Hockerill Anglo-European College

Hockerill Anglo-European College
Address
Dunmow Road Bishop's Stortford , Hertfordshire , CM23 5HX England
Information
Type	State boarding
Established	1980
Local authority	Hertfordshire
Specialist	Languages and Music
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Mr. Simon Dennis
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 18
Enrollment	622
Houses	Canterbury, Rochester, Roding, St. Alban's, Thames
Colour(s)	Blue and Yellow
Website	http://www.hockerill.herts.sch.uk/

Hockerill Anglo-European College is an international boarding school located in Bishop's Stortford. It was formally known as Hockerill Boarding School when it was state-funded.

In 1850, Hockerill was founded as a teacher training school for women by the first vicar of the parish of All Saints, Hockerill, the Reverend John Menet. The training school was closed in 1978 and, in 1980, was reopened as Hockerill School when Fyfield School (in Essex) and Kennylands School (in Berkshire) merged. In 1995 it achieved Grant Maintained status and in 1998 became known as Hockerill Anglo-European College.

Hockerill has more than 750 scholars, with about a third boarding. It offers the International Baccalaureate (IB). In this way the college is unique: it is the only international boarding IB school in England. The school also gained Music College status. The Music College was officially opened by Lord David Puttnam on 8 October 2006. As a result of the work of Paul Foulkes, Director of Music, the school is now outstanding in this area.

The boarding section is divided into five boarding houses. The boarding houses are named after places in England: Thames House (for boys in Years 11-13); Roding House (girls in Years 11-13); Canterbury House (boys in Years 7-8); St Albans House (boys in Years 9 - 10); and Winchester House (girls in Years 7 - 10).

The academic side of Hockerill is divided into four équipes, named after four pioneers in their own fields, and are also given a colour: Brunel (blue), da Vinci (red), Goethe (green) and Pascal (white).

The Financial Times listed Hockerill as one of the best schools in the UK offering the IB Diploma Programme.

International Connections

Hockerill has many international connections with schools owing to its Language College status. It has partner schools in Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Romania, Rwanda and Spain. As well as educational exchanges for language studies, Hockerill also offers charity trips to Romania and Rwanda as these countries are in need of money.Students can take part in fund raising activities to earn money for Hockerill's Rwandan and Romanian partner schools.

As a Music College, Hockerill organised a series of concerts in Iaşi, the city in which their Romanian partner schools are situated. Students traveled to Romania and played at numerous concerts to raise money. They were also given 7 minutes' airtime on Romanian national television. They also toured Bucharest and Iaşi and performed in various locations in these areas. Another music trip took place in Prague, Czech Republic in February 2008 and a third trip to Hungary was undertaken in February 2009.

Other trips are offered to students including geography field trips to Iceland and Mallorca, expeditions to Ecuador, and diving trips to Sharm el-Sheikh. Day trips to France (Somme) and Belgium (Ypres) are offered for World War I research.

The International Baccalaureate and MYP

In 1998, Hockerill introduced the International Baccalaureate (IB) as the only form of post-16 study and accepted its first sixth formers. This event was a turning point in Hockerill's history because the IB allowed Hockerill to gain top positions in league tables. Dr. Guthrie strongly believed that the IB excelled the A-Level in every way and that A-Levels were not the right way forward for Hockerill. In 2007, 97% of Hockerill pupils received the IB Diploma. The Middle Years Programme (MYP) was introduced in 2005.

Notable facts

• Dr. Robert B. Guthrie has recently retired from the Hockerill Community after twelve years at the college, and leading Hockerill to the top of the school league tables. He has been replaced by Simon Dennis, formerly of South Wolds School, in Keyworth, Nottingham.

• Mike Ullmann, the Head of the Language College, was awarded the 2005 Guardian Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School for his devotion to languages and his organisation of all international exchanges. Mr Ullmann died in May 2010 after a struggle with cancer.

• In September 2007, a group of 10 Rwandans visited the UK on a trip funded by HAEC. On the final day of the tour, Friday 28 September 2007, with the group set to return to Rwanda the next day, two Rwandans were seen at 8:50am heading away from the college in the direction of the train station. They were later identified as two females Delphine Ingabire and Antoinette Masoso. The following day at Gatwick airport at 4.15am, 4 of the 8 remaining exchange students disappeared as the group were preparing to check in for the return flight. Reluctantly, members of staff had to return to Rwanda with 6 missing children who were now illegal immigrants within the UK. The Rwandan Ambassador was contacted, who made calls to ministers who asked for the passports belonging to the missing students to be handed to the embassy. On Thursday 4 October 2007 the police located two of the missing Rwandan males after one came down with appendicitis and had to visit a hospital. The whereabouts of the remaining 4 Rwandans remains unknown.

See also

• International Baccalaureate Organization
  • International Baccalaureate
  • Middle Years Programme
• Bishop's Stortford

External links

• International Baccalaureate Organization website
• Middle Years Programme website
• State Boarding School Association
• Hockerill Old Scholars (Old, not kept up to date)
• British Council Learning World May 2010