Woodhouse College is a single site selective state

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 ...

centre situated between

North Finchley North Finchley is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Barnet, situated 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Charing Cross. North Finchley is centred on Tally Ho Corner, the junction of the roads to East Finchley, Church End, Friern Ba ...

and

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards North ...

on the eastern side of the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is one of the most successful sixth form colleges in England and is a member of The Maple Group. It was formerly a state grammar school, known as Woodhouse Grammar School.

Admissions

The college caters mainly for full-time students aged 16 to 18 whose primary aim is to progress to

Higher Education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

. Entrance grade criteria are similar to other high-performing sixth forms in Barnet.

History

Woodhouse Grammar School

After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the former residence of ornamental plasterer Thomas Collins (1735–1830) in the Woodhouse area of Finchley was reconstructed; the house became The Woodhouse School in 1923. A blue plaque commemorating Thomas Collins is on the wall outside the present college office. The school coat of arms with the motto 'Cheerfulness with Industry' is still displayed above the stage in the college hall. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the school continued to function while the basement was used by the ARP service. The names of the forty-seven former pupils who died during WWII are recorded in a hand-illuminated Roll of Honour which hangs at the foot of the main staircase near the front entrance to the college. The Roll of Honour also records the names of the four houses of the old grammar school: Gordon, Livingstone, Nightingale and Scott.

Sixth Form

Woodhouse Grammar School was later reconstituted as Woodhouse Sixth Form College. There were plans to merge the school with Friern Barnet County Secondary School in 1971, but these were blocked by local MP

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. Thatcher gave a speech at the college in May 1983. In January 2021 Woodhouse College converted to academy status and is now part of the Frontier Learning Trust.

Academic performance

The college achieves above average A-level results. Woodhouse College's 2022 results were 83% grades A* - B.

Notable alumni

Woodhouse Grammar School

Cyril Fletcher Cyril Fletcher (25 June 1913 – 2 January 2005) was an English comedian, actor and businessman. His catchphrase was 'Pin back your lugholes'. He was best known for his "Odd Odes", which later formed a section of the television show ''That' ...

, comedian famous for his "odd odes" *

Giles Hart Giles Vernon Hart (20 November 1949 – 7 July 2005) was a British Telecom engineer working for BT Operate and a trade unionist. Early life Hart was born in Khartoum, Sudan, when his father was head of English at Gordon College. He moved to Engla ...

, British engineer and trade union activist *

Ian Bedford Philip Ian Bedford (11 February 1930 – 18 September 1966) was an English first-class cricketer who had a sensational start to his first-class career with Middlesex in 1947 as a 17-year-old lower-order batsman and leg break bowler. In his fir ...

, cricketer * John Somerville, sculptor *

Oliver Postgate Richard Oliver Postgate (12 April 1925 – 8 December 2008), generally known as Oliver Postgate, was an English animator, puppeteer, and writer. He was the creator and writer of some of Britain's most popular children's television progra ...

, English animator and creator of Bagpuss *

Paul Davies Paul Charles William Davies (born 22 April 1946) is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, a professor in Arizona State University and Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He is affiliated with the Institute ...

, astrophysicist * Robert G. W. Anderson, Director of the British Museum * Jagdip Jagpal, director of

India Art Fair India Art Fair, previously known as India Art Summit founded bSunil Gautam is an annual Indian modern and contemporary art fair held in New Delhi, India. The fair includes paintings, sculptures, photography, mixed media, prints, drawings and vid ...

Woodhouse Sixth Form College

Daisy Edgar-Jones Daisy Jessica Edgar-Jones (born 24 May 1998) is a British actress. She began her career with the television series ''Cold Feet'' (2016–2020) and ''War of the Worlds'' (2019–2021). Edgar-Jones gained wider recognition for her starring role ...

, actress *

Johann Hari Johann Eduard Hari (born 21 January 1979) is a British-Swiss writer and journalist who has written for ''The Independent'' and ''The Huffington Post''. In 2011, Hari was suspended from ''The Independent'' and later resigned, after admitting to ...

, British journalist and writer *

Julia Hartley-Brewer Julia Hartley-Brewer is an English radio presenter, political journalist and newspaper columnist. She hosts the weekday breakfast radio show on Talkradio. Early life Julia Hartley-Brewer's father, Michael John Hartley-Brewer, stood unsuccessfu ...

, British journalist, broadcaster and presenter *

Naomie Harris Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is a British actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series ''Simon and the Witch'' in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the zombie film ''28 Days Later'' (2002 ...

, actress *

David Hirsh David Hirsh (born 29 September 1967) is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and co-founder of Engage, a campaign against the academic boycott of Israel. Early life and education Hirsh was raised in a Jewish fami ...

, sociologist *

Jesse Honey Jesse Honey (born 1977) is an English urban planner and quiz player from South London, best known for winning the ''Mastermind'' series 2010 and holding one of its records, becoming a member of the English National quiz team l ...

, BBC Mastermind winner 2010 and World Quiz Champion 2012 *

Michael McIntyre Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is an English comedian, writer and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He currently presents his own Saturday night series, ''Michael Mc ...

, stand-up comedian *

Ali Jawad Ali Jawad (born 12 January 1989) is a British Paralympic powerlifting, Paralympic powerlifter competing in the −59 kg class. Born without legs, he took up powerlifting at the age of 16. He competed in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in Londo ...

, Paralympic Powerlifter (Silver Medallist, Rio 2016) *

Robert Rinder Robert Michael Rinder (; born 31 May 1978) better known as Judge Rinder, is a British criminal barrister and television personality. In 2014, while still a practising barrister, he began hosting the reality courtroom series ''Judge Rinder''. ...

, Judge Rinder, barrister *

Stephen Bush Stephen Kupakwesu Bush (born 21 March 1990) is a British journalist. He is columnist and associate editor at the ''Financial Times'' and has also written for ''The Guardian'', ''The Telegraph,'' '' i'' and ''New Statesman''. Early life and educ ...

, Journalist

References

External links

Woodhouse College

EduBase
{{authority control Academies in the London Borough of Barnet Learning and Skills Beacons Education in the London Borough of Barnet Friern Barnet