Bishop Luffa School
New classrooms
The school applied for planning permission for a drama studio to form the start of a new £2.5m creative arts centre for the school. The planning application was approved and the school started construction in August 2006. The drama studio was opened in February 2007. The school has also extended their sports hall, adding an extension onto the original facility, where the climbing wall is now kept.
At the end of 2017, over 18 months of work was completed to remodel the former 'K Block', at the southern end of the buildings – forming a newly updated Humanities Block, with additional and remodelled facilities. At the same time, the Main Reception of the school was repositioned into the centre of this new facility, from the Northern site entrance – which also had the effect of amending the postal address of the school – which now (for postal purposes) is located on Westgate (from Bishop Luffa Close) This is from the college entrance - the south entrance.
Sixth form
There is an integral sixth form at Bishop Luffa for students who wish to continue their education after the age of sixteen, with an annual intake of around 160. Although 140 existing pupils are given priority, 20 pupils from other schools are also accepted each year for entry in Year 12. A wide range of subjects can be studied, including Business Studies, Computing, Law and Economics. The school also offers the new AQA Baccalaureate 'Bacc' hybrid qualification, including a 100-hour self-directed project.
A2 level pass rates at Bishop Luffa are above the national average. In 2017, for co-educational State schools in West Sussex, Bishop Luffa pupils achieved the 3rd highest average individual point scores (11th overall).
Academic performance
The school's admission policy is non-academically selective. In 2017, amongst co-educational State Secondaries, the school was rated the highest in West Sussex (4th overall) against the new 'Attainment 8' Key GCSE subject scores per pupil, including English, Maths, Sciences and Humanities.
The (Oct 2008 and November/December 2022) Ofsted reports rated the school as uniformly "outstanding" across all metrics.
In 2008 the school was praised by the Anglican schools inspectorate for its Christian religious character and met minimum standards.
Houses
Years 7 – 11 are split into 8 house groups, each named after former Bishops of Chichester:
Andrewes – Green, Burrows – Blue, King – Pink, Otter – Purple, Ridgeway – Red, Sherborne – Black, Story – White and Wilson – Yellow.
Andrewes was previously Bell which was changed in 2016 due to the fall of Bishop George Bell's reputation.
Notable former pupils
- Jonathan Ansell, musician, pop-opera band G4
- Samuel Preston, singer, the Ordinary Boys and Celebrity Big Brother
- Alex Preston, novelist and journalist
- Charlotte Hawkins, television and radio presenter
- Linus Roache, actor, son of William Roache of Coronation Street, Batman Begins and Law & Order
- Rupert Holliday-Evans, actor, The Bill
- Cara Horgan, actress, Lewis (TV series) and Silent Witness
- Dame Helena Morrissey, (born 1966), financier
- Stuart Matthew Price, singer, composer and theatrical producer
- Joel Ward, footballer, Crystal Palace Football Club
- Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC foreign correspondent
- Jess Breach, England Womens Rugby team
- Sarah Bern, England Womens Rugby team
References
- ^ School website article regarding the Academy conversion Archived 3 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ A document containing information relating to the construction of the MUGA Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Bishop Luffa School :: Sixth Form". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011. Sixth Form information
- ^ "All schools and colleges in West Sussex - GOV.UK - Find and compare schools in England". Find and compare schools in England. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "All schools and colleges in West Sussex - GOV.UK - Find and compare schools in England". Find and compare schools in England. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "2008 Ofsted report" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ Anglican school inspection report Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "George Bell: The battle for a bishop's reputation". BBC News. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ Bawden, Tom (21 January 2011). "Friday interview: City superwoman fights for boardroom equality". the Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2018.