Woodford County High School – An introduction

Woodford County High School has been serving the local community since its establishment in September 1919.  We are a maintained girls’ grammar school – the only one in the London Borough of Redbridge to which we belong.  The education we provide for girls aged 11 – 18 is excellent, it is up-to-date and it is free.

At its last inspection in March 2009 Woodford was described as ‘an outstanding school which offers its students an excellent all-round education’.  The same judgement was made at the previous inspection in 2005.  Generations of girls have Woodford to thank for the start they have received in their lives.

We aim to provide education of a high quality at Woodford, with many opportunities for all our students.  Providing a positive environment for learning is our central aim: high quality teaching, a curriculum personalised to our students’ needs which excites and challenges them, and the premises and resources to facilitate its delivery.  A good education extends beyond the classroom, however, and takes a holistic approach, providing opportunities for students to develop interests, skills and confidence through a whole range of enrichment activities and leadership challenges.  Woodford excels in this area.  Visitors to the school, members of the local community and university admissions tutors who come into contact with our students speak very warmly of their poise, their communication skills and their social maturity.

We have a clear vision of how we want Woodford to develop both in terms of its curriculum and the broader educational experience on offer to our students.  Our funding as a selective school, however, makes it very difficult to resource enrichment activity.  For this reason, to sustain and develop opportunities beyond the classroom we rely increasingly on the generosity of parents, former students and friends who contribute to the School Fund.  Donations play an important part in enabling the school to provide opportunities and facilities beyond those which can be financed directly by the school.  The School Fund benefits all the girls at Woodford County High School and enables many activities and events to take place which could not otherwise be afforded.  Through such contributions we are able to support school visits and hold special events, such as the School Birthday, Concerts, Plays and Prizegiving.  We are also able to offer a range of curricular and extra-curricular activities including sporting fixtures, participation in the Science Olympiad, Public Speaking and Debating competitions and visiting speakers and theatre groups, to name but a few.  The running and the maintenance of the School Minibus (purchased by the Parents and Friends of WCHS) is wholly dependent on School Fund donations.  These are all aspects of life at Woodford which make this school community of ours such a rich experience for us all.

If you support our commitment to providing an excellent, up-to-date education to further generations of Woodford students, there are many ways to support our vision.  Please use the buttons to the left of this page for information about how to contribute and to see what the school fund has made possible in recent years. 

However you choose to show your support of the school, I am very grateful to you.  The girls who leave Woodford do so equipped and willing make a difference in the communities to which they belong and to wider society.  An investment in their education is thus an investment in our future.

Yours sincerely  

 

Ms Jo Pomeroy
Headteacher