Hockerill Anglo-European College
 | |
| Established | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Type | State boarding academy |
| Principal | Mr Richard Markham |
| Location |
Dunmow Road Bishop's Stortford Hertfordshire CM23 5HX England Coordinates: 51°52′16″N 0°10′16″E / 51.87103°N 0.17120°E |
| DfE URN | 117598 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 812 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Canterbury, Rochester, Roding, Thames, Winchester, Durham |
| Colours | Blue and yellow |
| Website |
www |
Hockerill Anglo-European College (formerly known as Hockerill Boarding School) is an international boarding school with academy status located in Bishop's Stortford.
In 1850, Hockerill was founded as a teacher training school for women by the first vicar of the parish of All Saints, Hockerill, the Reverend John Menet. The training school was closed in 1978 and, in 1980, was reopened as Hockerill School when Fyfield School (in Essex) and Kennylands School (in Berkshire) merged. In 1995 it achieved Grant Maintained status and in 1998 became known as Hockerill Anglo-European College. The school also gained Music College status. The Music College was officially opened by Lord David Puttnam on 8 October 2006. It became an Academy in 2011.
Hockerill has more than 800 students, with about a third boarding. It offers the International Baccalaureate (IB).
The boarding section is divided into five boarding houses. The boarding houses are named after places in England: Thames House (for boys in Years 11-13); Roding House (girls in Years 12-13); Canterbury House (boys in Years 7-8); Durham House (boys in Years 9-10); and Winchester House (girls in Years 7-10). A new Boarding House for Year 11 girls is opening in September 2012 and will be called Rochester House.
The academic side of Hockerill is divided into four équipes, named after four pioneers in their own fields, and are also given a colour: Brunel (blue), da Vinci (red), Goethe (green) and Pascal (white).
International Connections
Hockerill has many international connections with schools owing to its Language College status. It has partner schools in Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Rwanda and Spain. It offers an exchange programme which, in some cases, sees Hockerill students visiting families and schools overseas in exchange for their child visiting Hockerill and the student's family.
Hockerill organised a series of concerts in Iaşi in Romania. Students travelled to Romania and played at numerous concerts to raise money. They were also given 7 minutes airtime on Romanian national television. They also toured Bucharest and Iaşi and performed in various locations in these areas. Another music trip took place in Prague, Czech Republic in February 2008 and a third trip to Hungary was undertaken in February 2009.
Other trips are organised to students including geography field trips to Iceland and Mallorca, expeditions to Ecuador, and diving trips to Sharm el-Sheikh. Day trips to France (Somme) and Belgium (Ypres) are organised for World War I research.
The International Baccalaureate and MYP
In 1998, Hockerill introduced the International Baccalaureate (IB) as the only form of post-16 study and accepted its first sixth formers. This event was a turning point in Hockerill's history because the IB allowed Hockerill to gain top positions in league tables. Dr. Guthrie strongly believed that the IB excelled the A-Level in every way and that A-Levels were not the right way forward for Hockerill. In 2012, 100% of Hockerill pupils passed the IB Diploma with an average points score of 36.4. The Middle Years Programme (MYP) was introduced in 2005 for years 7-11 and complements the GCSE and IGCSE taught at the college.
Notable facts
- Mike Ullmann, the Head of Languages, was awarded the 2005 Guardian Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School for his devotion to languages and his organisation of all international exchanges. Mr Ullmann died in May 2010 after a struggle with cancer.[1]
- In November 2011, Hockerill became the first state school to be awarded the accolade of Sunday Times International Baccalaureate school of the year award 2011.
- The college's most recent Ofsted inspection of Boarding (2012) graded all aspects of the Boarding provision as 'outstanding'.
- In September 2007, a group of ten Rwandans visited the UK on a trip funded by HAEC. On Friday 28 September 2007, with the group set to return to Rwanda the next day, two of the group were seen at 8.50am heading away from the college in the direction of the train station. They were later identified as two females, Delphine Ingabire and Antoinette Masoso. The following day at Gatwick Airport at 4.15am, four of the eight remaining exchange students disappeared as the group were preparing to check in for the return flight. Reluctantly, members of staff had to return to Rwanda with six missing children who became illegal immigrants within the UK.[2] The Rwandan ambassador was contacted, who made calls to ministers who asked for the passports belonging to the missing students to be handed to the embassy. On Thursday 4 October 2007, the police deported two of the missing Rwandan males after one came down with appendicitis and had to visit a hospital. The whereabouts of the remaining four Rwandans remains unknown.
References
- ↑ "Hockerill Anglo-European College mourning assistant principal". Herts and Essex Observer (Online).
- ↑ "Six Rwandans go Missing". Herts and Essex Observer (Online).
External links
- International Baccalaureate Organization website
- Middle Years Programme website
- State Boarding School Association
- Hockerill Old Scholars (Old, not kept up to date)
- British Council Learning World May 2010
- Hockerill Training College - Old Postcard images in A Guide to Old Hertfordshire