Established 1939 DfE URN 113907 Tables Phone +44 1202 666988 Founded 1939 Gender Mixed-sex education | Headteacher Paul Gray Ofsted Reports Number of students 1,840 | |
Type Foundation Comprehensive Location Harbin Campus
Poole
Dorset
BH15 2BW
England Address Wimborne Rd, Poole BH15 2BW, UK Profiles | ||
Poole High School is a mixed gender high school and sixth form for 11- to 18-year-olds located in the centre of Poole, Dorset on the South Coast of England. The school opened in 1939 and was originally named Henry Harbin, but was renamed as Poole High School in the 1990s. At its 2011 OFSTED inspection, the school was graded as 'good'.
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Poole high school staff and students talk about attending the world mental health day 2015 programme
History
Built in 1939 as Henry Harbin Senior School, the school has expanded in every decade since its opening. The school was originally two separate schools - girls on the eastern side, boys on the west, separated by a quadrangle in the centre of the main school building. This layout was almost exactly the same as the original building at Kemp-Welch School, which opened in 1938. The school became a mixed school for 12- to 16-year-olds in the 1970s, reverting to an entry age of 11 in September 2013, as part of Poole's re-organisation into a two tier education system.
In the late 1980s the school became a 'technical high school', and its name was officially changed to Poole Technical High School in the early 1990s. It was during this period that the school added a sixth form and introduced an academic express stream, with a particular focus on the teaching of 'triple science' qualifications. It is one of a small group of partially selective schools that were permitted to retain selection under the provisions of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
Recent changes and future plans
Recent developments have included the new main school canteen, an English block, extensions to the Art and Science blocks, and the Merchants' Hall, which includes a canteen for the sixth-form and seminar rooms.
From September 2013, the school has admitted students in Year 7, taking the total number of students in attendance at PHS to over 1900, making it one of the larger schools in the country.
Work completed over summer 2014 focused on extending the life of the newly named "Shaftesbury Centre". The name of the building was chosen to honour the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, who opened the school in 1939.
School houses
Every student is assigned to one of the seven houses at Poole High School. In every house there are two registration groups per year.