chigwell school prospectus

Find a way or make a way

I am delighted to take this opportunity to introduce you toChigwell School, an independent foundation offering facilitiesfor both boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 18.

We offer children a balanced education in a stable, traditionalenvironment, but one nonetheless focused on the future.Renowned for our high academic standards, we set equalstore by our wide range of extra-curricular activities, our welldeveloped sense of pastoral care, and the spiritual dimensionto our life. Chigwell School is, above all, a community inwhich children can grow, for we seek to develop the wholeperson, so that ultimately he or she can enter into the fullnessof life.

Working closely with parents, we aim to ensure that when ourpupils leave us at the age of 18, they are ready to enter theworld outside and to play their part in it. We wantChigwellians to be:

• Academically well-equipped to obtain good grades in publicexaminations and to succeed at university

• Employable – able to work in teams, get things done, show resourcefulness, communicate verbally, on paper and by modern means of technology – and adaptable, withthe capacity to learn new skills

• Capable of developing into good citizens, involved in thecommunity

• Possessed of a soul, secure and confident in their ownspiritual beliefs and philosophy of life.

The School is located in the village of Chigwell, only 10 milesfrom central London and close to the Epping and HainaultForests. Set in its own beautiful grounds of over 70 acres, ourJunior and Senior Schools are able to share a single campus,enabling us to offer an exceptionally stable educationalenvironment. The Junior School caters for children up to theage of 13, the Senior School from 13 onwards. We offerboarding facilities for Sixth Form Pupils.

The following pages explain how we go about developing thepotential of your sons and daughters. However, we believethat the best way to get a feel for how Chigwell School worksin practice is to visit our community. My colleagues and Iwould be delighted to meet you and to show you our School.

Michael Punt, Headmaster

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic

Junior School Senior School Sixth Form & Boarding

Drama & Music

Welcome to Chigwell

Art, Design & Technology

Resources for Learning

Sport Extra-Curricular Chigwell Past & Present

How to find us

Chigwell fosters an environment where children can discover andnurture spiritual values. While theinspiration and ideals of the School’sfoundation are Anglican, nowadays all the principal world faiths arerepresented on the School’s roll, andwe value and respect this importantdimension to our life. We believeworship is important and everyone in the School attends services in theChapel or the Church twice a week.Although these services are groundedin the Christian faith, we drawconsciously on the insights andexperiences of the world’s greatreligious traditions and are inclusive of all pupils. We delight in what wehave in common, but also respect and affirm distinctiveness.

Our Chaplain is Anglican, but he ispastor and priest to the wholecommunity. We mark key moments in the year with special services inwhich the whole School celebrates its inclusive nature in a Christiancontext. We celebrate the Eucharisteach week and prepare pupils forConfirmation if they wish. Our RomanCatholic community celebrates theMass once a term and the Inter-FaithForum is responsible for theorganisation of such events as theannual Diwali celebration.

We encourage pupils to take religion seriously and to develop their own spiritual life. We havesocieties for members of many faithtraditions, which pupils attend on a voluntary basis.

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

A School with a soul…

The classroom is at the very heart of a Chigwell education. The School has a strong academic tradition and along-standing record of success in public examinations and in Oxbridge entrance.

We encourage our pupils to develop:

• A love of learning

• The ability to think logically and laterally

• The capacity to express themselves coherently both verbally and on paper

• Good study habits and thewillingness to take responsibility for their own learning and academic performance.

We have high academic expectationsof all our pupils and the pace of workis sustained and challenging. Ourpupils work hard and take their studies seriously. Our staff, too, arehighly committed and always willing to give individual help and support topupils of exceptional ability, who mayneed stretching, and to those who findsome areas of the work more difficult.




How to find us

...where minds can grow

We aim to provide a consistentapproach to education throughout yourchild’s school career. Our academic andpastoral structures are designed todevelop the seven year-old rightthrough to the end of the teenageyears. We encourage a closerelationship to develop between staffand parents and we believe that it isessential to establish clearcommunications between home andSchool. We achieve this throughregular written reports on pupils’ workand progress, consultation evenings,School functions and newsletters. We warmly encourage parents to keepin close contact with us at all times.

The Head of the Junior School isresponsible for pupils and is supportedby a team of form tutors who monitoreach child’s academic progress andwell-being and are your principal pointof contact if you wish to discuss anyaspect of your child’s progress.

