Established 1938 Headteacher Mr Paul Ramsey Ofsted Reports Number of students 1,030 | DfE URN 117505 Tables Phone +44 1727 766100 Founded 1938 | |
Location Brampton RoadSt AlbansHertfordshireAL1 4PREngland Address Brampton Rd, St Albans AL1 4PR, UK Motto Faire Mon Devoir (French: "To do my duty") Profiles | ||
Verulam school
Verulam School is a state secondary school for boys with academy status in St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK. It was founded in 1938 and was originally named St Albans Boys' Modern School. The name was changed in the 1940s to St Albans Grammar School for Boys and subsequently, following its change of status to a comprehensive in 1975, to Verulam School.
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The Headmaster is currently Paul Ramsey. He came to the school from Watford Grammar School as Head of English in January 2000, became Deputy Head and subsequently Acting Headmaster on the resignation of Mr David Kellaway in December 2008; he was appointed Headmaster in May/June 2009.
The school caters for boys between the ages of 11 and 19. Boys can stay on into the Sixth Form, which also welcomes male and female students from other schools. The school has six houses: Brampton, Churchill, Hamilton, Jennings, Park and York, all named after roads near the school.
The school works in partnership with two neighbouring schools to enhance post-16 educational provision. This partnership is known as the "BeauSandVer" consortium and consists of Sandringham School, Verulam School and Beaumont School.
Uniform
The uniform in Years 7 to 11 consists of: a navy blazer with badge; dark grey or black trousers of conventional cut; House tie; school pullover (ordinary grey v-necked pullover may also be worn); white or pale blue shirt with appropriate collar; black shoes suitable for formal wear; dark grey or black socks.
A summer-uniform alternative is also available. It consists of a white short-sleeved shirt with a school crest embroidered on the pocket and may be worn without a blazer or tie to and from the school in hot weather.
In the Sixth Form uniform regulations are relaxed but male and female students are still required to wear clothes which would be acceptable in a professional environment.
Houses
Prior to the school's turning comprehensive in 1975, there were four houses, each named after one of the four roads forming a rectangle around the school site. These were Brampton, Hamilton, Jennings and Park. From 1975 onwards, with the increase in the yearly intake, two further houses were added, York and Churchill, also named after two other nearby thoroughfares. Each of the six houses has its own colour: Brampton, light blue; Churchill, red; Hamilton, green; Jennings, purple; Park, yellow; and York, white. Students' ties vary to display the corresponding house colour as an additional coloured stripe. The house system is used to divide each year group into six form groups, which remain the same throughout successive years, e.g. a student who is placed in 7B (Year seven, Brampton) upon entry will proceed into 8B, 9B, 10B and 11B. Inter-house competition is encouraged, with a rugby and football tournament taking place in each of the five compulsory years.
Extra-curricular
The school participates in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, taking students through all of the phases from bronze to gold, with expeditions in places such as The Chilterns on Bronze, Dartmoor and Exmoor on Silver, and Scotland, New Zealand and Morocco on the expeditions for the Gold award.
The school is also home to the Verulam Big Band, a Jazz–Swing band composed of students. The composition of the band varies with each year, and the band has had as many as fifty musicians during some academic years. The band has played many significant local events, such as the Mayor's annual dinner at Sopwell House Hotel, and embarks upon a tour most years to a European country. The band has previously visited Lake Garda in Italy, Barcelona in Spain and the Moselle Valley in Germany.