The Billericay School is an academy secondary school and sixth form college located in Billericay, England. The school is led by headmaster Patrick Berry and has an enrollment of 1713. As part of the Billericay Education Consortium the school forms part of a grouping considered to provide the best teacher training in the country according to the Good Teacher Training Guide. According to Ofsted the school is "an over-subscribed Mathematics and Computing specialist school mainly serving the town of Billericay but also drawing students from Basildon and nearby areas". In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2018, the school was graded as 'good'.
Admissions
As a comprehensive school admission is primarily dictated by residing in/proximity to the catchment area as well as the presence of siblings at the school. However, the school is able to operate some academic selection and 10% of applicants are chosen based on aptitude in ICT which is one of the school's specialisms.
The 2013 admissions document lists a number of criteria to determine priority in the event of over-subscription for places: Relevant looked-after children as defined in Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 Children residing in the school’s defined catchment area Children with a sibling attending the school Medical grounds, supported by a doctor’s certificate. Distance from the home to school (based on straight line measurement) with those living nearer being accorded the higher priority.
Further information relating to admissions can be found on the school's website.
Head teachers
History
The school was formally opened in 1938 by admiral Sir Vernon Haggard using a ceremonial silver key handed to him by the first headmaster P.G. White. However, a predecessor institution called Great Burstead Board School opened on 13 February 1878. This school was situated just across from Laindon Road and P.G. White who was Billericay School's first headmaster was appointed head of the senior mixed department here in 1923. The Billericay School was built as by the 1930s the school was struggling to cope with a growing enrollment and plans were drawn up for a new school big enough to cater for Billericay’s growing population.
Costing £22,400 Billericay School opened its doors in 1937 a year before its 'official' opening as a grammar school. Air raid shelters were built almost immediately to protect students from Luftwaffe planes travelling to London on bombing raids during World War II. The school was built upon the site of an Iron Age foundry where prior to the building of the school a cornfield and a farm was located.
P.G. White served a headmaster until 1949 when he died suddenly on holiday shortly before he was due to retire. Arthur Lingard became headmaster in 1949 and oversaw the school's transformation to a comprehensive on 1 September 1968 and the building of the school’s sixth form centre which occurred in the 1960s. During the 1970s exchanges began with international schools including an annual trip to the Einstein Gymnasium in Reutlingen in Germany - an exchange programme that continues to this day. The Parents’ Guild (later Friends of Billericay School) was also formed in this decade. Robert Goodier became headmaster in 1991 and oversaw the move away from LEA governance to self-governance.
The school's Music Studio was finished in 1991 and the decade saw a period of success for the Music Department under the headship of Mr John Stevenson including appearances at the London TV Arts Festival and on the BBC's Blue Peter. In 1997 the school was awarded its third Schools Curriculum Award by Princess Anne. Sue Hammond became the first female head of the school in Easter 1998 and in 1999 the Resource Based Learning Centre (RBLC) was opened. In March 2002 the school was the subject of a channel 5 documentary concerning a school reunion for pupils who attended the school between 1980 and 1982.
The School achieved Maths and Computing College status in 2003 allowing some use of selection based on aptitude in these subjects. It was thought that this status would generate an additional £1 million worth of funding, but a government policy on foundation schools reduced this sum significantly. The school has since converted to academy status, but continues to have Maths and Computing as a specialism.
The 2000s saw long-running attempts to sell disused land adjacent to the school in order to fund a series of improvements Development was initially refused but was appealed. In 2009 approval was gained to develop 51 new homes upon a six-acre plot.