Boston High School
Encyclopedia
Boston High School, also known as Boston High School for Girls, is a selective grammar school
and sixth form college
for girls aged between 11-18 in Boston
, Lincolnshire
, England
. A limited number of boys have attended the sixth form (years 12 and 13) since 1992 and there are a number of boys in year 9 from the period when the High School was linked to Boston Grammar School in a federation arrangement.
A 2009 Ofsted
report assessed the school as good, with a satisfactory sixth form
.
in the north of Boston on the A16, near the A52
roundabout. The school is on the northern perimeter of Boston, next to its border with Fishtoft
.
with effect from September 2011 . However, in 2010 it was announced that due to the withdrawal of Building Schools for the Future funding by the new coalition government, that both schools would operate as two separate schools, under a federation - on two sites - with one governing body.
started. The school was declared open by Alderman Kitwood, who later would have a house named after him. During the War, girls from Hull were enrolled into the school having been evacuated from their own city in anticipation of strategic bombing raids by the Luftwaffe
.
In 1956, the Mayoress of Boston was 17 year old Janet Rowe. She had been invited to a Queen's garden party
in London on 12 July of that year, but was unable to attend as she was sitting a GCE
exam on the same day.
The school entered a team for Radio 4
's former Top of the Form, with their round against Colchester County High School
being broadcast on 16 & 18 November 1983.
In the 1990s it also referred to itself as The High School, Boston, and had around 850 girls.
The school badge comprises two mermaids holding a shield. Underneath on a banner is the school motto 'non nobis solum' which means 'Not for ourselves alone'. The badge is based on the crest of Boston Borough council.
On the shield are four quadrants. One is three coronets. Their origins are not known for definite, but it is said that they represent the Dukes of Brittany, Richmond and Suffolk - also represented on the Boston Borough council arms. A second quadrant shows three wheatsheaves to represent the arable farmland of the fens; the community which Boston High School is based in is essentially rural, and thrives on agriculture. Two further quadrants are of a fleur-de-lis on a background of the cross of St George. The two mermaids represent Boston's nautical connections and its heritage as a port; again, taken form the Borough Council arms.
In year seven, pupils study:
These subjects are taken until year 8, when pupils take their SATs, and they begin their options in year 9 (ages 13–14). Option choices are detailed on the school's website.
Collective worship at the school is of a broadly Christian nature: there are prayers in whole-school assembly, and thoughts for the day in form, house and year assembly. However, pupils and teachers can opt out of these assemblies, or Religious Studies, on religious grounds.
In terms of A-Level results, the average UCAS pts achieved by students has risen steadily over the last with years; with 276 points per student in 2007/08, 293 points per student in 2008/09 and 326 points per student in 2009/10.
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
and sixth form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
for girls aged between 11-18 in Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. A limited number of boys have attended the sixth form (years 12 and 13) since 1992 and there are a number of boys in year 9 from the period when the High School was linked to Boston Grammar School in a federation arrangement.
A 2009 Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
report assessed the school as good, with a satisfactory sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
.
Admissions
Boys have also been admitted to the sixth form since the mid 1990s. The school has been awarded Maths and Computing College status. There are 707 students on the roll. The school is next door to the Pilgrim HospitalPilgrim Hospital
Pilgrim Hospital is a large hospital in the east of Lincolnshire on the A16, north of the town of Boston near the mini-roundabout with the A52. It is virtually on the Greenwich Meridian and adjacent to the Boston High School...
in the north of Boston on the A16, near the A52
A52 road
The A52 is a major road in the East Midlands, England. It runs east from the junction with the A53 at Newcastle-under-Lyme near Stoke-on-Trent via Ashbourne, Derby, Stapleford, Nottingham, West Bridgford, Bingham, Grantham, Boston and Skegness before terminating on the east Lincolnshire coast at...
roundabout. The school is on the northern perimeter of Boston, next to its border with Fishtoft
Fishtoft
Fishtoft is one of eighteen parishes which, together with Boston, form the Borough of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Local government has been arranged in this way since the reorganization of 1 April 1974, which resulted from the Local Government Act 1972...
.
Federation plans
There were plans to merge the High School with its brother establishment Boston Grammar SchoolBoston Grammar School
The Boston Grammar School is a selective grammar school and sixth form college for boys aged 11 to 18 and girls attending the sixth form aged 16–18 located in Boston, Lincolnshire, England....
with effect from September 2011 . However, in 2010 it was announced that due to the withdrawal of Building Schools for the Future funding by the new coalition government, that both schools would operate as two separate schools, under a federation - on two sites - with one governing body.
History
Boston High School first opened on 19 January 1914 at Allan House on Carlton Road, Boston. There was a headmistress and seven teachers with 112 girls on the roll. Due to increasing pupil numbers additional classrooms were built in 1922. The school's first headmistress was Miss F.M. Knipe who served from 1914 until 1927 and there have only been five further headteachers in the history of the school.Move of school site
The school was relocated to the Spilsby Road on the northern rim of Boston during the autumn of 1938. However, the official opening ceremony did not take place until 1939, the year that World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
started. The school was declared open by Alderman Kitwood, who later would have a house named after him. During the War, girls from Hull were enrolled into the school having been evacuated from their own city in anticipation of strategic bombing raids by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
.
