Valentines High School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

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 ...

located in the Ilford area of the

London Borough of Redbridge The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965. The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the west, the ...

, England. It has approximately 1300 pupils and 93 teachers. Valentines has been a teaching school since 2011, and is a member of the

Leading Edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...

partnership programme. In 2006, it was designated as a specialist school for technology and had technology college status.

History

The school was first opened in 1901 as the Park Higher Grade School, a coeducational secondary school, located at the opposite side of

Valentines Park Valentines Park is a park, south of Gants Hill, it is the largest green space in the London Borough of Redbridge. The park was originally the grounds of Valentines Mansion, a residence built in 1696. Valentines Park holds a Green Flag Award and ...

from the school's present location. The school had over 600 places and taught Latin and French among other subjects. In 1929, the girls' wing of the school was moved to a new building on Cranbrook Road and was named Ilford County High School for Girls, a selective grammar school for girls, while the original site became known as Ilford County High School for Boys, which in 1935 moved to its present-day location in Barkingside. In 1977, the school was renamed Valentines High School, and became coeducational, admitting boys for the first time the following year. In 2007, a new sixth-form building was opened with state-of-the-art physical education facilities including a new astro-turf pitch, tennis courts, sports hall, and drama studio. The sixth-form building currently houses the modern languages, and humanities departments. Following demographic changes to the local area, the school has become very multicultural, with more than 80% of pupils speaking a first language other than English. The current headteacher, Mr Richard Laws, took over as acting Headteacher in 2014, taking over from Mrs Sylvia Jones, who was Headteacher for over 10 years. The former PE teacher has put an emphasis on "discipline, respect and good behaviour" and considerably reduced the size of the sixth form. Currently, the school is extremely culturally and ethnically diverse. Over three-quarters of the school's students speak English as an additional language, while the proportion of students eligible for free school meals is above the national average.

Results

The school was last inspected 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 2021, when it was graded 'outstanding' in every category. In 2022, 73% of students achieved Grade 5 or above in English and Maths GCSEs, placing the school in the top-bracket of non-selective schools.

Notable former pupils

Bolu Babalola Bolu Babalola (born 24 February 1991) is a British author, screenwriter, and journalist. Her debut anthology ''Love in Colour'' was published in 2020 and became a '' Sunday Times'' Bestseller. She appeared on the 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 list for ...

, writer *

Nina Bawden Nina Bawden CBE, FRSL, JP (19 January 1925 – 22 August 2012) was an English novelist and children's writer. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1987 and the Lost Man Booker Prize in 2010. She is one of very few who have both se ...

, CBE novelist and children's writer *

Marion Foale Marion A Foale (born 13 March 1939 in Edmonton, London) is an English artist and fashion designer. With Sally Tuffin, she formed one half of the design team behind the 1960s fashion label Foale and Tuffin. Born in London, Foale attended Ilford ...

, artist and fashion designer *

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for ''The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

, BAFTA award-winning actress, ''

the Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...

'', ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

'' and ''

Humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

'' *

Dawn Neesom Dawn Neesom (born 11 December 1964) is an English journalist. She was promoted to the post of editor of the ''Daily Star (United Kingdom), Daily Star'' newspaper in December 2003, but left at the end of February 2018. Born in Stratford, London, ...

, editor of the Daily Star from 2003 to 2018 * Hussain Manawer, astronaut

References

External links

Valentines High School
{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Redbridge Community schools in the London Borough of Redbridge Ilford