Whilst the Junior School operatesseparately from the Senior School,both share the same educationalphilosophy, as well as many facilitiesand teaching staff. Friendships andjoint activities also link Juniors andSeniors, giving pupils a sense ofcontinuity as they progress throughthe School, and everyone can use theSchool’s extensive facilities. We teachFrench from the age of seven andintroduce all pupils to other languagesduring their school career.

Virtually all pupils transferautomatically to the Senior School,however, if we feel that an individualwill not flourish there, we ensure thatalternatives are discussed well beforethe end of the Junior School.

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

A single campus...a sure start Junior School




How to find us

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music




How to find us

The focal point of pupils’ lives in theSenior School is the four houses –Caswalls’, Lambourne, Penn’s andSwallow’s – and many pastoral,sporting and social activities areorganised on a house basis. Each house has a housemaster orhousemistress at its head who has a team of supporting tutors.

Every pupil has a house tutor who oversees all aspects of theireducation, welfare and progress, and is the immediate point of contact forparents. The shared stability andcommon standards promoted by bothhome and the School help smooth thepassage from childhood throughadolescence to adulthood. It is only by working together that parents andteachers can seek to give boys andgirls the effective support anddirection they need.

...and a confident futureSenior School

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

The Chigwell Sixth Form is a vibrant part of the School wherestudents gain a greater sense ofresponsibility and purpose. Most of our students study four AS subjects in the Lower Sixth and specialise inthree of these at A level. Our A levelresults are impressive: in recent years99% of Chigwellians have moved on to degree courses at university, ormusic and other specialist colleges,with 8% entering Oxford andCambridge universities and over 60% reaching the leading RussellGroup universities.

Students can also engage in activitiesbeyond their academic studies. OurGeneral Studies course explores a widerange of issues central to forming abroad understanding of social andpolitical affairs. The Skills andActivities scheme enables them toparticipate in activities such asvoluntary service in the community,sailing, art courses and exploring thehistory of film.

The Sixth Form is a privileged place, so students enjoy greater freedomswhilst simultaneously taking on greaterresponsibilities, contributing to theday-to-day working of the School.Many will assume considerableresponsibility for the running ofdifferent areas of the School’s life, in chapel, music, drama, sport and the social life of the Sixth Form.

We place a great emphasis onpreparing our pupils for life afterSchool. We aim to ensure that studentsare well-informed and that careerdecisions reflect individual strengthsand interests. The Careers andUniversities programme helps to openpupils’ minds to the importance andscope of university education, and thecareers available beyond study. Adviceon university entrance plays a centralpart in our work, as does the widercareers’ education programme.

Sixth Form ...a stepping stone to university




How to find us

Sixth Form

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

Our boarding community is based onsmall, extended family-sized houses,where international students and localweekly boarders live together withstaff and their families. This creates afriendly, supportive environment whichis a home from home for our foreignstudents and a stepping stone towardswider horizons for our local students.

Our boarders are sixth formerspreparing for university life. For manyit will be their first experience of livingaway from home and with a group ofother young people from manydifferent parts of the world.

Academically, boarding can prove a real advantage, providing astructured study routine during theweek, supported by help and advicefrom staff. All the house parents of

our boarding houses are Oxford orCambridge graduates and, betweenthem and other teaching staff resident in the houses, the subjectrange covered is broad.

Students learn to manage their owntime and develop sound study habits,with academic staff always availableto help with work. They are also ableto use the school week moreefficiently, avoiding travel and havingconvenient access to School facilities.Taken together, these features canreduce some of the stress of school life and allow more time for relaxationat the weekend.

Many of our sixth form boarders havemet with great academic success.

Our Boarding HousesThe oldest and largest of the threeboarding houses is Grange Court, aneighteenth-century mansion offeringspacious and varied accommodation for up to 40 boys.

Sandon Lodge, offeringaccommodation for up to 10 girls, has been the Sixth Form girls’ boardinghouse for over thirty years. It is anearly Victorian farmhouse standing in the middle of the School fields, next to an old orchard.

Hainault House, the most recently built of our boarding houses, is a grand late-Victorian house offeringaccommodation for up to 10 girls.

