Herschel Grammar School is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

with academy status, located in Slough, Berkshire, England. The headteacher is Mrs Joanne Rockall. The school has around 900 pupils, 250 of whom are in the

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

History

The school was established in town centre buildings formerly occupied by Slough Secondary School in William Street (a site later occupied by the Slough campus of

Thames Valley University The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and in Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing C ...

) in about 1952. In 1958, the school moved to a purpose-built site on Northampton Avenue, occupying land that had (before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

) been used as 'Timbertown', an area of temporary houses. The school has remained at Northampton Avenue, although for the 1988/89 academic year it temporarily moved to the site of the former Orchard

Secondary Modern A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usuall ...

School while the permanent buildings were refurbished after damage to the roof in the storms of 1987. Within its present buildings, the school has had a number of names and forms, including: :''Slough Technical School'' :''Slough Technical High School'' (to 1972) :''Herschel High School'' (1972 to 1984) :''Sir

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline ...

Grammar School'' (from 1984) :''Herschel Grammar School'' In 2004, the school completed a sports centre, which now serves as
Herschel Sports
' to the public when out of school hours. The sports complex includes a full-size astro-turf football, hockey pitch, four full-size tennis courts, six full-size indoor badminton courts, one full-size indoor basketball court, a dance studio and changing facilities with lockers. Although the school is small compared to other schools.

Sixth form

The school has a sixth form of about 325 pupils, both from the lower school and pupils who have moved from other schools.There is a sixth form block. The sixth form is a part of the Herschel Consortium. The pupils in the sixth form have a common room that is used for studying as well as more general recreational and relaxing activities during non-contact time. In September 2018 the silent study room and common room were upgraded and pupils are timetabled to spend some non-lesson time in a supervised study room, as well as a study period in the exam hall.

Prefects

The school has a prefect system. Year 12s are able to apply to be Junior Prefects and in the latter part of Year 12, twelve prefects including a Head Boy and Head Girl are elected by the students and teachers in the Sixth Form and Year 11. The prefects occupy their positions until the end of Year 13.

School links

Herschel Grammar School is part of the Schelwood Trust: an educational trust comprising Beechwood School and Herschel Grammar School. Herschel Grammar School was a founding member-school of the ''Herschel Consortium'' - a co-operation of the sixth forms of Herschel Grammar School, The Westgate School and Baylis Court School, all of which are within the same district of Slough.

Notable former pupils

* Gareth Unwin, Film Producer, ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...

'' *

Iain Lee Iain Lee (born Iain Lee Rougvie; 9 June 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer, and former television presenter and stand-up comedian who hosts the phone-in talk show '' The Late Night Alternative'' on "pay to view" Patreon. Lee's career bega ...

, broadcaster * Brian McDermott, footballer and manager of

Reading FC Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is managed by Paul Ince. Reading are nicknamed ...

. * Ryan Bird, footballer

Notes and references

External links

Official website

Ofsted Report
{{Coord , 51.5188, -0.6115, type:edu_region:GB, display=title Grammar schools in Slough Academies in Slough