Welcome to the Senior School

Pupils enter the Senior School in Year 9, although they will have been following a senior school curriculum since the start of Year 7. This is both an exciting and increasingly serious phase as pupils’ development, emotionally and academically, accelerates quickly towards maturity. This phase incorporates the development of skills to successfully pass public exams, embrace university life and make career choices. We work to prepare each pupil to meet these objectives to the best of his or her ability. Meanwhile, there continues to be a wide range of opportunities outside of the classroom and a variety of pastoral support to help pupils tackle the challenges of teenage life.

The House System

The focal point of pupils’ lives in the Senior School are the four houses – Caswalls’, Lambourne, Penn’s and Swallow’s. Pupils meet in their house groups each day and will get to know students of all ages. There are a whole host of extra-curricular competitions and activities through the house system and all are encouraged to participate. Each house has a housemaster or housemistress at its head who has a team of supporting tutors.

Every pupil has a house tutor who oversees all aspects of their education, welfare and progress and is the immediate point of contact for parents. The shared stability and common standards promoted by both home and the School help smooth the passage from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. We believe that by working together parents and teachers provide boys and girls with the most effective support and direction.

Busy but balanced

Typically, Chigwell pupils are very busy. They learn to balance their extra-curricular commitments and they work hard to achieve the best results they can in their various subjects. Through this rich combination, the young men and women develop as people, learning to overcome difficulties and challenges together, but most importantly of all, we hope, enjoying their time at school.

Mr Damian King
Head