Boarding ...learning to live and work together




How to find us

The School has its own state-of-the-art 150-seat theatre designed for theuse of the whole School community. In addition to the main auditorium, it includes a green room, rehearsal and teaching spaces, dressing roomsand a foyer.

We believe drama is key to developingcreativity and the inter-personal skillswhich are so essential in modern life –the ability to speak in public, tocommunicate with other people, towork in teams and to resolve conflict.

Throughout the Junior School, and in the first year of the Senior School,pupils have formal drama lessons. They use these to explore a variety of issues, building self-confidenceand understanding through role-play and improvisation. They also developpersonal skills and are introduced tothe world of theatre. Many will go on to take Drama and Theatre Studiesat GCSE and A level.

Numerous productions take placethroughout the year, giving pupilsopportunities to experience thedemands of developing a role,performing, or working backstage in order to discover the teamwork needed to stage a show successfully.Sixth formers have the opportunity to cast, design and direct their own productions.

There are also drama clubs, dramaactivities, LAMDA Speech classes,taught by a specialist, and regulartheatre trips to the West End andfurther afield.

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

Creativity...the power of drama




How to find us

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

The professionally equipped, purpose-built Walde Music School providesChigwell’s pupils with the opportunityto study a musical instrument. It hasthree teaching rooms, one equippedwith modern music technologyfacilities, eight practice rooms and apercussion room.

The Music Department has a lively,buzzing atmosphere and providingmusical opportunities lies at the heart of all it tries to achieve. Givingover 300 lessons per week, it has thebenefit of 23 visiting music teachers.All pupils who learn an instrument areencouraged to participate in the manyensembles in the School.

The School’s tradition for music has grown enormously in the last fewyears, building a fine reputation in thelocal community. We give performanceexperience at the School to orchestras,choirs, bands and a number ofchamber groups over the year, and we cater for a wide range of music,including jazz, rock and pop. The Swing Band entertains at many socialfunctions.

We also give regular concerts both at School and in other venues, notably the huge annual choral concert at the Walthamstow AssemblyHall. The Chapel Choir has performedrecently at Pembroke College,Cambridge, Chichester Cathedral and Southwark Cathedral in the annual Evensong cycle.

...music for all




How to find us

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

Creativity is a difficult concept todefine, for it applies equally to thescientist and mathematician as it doesto the artist, designer or performer. Weencourage our pupils to explore theirunique abilities by developing creativesolutions to real tasks.

ArtThe Practical Arts Centre has threelarge art and design studios, aworkshop for ceramics and sculpture, a photography darkroom and anexhibition area and is available to allpupils after school and at weekends.There are regular trips to art galleriesin London.

Design and TechnologyDesign and Technology prepares pupils to participate in today’s rapidlychanging world. They learn to thinkand intervene creatively to improve the quality of products, systems andenvironments, becoming innovatorsand informed, discriminating users of products.

Pupils learn to become creativeproblem solvers, both individually andas members of a team. They combinepractical skills with an understandingof aesthetic, ergonomic, social andenvironmental issues, technology andindustrial practices. They analyse andevaluate existing products as well asproducing their own designs andpractical work.

Art, design and technology for life




How to find us

We believe it is essential that pupils have access to appropriateresources for learning and in this, as in all aspects of School life, we seek to combine the best traditionalmethods with a forward-looking and modern approach.

LibrariesThere are several libraries in the School including the main SwallowLibrary (which is well-stocked withreference works and periodicals), theJunior School Library, and specialistlibraries within the differentdepartments. A full-time, trainedLibrarian has overall responsibility for these resources.

Information and Communication TechnologyWe aim to use ICT to enhance teachingand learning in the classroom, and tobuild confidence and familiarity in theuse of technology amongst our pupilsso that they will be at ease in amodern world.

We provide networked computingfacilities across the School, includingin the boarding houses, and have high-speed Internet access (which issecurely controlled). There are threededicated ICT classrooms which areused for general subject teaching, ICT-specific courses and for individualpupil study.

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

Resources for learning




How to find us

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music




How to find us

Sport plays an important part in the life of the School. We haveoutstanding facilities, including 50acres of expertly maintained playingfields, a fully equipped gymnasium, a modern sports hall, including amulti-purpose area, separate rooms for weight-training and cardio-vascular exercises, a heated outdoorswimming pool, tennis courts andoutstanding cricket nets.

