Colchester County High School
Encyclopedia
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. Entrance into year 12 is by GCSE grades.
.
It was founded in 1909 as a girls' school for Colchester, and subsequently became a grammar school admitting girls from North East Essex and beyond on the basis of an 11+ selection test. The school is situated a mile to the west of central Colchester
, and celebrated its centenary in 2009-2010.
The school was one of the first Science Specialist Schools in the country. It later became a specialist Modern Language school too, teaching French, German and Spanish.
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...
with academy status in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
. 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. Entrance into year 12 is by GCSE grades.
History
The school was originally located in the Albert Hall in the High Street (now the Co-operative Bank), until its intended premises at the top of North Hill (now the Sixth Form College) were completed. Later, the lower school moved to Greyfriars on East Hill and, in 1957, moved to new buildings in Norman Way, off Lexden Road. Most of the buildings are unchanged, but an extension including new Science laboratories and Sixth Form facilities was added in 2002. The 'mSchool' was added between 2006 and 2009, with new facilities for Music, Mathematics and the Mind; its 'iLab' (innovation laboratory) is one of the few in the UK outside a UniversityUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
.
It was founded in 1909 as a girls' school for Colchester, and subsequently became a grammar school admitting girls from North East Essex and beyond on the basis of an 11+ selection test. The school is situated a mile to the west of central Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, and celebrated its centenary in 2009-2010.
Academics
The school was one of the first Science Specialist Schools in the country. It later became a specialist Modern Language school too, teaching French, German and Spanish.
School motto
Wisdom Giveth Life has been the school's motto since the school opened in 1909. This reading is still included in the traditional school assembly at the start of each academic year:Uniform
The uniform for CCHS is a navy blue jumper with the CCHS logo on the left side, light blue blouse (Years 7-9) or a light blue polo shirt for Years 10-11, navy blue skirt, ending at or near the knee, or trousers. Tights must be black or dark blue (although skin coloured tights are also worn) and socks must be dark blue or black. School shoes must be black, brown or navy and heels or ankle boots/boots are not allowed. No canvas shoes are allowed, only leather or plastic. Hair bands must be blue or black. Sixth formers can wear any clothes that are presentable.Notable former pupils
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