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The Bishop's Stortford High School
Address
Beaumont Avenue Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 4SH England
Coordinates	51°51′24″N 0°09′44″E / 51.85667°N 0.16234°E / 51.85667; 0.16234
Information
Type	Foundation school
Motto	RESPICE – ASPICE – PROSPICE (Look to the past, present and future)
Established	1950
Local authority	Hertfordshire
Department for Education URN	117577 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Headteacher	Dale Reeve
Gender	Boys and Mixed Sixth Form
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1255
Houses	Chantry, Dane, Meads, Shaw, Twyford, and Waytemore
Website	http://www.tbshs.org

The Bishop's Stortford High School (often abbreviated to TBSHS) is a comprehensive secondary school, with a coeducational sixth form, in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. The school admits boys aged 11 to 16 in the first five years, with a mixed sixth form of boys and girls aged 16 to 18. The school had specialisms in Mathematics and Computing, focusing on these areas as well as music, drama and sport, possessing state-of-the-art in-house computing facilities and providing assistance to local schools in this area. The current Headmaster, Mr D. Reeve, was appointed in January 2014.

In September 2024, the school moved to an all new purpose-built site on the nearby new development, St. James' Park. After a delayed start to term the school officially welcomed the first students on Friday 6 September 2024.

History

From the 1980s onwards the school extensively added to its original buildings; a dedicated Sixth Form Centre was built and the Turing Suite (an extensive computing and ICT facility, named after Alan Turing) was constructed. A drama studio named 'Broadway' and an on-site sports pavilion were also added to the school, in addition to the set of playing fields at Jobber's Wood. The school site also has 'Newton', a combined Design technology, Science and Languages block named after Sir Isaac Newton, which opened in 1995.

After 2 decades, finally in October 2021 the new school development officially started on the new site at St. James' Park. The original plan in place was for the school to be completed by November 2022 and opening in January 2023. With continuous delays, the school 'topped out' in October 2023 and finally opened in September 2024 welcoming its first students on Friday 6 September 2024. Development on the new school is still underway with the new sports hall facility set to be completed in 2025.

Awards and recognition

Former Deputy Head Paul Noble was recognised as a regional winner in the 2000 BT Award for Most Creative Use of ICT – Secondary.

In 2003, two students from the school were national champions in the English-Speaking Union's Public Speaking Competition, winning the English national final out of a field of 500 schools. In the faceoff of the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh national tournaments, Nick Devlin and Richard Goodman of The Bishop's Stortford High School were selected as champions and were awarded the Silver Mace.

A student from the school was a member of the four-person English team at the 15th World Schools Debating Championships in Lima, Peru.

On 5 November 2007 the school won the Becta award for ICT Excellence in Leadership and Management. The school was described as a "successful all-boys school".

Academic performance

Overall, the School was rated Very Good, point two on a seven-point scale, whilst the component 'Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities' was rated Excellent, point one, by Ofsted in their report on 22 April 2005. In a subsequent inspection in 2008, the school was rated as Outstanding.

In an inspection report, independent government schools adjudicator Ofsted said: "This is a very good school which provides very good value for money and is highly thought of in the local community. The high quality of much of the teaching enables the students to achieve very well throughout the school. Standards are well above average by GCSE and above average in the sixth form."

In a more recent inspection on the 1–2 May 2013 and under a new scheme of inspection, the school was rated overall as Good with the category 'Behaviour and safety of pupils' being rated as Outstanding.

In March 2017, the school was rated overall as Outstanding, with the report highlighting "high-quality teaching typified by the exceptionally strong working relationships established between staff and pupils".

In May 2023 Ofsted visited the School and confirmed that the School remains Outstanding. 'Pupils achieve highly at this stunning school.' Ofsted 2023.

School organisation

Years 7 to 11 are divided into six forms of 30, each with a Head of Year and Pastoral Assistant (Inclusion Manager) for Years 7 & 8 and Years 9, 10, & 11.

In the Sixth Form, Year 12s and 13 are grouped in forms of girls and boys with an over-arching Head of Sixth Form – Mr George Munro, assisted by two Deputy Heads of Sixth Form and a Pastoral Administrator.

Houses

There are six 'Houses'. These Houses centre on local areas or history in the town: Chantry, Dane, Meads, Shaw, Twyford and Waytemore. The Houses apply to all year groups, and individual pupils are assigned to a House. Each House is also run by a teacher called a 'Head Of House'. 2 boys from each form represent the house as Form Captain and Deputy Form Captain/Environmental Representative. Every pupil, from year 9 onwards, has the opportunity to be awarded 'House Colours' for outstanding contributions to extracurricular activities, such as sport, music, drama and debating. Once students progress into the sixth form the House Colours are removed, however, they have the opportunity to earn School Colours.

