New Hall School
Boreham, Essex, England
New Hall School
Boreham, Essex, England
Overview
New Hall is a Catholic boarding and day school occupying the Tudor palace of Beaulieu and set in 85 acres near Chelmsford, just 30 minutes from London by train. New Hall’s use of the highly successful ‘Diamond Model’ combines the best of a co-educational environment in the Sixth Form with the advantages of girls and boys being taught separately in Years 7-11. The School’s Catholic foundation and ethos are central to the life of the School, with a special value placed on love and forgiveness.
At a glance
Academic
New pupils are allocated to tutor groups, and tutors arrange regular one-to-ones with their tutees, liaising closely with teachers, housestaff and parents to monitor academic progress and co-curricular activities. Students consistently achieve excellent GCSE and A Level results, with on average around half of candidates achieving A*/A. New Hall runs a Most Able and Talented programme, which adds value to academic performance and dovetails well with the School’s Oxbridge programme.
Boarding
The 4 boarding houses make New Hall distinctive in that most boarders have single bedrooms. Each house has a resident team of a housemaster/mistress, a house Assistant and house tutors, whilst day and boarding pupils from all year groups are integrated into each house, giving pupils a sound social base. Wide-ranging inter-house competitions encourage pupils to appreciate each others’ talents and abilities and boarders enjoy a full programme of activities in the evening and at weekends.
Sports
The School offers a rich sporting programme and the facilities include an athletics track, a floodlit Astroturf, 10 floodlit tennis/netball courts, a fitness suite and a 25m indoor swimming pool. The team of expert coaches includes former international athletes who balance a ‘sport for all’ philosophy with first-class training via academies that offer talented athletes one-to-one coaching and guidance on strength and conditioning, nutrition and mental aspects of their chosen sport.
Creative arts
The School excels in the Creative Arts and 2015 saw a record 77% achieve A*/B in A Level Fine Art. The Walkfares Performing Arts Centre offers drama and dance studios and the refurbished 150 seat Eaton Theatre hosts 2 full-scale drama productions a year and a range of musical concerts each term. A range of choirs, orchestras and ensembles provide opportunities for musicians to perform, pop and jazz bands are encouraged, and the Dance School runs classes at lunchtimes and after school.
Did you know?
- The head of hockey, Glenn Kirkham, was a member of the GB Men’s hockey team at both the Beijing and London Olympics, finishing a very creditable but agonising 4th in 2012.
- Beaulieu was sold in 1517 by Anne Boleyn’s father to Henry VIII, before passing to Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I and Oliver Cromwell, who bought it for only 5 Shillings!
