Haydon School


Haydon School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in the Northwood Hills area of the London Borough of Hillingdon, Greater London, for students aged 11 to 18. On 1 April 2011, Haydon School became an Academy.

History

The school was formed in September 1977 from the union of St Nicholas's Grammar School For Boys and St Mary's Grammar School For Girls.
It was named after the local family, which Haydon Hall was also named after. It was Alice Spencer, Countess of Derby, who had the hall built in 1630.
On 10 February 2011, the Governors of Haydon School voted unanimously to change the school's status from Foundation to Academy, to give the school increased freedom.
Haydon School originally had a house system. They were named after the NASA space vehicles Discovery, Challenger, Voyager, Endeavour and Pioneer. Following the Challenger disaster. they kept the house names as tribute. However, in September 2012, following the appointment of then-new headteacher Robert Jones, the house system was scrapped and was replaced by a system that worked by years, and the uniform changed accordingly. Now each year group has their own tie colour associated with their year.

Languages

Haydon is officially a designated language college teaching students foreign languages. Students entering the school are given two languages to learn until the end of Year eight; the language could be French, Italian, Spanish, German or Mandarin. The school offered Japanese classes to students until July 2016 when they were unable to continue teaching the language due to lack of teachers able to teach the subject. Students learning Japanese were then instead taught Spanish or French.

The campus

The Peter Woods Building

The Peter Woods building was officially opened on Thursday 9 July 2009 by former headmaster, and namesake, Peter Woods, and his two children. Many former staff attended, along with those who worked on the project.

Sixth Form Building

Haydon School has over 500 students in its sixth form. It offers advanced level courses on site.

Notable alumni

St. Nicholas Grammar School for Boys