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Cheshunt School

Cheshunt School is a secondary school and sixth form for boys and girls, located in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, UK.

Cheshunt School is a mixed Foundation comprehensive school for students aged 11 to 18 years at Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. It has 994 pupils on roll, including 120 students in the sixth form, making it broadly average in size. The School is part of the South Broxbourne Sixth Form Partnership, a partnership of three schools(along with Turnford School and St.Marys School)which work together to provide a wide range of sixth form opportunities in the local area. The Partnership was mentioned by Ofsted as an example of good post-16 collaborative practice in their recent Area-Wide Inspection Report on post-16 provision in Hertfordshire.

Students of all abilities attend the School. The School has, since 2003, been designated as a Specialist Technology College. It has the Sportsmark award, is a TTA Partnership Promotion School and has Investor in People status. Many students come from a less prosperous area in the Lea Valley and the number of students eligible for free school meals is above average. The School has become much more popular in the local community, thanks to the efforts of the Headteacher, Staff, Governors and students of the School. The PTA (Friends of Cheshunt) has provided invaluable support as has the school's dynamic sixth form 'Head Team'. Cheshunt School continues to be oversubscribed each year.

The School has recently seen a significant rise in its academic results and was named in January 2007 by the DFES in its prestigious list of the 'Top 100 Most Improved Schools' in England. The School has also been elected to the 'Most Improved Schools Club' for 2007 by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. This is the second time the School has been elected to the Club in the last three years. The 2006 Key Stage 3 results show Cheshunt to be well above national averages, the Key Stage 2-3 value added score being the second highest of the seven Lea Valley schools and only 0.4% behind the top school.

Most pupils transfer to the School from seven main partner primary schools, of which five are Specialist Status partners, though pupils come from over 30 schools. The number of students from minority ethnic backgrounds is, at 13%, higher than in most schools and the number for whom English is not their mother tongue is also above average. The number on the school’s register of special educational needs is above the national average, though the number with statements of specials educational need is below average. The number of pupils who enter or leave during the school year is below average. Until recently, only small numbers of pupils have remained in full-time education at the end of Year 11, but now more than half are doing so, with an increased number entering the School’s sixth form. Around a third of students enter higher education on leaving the sixth form. In the last three years the School has provide members of the full England U16 Football, Rugby Union and Rugby League teams. The School is also known for its excellence in athletics.

History

Cheshunt School was built in 1935 in Windmill Lane, Cheshunt as a Grammar School. The original building had both BOYS and GIRLS entrances. Over the years many newer buildings were added around the original building. In 1988 the County Council closed the nearby Bishopslea school, and distributed the pupils around the other local schools, although Cheshunt took most of the pupils and some teachers. In 1990, it was decided to move the entire school to the old Bishopslea Site in College Road. The school moved to the Bishopslea site in September 1992 and remains there to this day. The old school was demolished and became a housing estate, with street names reflecting the names of past people at the school. Until 2005, the old outdoor pool remained disused and undeveloped, but has since been turned into flats.

In September 2006 the old Science Labs were refurbished with a radical new design and the swimming pool was also modernised. The new pool opened April 2007.