Chigwell School

Chigwell School has gone through a significant journey of evolution in the last two years. We welcomed our new Head, Damian King, in September 2022 (formerly Deputy Head, Academic, at Dulwich College), and launched our new 2029 strategy to reflect on our journey so far but more importantly to continue building and developing for the future as we are moving towards our significant 400-year anniversary celebrations in 2029.

We are located on an extensive 100-acre site in the leafy village of Chigwell near Epping Forest, a stone's throw away from Central London, benefiting from our own tube station off the Central Line. Even Charles Dickens proclaimed that ‘Chigwell is the greatest place in the world’!

Chigwell is known for its pastoral care and with small classes and tutor groups, brought together with the Day Houses structure. There is also a Sixth form boarding community that adds an international feel to the school. New developments include the appointment of a brand-new role of Head of Wellbeing, in September 2023, whose role is to have complete oversight of the Health and Wellbeing Centre and support the mental health of pupils, staff, parents, and Alumni who are in Higher Education. The Centre has been refurbished and now benefits from our warm and welcoming wellbeing space, along with fully equipped medical suites.

In addition, the school also welcomed a new Deputy Head, Pastoral, Tom Burnside in September 2023 (formerly Head of 6^th Form at Whitgift), who works very closely with our Head of Wellbeing to ensure that pastoral support is at the centre of Chigwell School’s offer.

Our focus on wellbeing and pastoral support is highly recognised within our community and beyond our school gates and very often it is a topic of conversation among families and schools we engage with. Wellness lessons have been introduced into Year 7 and will continue to develop over the coming years.

More information on our pastoral provision is available here: Chigwell School | Pastoral Care

We have also welcomed another new Deputy Head in September 2023, and this was to help us bolster our academic ambitions. Philip Harrison, Deputy Head, Academic, (formerly Head of Classics and Scholarship at Merchant Taylors’ School) has embarked on implementing a range of initiatives.

These include a new Scholarship Programme, with a big emphasis on oracy, to support our pupils in articulating their point of view compellingly and persuasively. We launched a new enrichment curriculum for Year 7s, including lessons in Entrepreneurship, Psychology, Careers, Sustainability, Digital Citizenship, and Metacognition. At Sixth form, the school has developed its extensive programme of enrichment opportunities, including a range of elective subjects. The curriculum also provides time for Service, during which pupils go out into the community and offer their support. The school also offers the Foundation Project Qualification (FPQ), Higher Project Qualification (HPQ), and Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) across our Senior School (Years 7- 13) which are all very popular choices for our pupils.

In addition to our academic, art, music, and drama scholarships offered at Chigwell, we have also launched our Sports Scholarship programme this year for pupils joining our school in September 2025. This has been possible with the arrival of our new Director of Sport, Mr Glenn Kirkham, (formerly Director of Sport at the Perse) who joined us in September 2023, the completion of our Sport & Wellness Centre, and the introduction of academic PE. Our sports offer will continue to expand in the coming years.

Commitment to academic excellence and delivering high-quality teaching is a key priority for us. As a result, we are proud to have launched a teacher training programme and currently, we have 8 trainee teachers in a variety of subjects. We are looking to support those shortage subjects that will provide a pipeline of good teachers for the coming year to both Chigwell and local schools.

The school also offers means-tested bursaries to support pupils whom we know will thrive at Chigwell but whose families cannot afford full fees.

We recently completed building our outstanding Sport & Wellness Centre in September 2023. This provision has been used to further support the physical and mental wellbeing of our pupils which we believe is integral to their ability to be happy and flourish.

In September 2023, our Director of Music took on the additional role of Assistant Head Co-Curricular and has developed this provision; we have expanded our offer to an extensive range of clubs, societies, trips, and expeditions.

More information on available opportunities is available here: Chigwell School | Co-Curricular Activities and Chigwell School | Co-Curricular Activities