In 1956, the Mayoress of Boston was 17 year old Janet Rowe. She had been invited to a Queen's garden party
Garden party
A garden party is a social gathering with food provided, in the open in a park or a garden. An event described as a garden party is usually more formal than other similar gatherings, which may be called just parties, picnics, barbecues, etc,...
in London on 12 July of that year, but was unable to attend as she was sitting a GCE
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
exam on the same day.
The school entered a team for Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's former Top of the Form, with their round against Colchester County High School
Colchester County High School
Colchester County High School for Girls is a selective girls' grammar school with academy status in Colchester. The school consistently scores highly in the league tables for the UK. Entrance to year 7 is by an academic selection test, the eleven plus...
being broadcast on 16 & 18 November 1983.
In the 1990s it also referred to itself as The High School, Boston, and had around 850 girls.
School badge
This badge has now been replaced by a joint Grammar Schools Federation Badge that emcompasses the badge from Boston Grammar School along with the High School elements.The school badge comprises two mermaids holding a shield. Underneath on a banner is the school motto 'non nobis solum' which means 'Not for ourselves alone'. The badge is based on the crest of Boston Borough council.
On the shield are four quadrants. One is three coronets. Their origins are not known for definite, but it is said that they represent the Dukes of Brittany, Richmond and Suffolk - also represented on the Boston Borough council arms. A second quadrant shows three wheatsheaves to represent the arable farmland of the fens; the community which Boston High School is based in is essentially rural, and thrives on agriculture. Two further quadrants are of a fleur-de-lis on a background of the cross of St George. The two mermaids represent Boston's nautical connections and its heritage as a port; again, taken form the Borough Council arms.
Colours
The school colours are navy and white. The current year seven pupils wear a black uniform with the emblem of the Boston Grammar Schools Federation.Curriculum
From September 2010, the new year seven intake study the following curriculum:In year seven, pupils study:
- EnglishEnglish studiesEnglish studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
(Language and Literature) - Maths
- ScienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
(Biology, Chemistry and Physics) - FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
- SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
- Religious StudiesReligious studiesReligious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
- TechnologyTechnologyTechnology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
(this is divided into Food Technology, Textiles and Resistant Materials) - HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
- GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
- MusicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
- ArtArtArt is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
- Life skill
- Physical EducationPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
- Information technologyInformation technologyInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
These subjects are taken until year 8, when pupils take their SATs, and they begin their options in year 9 (ages 13–14). Option choices are detailed on the school's website.
Religious studies and collective worship
There are a great many different religions worshiped in school: the religions include Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and various denominations of Christianity.Collective worship at the school is of a broadly Christian nature: there are prayers in whole-school assembly, and thoughts for the day in form, house and year assembly. However, pupils and teachers can opt out of these assemblies, or Religious Studies, on religious grounds.
Houses
The houses are named after people who have played a part in the school's history. The boys in year 8 wear different coloured ties representing their house, while the year 8 and 7 girls wear different coloured pins representing their house. The seven houses are Laughton-Allan (Yellow), Gannock (Red), Ingelow (Blue), Kitwood (Purple), Conway-Lindis (Chestnut), Muston (White), and Parry (Green).Academic results
Boston High School consistently achieve a high pass rate at GCSE. In 2007/08, the percentage of students achieving 5 or more A*-C grades was 96.46%; rising to 99.07% in 2008/09 and to 100% in 2009/10. Similarly, when looking at the percentage of students achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Maths, the percentage was 89.38% in 2007/08, 96.26% in 2008/09 and 97.39% in 2009/10.In terms of A-Level results, the average UCAS pts achieved by students has risen steadily over the last with years; with 276 points per student in 2007/08, 293 points per student in 2008/09 and 326 points per student in 2009/10.
Former teachers
- Dr Steve Peters, psychiatrist for the gold-medal-winning British CyclingBritish CyclingBritish Cycling is the national governing body for cycle racing in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man...
Team (taught Maths from 1978–82)
Alumni
- Rachael Anderton, Oxford-educated Deputy Chief Executive of Young EnterpriseYoung EnterpriseYoung Enterprise is a not-for-profit business and enterprise education charity in the United Kingdom. It is made up of 12 regional organisations, each operating individually under a license agreement...
, and married to Peter WestgarthPeter WestgarthPeter Westgarth , is the chief executive, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and former chief executive of Young Enterprise UK, Oxford. In 2006, he was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion.-References:...
(the Chief Executive of The Duke of Edinburgh's AwardThe Duke of Edinburgh's AwardThe Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....
, and former Chief Executive of Young Enterprise)(attended 1985-92) - Lyndsey Young, entrepreneur