

Andy Titterrell Andrew James Titterrell (born 10 January 1981 in Dartford, England) is a former rugby union player who played at hooker and previously for England. Titterrell was educated at the Hugh Christie Technology College in Tonbridge and Sevenoaks Sch ...

, rugby player *

Paul Way Paul Graham Albert Way (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional golfer. Way was born in Kingsbury, Middlesex. He went to the Hugh Christie School in Tonbridge, Kent. He won the Brabazon Trophy in 1981. Way turned professional in 1982 an ...

, golfer * Isaac Holman, singer

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1957 Secondary schools in Kent 1957 establishments in England Foundation schools in Kent Schools in Tonbridge