Considering a school that’s more than just bricks and mortar? Let’s explore Jubilee High School. This coeducational secondary school located in Addlestone Surrey England has a story to tell. Jubilee High School holds both the Artsmark Gold Award and International School status.
The story of Jubilee High School is quite interesting. It began in September 1985. This came about from the merger of St Paul’s County Secondary School Addlestone and The Meads County Secondary School Chertsey. They used the St Paul’s site. Stepgates County Secondary School Chertsey had actually merged with The Meads a bit earlier in 1964.
Originally named Abbeylands School, its foundations trace back to ownership by Chertsey Abbey. However standards declined and by 2000 Abbeylands was the lowest performing Surrey state secondary school. Imagine that.
Facing potential closure or federation Abbeylands was reborn. It closed then reopened as Jubilee High in September 2002. A fresh start indeed. Jubilee High was established as a Foundation School. It was supported by a Trust in partnership with Nord Anglia Education plc. This was a pretty radical plan involving the private sector in state education at the time. The Department for Education and Skills granted 2.5 million pounds of start-up funding. This followed a joint submission by Nord Anglia and Surrey County Council.
However the school’s educational performance remained below average for several years. An Ofsted inspection in March 2005 judged the school as providing an acceptable education. But there were serious weaknesses in English teaching and student behavior. There was also a high turnover of staff.
Gareth Balch became principal in September 2005. Things began to turn around. The proportion of pupils achieving five or more A* to C GCSE passes including English and mathematics rose significantly. Jubilee High was recognized as a rapidly improving school.
In April 2012 Gareth Balch stepped down. In January 2013 Stephen Price became Headmaster. By 2013 the school had its best results in 28 years. In September 2013 Jubilee High achieved academy status. It became part of the Bourne Education Trust.
Jubilee High gained full International status in January 2007. The school created links with schools internationally. These include schools in The Netherlands Poland Malawi and Jordan. Jubilee High also connected with the African Children’s Choir. The choir performed at the school.
A new Learning Resource Centre and Performing Arts Centre opened in 2007. It featured a state-of-the-art theatre with a seating capacity of 230. Jubilee High has been awarded Specialist College status for Performing Arts and ICT.
Rated ‘Good’ in its last two inspections Jubilee High School is consistently ranked in the top 40% of Surrey schools for student progress. It has excellent links with local employers like McLaren F1 Brookland Museum and St Peter’s Hospital.
So that’s Jubilee High School. A place of transformation resilience and a commitment to providing a well-rounded education for its students.