Highsted Grammar School is a state-funded selective secondary school (
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 ...
) for girls in
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...
,
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 ...
.
History
The school was established in 1904 in Brenchley House on Sittingbourne High Street as Sittingbourne High School for Girls. It moved to its current site in Highsted Road in the late 1950s, at which time it was known as Sittingbourne Girls’ Grammar School (SGGS).
In common with many secondary schools in England, Highsted has a
house system
The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...
. When formed in 1904 the houses were: Briton, Cymru, Scots and Spartan. The houses now are: Chanel, Eliot, Franklin, Keller, Roddick, Seacole.
The school, now known as Highsted Grammar School, converted to Academy status in 2011. It now takes both boys and girls into its Sixth Form. In September 2013, Anne Kelly took over as headteacher after the retirement of former headteacher Jennifer Payne.
Description
Virtually all maintained schools and academies follow the
National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...
, and are 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 ...
on how well they succeed in delivering a 'broad and balanced curriculum'.
Unusually, Highsted which converted to an academy in 2011 has not had a Section 5 inspection since then.
On conversion, all schools have a three-year exemption window: Ofsted looked at the previous maintained school's last two inspections and has not seen the need to do an inspection.
Within a three-year
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...
, year 7, 8 and 9 pupils study the complete range of National Curriculum subjects. The core programme is English, Mathematics, 3 Sciences Information & Communications Technology (ICT), History, Geography, and Modern Languages chosen from French, German and Spanish. Art & Design, Design & Technology, Drama, Food & Nutrition, Music, Physical Education (PE) and Religious Education (RE)are also taught. There is also a Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) curriculum is delivered using focus days and is included in a Highsted feature, the voluntary but heavily advised 'Super Curriculum'.
Contrary to the Ofsted recommendation, certain pupils will commence some GCSE subjects in year 9. Students start by doing 3 lots of 30-min long homework a night.
Years 10 and 11 are the
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. ...
examination years, Like all other schools, GCSE courses are currently studied, Which include the core of compulsory subjects needed to reach the
Progress 8 benchmark
The Progress 8 benchmark is an accountability measure used by the government of the United Kingdom to measure the effectiveness of secondary schools in England. It bands pupils into groups based on their scores in English and mathematics during the ...
: English (Language and Literature), Mathematics, Science (Biology, Chemistry & Physics) taken to GCSE as core and additional or three separate Science subjects, ICT (Diploma in Digital Applications), a Modern Language (from French, German or Spanish), and either Geography or History.
Further options are studied for GCSE examinations; these are typically on offer: Art & Design, Business Studies, Design & Technology, Drama, a second Modern Language, Music, a second humanities subject, PE, RE and Sociology. Other non-exam courses are provided to meet statutory requirements: PE, PSHE, Careers Education and RE.
In
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 also ...
otherwise known as the Sixth Form, a traditional range of 'A level' academic courses are offered
Social
A Facebook page was set up in 2014 with the aim of creating a Highsted Old Girls Association.
Highsted Old Girls' Association
School website. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
References
{{authority control
Sittingbourne
Grammar schools in Kent
Academies in Kent