Burnham Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Burnham Grammar School is a co-educational
grammar school
in Burnham
, Buckinghamshire
. It is a community school, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school has approximately 1200 pupils.
The school achieved a high pass rate in the academic year 2007-2008 which was at 99% children achieving A*-C grades. This was the schools record year for its GCSE results and put the school in its highest position in the GCSE national rankings for best results at 31st place.
The school has an all weather full sized tiger-turf sports pitch which the Wycombe Wanderers first team occasionally train on.
In September 2004 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) awarded the school specialist school
status as a Science College
.
The school currently has three specialisms: Science; Mathematics and Languages (as of April 2009).
The school made national press when it banned football at breaktimes and lunchtimes after a teacher was hit in the face with a ball. The two-week ban was criticised as being "nanny state nonsense", but the school maintains that the ban was intended to get pupils to play more responsibly in future.
The school recently, 12/05/11, have decided to change to an academy to get a larger budget. It has now been confirmed and is waiting approval from the government. The school uniform and name has been said to not be changing with it.
Students are split into 5 houses:
Each year there is a school sportsday. Last years winners were Redgrave. Due to the London 2012 Olympics the school has taken on Olympic theme with each house and form being given a separate country. Throughout the year points will be awarded to each house on a medals basis (Gold, Silver and Bronze).
The current headteacher is Dr Andrew Gillespie who took over from Cathrine Long in January 2008.
For the last 7 years, Burnham Grammar School has been the location of "Lighthouse Burnham". Lighthouse is a holiday week for children run by Christians from many local churches.
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
grammar school
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...
in Burnham
Burnham, Buckinghamshire
Burnham is a village and civil parish that lies north of the River Thames in the South Bucks District of Buckinghamshire, and sits on the border with Berkshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough. It is served by Burnham railway station in the west of Slough on the main line between London...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. It is a community school, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school has approximately 1200 pupils.
The school achieved a high pass rate in the academic year 2007-2008 which was at 99% children achieving A*-C grades. This was the schools record year for its GCSE results and put the school in its highest position in the GCSE national rankings for best results at 31st place.
The school has an all weather full sized tiger-turf sports pitch which the Wycombe Wanderers first team occasionally train on.
In September 2004 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) awarded the school specialist school
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
status as a Science College
Science College
Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, science and mathematics...
.
The school currently has three specialisms: Science; Mathematics and Languages (as of April 2009).
The school made national press when it banned football at breaktimes and lunchtimes after a teacher was hit in the face with a ball. The two-week ban was criticised as being "nanny state nonsense", but the school maintains that the ban was intended to get pupils to play more responsibly in future.
The school recently, 12/05/11, have decided to change to an academy to get a larger budget. It has now been confirmed and is waiting approval from the government. The school uniform and name has been said to not be changing with it.
Students are split into 5 houses:
- Redgrave - After Steve RedgraveSteve RedgraveSir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave CBE is an English rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold medals...
(Form A) - Curie - After Marie CurieMarie CurieMarie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
(Form B) - Angelou - After Maya AngelouMaya AngelouMaya Angelou is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly...
(Form C) - Tenzing - After Tenzing NorgayTenzing NorgayPadma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
(Form D) - Brunel - After Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
(Form E)
Each year there is a school sportsday. Last years winners were Redgrave. Due to the London 2012 Olympics the school has taken on Olympic theme with each house and form being given a separate country. Throughout the year points will be awarded to each house on a medals basis (Gold, Silver and Bronze).
The current headteacher is Dr Andrew Gillespie who took over from Cathrine Long in January 2008.
For the last 7 years, Burnham Grammar School has been the location of "Lighthouse Burnham". Lighthouse is a holiday week for children run by Christians from many local churches.
Notable former pupils
- Mike AshleyMike Ashley (businessman)Michael James Wallace "Mike" Ashley is an English millionaire retail entrepreneur in the sporting goods market...
, entrepreneur - Jimmy CarrJimmy CarrJames Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
, comedian - David ConnollyDavid ConnollyDavid James Connolly is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Southampton. He has previously played for various clubs including Feyenoord and Excelsior in the Netherlands as well as Wigan Athletic and Sunderland in the Premier League.Although born in England, Connolly has...
, professional footballer - Ulrika JonssonUlrika JonssonEva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...
, television presenter - Tracey UllmanTracey UllmanTracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
, actress and comedienne - Leonard Newell, singer - Viva Brother