Beal High School
| Beal High School- | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Woodford Bridge Road , , IG4 5LP | |
| Information | |
| Type | Comprehensive community school |
| Established | In 1931 |
| Local authority | Redbridge |
| Specialist | Media Arts |
| Department for Education URN | 102855 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Headteacher | Miss Snowdon (Executive Headteacher), Ms Willmott (Associate Headteacher) |
| Staff | 250+ |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrollment | 1600+ (400+ in sixth Form)[1] |
| Houses | Depends on year group |
| Colour(s) | Gold/Black |
| Website | http://www.bealhighschool.org.uk/ |
Beal High School is a secondary school in Ilford, Essex, England. The school has over 1600 students (of which the overwhelming majority is of an ethnic minority background, mainly south Asian) and over 100 teachers with around 100 support assistants. The school begins at Year 7 and continues with compulsory schooling through to Year 11. Years 12 and 13 form the optional 6th form.
The school gained specialist school status in September 2004, becoming a Media Arts College. In 2007 the school was recognised as a Highly Achieving Specialist School and allocated a second specialism in applied learning.[2] The school also has a Communications and Learning Department, (CLD Unit) for students with learning difficulties on the autistic spectrum.
History
Beal's roots go back to the foundation of a senior department to South Park Primary School in 1908. In 1931 it was transferred to Ley Street (the present Seven Kings High School site) as Beal Modern School. The Boys’ and Girls’ schools functioned as separate units, although on the same site. They became grammar schools in 1948. In 1957 the Boys’ school moved to the present Woodford Bridge Road site.
By 1982, Beal High School had become fully comprehensive. The transition had started in 1976, with the first comprehensive entry, and when the first girls arrived at the school. A further transition took place in the life of Beal High School in 1997 when, as a result of the shortage of secondary school places in the London Borough of Redbridge, Beal High School expanded from 6 forms of entry (180 students per year group) to 8 forms of entry (240 students per year group).
As a result of the need to accommodate extra students, an enormous building programme took place. Not only were new classrooms built, but also extra specialist facilities: Drama Studios, Science Laboratories, a Library Resource Centre, Information Technology rooms, sixth form facilities, a new administrative area and expanded dining hall. In addition, the building programme was utilised to provide refurbished suited accommodation for all departments and to improve the circulation of students around the school.
In April 2007, a new 'Media Factory' was opened, to accommodate the school's new status as a Media Arts College. This new building consists of three media studies classrooms built alongside the existing radio station and drama studies
Students
Most of Beal's students come from parkhill primary school, Redbridge Primary School, Glade Primary School, Gearies Junior School, Highlands, Grangewood Independent School.
The uniform is a light tan brown for years seven to nine and a dark brown for years ten to eleven. Year 12 and 13 students studying in the sixth form have a uniform code of business wear, as opposed to previously having a navy blue uniform.
Staff
The Headteacher is currently Miss Sue Snowdon. The Headteacher before was Mr John Manuel. The last Head of Beal as a Grammar School was Dr Elvet Lewis (1904–81).[3] The School has received a number of awards for achievement and was recently designated as a 'Highly Achieving Specialist School'. Ofsted describe the school as "a very good school with outstanding features"[4]. The school offers a wide variety of extra-curricular activities including a radio station 'Radio XL' that broadcasts locally for a week each year, and musical theatre productions. Students get the chance to participate in debating, enterprise activities a wide range of sport teams and musical groups. Staff and students are very involved in charity fund raising events, and once raised over £10,000 for charity.
Notable alumni
- Simon Amstell (born 1979), TV presenter and comedian
- Yolanda Brown (born 1982), jazz musician
- Rose Dawn (Hazel Keech) (born 1988), model, actress and dancer
- Nick Frost (born 1972), comedian and actor
- Anthony Garcia (former name Rahman Benouis), terrorist[5]
- Barry Kyle (born 1947), theatre director
- Penny Lancaster (born 1971), model and photographer
- Victor Maddern (1928–1993), actor
- Ian Ridpath (born 1947), astronomer and writer
- John Wade[disambiguation needed] (born 1946), writer, photographer and camera collector[6]
- Danny Lee Wynter (born 1982), actor
- Mohs Mercury (born 1994), philosopher [citation needed]