We are a mixed school of approximately 1250 11-18 year old students in Hemel Hempstead, a Hertfordshire new town on the outskirts of London. Transport links are superb - direct rail links to London in less than 30 minutes, Ml, M1l and M25 all minutes away. Longdean is the largest school in Hemel Hempstead and one of the largest in the County in terms of student numbers and physical size.
The School is genuinely comprehensive with students coming into the School at the end of Key Stage 2 with an average point score ranging from 26.0 to 27.6
Exam results are improving in all Key Stages. Key stage 3 results have been quite good for some time now and whilst Key Stage 4 had plateaued at 48% for 3 years, they improved in 2008 by 21% to 70% and to 73% in 2009. Our figure, including English and Maths has been relatively good for the last three years but even better in 2008 with an improvement of 20% from 43% to 63%. This placed us in the top 8 most improved Specialist Colleges in the Country. Key Stage 5 is at least in line with the National Average and much higher in some subjects. Membership of the Dacorum 14-19 Consortium provides a wide range of opportunities for students and has benefits for staff in terms of sharing expertise and good practice with staff from other local schools and Further Education Colleges. Close co-operation has been well established with all the local primary schools and this has further improved as a result of our Maths and Computing Specialist Status. Our involvement in the School Sports Coordinator scheme has also been extremely successful and rewarding.
We
constantly
strive
to
offer
our
students
a
curriculum
which
meets
their
individual
needs
and
ensure,
wherever
possible,
that
they
become
rounded
members
of
society.
The
addition
of
the
Speech
and
Language
Centre
to
the
School
has
aided
this
focus.
We have recently spent a great deal of time in developing an experience that is geared to developing skills rather than just knowledge. This has guided the introduction of a vertical tutoring and house system that supports leadership and social development, a new KS3 Homework model that assesses skills such as team work and self management and a new Year 7 competency curriculum that develops independence, emotional intelligence and literacy. We firmly believe that these experiences will support the economic well-being of our students and set them up for a positive future.
In our drive to improve standards we have applied for and achieved several additional standards which has allowed us to maintain our focus. We have recently achieved the Healthy Schools Award in October 2006; Arts Mark in November 2007, Sports Mark in January 2008; the Careers award in December 2008; the Herts Self Evaluation accreditation in March 2009 and achieved our fourth IIP recognition back in November 2009. We are in the process of applying for the International Schools award and are hoping to become a Training College by September 2011.
