Personal Assistant to the Headteacher

Headteacher: Mr Stephen Lawlor

Chelmsford County High School is a great place to work with a caring ethos – our students are motivated, pleasant, courteous, well-behaved and enormous fun! They like school, and enjoy learning, achievement is high, and almost all the students go on to Higher Education at the most competitive universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.

Chelmsford County High School was founded in 1906 as one of the first girls' secondary schools in Essex. In an area where most other schools are all-ability comprehensives, it is a selective grammar school with academy status.

In September 2020, we expanded our intake for Year 7 admitting 180 students per year alongside the 150 students in Year 12.  Most of our students in Year 11 return for the Sixth Form, and some 30-40 students join Year 12 from other schools. Entry at Year 7 is highly competitive: in accordance with our Admissions Policy we offer places to the 180 girls who meet our criteria, out of the 1,300 or more who sit the entrance test. The School has a large number of "feeder" primary schools, around 80 in any one year group!  Entry into the Sixth Form is determined by a strong performance at GCSE, which suggests good potential in the subjects chosen for A Level. At present, there are 1115 students on roll with 303 in the Sixth Form. Our students follow a broad curriculum with equal value attached to each subject area. 

This is not a complacent school. We regularly review our practice, and ensure that classroom methodology is appropriate to the needs of our students. All staff have the opportunity to contribute to whole school planning for improvement through their subject and year teams as well as focus groups, each led by a member of the Senior or Middle Leadership Team.

This is a very busy school, which places a strong emphasis on enrichment activities. There is a fine tradition of musical performance, and most students play at least one instrument. There are many orchestras, choirs and ensembles. Drama is also an important enrichment activity, with clubs, and major school productions involving many students. Our sports teams are very successful, as are our individual sportswomen. Our students are lively and talented, as well as being academically able, and we try to provide plenty of opportunities for them. They also run a wide range of clubs or societies such as the Law Society and Medical Society where they invite speakers or present papers themselves. House activities include some distinctly less serious events, which nonetheless challenge student ingenuity. As a girls’ school we challenge gender stereotypes and place great importance in presenting our students with a wide range of opportunities beyond the taught curriculum, this includes involvement in many STEM activities and competitions.

In terms of resources and buildings, we have a fine mixture of "traditional", provided by the original main building, and a variety of buildings dating back to different decades of the last century together with some excellent modern facilities, such as the Music and Languages Centres. There is good computer provision, including interactive whiteboards in every classroom. We have dedicated Sixth Form facilities, a drama studio, an all-weather artificial pitch and a lecture room where we run a programme of academic lectures. In September 2021 we opened a new Sports Hall with dance studio and fitness suite, and a new teaching block containing additional science laboratories and classrooms.

Governors are highly committed individuals who are generous with their time and the expertise they bring to the School. Parents are very supportive individually or through the Parents’ Association, and have, obviously, very high expectations of the School. We have a strong school community, which is friendly and welcoming. We trust our students to behave well, and the atmosphere in the School reflects our high expectations of them in this respect.

Ofsted report

“The school makes excellent use of triple specialist status to improve facilities and curricular opportunities and to forge links with the local community. The school’s partnership with others is highly develop, particularly its links with business, industry and higher education. The school is a founder member of the Consortium for School Improvement, a local group that pioneered the ‘leading from the middle’ programme, which ensures that leadership is strong at all levels.”

View Chelmsford County High School for Girls' latest Ofsted report