Motto | "prepare, challenge, inspire" |
---|---|
Established | 1959 |
Type | Academy Grammar School |
Headteacher | Alan Rosen |
Chair of Governors | Arfan Chaudhry |
Location |
Walton Road Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP21 7SX England 51°48′43″N 0°48′08″W / 51.81208°N 0.80222°WCoordinates: 51°48′43″N 0°48′08″W / 51.81208°N 0.80222°W |
DfE URN | 136846 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
Students | 1200 |
Gender | Girls |
Ages | 11–18 |
Houses | 6 |
Colours | Navy and White |
Website | AHS |
Aylesbury High School (AHS) was founded in 1959, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, when the previously co-educational Aylesbury Grammar School (founded 1598) split to become two single-sex grammar schools. The two institutions remain on adjacent sites. The school takes its pupils from a wide area as far from Aylesbury as Oxford and Milton Keynes, as admissions are determined by the eleven-plus. The current headmaster is Alan Rosen.
The school is colloquially referred to by locals as "Aylesbury Girls'" and by the students as "the High" or "AHS".
The school is a selective state-funded grammar school, and as such entry requirements are dictated by the eleven-plus, although several students are admitted on appeal to Buckinghamshire County Council. In the fairly unusual event of free places, the school will accept pupils in Year 8 upon success in the eleven-plus, and later upon reasonable evidence that prospective pupils are academically capable. A large number of pupils are also admitted in the Sixth Form from both local state and independent schools, though impressive GCSE results are required and competition for these places is high.
The school educates girls from the age of 11, in Year 7, through to the age of 18, in Upper VI. The school has its largest intakes at Year 7 followed by Lower VI. On completing GCSEs, most girls stay on to complete their A-levels at the school's sixth-form.
It is situated east of the town centre on the southern side of the A41, between Walton (to the west) and Victoria Park (to the east). This site was built and opened in 1959 by Princess Alexandra, and is reflective of the modern, minimalist post-war architecture of the time. The school is housed in gardens which the students enjoy particularly in the summer.
The school has been awarded specialist school status in Languages, which it kept until Summer 2011, when it gained Academy Status. Languages remain a particular strength at the school and are extensively resourced and promoted. Each girl is required to take at least one language to GCSE level, and many take languages on to A Level and university.