The Holy Trinity Church of England Secondary School is a voluntary-aided

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

, West Sussex, England. The school has a roll of around 1300 students. In December 2015, Paul Kennedy left as head teacher. In April 2015, Reverend Millwood was chosen as the new head. Holy Trinity offers a range of GCSE, BTEC and A-Level courses. These are both vocational and part of the English Baccalaureate. Subjects range from English, to languages to Art. Holy Trinity also offers a WorkSkills course, which is designed as a GCSE subject to prepare students for future employment. There is a sixth form centre if students wish to continue their studies at an advanced level. The school has a main site with new additions built on to it over time. These include a drama studio, Sports Hall and the 'Chichester Refectory' (the school's canteen). In 2014, P. Sumner left as deputy head teacher after serving over 24 years at the school. In September 2014, R. Bradley was announced and became the school's new deputy head teacher.

Voluntary aided status

The government provides the school with grant aid to cover 90% of the costs for external building maintenance and improvements. The governors are responsible for 10% of total costs. Each family represented in the school is invited to commit an annual donation. The school is run by the Church of England and has been since its opening in 1969; some of the original buildings still exist.

History

The Holy Trinity School is believed to have been the first purpose-built

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

in the country. It provides a secondary education based on Christian belief. Although the school started to take pupils in September 1967, it was not opened officially until 17 December 1969, when The Queen came to open the school.

School places

Admission to the school is by application only and the pupils come from an area within a ten-mile radius of

. The school takes children from some independent schools as well as local state primary schools. The Governors give priority to those who regularly attend a place of Christian worship but they also try to offer as many other places as possible to those who particularly want the school because of its Christian foundation, ethos and values.

Sport

The school has a history of success within its basketball programme, having won the nationwide basketball U15 National Schools Conference, alongside becoming national champions in the U19 and U15 categories in 2015. Furthermore the programme has produced a number of players who have gone on to represent both the national team and compete overseas in the US.

Records

Holy Trinity has appeared in the Guinness Book of Records for holding the longest continuous basketball rally. Holy Trinity smashed the record of 60 hours and 3 seconds (set by Japan) and pushed the record to just over 72 hours. The record was set over 13–16 July 2007. However the school no longer holds the record. It was raised to 81 hours in 2008 in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

School productions

The drama and music departments work with pupils to create productions every November, alternating between musicals and straight plays. Some productions are: * '' Wendy and Peter Pan'' 2016 * ''

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 original ...

'' 2015 * ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'' 2014 * ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

'' 2013 * ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' 2012 * '' Back to the 80s'' 2011 * ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'' 2010 * ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' 2009 * ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...

'' 2008 * ''

Seussical ''Seussical'' is a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on ''Horton Hears a Who!'', '' Gertrude McFuzz'', and ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' while inc ...

'' 2007

Model United Nations and Debating Society

Until 2011 the school held an annual

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

Conference around the beginning of July. The conference brought pupils from schools around the area together to

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

and resolve problems together. The Holy Trinity School also had a permanent

Debating Society Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

, meeting once a week to debate on key subjects concerning the school and the world. As well as hosting their own

Model UN Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

at the school, the Debating Society takes part in Model UN meetings at other schools. The Society (and the school in general) takes part in the National MACE Speaking competition each year; the competition is run by the

English-Speaking Union The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organistation. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures, by building skill ...

. For three consecutive years the school has progressed beyond the first round of the competition.

Notes

External links

*
Holy Trinity Record (Newspaper)
{{authority control Secondary Schools in Crawley Buildings and structures in Crawley Educational institutions established in 1969 Secondary schools in West Sussex 1969 establishments in England Church of England secondary schools in the Diocese of Chichester Voluntary aided schools in England