The Higher Grade School building in Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...

, Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

is Grade II listed and has functioned as a number of educational institutions throughout its long history. From completion up until 1930 the building was occupied by the Barrow Higher Grade School.

History

The School opened in the late 1890s as The Higher Grade School. At the time it was Barrow's only High School. A new building was opened in the 1930s, to form separate Boys' and Girls' schools; Alfred Barrow Boys' School and Alfred Barrow Girls' School. In The 1950s and 1960s, new extension blocks were built. In the 1970s a new science block and gym were opened and the first extension (Alfred Barrow Boys') was demolished. This formed the Alfred Barrow Comprehensive School.

• From a pupil and former Head Boy of the newly created Comprehensive - Actually the boys school ( formerly Holker St school behind the old cinema) was still in existence into the early 80's. The school became a comprehensive after the boys and girls schools amalgamated in 1979/80. At that time the old boys school became the lower school with the former girls school taking the fourth and fifth years (not sure which school the third years went to). I was Head boy the second year (1981-82) after the schools amalgamated and if memory serves, the old Holker St school was still open for a couple of years after that before finally being knocked down and a new Kwik Save being built on the site.*

The school's image diminished during the last years, with pupil numbers dropping from 600 to just over 200. In September 2009 Alfred Barrow School closed and the children moved to the new Furness Academy at Parkview and Thorncliffe. The last headteacher was Dr. Linda Potts.

St.George's

St.George's School, Barrow Island school and Vickerstown Primary School(s) Are being replaced/ Refurbished in St. George's case. The St.Georges CofE School is Temorarily making use of the main building at the Alfred Barrow School which has since been refurbished.

Future

St.Georges' main building is scheduled to reopen in September 2011, Then the premesis will be once again vacant, The future for the Alfred Barrow school is unknown from then on.