Denbigh High School is a comprehensive state-funded school in Luton, Bedfordshire, UK. It caters for pupils aged 11-16 and currently has 1066 pupils on roll, 567 boys and 499 girls. It has an Indian-British Muslim Head Teacher and the majority of the students are Muslims from Pakistan or Bangladesh. It was catapulted to national attention as the result of a law suit over excluding a student, Shabina Begum, for wearing Islamic dress. A Comprehensive school is a type of school providing secondary level education in England or Wales. ... Town crest Luton is a large town and local government district in England, located 51 km (32 miles) north of London. ... Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... Shabina Begum was a pupil at Denbigh High School, in Luton, England, who claimed she had a right to wear a jilbab (a long gown) to school (which she believed was required by her Muslim faith), in contravention of the school uniform policy. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ...

Student Demographics

About 77% of the pupils come from Asian backgrounds, with the vast majority either from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds. Overall, about 95% of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and 85% have a first language which is not English. Many of the pupils are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well above the national average. The attainment of pupils on entry to the school is well below the national average and the proportion with special educational needs is above the national average. A minority or subordinate group is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant plurality of the total population of a given society. ... The term free school meal refers to a sum of money provided for individual pupils in schools throughout the United Kingdom to purchase a lunch time meal. ...

Head

It became successful under the headship of Yasmin Bevan, who was born into a Bengali Muslim family in India. The OFSTED Report said of her "The school’s vision that “high achievement for all is our shared responsibility” is being achieved with great success. Key to this success is the outstanding leadership by the head teacher." Bengal, known as Bôngo (Bengali: বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bôngodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in the Bengali language, is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ... The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) is a non-ministerial United Kingdom government department, established on 1st September 1992. ...

School performance

The OFSTED report stated that the school is "very effective, with outstanding features and it provides very good value for money". Those with special needs and those for whom English is a second language achieved excellently. Special education is the education of physically or mentally handicapped students whose needs cannot be met in an ordinary classroom. ...

On pupils’ achievement, it reported that it "is very good overall, and excellent at the end of Year 11 where the government value-added score from the end of Year 9 is one of the highest in the country".

The schools performs well in terms of the national and local averages for unauthorised absence: 0.40% unauthorised absence (0.8% locally, 1.1% nationally)

Inspectors have said that an ethos has been created in the school where pupils are expected to do well, whatever their levels of disadvantage, and where individual pupils and their cultures are valued and supported.

Awards

The school has won a number of awards, including: two school achievement awards for improvements to pupils’ standards; an Investors in People award; Sportsmark; the Nokia Citizenship Award; and a Healthy Schools Award. It rates 3rd out of 12 in its Local Education area and 1635 out of 3579 nationally. And in 1986 the Denbigh High School Troubadours were invited to perform at the White House. This invitation has not been repeated since. Investors in People is a voluntary assessment scheme backed by the UK Department for Education and Skills. ...

The Jilbab Controversy

For more details of the case see Shabina Begum.

The school has recently become embroiled in controversy over its dress code. It permits students to wear various ethnic costumes to follow the hijab. However, it does not permit the jilbab, a head to toe covering worn by some Muslim women. Shabina Begum was a pupil at Denbigh High School, in Luton, England, who claimed she had a right to wear a jilbab (a long gown) to school (which she believed was required by her Muslim faith), in contravention of the school uniform policy. ... Hijab or ħijāb () is the Arabic term for cover (noun), based on the root حجب meaning to veil, to cover (verb), to screen, to shelter. In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the word hijab primarily refers to womens head, face, or body covering. ... The jilbāb a long, flowing, baggy overgarment worn by some to fulfill the mandates of sartorial hijab. ...

Bevan argued that "she wanted her school to provide an environment in which the children could learn and live together in harmony and believed that a school uniform promoted a sense of community identity".

References

• School profile on BBC News

External links

• Denbigh High School

Luton • Bedfordshire • England
Places within Luton Barnfield | Biscot | Bramingham | Bury Park | Bushmead | Challney | Crawley Green | Farley Hill | Dallow | High Town | Hockwell Ring | Leagrave | Lewsey | Limbury-cum-Biscot | Marsh Farm | New Town | Putteridge | Round Green | Stopsley | Sundon Park | Warden Hills | Wigmore Town crest Luton is a large town and local government district in England, located 51 km (32 miles) north of London. ... Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Town crest Luton is a large town and local government district in England, located 51 km (32 miles) north of London. ... Barnfield College Barnfield is the largest college in Bedfordshire and Luton, with four centres in Luton and one in Bedford. ... Statistics Population: 7,550 (est. ... Statistics Population: 13,660(Biscot Ward)[1] Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: TL0624 Administration Parish: Bury Park Unitary authority: Luton Shire county: Bedfordshire Region: East Anglia Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Bedfordshire Historic county: Bedfordshire Services Police force: Bedfordshire Police Ambulance service: East of England... Farley Hill is a post-war housing estate in south Luton, UK . ... High Town is a hilly district of Luton adjacent to Luton railway station and extends in a north easterly direction towards Hitchin. ... Statistics Population: 8,000 (est. ... Leagrave is a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire. ... Statistics Population: 8,000 (est. ... Limbury is a post-war housing development in west Luton, Bedfordshire, UK. Limbury, or using the full name Limbury-cum-Biscot was a civil parish in Bedfordshire and has a long history dating back before the Norman Conquest. ... Statistics Population: 10,000 (est. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Stopsley is a ward (politics) in the north-east of Luton. ... Sundon Park is an area of north Luton in Bedfordshire. ... Warden Hills is an area of Luton, which is named after the hills overlooking it. ...
Ammenities Kenilworth Road | Luton Museum | Stockwood Park | Wardown Park | Waulud's Bank Kenilworth Road is a stadium in Luton, England which is home to Luton Town F.C., a professional football team in the English League One. ... Luton Museum & Art Gallery. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Luton Museum & Art Gallery, Wardown Park, Luton. ... Wauluds Bank is a Neolithic Henge in Leagrave, Bedfordshire dating from 3,000BC. Wauluds Bank earthworks lies on the edge of the Marsh Farm Estate in Leagrave, Luton. ...
Education Barnfield College | Denbigh High School | University of Bedfordshire | Luton Sixth Form College | South Luton High School Barnfield College is the largest college in Bedfordshire and Luton, with four centres in Luton and one in Bedford. ... University of Bedfordshire - Learning Resources Centre, Luton Campus The University of Bedfordshire is a university created by the merger of the Bedford campus of De Montfort University and the University of Luton, on 1 August 2006. ... Luton Sixth Form College is a sixth form college situated in Luton, England. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...