Harrow High School

Harrow High School is a state secondary school in the London Borough of Harrow in the north-west of London. The headteacher is Vivien Swaida. The school is a specialist Sports College. It is not to be confused with the private school Harrow School, situated nearby at Harrow on the Hill.

History

The site was formerly the home of Harrow County School for Boys. In the mid-1970s, when the London Borough of Harrow adopted a comprehensive system of education, the school became known as Gayton High School, an all boys school. Gayton High School was the last school in Harrow to become comprehensive in September 1975. Later, in 1998, the school became coeducational and changed its name to Harrow High School, a specialist Sports College. In fact, the name "Harrow High School" had belonged to a private school which, until its closure in the late 1980s, occupied a site across the road on Gayton Road.

Examination Performance

In 2008, 71% of students achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE. This is a stark contrast with the previous year, when only 28% reached this level, prompting Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls to threaten the school with closure.

{| class="wikitable" style="background:#f0f0f0"!School!!A*-C Pass Rate!! !!School!!Point Score
- style="background:#ffe7c6"
Harrow High School||28%||style="background:#f0f0f0"| ||Harrow High School||365.9
-

Notable alumni

*Ian Abbott, Editor, TV Times
*Clive Anderson, comedy writer and broadcaster
*Donald Box, Conservative party politican
*Sir Horace Cutler OBE, Leader Greater London Council 1977-1981
*Angus Fraser, cricketer
*Paul Jenkins, HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor
*Professor Kel Fidler, Vice-Chancellor, University of Northumbria
*Robin Leach, actor & tv host
*Tony Levene, Guardian columnist and author of financial books
*Sir Leigh Lewis KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions
*Sir Derek Morris, Former Chairman of the Competition Commission; Provost, Oriel College, Oxford
*Sir Paul Nurse FRS, 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; President, Rockefeller University
*Geoffrey Perkins, Former Head of Comedy, BBC Television, writer
*Michael Portillo, journalist and broadcaster, former Conservative politician and Cabinet Minister
*Mark Ramprakash, cricketer
*Major General Andrew Ritchie CBE, Commandant, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 2003-2006
*Cardew Robinson, comic
*Sir Nigel Sheinwald KCMG British Ambassador to the United States
*Professor Anthony Smith CBE, Director, British Film Institute 1979-1988; President, Magdalen College, Oxford 1988-2005.
*Martin Townsend, Editor, Sunday Express
*Martin Walker, Editor Emeritus, UPI
*Anthony Young, Baron Young of Norwood Green, Former Deputy General Secretary, Communication Workers Union; Former Governor, BBC
*Dr David Zideman, LVO, Hon Physician (Civilian) to the Queen

External links

* [http://www.harrow-high.harrow.sch.uk/ Harrow High School] School website
* [http://www.jeffreymaynard.com/Harrow_County/ Virtual Gaytonian] Website for all Old Gaytonians