Government Initiatives IQ School Inspection Performance 2012 Turning the traditional into the progressive by Victoria Overy, Headteacher, Chase High School and Sixth Form Chase High is an 11-18 Foundation Trust School working in partnership with the King John School and Middlesex University. We have 1,000 students from 44 different countries. One in three of our children speaks an additional language, has a special need or is eligible to claim a free school meal. 42% come from three of the poorest wards in Southend. We also welcome a significant number of students during the school year from home and abroad and must ensure they get as good a start as those who join us in Year 7. The first school was built on our site over a hundred years ago and our latest addition, a Sixth Form, only joined in last April. Our history has seen Special Measures, a Fresh Start and significant funding that has enabled us to become one of only a few National Challenge Trust Schools. The improvements we have made have been dramatic and took some bold strategic thinking. One of the biggest changes we made was to move to vertical tutor grouping and a House system – a case of a traditional solution being used progressively. We have created smaller school families that learn, play, eat, travel and succeed together. Every member of staff belongs to a House, be they site staff, the SLT, even Governors. Our students led this change themselves and con- tinue to contribute to our progress. They have been happy to take on additional responsibili- ties as prefects, International Ambassadors, translators, Council Leaders and more. They embrace every charity event and celebrate every season and occasion. They sponsored a star at Christmas for Haven’s Hospice and are about to host a Jubilee afternoon tea for the lo- cal community. Today, we are a happy, busy school where individualism is commended, difference is celebrated and the progress of every child and every adult is supported. We have worked hard to forge mutually beneficial partnerships with schools in the local region and as far afield as Ghana, San Francisco and Australia. Through our international work we promote exchange programmes for students and staff, and en- courage students to look beyond Southend, to understand their past and make the most of their present and future. Chase High School & Sixth Form