Amersham School

Amersham School is a mixed secondary school in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. In September 2011, the school became an Academy. It takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 and has approximately 850 pupils.In September 2005, the school was designated by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) as a specialist school in Business & Enterprise.Amersham School is an upper school, and half the children who live locally pass the 11+ and go to grammar schools. In light of this data, Amersham School is performing well above national averages.As is common with many other schools, Amersham School operates a two-year Key Stage 3. This allows three years for GCSE study, through a staged approach, and allows for a more personalised curriculum including a variation of qualifications on offer, personalised to suit the mixed ability students.The school is over-subscribed for entries in Year 7 and has a large sixth form.HistoryThe school opened on its current site in 1964, although at that time it was the Brudenell County Secondary School for girls. Following the opening of the girls' school, the Raans County Secondary School, which had opened in 1956 as a mixed school, became a boys' school. In 1988, Raans Secondary School merged with Brudenell School, to become the Amersham School, the Raans site, however, remained open for a further year for lessons for the new school's pupils. Notable alumni include Olympic Athlete Nicola Sanders.