The Chase, also known as
The Chase Technology College and
The Chase High School, is a
secondary schoolSecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. It follows on from elementary or primary education....
(ages 11–18) in
Malvern, WorcestershireThis article is about the area governed by the civil parish and its environs. For the town centre see Great MalvernMalvern is an urban area in Worcestershire, England...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was opened by
Lord CobhamCharles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, KG, GCMG, GCVO, TD, PC was a New Zealand political figure and English cricketer. He was born in Kensington, London, and educated at Eton College. He died in Marylebone, also London...
on 26 March 1955 as a Secondary Modern. It became a
comprehensiveComprehensive may refer to:*Comprehensive layout*Comprehensive school*Comprehensive Cables, comprehensive credit services inc.*Comprehensive examination, an exam taken in some countries by graduates.See also*Comprehension...
with the abolition of selective education in Worceshire in 1974.
It is one of the largest schools in
WorcestershireWorcestershire or ; abbreviated Worcs) is a historic and administrative county located in the West Midlands region of central England. In 1974 it was merged with the county of Herefordshire to form the single administrative county of Hereford and Worcester; which was divided in 1998,...
, having over 1,700 on roll and around 200 staff members. The school is located in
Barnards GreenBarnard's Green is one of the main population areas of Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England, situated approximately a mile down the hill from the main town centre...
, a suburb of Malverrn, adjacent to the sites of
QinetiQQinetiQ is an international defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
(a large technology company) and the Malvern Hills Science Park.
Background
The Chase has been a specialist schools programme Technology College since 1999, and was awarded
Beacon schoolBeacon School was a government designation awarded to outstanding primary and secondary schools in England and Wales from 1998 to August 2005. The Beacon Schools programme identified schools that were examples of good practice and funded those schools to enable them to build partnerships with each...
status in 2002. The school achieved Artsmark Gold status in 2001 for excellent in art and design, drama, music, creative writing and public speaking. The Chase is also a
Language CollegeLanguage Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages...
(French, German, Spanish and Japanese). The school has Sportsmark Gold status, this is awarded to schools by
Sport EnglandSport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport known as the DCM and S...
for the excellent in provision of Physical Education and school sport.
It is administered by the Worcestershire County Directorate of Educational Services, and Brian O'Connell is the head of governors. Current headmaster Kevin Peck replaced David Fawbert in 2002, who had been awarded the
Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) for his services to education during his tenure. There are 16 primary schools in Malvern that feed The Chase and nearby Dyson Perrins CE Sports College. The average A level results in 2005 were AAB.
A March 2009 Ofsted report accorded the school a Grade 2 (Good) as "with some outstanding features", while the 6th Form was rated Grade 1 (Outstanding)
Library
The Chase Library opened in September 2006 and was officially opened on 23 February 2007, by the poet
Carol Ann DuffyCarol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL is a poet, playwright, and freelance writer, who currently holds the position of Britain's poet laureate. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University and Creative Director of the Manchester Writing School, based in the university's...
. The library is situated adjacent to the main ground floor block.
Uniform
The Chase school uniform consists of, for boys: a blue sweater, with the Chase emblem on the left breast, a white or blue shirt, a blue and gold, diagonally striped tie and grey or black trousers. For girls, the uniform consists of: a blue sweater, with the Chase emblem on the left breast a white or blue shirt, a blue and gold, diagonally striped tie, black, blue or natural tights (unpatterned), and a blue or black skirt.
There is also an optional, summer-term uniform where pupils may wear their physical-education polo tops instead of a jumper, shirt and tie.
Traditions
The students of The Chase take part in the annual "Hills Walk", a 7.5
mileA mile is a unit of length in a number of different systems. In contemporary English, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 1,609.344 meters or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters...
walk across the
Malvern HillsThe Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern...
and the surrounding area. The walk begins at the
clock towerA clock tower is a tower built with one or more clock faces. The clock tower is usually part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall, but many clock towers are free-standing....
in West Malvern, at the foot of the Malvern Hills, and finishes at the school campus on Geraldine Road, Malvern. The walk has taken place every year since 1955, apart from in 2007, when it was too hot, and the walk was canceled.
A Senior Student Team is selected each year from students of the Upper-Sixth form. One
Head BoyHead Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
and one Head Girl, and a number, around ten, of Deputies (known as Prefects in most schools). This position is simply awarded to any capable and deserving student.
External links