Colchester High School

Colchester High School

Motto	God first, Others second, Self last.
Established	1882
Type	Independent day school
Religion	Christian
Principal	Mr David Young
Head of Sixth Form	Dr George Georgiou
Head of Senior School	Mr Andrew Croydon
Head of Lower School	Mrs Catherine Bickersteth
Chair of Governors	Mrs Danuta Tomasz
Location	Wellesley Road Colchester Essex CO3 3HD England
DfE number	881/6015
DfE URN	115409 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Staff	86
Students	470~
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	3–16
Colours	Blue & Yellow
Publication	The Royal Blue
Website	www.colchesterhighschool.co.uk

Colchester High School is a profit-making coeducational independent school located in Colchester in Essex, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group. Colchester High is the only coeducational independent school in Colchester to offer secondary education.

History

The school was a girls' school only when it opened in 1882. It took boys from 1910, with the first Principal, Mr. Groene, stoutly refusing all approaches by the County Education Committee to incorporate the School into its education remit. It has pursued its independent course ever since, despite a spell as a hospital annexe from 1917–18 and being strafed in 1941. For many years the school was family owned. In 2005, it was bought by Cognita, the largest independent schools business in the UK. The school is still affectionately known by many of the Old pupils from before it became co-educational as the "Boys'" or "Boys' High".

The school today

The school admits pupils aged 3 to 18 from a wide catchment area including Colchester, Braintree, Marks Tey, Coggeshall, Kelvedon, Tiptree, Maldon,and Wivenhoe. Entry is normally at ages 3–16 . Children are able to join at other ages if there is a vacancy. Younger children spend an informal morning at the school whilst entry to the Senior School from the Juniors is via an Entrance assessment, often held in March. Admission is on the basis of interview and/or assessment, but pupils will not be disadvantaged by the school by virtue of gender, race, background or religion. The 2008 GCSE results for the school were at a high standard, making Colchester High one of the top ranking schools in Essex.

Class sizes are typically small ranging from between 1 to 24 pupils and up to 8 in the Sixth Form.

The school has an 'Old Boys' Association' which all Old Colcestrians are eligible to join once they have left the school, often after their exam year. Membership of the OBA allows the members to wear the association tie and attend the "social events" of the year.

The school has four houses: Normans (Royal Blue); Saxons (Old Gold); Romans (Red); and Danes (Forest Green). . Each house has its own House Master and two senior boys who act as a Captain of the House and a Sports Captain as well as approximately three to four Prefects. The school has traditionally tried to place pupils in the same house as any relatives who have attended the school before them.

The school plays several sports during school 'Games', they are mainly: Rugby; Football; Cross Country; Hockey; Athletics; and Cricket. During each Year's PE lessons the main sports are: Badminton; Indoor Cricket; Darts; Circuit Training; Volleyball and Basketball.

St Mary's School, which is nearby, is often paired with Colchester High School in sport, education and leisure (such as the annual Christmas ball).

Notable former pupils

Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow

External links

• Colchester High School website
• Profile on the ISC website