Nonsuch High School

Nonsuch High School is an all-girls' grammar school with academy status, located in Cheam, in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, on the border of the London Borough of Sutton, and standing in 22 acres (89,000 m²) of grounds on the edge of Nonsuch Park. The school is a specialist science college and languages school.

History

The school was founded in 1938.

Awards

The school has achieved various awards such as Beacon status, Sportsmark Award, Schools Achievement Award and Education Extra - Distinction. It also gained specialist science college status in July 2004 and then language school status. This means extra funding was provided. Every year, along with St Philomena's Catholic High School for Girls, Nonsuch provides the ball girls for the Queen's Club Championships in addition to providing ballgirls for the ATP tournament last year.^[1][2] The school was awarded academy status on 1 June 2011.

Selection

As Nonsuch is a grammar school, girls are required to take the 11+ exam to gain entry into year 7, which used to be a shared selection test with Wallington High School for Girls, but was made separate in 2009.^[3] However, there are sometimes additional places in other year groups, and these are allocated based on tests in English, Mathematics and Science.^[4] There is another intake for the sixth form, which is based on GCSE results. An average points score of 50 points and a grade B or above in GCSE Mathematics and English Language is needed for this.^[5]

The Nonsuch catchment area is defined by a circle with a radius of 5.25km from the front door of the school.^[6]

80 places are awarded each year to those with the highest scores in the Entrance Test, whether they live inside or outside the catchment area.

Those who pass the test and live within the circle on the cut-off date as defined by the Pan-London Co-ordinated Admissions System are ranked according to the score they achieve. Places are initially allocated according to the ranked order. If however, two or more girls have the same score and fewer places are available, the place or places will be offered to the girl or girls who live nearer to the school.

The Year 7 selection test consists of two papers, verbal reasoning and English, with a short break between them. Not all girls who pass the test are guaranteed a place because normally more girls pass the test than the number of places available. The papers are standardised according to ages in years and months so that younger students (i.e. summer birthdays) are not penalised. The pass mark for admission to Year 7 in 2010 was 202.^[7]

Rules

The school has strict rules for behaviour and dress. Rules for years 7-11 include: No make up, hair of natural colours, skirt cannot be too far above the knee, appropriate black footwear, no criss-crossed tights, no ankle socks, have to wear blue or black gloves, hats, scarves, must wear their lanyard with teachers checking at the entrance. Between Years 7 and 9, girls must wear school coats. Years 10 and 11 are allowed to wear their own, provided they are black in colour and meet certain requirements. In sixth form the students are permitted to wear their own choice of clothing in accordance with a dress code. The latest addition to the rules is there is to be no use of bags in the corridors all books and equipment required for the lesson must be carried by hand.

Lessons

On entry, all pupils follow the national curriculum with an additional foreign language (German, French, or Spanish). Latin is now compulsory for all students in addition to a modern language. Their forms depend on which languages they choose. The range of subjects taken for GCSE is broadened by the opportunity to continue with a second language, to study the separate sciences and to choose appropriate Technology courses. Music has recently become very popular with pupils, for example in GCSE. Initially, pupils are taught in forms, with smaller groups for practical subjects. Later, setting allows for the different rates of progress of individual pupils. The pupils are sometimes mixed with different forms for particular subjects such as Design & Technology allowing them to socialise with other people outside their form. In Nonsuch there are 6 forms in each year group each consisting of an average of 30 pupils. The houses are named after planets and are: Pluto, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn. As of September 2015, a seventh form group has been added and named Venus. Intake for this form begins in 2015 and an additional year group will be added as part of regular year 7 selection each year. In Year 10 the girls are split up into new forms to allow more interaction between the year.

The majority of pupils continue their studies in the large Sixth Form for which external candidates may apply although there is a required standard of grades required in the GCSE exam to pass into the sixth form. Students must achieve a Grade C or above at GCSE to continue studying that subject, although extenuating circumstances are taken into account. Courses may be chosen from 27 subjects. Students also complete a compulsory Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), and have the option of studying either Further Maths or Critical Thinking as a sixth AS Level. Candidates are prepared for Oxbridge entries where appropriate, and most students proceed to higher education or professional training.

Other

In 2015, a new building project was started to expand the school and give the sixth formers more room. It is predicted to be finished in November 2015 and the furniture will be installed soon after.

Developments

• In September 2011, Nonsuch High School converted to academy status.
• On 16 April 2012 headmistress Karin Rowsell took 'indefinite leave' from the school under undisclosed circumstances, after a two-week absence. Pupils have been notified that the headmistress will be leaving the school and not returning; the school is currently undergoing the process of recruitment of a new head. The Deputy Head and Assistant Head have been placed as Acting Head.
• As of September 2013 the new headmaster, the first in the school's history, Mr Gale, has started.
• As of 15/04/2015 due to unprofessional and inappropriate conduct" Mr Peter Gale's contract was terminated ^[8]

Astronomy

The school has an observatory on the roof where the astronomy society frequently meets. The school has two teachers for this GCSE. In 2008 all 5 students achieved either an A or A* grade.^[2]

Notable former pupils

• Joanna Rowsell, Olympic cycling champion ^[9] (2000–2007)
• Elizabeth Kay, author of books such as: The Divide trilogy(1960–67)
• Katie Melua, singer-songwriter
• Melanie South, tennis player^[10]
• Susan Lalic, (née Walker) British Ladies chess champion.
• Christina Lamb, war correspondent, author of seven books including The Africa House and I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban.

References

External links

• The Nonsuch website
• Nonsuch Managed Learning Environment