We teach all pupils the basics of awide range of sporting activities intimetabled lessons, introducing them to concepts of teamwork andself-discipline, and encouraging them to develop fitness and physical competence.

In the winter terms, the main sportsare soccer, hockey and netball, while in the summer we concentrate oncricket, athletics, swimming, roundersand tennis. Chigwell enjoys a nationalreputation in soccer, cricket and girls’hockey, and there is a comprehensiveand challenging inter-school fixturelist at all levels for all major games.

As well as full-time PE teachers, many members of staff help in runningteams and work alongside professionalcoaches in hockey, cricket, swimmingand tennis.

We also teach individual and lesstraditional sports, encouraging allpupils, regardless of physical ability,to develop skills that can lead toenjoyable and healthy life.

A place in the team

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

A community that caresChigwell School is a community in thewidest sense dedicated to the teaching and learning of its pupils. A committed andhardworking support staff works alongsidethe teachers and all help to create a caringand supportive atmosphere for the youngpeople in our charge.

A particular feature of Chigwell is the large number of clubs and societiesoperating outside the classroom. Weencourage all pupils to take fulladvantage of the activities available.

All Junior School pupils are involved in the Adventure Service Challengescheme. Our thriving Scout Troop, with an Explorer Scout Unit for olderboys and girls, meets regularly and is involved in a variety of out-of-school events.

We participate in The Duke ofEdinburgh Award Scheme through to the Gold Award level and a numberof sixth formers work voluntarilyduring the Summer holidays helpingunderprivileged children in London.

An energetic and creative CharityCommittee, consisting of parents,pupils and staff, organises a widevariety of events – the well-establishedChristmas Fayre, sponsored walks andswims, fashion shows, the annual

Flower Festival and balloon racesamong others. Many pupils come into their own helping to run suchactivities, developing new skills,building confidence and gaining anawareness of the needs of others.

The School also has a closerelationship with the neighbouringWinged Fellowship, a residentialholiday home for physically disabledpeople, and many pupils undertakevoluntary work with them.

We encourage pupils to learn to travel enquiringly, understanding and appreciating different customs and cultures.

There are well-established and regularexchanges with the Waldoerfer Schule in Hamburg and the Collège SaintGabriel, Saint Laurent-sur-Sèvre in theVendée region of France. The mostrecent scout camps took place in theIsle of Man, County Kerry, the ScottishHighlands, the Derbyshire Peak District

and Cornwall. The South Downs isfamiliar territory to all Chigwellianswho have undertaken the Duke ofEdinburgh Award Scheme.

Geographers do field work on theNorth Norfolk Coast and on occasionin New York. Historians visit World WarI battlefields and Berlin as part of theirGCSE and A level courses.

The Chaplain has led Chigwellians on extended visits to the Holy TrinityAshram in Tamil Nadu state in India.Our Hockey team has toured Hollandand we have enjoyed winter sports inBulgaria, Andorra, Switzerland, Franceand Norway.

Activities Week in the summer term enables all the Upper Twos (Year 6) to spend a week in France or Spain, and all the Fourth Form (Year 8) to experience challenge andopportunities at an outdoor activitiescentre in Wales.

Personal development... broadening horizons... in the world beyond




How to find us

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

Founded in 1629 by Samuel Harsnett,Archbishop of York and Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University, ChigwellSchool has been at the centre oflearning for nearly four centuries. It has been a member of theHeadmasters’ and Headmistresses’Conference (HMC) for over a century,joining in 1897 when there were fewer than 100 members. Eligibility to join the HMC depends

on a school’s degree of independenceand its academic standards, somembership is an importantendorsement of our reputation.

While we are proud of our long history – indeed, the original schoolroom, now the library, has been incontinuous use for 375 years – we are equally focussed on the future. To enable us to offer the best possiblefacilities, we have undertaken anextensive building and modernisationprogramme over the past 25 years, yetat the same time have ensured that

Chigwell – past, present and futuremodern developments blend with thetraditional buildings that still form the nucleus of the School. In this way,a sense of history is preserved, which,in a changing world, provides animportant background and sense ofstability to the day-to-day life andwork of our boys and girls.

William Penn, the founder ofPennsylvania, is our most celebratedformer pupil, but generations ofChigwellians have made their mark in all walks of life – in government, the City of London, law, medicine,teaching, industry and commerce, and as citizens.




