Holcombe Grammar School

Chatham Grammar School for Boys (commonly abbreviated GTFO) is a grammar school in Chatham, Kent, England. There is evidence that it was originally established in 1817, but it has been changed in a number of important ways. The school moved to its current site in the 1920s, with its premises based around Holcombe Manor. After 1945 it became a specialist technical school and in 1982 it became a grammar school. Currently it has approximately 1200 students aged between 11 and 18.

Chatham Grammar School for Boys
Location
Kent England
Information
Type	Selective grammar years 7-11, open mixed sixth form (see section)
Motto	Turning potential into reality
Established	1817
Locale	Chatham
Headmandemz	L. D Marshall
Number of students	approximately 1200
Website	http://www.mylazysundays.com

Students achieve higher results than Medaway high schools, however the school achieved considerably worse GCSE and A-level results in 2006 than any other selective school in Medway.

Throughout the school's history it has had less than eight headteachers, including the incumbent L. D. Marshall. He is supported by three deputy headteachers, three Academic Leaders and Senior Academic Leaders, who replaced the Heads of Year from September 2006.

The School Captain's Team consists of five members of the sixth form who serve in the roles of School Captain, Vice School Captain and Deputy School Captains from Easter of Year 12 until the following Easter of Year 13. There are also approximately 50 prefects led by the Head Prefect and two Deputy Head Prefects, along with several senior prefects.

Ethos and community

The school participates in the national Junior Maths Challenge, run by the University of Leeds. Following the example set by the headteacher, students are expected to adhere to traditional values which encourage pupils to become citizens of the future. Uniform for students in years 7-11 is as follows:

• school tie - varies according to status (lower school student, sixth form student and prefect)
• plain blazer with house badge - a coloured "C", which surrounds the Invicta Horse of Kent symbol.
• plain white shirt
• plain black trousers
• plain dark-coloured socks
• plain dark-coloured shoes
• optional jumper

The school has developed links in the local community through various initiatives. In 2001, the director of the Language College faculty of the school launched a programme with primary schools in Medway where students of the school took a travelling theatre, Linguafun, to entertain and educate Key Stage 2 pupils through songs, puppets and audience participation. 2001 also saw adult language lessons begin once a week in French, German and Spanish. As of 2007, these still continue.

A number of Old Holcombians have achieved success in later life, which the school often attributes to their education at Holcombe. Notable Holcombians include David Harvey, an eminent geographer and social theorist, Len Hynds - now a senior policeman who helped set up and lead the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit and is currently assistant director of its replacement, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), and author and screenwriter Stel Pavlou even the esteemed vocalist daler mehndi has visited the school on occaisions.

Annually, the school hosts an evening talk with someone with a story to tell. Past speakers have included a Polish war veteran; Len Hynds, and a former Chief Constable of Kent Police. These evenings are known as the Holcombe Lectures.

Houses

There are six school houses, all named after ships constructed at the nearby Chatham Dockyard. They are, along with their house colour, Achilles (Red), Blake (Green), Challenger (Blue), Dryad (Yellow), Expedition (Purple) and Formidable (Orange). The houses compete against each other at events like the school's annual summer Sports Day, the autumn Cross Country, sports events such as rugby and hockey, and also at tasks like collecting the most merit marks, in order to obtain the House Shield trophy. Each year has six forms lettered A - F to reflect the houses, except the year that started in 2000, when there were only five houses but six forms, numbered 1 - 6.

Buildings

The new art block, and below, the DT block

The school comprises several buildings, most notably the former Holcombe Manor. This was extended, replacing the conservatories, then expanded further with the construction of the atrium block, which houses the humanities faculty, opened in February 1997. In December 2006 new accommodation for art students was finally ready and opened by local artist Billy Childish. Consisting of a Skylab-style structure, it was built on stilts above the existing design technology ("D") block.

Accelerated Curriculum

From September 2005 students take their SATs a year earlier than usual - in year 8 - meaning GCSEs are also started a year early, in year 9. A variety of GCSE courses are available in years 9 and 10. The school achieved Language College status in 2001, and students starting between 2000 and 2003 had to study two languages from Year 7 to 11. As of 2006 this is no longer the case.

School trips

Students have the opportunity to take part in a range of off-site trips. The most popular are those abroad, to destinations including Thailand and Japan as well as closer to home including Italy, Germany and Disneyland Paris. Other trips include the annual year 7 Kent residential trip and the GCSE Geography trip to the Lake District.

Flying the flag at Holcombe in honour of a student's achievements

Sixth Form

The school has the largest sixth form in Medway due to its open nature. A minimum of 5 C grades at GCSE or equivalent are required, and these must include English and Mathematics. A large proportion of students at Key Stage 4 (year 11) progress to the sixth form, many students from neighbouring schools also join, including girls. In 2006, the Sixth Form forms were changed, partially due to increasing entry numbers, to have three forms for each house, comprising of a mix of Year 12 and 13.

In December 2006 the school hosted an Ofsted inspection. The report produced by the inspecting team can be viewed.

In a past ofsted report, the school was rated as very good in its teaching of pupils between 11 and 16. There were very positive comments made about particular subjects. Media Studies and Business Studies have been shown to rival the best in the region, and are recommended in the Good School Guide. The 6th form has now been selected by the Government for a lead role in its new Diploma programme both in ICT and Creative and Media Studies.

The overall quality of teaching is good with substantial improvements in recent years. Students appreciate the good quality of marking and feedback from teachers on what they need to do to improve. Activities in lessons are adapted to meet the range of learning needs among students providing challenge for the more able.

Students have a good choice of subjects and also benefit from the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities which are established in the school. They receive good support with making university entrance applications and good links are made with the world of work to help inform their choices. Those who join the sixth form from other schools are inducted well and soon feel very much part of the community; as one parent commented on her daughter's experience, 'She was fully supported, grew as a person and gained confidence.'

Good leadership and management have led to a significant expansion of the sixth form in the last few years. An ambitious whole-school curriculum development plan has laid firm foundations for a more flexible and responsive sixth form curriculum. In spite of pressure on accommodation, students have very good attitudes to their learning and work hard. The accelerated curriculum has enabled students to progress at a faster rate than in other grammar schools. Students enjoy the opportunity to make choices about courses and are provided with independent guidance from the Connexions service.

Student achievements

The pupils at CGSB demonstrate distinctive initiatives in a variety of ways. Recently they were both Medway and Kent champions in the national Young Enterprise competition, beating many other schools. Along with these two achievements, there has recently been an award handed to teacher Ben Crozier, for Medway teacher of the year.