Due to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement that began in 2020, the school decided to rename the Rhodes House (named after Cecil Rhodes) to the Shaw House, which is named after former Headmaster Ian Shaw who died in March 2019.

Sixth Form

Every 'sixth former' is automatically appointed as a Prefect. However, only in the second year of student's Sixth Form career are they required to carry out break and lunch time duties, ensuring that the rules of school are enforced and that younger pupils do not go out of bounds. The Sixth Form admits girls from the local area, with many coming from Hockerill or The Hertfordshire and Essex High School.

Extra-curricular activities

The Bishops Stortford High School has the reputation as being one of the best state schools in the South East of England for rugby union taking on and beating some of the best private schools in the country. The school's Parent Sports Association is actively involved with supporting sport within the school. The Rugby Union squad went on a tour of Australia in 2009 and again in 2012. In 2018 and 2022, the Rugby Union squad went on a tour of South Africa, playing against four teams.

The school has football sides ranging from Year 7 to Sixth Form. In 2016, the U15 side won the English Schools National Football Cup, compromising of 650 teams around England.

Notable former pupils

This article's list of alumni may not follow Misplaced Pages's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (November 2020)

• Ben Bowditch – footballer (Bishop's Stortford, formerly England Under 19 and Under 21)
• Dean Bowditch – footballer (Milton Keynes Dons, formerly Ipswich Town)
• George Sykes – footballer (Aveley, formerly Barnet and Scotland Under 19s)
• Ed Drewett – pop musician who featured in Professor Green's "I Need You Tonight" that reached No 3 on the UK singles chart
• Greg James – Radio 1 DJ
• Billy Price – actor
• Ben Skirving – England rugby player
• Matthew Richards – footballer (Shrewsbury Town, former England U21)
• Munroe Bergdorf – activist and model -L'Oreal's first transgender model
• Benedict Cork – singer, songwriter, musician
• Zak Swanson – footballer for Portsmouth FC
• Andrew Lewin – Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield since 2024

References

1. ^ Nolan, Sheila (15 May 2008). "The Bishop's Stortford High School Inspection report" (PDF). Ofsted. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
2. Fordham, Alan J. (12 June 2013). "Appointment of a New Headteacher". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
3. "THE BISHOP'S STORTFORD HIGH SCHOOL" (PDF). The Bishop's Stortford High School. 2006–2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
4. "Jobbers Wood". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
5. Hows, David. "Physics". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
6. Doyle, Kate (August 2006). "The Bishop's Stortford High School, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire – Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment" (PDF). Archaeological Solutions Ltd. §6.7. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
7. Revell, Phil (31 October 2000). "Spreading the net far and wide". The BT Award for Most Creative Use of ICT – Secondary. Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
8. "About The School". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
9. "Former Winners". The English-Speaking Union. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
10. "School inspection report" (PDF). Ofsted. 22 April 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
11. "The Bishop's Stortford High School". School report. Ofsted. 24 May 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
12. Haines, Helen. "Ofsted Report – Outstanding!". The Bishop's Stortford High School. The Bishop's Stortford High School. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
13. "School Colours". TBSHS. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
14. Rimmer, David (23 March 2013). "Stortford High School rugby quartet continue to make strides". Herts And Essex Observer. Archived from the original on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
15. Rimmer, David (12 November 2012). "High School wins Daily Mail clash with Stortford College". Herts And Essex Observer. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
16. Cook, Alastair (9 July 2012). "High School Rugby Teams Travel to Australia". The Bishop's Stortford High School. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
17. "Photo Gallery: Rugby Tour to South Africa, July 2018". The Bishop's Stortford High School. The Bishop's Stortford High School. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
18. Haines, Helen. "National Champions!". The Bishop's Stortford High School. The Bishop's Stortford High School. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
19. Corr, Sinead (27 May 2021). "National Television Awards: Hollyoaks actor Billy Price, from Bishop's Stortford, receives long-list nomination". Bishop's Stortford Independent. Retrieved 9 September 2021.

External links

• TBSHS Website
• TBSHS Interact Website

• Secondary schools in Hertfordshire
• Boys' schools in Hertfordshire
• Educational institutions established in 1950
• 1950 establishments in England
• Foundation schools in Hertfordshire
• Bishop's Stortford