How to find us

Our FounderSAMUEL HARSNETT was the son of a Colchester baker. He was Vicar ofChigwell from 1597 to 1605 andsubsequently rose to high position in the land. His requirements weredemanding, as illustrated by hisStatutes for the Headmaster, who was to be ‘of a sound religion, neitherPapist nor Puritan, of a sober andhonest conversation, no tippler norhaunter of ale houses, no puffer oftobacco’.

Our HousesPENN’S – William Penn (1644–1718),was a pupil from 1653 to 1656. Well-connected, he became a Quaker and renounced a promising career atCourt in order to dedicate his life topropagating his vision of a tolerantand humane society in which war and conflict would play no part.

CASWALLS’ – five distinguishedCaswall brothers who attendedChigwell School in the 1820s, the most eminent being Edward, poet and famous hymn-writer.

LAMBOURNE – Colonel MarkLockwood, MP, who later became Lord Lambourne, Chairman ofGovernors from 1893 to 1922, he was a local landowner and reformer.

SWALLOW’S – Canon Richard DawsonSwallow was Headmaster from 1876 to 1911. The reputation of the Schoolwas much enhanced by Swallow, whois often described as the firstheadmaster of the ‘new regime’.

Welcome toChigwell

Pastoral &Academic


Drama & Music

Founded in 1629 by Samuel Harsnett,Archbishop of York and Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University, ChigwellSchool has been at the centre oflearning for nearly four centuries.Chigwell has been a member of theHeadmasters and HeadmistressesConference (HMC) for over a century,joining in 1897 when there were fewerthan 100 members. Eligibility to jointhe HMC depends

on a school’s degree of independenceand its academic standards, somembership is an importantendorsement of our reputation.

While we are proud of our long history – indeed, the original schoolroom, now the library, has been incontinuous use for 375 years – we are equally focussed on the future. To enable us to offer the best possiblefacilities, we have undertaken anextensive building and modernisationprogramme over the past 25 years, yetat the same time have ensured that

Chigwell – past, present and futuremodern developments blend with thetraditional buildings that still form the nucleus of the School. In this way,a sense of history is preserved, which,in a changing world, provides animportant background and sense ofstability to the day-to-day life andwork of our boys and girls.

William Penn, the founder ofPennsylvania, is our most celebratedformer pupil, but generations ofChigwellians have made their mark in all walks of life – in government, the City of London, law, medicine,teaching, industry and commerce, and as citizens.

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A Main School EntranceB Hainault Entrance & Main Car ParkC King’s HeadD St Mary’s ChurchE Top FieldF Hard Play Area1 Main School Office2 Junior School Entrance & Office3 Swallow Library4 Dining Hall5 Swallow Room6 Chapel7 Church House8 Harsnett’s House9 Grange Court10 Swimming Pool

11 Walde Music School12 Queen Mother’s Quad13 New Hall14 Browning Building15 Science Building16 Art & Technology Centre17 Junior School18 Gymnasium19 Sports Hall20 Stanmore House21 Hainault House22 Drama Centre23 Haylands24 Thompson Building25 School Shop

Key to map

Chigwell at a glance• Independent Co-Educational. Established in 1629• 730 Pupils• 330 Boys and Girls in the Junior School (7–13 year olds)• 400 Boys and Girls in the Senior School (13–18 year olds)• 95% day, 5% boarding• 160 Boys and Girls in the Sixth Form

Chigwell School is represented on the Headmasters’ andHeadmistresses’ Conference (HMC) and the IncorporatedAssociation of Preparatory Schools (IAPS)

ArrivalThe main ages of entry are:

• 7+ and 11+ when children enter the Junior School as day pupils either from primary or preparatory schools

• 16+ when they enter the Sixth Form from a wide range of schools both from this country and abroad, either asday or boarding pupils

• We set our own entrance exams for children joining below the age of 16, while potential sixth formers areoffered places based on interview and a report from their present school.

CHIGWELL SCHOOL

Chigwell, Essex IG7 6QFTel: 020 8501 5700Fax: 020 8500 6232E-mail: [email protected]: www.chigwell-school.org

Chigwell School is an Incorporated Charity No. 1115098. Designed by 48Fitzroy. Photography by Daniel Shearing

chigwell school prospectus

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