West Hatch High School is a secondary school located in Chigwell, Epping Forest, Essex (near Woodford Bridge). The area, now currently occupied by West Hatch, was previously the western gate (or hatch as it would have been known) into Hainault Forest; it is from these roots that the school derives its name. The school currently educates 1,300 students from the local catchment area, and nearly 200 sixth form pupils from north east London and west Essex.[1]
History
The school was built in 1957 as a four-storied building with glazing on all sides on Chigwell High Road by Richard Sheppard & Partners with the Essex county architect, H. Conolly.[2]
The school was awarded 'business and enterprise specialist school' status in 2002.[3]
Facilities
The grounds have been renovated on numerous occasions developing the many-acre site into seven main teaching buildings. West Hatch has undergone major renovations, including a Maths Dining & Drama Block (1999), Ruby Theatre (2000 built by students attaining Gold The Duke of Edinburgh Award Status), Sixth Form Centre (2000), Music Suite (2002), Business and Enterprise Block (2003), Science block, Design and Technology block and the 4-storey classroom block.
Renovation of the ICT infrastructure has enabled evening classes and Microsoft Digital Literacy training for parents using a parent portal. A new swimming pool, replacing one that was fifty years old, was opened in 2010, named the Race Pool after a former teacher.[4] A sports hall and classroom block were built as an extension to the school and opened in 2021. One of the buildings was named Howarth Hall, after Frances Howarth who was headteacher of West Hatch for over 18 years. Howarth returned to the school to open the building.[5]
^"Interview with Vicki Michelle". Aspire Essex Magazine. March 2020. p. 24. Retrieved 8 June 2020. I went to West Hatch High School, in Chigwell...
^Who's who on television : a fully illustrated guide to 1,000 best known faces on British television. London: Independent Television Books Ltd. 1980. ISBN9780900727719 – via Internet Archive.
^Knowles, Rachael (8 November 2013). "Sally Gunnell joins Sport England board". East London & West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2020. Chigwell-born Sally Gunnell, who attended West Hatch High School in High Road...
^Armstrong, Karen (25 November 2004). "Local support for celeb Nancy". East London and West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2020. ...Nancy Sorrell, a former West Hatch High School pupil...
^Earnshaw, Jessica (9 May 2012). "Redbridge band The Loveable Rogues through to Britain's Got Talent final". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 27 June 2022. Band members Te Eugene, 18, from Ilford, Sonny Jay, 18, a former West Hatch High School pupil from Chigwell and Eddie Brett, 20, from Chingford wowed the judges on the live semi-final show…
^Whittington-Egan, Richard (2013). Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Casebook(e-book). Amberley Publishing. p. 129. ISBN978-1-4456-1786-2. Retrieved 2 February 2024. Stephen Knight was born, a Wednesday's child, on 26 September 1951, at Hainault in Essex. He attended West Hatch Technical High School, at nearby Chigwell...