Nower Hill High School

Nower Hill High School

Motto	Service not Self
Established	1974
Type	Community school, Comprehensive
Headteacher	Mr Howard Freed
Chair of Governor	Diana La Rue
Specialism	Arts College
Location	George V Avenue Pinner Middlesex HA5 5RP England
Local authority	Harrow
DfE URN	102238
Ofsted	Reports
Gender	Mixed
Ages	12–18
Colours	Navy Blue
Publication	Nower Hill High School Newsletter (monthly)
Badges	3 small scimitars and a sword
Website	www.nowerhill.harrow.sch.uk/

Nower Hill High School is a state Secondary School with a Sixth Form, in Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. The school has specialist status as an Arts College. The school currently has around 300 pupils in each year group including over 400 in the Sixth form, making over 1900 pupils in the school.

History

The school, then known as Headstone School, started life in 1929 when the red brick building in Pinner Road was built. Its "houses", commemorating famous former residents of Harrow and one historical building, were Byron, Becket, Shaftesbury and Manor. Colours, in the order of the houses given, were Green, Blue, Red and Orange.^[1] From the moment the school opened it started expanding into a series of outbuildings that proliferated on the site. In the late 1950s a new school was planned which opened in the early 1960s. Another new block was added in 1972 and further buildings were taken into use in 1978. Nine-tenths of the school buildings are in new premises and the grassed playing field was considerably extended in 1980.

1993/94 saw the start of a £2.75 million development programme which has given a new 13 classroom block, a Business Studies and Information Technology Suite, a Design and Technology Suite, 5 new Science Laboratories with Preparation Rooms and the magnificent Gristwood Centre housing Music, Dance and Drama Studios and the Sports Hall. The new Library and Information Resources Centre were provided by the generosity of Parents and Friends and parental donations through the Covenanting Scheme. A new Dining Centre opened early in the Autumn Term of 1998, and with an increased Games Area on the site of the old canteen. On 1 September 1974, Nower Hill High School began its existence within a scheme of re-organisation of secondary education in the London Borough of Harrow.

It began as a 12 - 16 High School taking in each year some 240 pupils across a full ability range. Now, Nower Hill's 6th Form opened in September 2006, with no discrimination against those with little academic abilities. As well as the introduction of a 6th Form, A new '6th Form Block' has also been built with its top floor restricted to only 6th Form students, the top floor consists of a fairly large common room as well as a 'Silent Study' room. Currently the school has gained a new science block which has been built on the former lower playground and also a new English block which has been built in front of the Gristwood Centre.

Motto and ethos

Nower Hill's motto is Service not Self and the school's official ethos is Challenge, support, trust, integrity, respect, equality of opportunity, collaboration, celebration, a ‘can do' attitude, and service not self.

These ideals lead to the school's involvement in the local community and charitable events such as "Children in Need", "Red Nose Day", and fundraising for St Luke's Hospice charity. The school has Mufti days mostly at the end of term when students bring £1 in for charity. The school holds a Christmas dinner every year for the elderly of the community. Separate dinners are also provided for pupils and staff.

Every year Nower Hill organises a school prom and boat trip party for Year 11 students, despite the fact that many pupils chose to remain at the school to study A levels.

Nower Hill takes part in many sports and is sportmarked by UK Sport.

The school encourages students to be streetwise and holds "Citizenship Days" for students to look at and discuss different aspects of life in the wider, adult world. There is a heavy influence on road safety.

Famous Pupils

Simon Le Bon - Lead singer of Duran Duran His mother, Ann Brookes, also attended the school (1946-51)

Jane March - Actress & "Sinner From Pinner"

Sid Brown - Middlesex Cricketer, a member of the county's Championship Winning side in 1947, and a contemporary of the "Middlesex Twins" Bill Edrich and Denis Compton.

Justin Bovington - Businessman and entrepreneur, who was the recipient of BT Essence of an Entrepreneur 2008

Graham Bell - Blackheath, Wasps and England 'B' rugby player

Watford footballer Simon Patterson attended this school as did Sam Heath, actor, who was the Frutella advert boy.

Footballer Marcus Bean. Currently at Brentford FC. Previously played for Queens Park Rangers FC.

Alex Lowe - comedian, writer and performer. Also the man behind 'Barry from Watford'

Dancer James Collins. Won the livingtv dance program 'dirty dancing: the time of your life' winning him a year long contract with dance agency 'bloc'. Most recently danced on x-factor for Jedward.

Michael Rosen - Author and Play Wright

Model Andy Lothian attended this school until opting out of education to pursue a career in street fashion and music.

Uniform

The uniform for years 7, 8, 9 and 10, boys wear white shirts, blue tie with a navy blue blazer. Girls wear white blouses and a navy blue jumper with the Nower Hill badge on the left hand side. Students must wear black shoes, trainers are not allowed. Prefects wear silver ties. Students in Year 11 wear red ties. Sixth Formers have little restrictions on dress code, however leggings and shorts above the knee are prohibited, causing a large outcry from the female students in the warmer weather. Originally, the badge worn on blazers etc had a blue background, the one with the red background now worn generally was awarded to boys and girls who had done well representing the school at sport. It was referred to as "colours".

General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)

At Nower Hill and other London schools GCSE is graded on scale of A*; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; with U as Unclassified (Failed) which is a sign not a grade. Nower Hill produces results above both local and national averages.

Although any grade from A*-G is officially a pass, many employers accept only A*-C grades. The headline official school league table also measures only A*-C grades achieved. There is no fixed ratio between exam marks and the final grade awarded. The conversion process is complicated and varies according to subject, examination board, and year.

GCSE Examination Performance

School	A*-C Pass Rate 2008	A*-C Pass Rate 2009	A*-C Pass Rate 2010	English Baccalaureate Pass Rate 2010
Nower Hill High School	68%	57%	29%	27%
Average for London Borough of Harrow	57.7%	60.8%	60.7%	22.6%
Average for England	47.6%	50.7%	60.7%	15.1%

• The table on shows the percentage of students gaining five A* to C grades, including English and Maths
• The rightmost column shows the percentage of students gaining five A* to C grades, in five core subjects - maths; English; two science qualifications; a foreign language and either history or geography.
• Source: Department for Education ^[2]
• Full GCSE results for the London Borough of Harrow

School Council and Connexions

Nower Hill High School has a school council that consist of pupils and a few members of staff. Two of the current school council member's report to Harrow Council's "Student Advisory Group". The school works with Connexions a specialist careers and counselling agency.

References

1. ^ "History & Background". Nower Hill High School. http://www.nowerhill.org.uk/history%20and%20background.htm. Retrieved 2 January 2011. 
2. ^ [1]

External links

• Nower Hill High School Homepage
• Harrow Council Homepage
• Connexions Direct

Coordinates: 51°35′29″N 0°21′55″W / 51.59139°N 0.36528°W / 51.59139; -0.36528