About our School

Forest Hall School is a relatively small secondary school with a strong sense of community. Irrespective of our size we are still able to offer a wide range of courses, activities and experiences for individual students, and as a result, we are able to respond to the pace and direction of individual development. We recognise that our large and active community requires a high degree of organisation to enable us to achieve our aims.

Before children come to Forest Hall School, they are allocated a form group which is within a House. This is very carefully done to ensure that each group is properly balanced. Each form group has its fair share from each primary school, of academic children, quiet children, sporty children and Performing Arts children, etc. We try to keep members of a family in one House unless we are specifically requested to separate them. We require all of our students and parents to read and sign the Forest Hall School partnership document as part of the induction programme. Forest Hall School has been built on the House system. We believe that it helps all students to feel that they ‘belong’, and that they are a valuable and valued member of a group. We feel that when students are secure and happy, they have the best chance of reaching their full potential.

Three members of staff have particular responsibility for each student:

• The first of these are the Form Tutors who meet with their groups daily and who often remains with the same group as long as they are at Forest Hall. Although Form Tutors mark the register, they have many more important functions. They help and guide their students and generally look after them. They help to sort out any problems that a student may have, especially at the start of Year 7 when there are the usual little worries. The Form Tutor is the main link between home and school and keeps parents informed of academic progress. Parents/carers are encouraged to contact the Form Tutor whenever they wish to query anything or discuss any concerns that they might have.
• The Head of House has responsibility for all the tutor groups within the House and is responsible for overseeing learning, care and the discipline of students in the House.
• A member of SLT works closely with the Head of House and can help you should the Head of House be unavailable. The Head of House and Form Tutors work closely together to make the student’s path through secondary school as successful and as happy as possible.

Above all we believe that a student’s success grows out of this close and personal home/school relationship. The Houses are the responsibility of the Heads of House and have elected student representatives. Many extra-curricular activities such as competitions, sport and charity work are organised in the Houses.

Every young person will be supported and challenged to reach their full potential. Our high expectations for students’ is evident in an upward trend in examination results. Since 2015, Forest Hall School has exceeded national averages and standards at GCSE level.

Through our extensive curriculum provision, enrichment experiences and school ethos we ensure that students develop not only their academic ability but also their social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness.

Forest Hall School is a caring and inclusive community and we work hard to ensure that all pupils are safe, healthy and achieving. We are proud of our wide-ranging partnerships with charities and organisations such as Hope Not Hate, Samaritans, Children’s Society and Essex Young Service to support our students’ mental health and wellbeing.