High Storrs School

High Storrs School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form college with academy status[2] on the south-western outskirts of Sheffield, England. The main school building is Grade II listed. It moved to its current site in 1933 and has stood there ever since. The school is often noted locally for the fact it doesn't have a set uniform, instead allowing students to wear what they like as long as it follows the dress code.[3]

High Storrs School
Address
High Storrs Road

Sheffield
,
South Yorkshire
,
S11 7LH

England
Coordinates53.3576°N 1.5224°W / 53.3576; -1.5224
Information
TypeCommunity school
MottoDesigned for Success
Established1933 (1933)
Local authorityCity of Sheffield
Department for Education URN107139 Tables
OfstedReports
ChairDavid Mowbray[1]
Head teacherClaire Tasker
GenderMixed
Age11 to 18
Enrolment1575
HousesCrucible, Lyceum, Merlin, Montgomery
Colour(s)Red, yellow, blue, green
Former nameHigh Storrs Grammar School
Websitewww.highstorrs.co.uk
The back of the school in before it was renovated.

Admissions

High Storrs has a Sixth Form in Ecclesall and is a specialist Arts College in the Performing Arts, with a secondary specialism in Maths and Computing.

History

Central Technical School

The school opened on 10 March 1880 as the Central Higher Grade School in the centre of Sheffield. Its first headmaster was Mr. A. F. McBean. It built a new Science wing in 1895 and began providing science teaching for boys only. In 1904, the school became officially recognised as a secondary school. In 1906, the school was divided into two schools, one for boys and one for girls. It relocated to its present site at High Storrs in 1933. The Old Centralians was an association for former pupils that operated until 2015.[4]

Grammar school

The building housed two separate grammar schools from the 1940s to 1968: High Storrs Grammar School for Boys, and High Storrs Grammar School for Girls. It was administered by the Sheffield Education Committee. The buildings were improved in the early 1960s.

Comprehensive

These were merged into a single comprehensive school, starting in September 1969 with around 1,600 boys and girls.

In 1993 a 17-year-old pupil was killed by a wound form a bayonet by a pupil of Notre Dame High School in Sheffield in Endcliffe Park.[5]

Renovation

Almost £27 million was allocated for a complete refurbishment and remodelling of the school under the Government's Building Schools for the Future programme, with £2 million being spent on ICT equipment. Due to the school's Grade II listed status, only the interior of the main school building could be refurbished, with the exterior remaining almost unchanged. A new extension was built at the north end of the building to replace the old dining rooms, school hall and performing arts block, whilst a second extension was built to replace the 1960s additions at the south end of the school. This included a modern sports hall. Preparatory work on the field ready for the new temporary teaching rooms began in July 2008. Demolition of the 1960s extensions to the north of the school was completed in November 2008, and the project was completed in 2011. A grand opening event was held at the school on 17 September 2011, shortly after the school year had begun. At the event, the school launched their new commemorative book, titled High Storrs The Journey, which celebrated the school's history. It was sold for £9.99 to raise money for the school. There were also speeches from David Blunkett, former MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.[6]

Post-renovation

On 14 July 2016, the school announced that Claire Tasker was taking over from Ian Gage, the outgoing headteacher. At the time, Tasker was a co-head at Tapton School. She took over from Gage at the start of the 2016–17 academic year.[7]

On 1 March 2018, the chair of the school's governing body and the headteacher jointly announced in a statement on the school website that it had become an academy and a member of the Minerva Learning Trust.

Houses and curriculum

In 2008 the "Key Stage" system was changed to the Vertical System, where instead of year groups, there are houses with ten forms to each house. Each form has a varied number of pupils from Y7-11 and no sixth formers. There are 2 classes of around 30 in each house, so 8 classes. Forms 1–5 are a class and forms 6–10 are a class. This applies to most classes in Y7 and Y8 and only some of the mandatory subjects in Y9 (Like English and RE). In Y10 and Y11, very few subjects follow this system. The classes are labelled with the year followed by the first two letters of their house (e.g. Crucible would be Cr) and ending with either X or Y (e.g. a Y7 class of Montgomery forms 1-5 would be called 7MoX as opposed to forms 6-10 which would be 7MoY). This system is meant to reduce bullying and encourage friendships with pupils of different ages. The four houses are named after the main four theatres in Sheffield: Crucible, Lyceum, Merlin and Montgomery. Sixth form students are also attached to a vertical form for organisational and mentoring purposes; typically three sixth formers are attached to one form. However, they are not part of the house system. Even though they are not grouped with the other years, the school operates a scheme which allows sixth form liaison teams to mentor the younger students. Each house has a head along with a student supportperson.[8] The head of house is usually the person who presents the weekly assemblies, often alongside the headteacher.

The houses also compete against each other in sporting events such as its annual sports day, held at the English Institute of Sport.

