The Chase School is a secondary school (ages 11–18) in

Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dr ...

, England. The school opened as a

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 ...

in 1953 under headteacher Mr Garth. It was officially opened by Lord Cobham on 26 March 1955. The Chase became a comprehensive with the abolition of selective education in Worcestershire in 1974 and became an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

on 1 November 2011. Teaching students from Year 7 to Year 13, The Chase has around 1,300 students, making it one of the larger schools in Worcestershire, with just under 300 students in the sixth form. The school is located in

Barnards Green Barnards Green is one of the main population areas of Malvern, Worcestershire, England, situated approximately east and downhill from Great Malvern, the town's traditional centre. Governance The southern part of Barnards Green constitutes the m ...

, a suburb of Malvern, adjacent to the sites of QinetiQ and the Malvern Hills Science Park. Links between the school and these organisations have led to the establishment of the Cyber-security Apprentice Development Scheme, an apprenticeship initiative aimed to encourage more students into the

cyber security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

sector.

Background

The Chase School has been a

specialist schools programme The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...

Technology College since 1999, and was awarded Beacon school status in 2002. The school achieved Artsmark Gold status in 2001 for excellence in art and design, drama, music, creative writing and public speaking. The Chase School is also a

Language College Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the specialist schools programme (SSP) in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages. Schools that succes ...

(French, German (although German as of 2021 is no longer taught at examination level) Spanish and Japanese). The school has Sportsmark Gold status, awarded to schools by

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...

for excellent provision of Physical Education and school sport. Former headmaster Richard Jacobs started in 2013, taking over from Kevin Peck who had started in 2002. Peck was appointed when the previous headteacher retired; David Fawbert had been awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) for his services to education during his tenure. Current headmaster, Mike Fieldhouse, was appointed in 2017. A recent Ofsted inspection on 19 and 29 October 2021 rated the school 'Good' with the Sixth Form ranked as Grade 1 (Outstanding). The inspectors noted under 'What does the school need to do to improve?' required improvements that "A minority of staff do not implement the behaviour policy consistently. As a result, pupils are unsure of how adults respond to different behaviours, and so they can experience some disruption to learning. Leaders should ensure that all staff understand and consistently uphold the school’s high expectations for pupils’ behaviour." The school was named in 2019 as a computing hub for the

National Centre for Computing Education The National Centre for Computing Education is a government-funded initiative, offering teacher training and resources for computer science. The National Centre is delivered by a consortium of STEM Learning, Raspberry Pi Foundation and British ...

Buildings

The Chase School library opened in September 2006 and was officially opened on 23 February 2007, by the now

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

Carol Ann Duffy Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, resigning in 2019. She was the first ...

. The library is situated adjacent to the main ground floor block. The science block was built and was open in 2008 and was officially opened in 2009. In 2014 local MP

Harriett Baldwin Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin (; born 2 May 1960) is a British Conservative Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Worcestershire since 2010. Prior to her parliamentary career, she worked for the investment bank JPM ...

officially opened the new £1 million humanities block, a new build featuring seven classrooms.

Traditions

The students of The Chase School take part in the annual "Hills Walk", a 7.5-mile walk across the

Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are 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. The highest summit aff ...

and the surrounding area. The walk begins at the clock tower in North Malvern, at the foot of the Malvern Hills, and finishes at the school campus on Geraldine Road, Malvern. The walk has taken place almost every year since it was started in 1977 to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. The school supports a variety of charities and runs various fundraising events, regularly raising over £5,000 each year. This includes the donation of food parcels to residents of local housing for the elderly and to

food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direct ...

s in Malvern.

Achievements

In 2016 the school won a record eighth best team trophy at the Worcestershire Schools' Sailing and Canoeing Association (WSSCA) OnBoard Regatta. The school's links with local technology companies have enabled them to develop apprenticeships in cyber security. In 2015 a team representing The Chase secured the runners-up prize in the national finals of the UK Cyber Centurion Competition and second in the international competition. In 98/99 the year 11 football Team won the district cup. After beating Evesham High school in the semi final the team went in to beat St Henry’s in the final played in Worcester. The Chase achieved top marks in the 2012 Business, Accountancy and Skills Education competition run by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). They have also been successful in

Young Enterprise Young Enterprise is a national charity who specialise in Enterprise Education and Financial Education. Young Enterprise works directly with young people, teachers, volunteers and influencers to build a successful and sustainable future for all y ...

Notable alumni

* Tracy Moseley *

Evie Richards Evie Richards (born 11 March 1997) is a British cyclist from Malvern, Worcestershire, England who specialises in mountain bike and cyclo-cross racing. who became the women's cross-country world champion at the 2021 Mountain Bike World Champion ...

Cher Lloyd Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She finished fourth place in the seventh series of ''The X Factor'' in 2010. Following the seventh series finale, Lloyd was signed to Syco Music. Her debut single, "Swagger Jagger", was re ...

, singer, songwriter * Ed Elliot, sculptor

References

External links

The Chase School Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase School Educational institutions established in 1955 Schools in Malvern, Worcestershire Academies in Worcestershire Secondary schools in Worcestershire 1955 establishments in England