The Humanities Faculty consists of the three departments of Geography, History and Religious Education under the direction of Mr Paul Cornish, Mr Stephen Lawlor and Mrs Barbara Usher respectively. We have been a particularly successful faculty for a number of years, with excellent academic results and a strong tradition of extra-curricular activities, including a wide array of educational visits. Gaining Specialist status will enable us to develop a number of whole school and wider community projects to support teaching and learning both in our school and in the wider community.

For example, we have already formed a steering committee, led by senior students and ably assisted by representatives from across the age spectrum, to help move our school closer to environmental sustainability. Further, we are taking the lead in a number of new teaching and learning initiatives to develop more ‘personalised learning’ which we anticipate will spread across the other faculties also. Beyond the school we are in the early stages of supporting learning in some local primary and secondary schools and we are in the process of creating a group of representatives from the communities’ varied faiths to initiate a forum of discussion for the mutual benefit of the adult community outside our school as well as our young learners at Coopers’ Coborn.

We also have plans to use the 2012 Olympics for a number of cross curricular activities including a longitudinal study with the current year 9. We intend to take them to the East London site each year until 2012 so that they can monitor, in artistic and scientific ways, the many changes that will be taking place. We are also planning, in association with the Havering Business and Education Partnership, a whole day in-school event for year 8 students based upon the 2012 Olympic theme.

The Humanities Faculty has a seperate external website which is currently under construction.