House House Colour Head of House Student Support
Crucible Red Mrs L. Chenery Mrs M. Lomas
Lyceum Yellow Miss R. Ashley Mrs A. Osborne
Merlin Blue Mr I. O'Connor Mrs M. Stephens
Montgomery Green Mr N. Mallaband Ms J. Jilani

The school operates a system of periods, in which each day has five periods. These periods are each one hour long. Students in Y7-11 receive 15 minutes of form time a day between 8:40 and 9:55 except for when there is an assembly, when the form time is instead occupied by the assembly (although occasionally the assembly may overrun into the first period). Students and teachers receive one hour of break time a day, including 15 minutes between periods 2 and 3 (between 10:55 and 11:10, the bell is sounded at 11:05 though to give students and teachers adequate time to get to their next lesson). They receive another break for lunch between periods 3 and 4 which lasts for 45 minutes (from 12:10 to 12:55). In Y7 and Y8, students receive 3 hours each of Maths, English and Science a week. They also receive 2 hours of French, PE, Design and Technology/Food Tech (students typically receive 30 weeks of D&T and 10 weeks of Food Tech a year), History and Geography and 1 lesson a week of PSHCEE and RE. Students also receive a lesson of ICT a week, however this is taught on a rotary basis in Y7, with the other half of the year spent learning Classics. Drama, Art, Music and Dance are also taught on a rotary basis in both years, with Y7s receiving one hour of Dance/Drama and two hours of Art/Music. Y8s, however receive one hour of Dance/Music and two hours of Art/Drama. Students in Y8 receive an options form around March to ask them for the subjects they would like to learn in Key Stage 4. They are later asked around the middle of Y9 to confirm their choices for Y10 and Y11. They are asked one more time in the middle of Y10 to confirm their choices for Y11. English, Maths, Science, PSCHEE and PE are mandatory for the whole of KS4, whilst RE is only mandatory for Y9.[9][10][11]

Policies

Non-negotiables

In September 2018, High Storrs introduced a new non-negotiable policy. It is a list of 8 rules the school expects all students to abide by. A breach of one of these rules may incur discipline, including isolation and temporary exclusion. For some of the more extreme non-negotiables, like bringing weapons onto the premises, permanent exclusion may be considered.

1.Do as you are asked first time.

2.Enter and exit school via the pedestrian entrances. Arrive on time.

3.Stick to the dress code.

4.Do not litter and use the appropriate bins.

5.Do not swear and do not intimidate, fight or bully others.

6.Only eat in the dining room, flexible lunch spaces or on the field.

7.Mobile phones are only to be used in phone zones or in classrooms with permission.

8.The following items are banned on site; energy drinks, chewing gum, alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco, vaping equipment, knives or weapons* and illegal drugs*

*Permanent exclusion from school is always considered if a student brings these things into school.

— High Storrs School, Non-Negotiables, Non-Negotiables policy

Phone zones

Unlike many other schools, High Storrs allows mobile phone usage on the school premises, as long as it is within one of their 'phone zones'. The areas where mobile phone use is permitted include the Piazza, Field, Dining Room and within classrooms so long as the teacher has given permission to use them. Use outside phone zones is prohibited and may result in confiscation. Use of headphones are also prohibited anywhere on the school site unless they are required for the lesson.[12]

Exam pass rate

In 2019 66.4% of pupils who took GCSE exams achieved grade 5 or above in Maths and English.[13] The average points score for AS and A2 Level students in 2008 was 675.8, below the national average of 739.8.[14]

It gets above-average GCSE results and A-levels at the England average.

Former teachers

Notable former pupils

High Storrs Grammar School for Girls

High Storrs Grammar School for Boys
gollark: Ask whether you have a prize or not.
gollark: I'd say that there are at least 100000 accounts.
gollark: I doubt it. *At any time* there are, what, 800 on?
gollark: We could do a discord survey or something.
gollark: Not that many compared to the userbase, I bet.

References
  1. "Governors : Our School : High Storrs School". highstorrs.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. "Minerva Learning Trust : High Storrs School". Minerva Learning Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. "Dress Code". highstorrs.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  4. Old Centralians website Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, History page
  5. School violence
  6. "Did you go to High Storrs School?". sheffieldforum.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  7. Mowbray, David. "New Headteacher Appointment". Archived from the original on 30 August 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  8. "Forms & Houses : Our School". highstorrs.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  9. "Curriculum Information". highstorrs.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  10. "Making Key Stage 4 Choices". highstorrs.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  11. "Key Stage 4 Information Evening". highstorrs.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  12. "Policies and Forms". highstorrs.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  13. "High Storrs School - GOV.UK". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  14. BBC News A Level League Tables 2008
  15. Leslie Evans - gov.scot
  16. Ms Tessa Bramley Authorised Biography | Debrett's People of Today
  17. Times Educational Supplement, accessed 25 March 2009
  18. The Very Reverend Alfred Jowett – Telegraph
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