Chestnut Grove Academy


Chestnut Grove Academy is an 11–19 mixed partially selective secondary school with academy and Visual Arts College status in Balham, London, England. In January 2019, Chestnut Grove was assessed in an OFSTED inspection report as good, whilst the Sixth Form was assessed as outstanding.

History

Chestnut Grove Academy was formed as Chestnut Grove School in September 1986 by the amalgamation of Henry Thornton School and Hydeburn School before achieving academy status in July 2011.
It selects 40% of its pupils for places based on aptitude in art and design or language. It was the first Arts College in the United Kingdom.

Tutor Groups

Chestnut Grove's house system consists of 7 tutor groups: Blake, Da Vinci, Hepworth, Kahlo, Kapoor, Kusama, and Turner. Every year group is separated into these 7 tutor groups, each of which contains 30 students. Each tutor group has its own corresponding coloured tie:
  • Blake - Green
  • Da Vinci - Yellow
  • Hepworth - Cobalt Blue
  • Kahlo - Red
  • Kapoor - Maroon
  • Kusama - Violet
  • Turner - Light Blue
The Kusama tutor group was introduced in September 2020 in order to meet the large numbers of new Year 7s. KS3 students were given the choice to vote on the name and corresponding tie colour of the tutor group.

Sixth Form

Chestnut Grove's sixth form offers a range of subjects to study at A-level. It is open for application to both internal students, and external candidates. In January 2019, the Sixth Form was assessed as outstanding by OFSTED.
The sixth form offers subjects that were not available to take at GCSE level, such as Film Studies, Government & Politics, Sociology, and Psychology. Students can also retake GCSEs during their sixth form course. The sixth form has minimum entry requirements of grade 6s at GCSE level for subjects that students want to further study at A-Level. For a student to graduate from year 12 to year 13, they must have attained minimum grades of two Es at AS level.

Headteachers and Principals

  • Margaret Peacock
  • Christian Kingsley

Notable alumni