Future Academies Watford 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 ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and

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

located in Garston,

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England.

History

The school opened in September 1954 as Francis Combe School, a

secondary modern school 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. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...

. It was named after Francis Combe (or Combes), a

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

landowner who founded a

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

in 1651, with a bequest of £10 per annum. It became the first comprehensive in Watford in 1966. Previously a community school administered by

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

, in February 2008, the school was given permission to explore becoming an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, sponsored by

West Herts College West Herts College is a college for further education in Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The college has campuses in Watford and Hemel Hempstead. As of 2017 the college has 5,900 students on study programmes or apprenticeships. Range of ...

and the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a Universities in the United Kingdom, university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield ...

(later the Meller Educational Trust). The school reopened in September 2009 as Francis Combe Academy, specialising in English, art and media. In 2020, the name was changed to Future Academies Watford when the school became part of the

Future Academies Future Academies is a multi-academy trust running 10 primary and secondary schools, a teacher training college and the Centre for Latin Excellence. The schools are located in London and Hertfordshire in England. The trust's motto is ''Libertas Per ...

multi-academy trust.

Facilities

All of the school's buildings were rebuilt in 2012 except for the English and Maths block, which was built in 2001 (currently the English, Maths, Drama and Latin building at current time September 2024). The £25 million rebuild, which connects to the older building, features three storeys and houses Science, Languages, IT and Humanities (originally Maths). The sports department includes a large sports hall, a fitness studio and changing rooms. Two new outdoor spaces, the MUGA (multi use sports and games area) and the Agora. A new entrance foyer and a new art department focuses on open plan and collaborative working with no fixed walls between classrooms.

Notable former pupils

Francis Combe School and Community College *

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, television presenter, comedian, singer, and former professional footballer. Walsh's acting roles on television include Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004 ...

, comedian, television presenter, actor, singer, and former professional footballer *

Kelly Smith Kelly Jayne Smith (born 29 October 1978) is an English former football forward who spent three spells with FA WSL club Arsenal. After moving to the United States, Smith broke records with Seton Hall University then played professionally with ...

, professional footballer * Mark Ilott, professional cricketer

References

External links

*
Academic Help for Watford Students
{{Authority control Schools in Watford Secondary schools in Hertfordshire Academies in Hertfordshire Educational institutions established in 1954 1954 establishments in England