Orchard Park High School (formerly Edenham High School) is an 11–16 mixed,

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

with academy status in

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American biographical film about Shirley Jackson * ''Shirley'' ( ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, England. It was formerly a

foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the school governor, governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in Community school (England and Wales), community schools. Foundation schools ...

and became an academy in September 2015. It adopted its present name in September 2017 and is part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust.

History

Orchard Park High School was formerly a

known as Edenham High School. It was Croydon's last remaining local authority secondary school, until it became an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

as part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust in September 2015. It changed its name to Orchard Park High School with a new badge and uniform in September 2017. The changes represent its location in the

Monks Orchard Monks Orchard is a suburb on the edge of the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London, England, prior to 1965 it was located in the historical county of Surrey. It is situated about 10 miles (16.1 km) south sou ...

community and the heritage of the school site, with elements of the previous landowners family crests used.

Notable alumni

Edenham High School *

Ben Haenow Benjamin Bernard Haenow (born 6 January 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2014, he was crowned as the winner of the eleventh series of ''The X Factor'' UK after beating Fleur East. Following his win, his debut single, a cover of O ...

, singer *

Joshua Buatsi Joshua Buatsi (born 14 March 1993) is a British professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim light-heavyweight title from 2024 to February 2025. At regional level, he has held the British light-heavyweight title twic ...

, professional boxer *

Feroz Abbasi Feroz Abbasi (born 1979) is one of nine British men who were held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. He was released from detention and repatriated in 2005 and released by the British gover ...

, former Guantanamo Bay detainee

Notable staff

Gavin McGowan Gavin Gregory McGowan (born 16 January 1976) is an English retired professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. McGowan featured for Arsenal F.C., Arsenal in the Premier League and for ...

, former PE teacher

References

External links

* Secondary schools in the London Borough of Croydon Academies in the London Borough of Croydon {{London-school-stub