Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School

Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School (HCCS)
Address
Selkirk Drive Holmes Chapel , Cheshire , CW4 7DX England
Coordinates	53.197189°N 2.368717°W / 53.197189; -2.368717
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	Preparing learners for a changing world
Established	1978
Local authority	Cheshire East
Chair of Governors	Mrs Jackie Beard
Head teacher	Mr Denis Oliver
Staff	c. 87 teaching
Gender	Co-educational
Age	11 to 18
Enrollment	c. 1,225 pupils
Houses	Arley, Capesthorne, Moreton and Tatton
Colour(s)	Black and yellow
Notable Awards	Sportsmark Gold; Artsmark Silver

Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form centre located in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England. It was founded in 1978 as a purpose-built 11–18 comprehensive and sixth form. It was opened in September 1978.

The school is a designated academy and Training School which has also been accredited with both Sportsmark and Artsmark awards. It consistently performs excellently in academic performance League Tables, invariably exceeding both National and Local Education Authority

House system

Pupils are sorted into four houses: Arley, Capesthorne, Moreton and Tatton. Each year, the houses compete for the house cup- which is awarded at the end of each school term. All siblings (Brothers and Sisters) shall be housed together. Each house is led by a member of staff, a Head of House, who manage and care for the students in their house. The current Heads of Houses are:

Arley ~ Mrs Sue Holt

Tatton ~ Mr Patrick Hogg

Moreton ~ Mr Mike Henshall

Capesthorne ~ Mrs Ann Bentley

House Cup winners

• Arley
  • Winners: Winter 2013, Summer 2015
• Capesthorne
  • Winners:
• Moreton
  • Winners:
• Tatton
  • Winners:

OFSTED

The most recent Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED) report concluded as follows:

This very effective school provides excellent value for money. Its success is based on exceptionally strong leadership, much very good teaching and the very good attitudes of the overwhelming majority of the pupils. The achievement of all groups of pupils is very good. Pupils make very good progress in most subjects and overall results in National Curriculum tests and GCSE and A-level examinations are well above average.

Expansion and development

Since it first opened almost 40 years ago, HCCS's pupil population has grown enormously, leading to considerable expansion of the school buildings. In the last five years, a new Arts building was opened, as was an extension to the science department, and a complete refurbishment of all the science rooms was completed during the summer of 2007. Partially funded by donations and sponsorship from parents and local businesses, the Arts building is home to the art and music faculties, along with a number of rooms dedicated to Sixth Form use on the first floor including a common room, and other 'A level only' courses such as sociology and photography. They are looking into another extension which is intended to boost the number of intakes.

In September 2006 a new dining hall facility was completed. This building helped to resolve the problem of over-crowding at lunchtime, allowing lunch to be served in two sittings, rather than four. It also houses a dedicated 'bistro' for the use of Sixth Form pupils, which currently provides food in the mornings, which ends after lunch. A cashless system for dining came into action on 29 January 2007 using cards, and that has since been updated for some years to bio-metric thumbprints, to help solve the problem of lost cards.

Finally, from the start of the school year in September 2007, the school will no longer have independent heads of year who follow their year group through the school, instead adopting a house system of four houses led by a head of house. The four houses are; Capesthorn, Arley, Morton and Tatton.

In 2013, the sixth form/arts block was redeveloped, also expanding the sixth form building. Temporary buildings were installed on the site for use as teaching facilities for the 6th form during the building period due to the structural defects discovered in the original facility.

In 2016, the Arts building was demolished and has been replaced with a building which boasts its own theatre. The sixth form also resides in this building, with a large amount of teaching rooms, a large common room and a quiet study area. It also has its own cafe which is only for students in year 12 and 13, as well as teachers.

Notable alumini

• Harry Styles – Member of the band One Direction (born 1994)
• Dean Ashton – Crewe Alexandra, West Ham United and England footballer (born 1983)
• Mark Bowden – composer (born 1979)
• Seth Johnson – Ex Crewe Alexandra, Derby County, Leeds United and England footballer (born 1979)
• Andy Porter – Ex Port Vale player and assistant coach, and York City assistant coach (born 1968)
• Ruby Barnhill (actor) – The BFG (2016) and 4 O'Clock Club (2012) (born 2004)

References

Notes

External links

• School's Website
• Most recent OFSTED Report
• League Tables from the BBC