Hazelwick School is a co-educational comprehensive school with academy status for pupils aged 11 to 18, located in Crawley,

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, England.

History

Hazelwick School was built in 1953 as part of developing Crawley as a new town and was opened as Hazelwick county

secondary modern school 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 ...

in 1953. A further building was added in 1959, and in 1960 became a bilateral modern and

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

, becoming a comprehensive school in 1964. In 1971, the school reduced its age range to 12-18, as the area became a three-tier area, with provision for children in

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

s up until the age of twelve, and in 1984 the number of students attending was 1,675. In 2004, with the school once again took pupils aged eleven, at the beginning of year 7. In preparation for this latter change, the school had considerable work done to buildings. It had been thought that the school would form part of the local private finance initiative which re-built other local schools, but this was not to be the case. A full-sized, floodlit, astroturf pitch was added in 2006. A new Learning Resource Centre, library, and specialist IT educational facility were added in 2007.

Academy status

At the start of August 2011, Hazelwick School became an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in line with new laws passed by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

. Academy status was sought due to the school governing body and parental community wanting to have independent control over the school, believing that in the long run the school itself (and the governing body) is best placed to make decisions about its future development.

Students

The school caters for around 2000 pupils who are separated into 7 different years within the school. Years 7 to 8 study at Key Stage 3 which acts as the foundation knowledge of their educational career. Years 9 to 11 study at

Key Stage 4 Key Stage 4 (KS4) is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other examinations, in maintained schools in England normally known as Year 10 and Year 11, when pupils are aged between 14 and 16 by August 31 ...

where pupils study to obtain a variety of qualifications such as; GCSEs, BTECs,

NVQ National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by the ...

s and some pupils can even take

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

s. At Hazelwick's sixth form, approximately 400 students are taught at

Key Stage 5 Key Stage 5 is a label used to describe the two years of education for students aged 16–18, or at sixth form, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, aligning with previous Key Stages as labelled for the National Curriculum. Key Stage 5 is als ...

which provides several qualifications for students to obtain, with the main being

s. A range of other higher level awards such as BTEC and

are also offered by the school.

Curriculum

The school is a

specialist technology college In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were ...

having specialisms in

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

. It was awarded the Naacemark for schools, recognising the school's success in developing and implementing a strategic approach to ICT. Although specialised the school offers a vast range of subjects within the curriculum, from core subjects such as maths, science and English to subjects such as drama, electronics, art, music, ICT and more.

Sister School

Hazelwick School is twinned with Aggrey School in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. This twinning was, until Ann Fearon's appointment as head teacher of the school, celebrated with alternating annual trips being made by sixth formers and teachers. During the visit by Aggrey to Hazelwick, a week of events to do with the cultural aspects of Ghana take place throughout the school to further ties between the two schools.

Notable former pupils

Erin Doherty Erin Rachael Doherty (born 16 July 1992) is a British actress. She played the young Princess Anne in the third and fourth seasons of the Netflix drama ''The Crown'', and Becky in the BBC/Amazon Prime drama ''Chloe'' (2022). Early life and ed ...

, actress, Jessie March in ''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Ha ...

'' (2017), Fabienne in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' (2018),

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

in ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

'' (2019). *

Alex Mayer Alexandra Louise Mayer (born 2 June 1981) is a former British Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England region for the Labour Party. She took up the post in November 2016 following the resignation of Richard Howitt, and ...

, Member of the European Parliament (2016–2019) *

Laura Moffatt Laura Jean Moffatt (''née'' Field; born 9 April 1954) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Crawley from 1997 until 2010. Early life Born Laura Jean Field in London in 1954, she was educated at Hazelw ...

, Former

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Crawley (1997–2010) *

Mike Hazlewood Michael Edward Hazlewood (24 December 1941 – 6 May 2001)Mike Hazelwood – Credits ...

, musician, co-writer of "The Air That I Breathe" recorded by The Hollies * Philip Lawson, singer, composer, arranger, baritone with The King's Singers (1994–present) * Grace Saif, actress known for Doctors and the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

show

13 Reasons Why ''13 Reasons Why'' is an American teen drama television series developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and based on the 2007 novel ''Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. The series revolves around high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan M ...

. *

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup ...

, England manager (from 2016), former England football player, and Middlesbrough manager/player. * Dan Walker, BBC breakfast presenter, former sports presenter, born and raised in Crawley. * David Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge. * Sam Twomey, Former rugby player for Harlequins and

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

Notable former teachers

Romesh Ranganathan Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan (born 27 March 1978), is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and often self-deprecating comedy. Ranganathan has made numerous appearances on television comedy panel shows, and in 2016 he co-p ...

, comedian (head of sixth form and maths teacher). His now wife Leesa was teaching drama at the school at the time.

References

External links

Official WebsiteOfsted Report
{{authority control Secondary Schools in Crawley Academies in West Sussex Buildings and structures in Crawley Secondary schools in West Sussex People educated at Hazelwick School