Fairfield Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Fairfield Grammar School was a secondary school
in Bristol
, England
, founded in 1898 as Fairfield Secondary and Higher Grade School. It became a grammar school
in 1945 and closed in 2000, to be replaced by a new comprehensive
, Fairfield High School
, at first on the same site, but now located in Stottbury Road, Bristol.
which was described as having a "towering collection of gables". Coeducational from the beginning, it was intended for children who would stay at school until the age of sixteen or seventeen. Its aim was stated as being to give
When the Higher Grade School opened in 1898, it had one hundred and eighty pupils. There were fees of £
1 per term, but a quarter of the places in the school were available to non-fee-paying students, who were selected by an annual competition.
In March 1918, the school's most notable son, Archie Leach, was expelled at the age of fourteen for sneaking into the girls' lavatories. He went on to become the film star Cary Grant
, and reported that Fairfield had given him "a sketchy education". His contemporary at the school, Sir Archibald Russell
, was deputy to the French designer of the supersonic airliner
Concorde
.
In 1945, the school became a grammar school
.
The school occupied a triangular site in Montpelier, Bristol, being bounded by Fairlawn Road to the west, Fairfield Road to the south east, and Falkland Road to the north west. To the north was an area of railway land. There were no on-site playing fields, but there was a hard-surfaced playground to the north of the main school. This building was listed Grade II in January 2002, at a time when the local education authority
was planning to move the new Fairfield High School to a new site.
To mark the school's centenary in 1998, Ross Gilkes, a former Fairfield history master, wrote a school history which was published by the Old Fairfieldians Society.
In 2000, against a background of opposition by Bristol City Council to selective education and declining academic results, Fairfield closed as a grammar school and reopened as a comprehensive, being renamed Fairfield High School. In 2006, the new school moved to new purpose-designed buildings at Stottbury Road, Bristol. One reason for the move was that the existing site had room for only some five hundred pupils, a number which was considered to be too low.
In 2007, the former Fairfield Grammar School buildings in Fairlawn Road were used by the new Redland Green comprehensive school
, after more than £20 million was spent on upgrading them, but in September 2007 this was reported to be a "temporary home", and by 2008 the school was no longer on site and was located at Cotham
.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, 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...
, founded in 1898 as Fairfield Secondary and Higher Grade School. It became a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in 1945 and closed in 2000, to be replaced by a new comprehensive
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, Fairfield High School
Fairfield High School (Bristol)
Fairfield High School is a state secondary school in Horfield, Bristol, England. It has 930 pupils aged 11 to 16.-History:In 2000, against a background of opposition by Bristol City Council to selective education and declining academic results, Fairfield closed as a grammar school and reopened as...
, at first on the same site, but now located in Stottbury Road, Bristol.
History
The school began its life under the name of Fairfield Secondary and Higher Grade School, in an imposing new building by the architect William Larkins BernardWilliam Larkins Bernard
William Larkins Bernard FRIBA was an English architect, active in Bristol and London.-Career:...
which was described as having a "towering collection of gables". Coeducational from the beginning, it was intended for children who would stay at school until the age of sixteen or seventeen. Its aim was stated as being to give
When the Higher Grade School opened in 1898, it had one hundred and eighty pupils. There were fees of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1 per term, but a quarter of the places in the school were available to non-fee-paying students, who were selected by an annual competition.
In March 1918, the school's most notable son, Archie Leach, was expelled at the age of fourteen for sneaking into the girls' lavatories. He went on to become the film star Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, and reported that Fairfield had given him "a sketchy education". His contemporary at the school, Sir Archibald Russell
Archibald Russell
Archibald George Blomefield Russell, CVO, FSA was an English art historian and a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Early life:...
, was deputy to the French designer of the supersonic airliner
Supersonic transport
A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...
Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
.
In 1945, the school became a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
.
The school occupied a triangular site in Montpelier, Bristol, being bounded by Fairlawn Road to the west, Fairfield Road to the south east, and Falkland Road to the north west. To the north was an area of railway land. There were no on-site playing fields, but there was a hard-surfaced playground to the north of the main school. This building was listed Grade II in January 2002, at a time when the local education authority
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
was planning to move the new Fairfield High School to a new site.
To mark the school's centenary in 1998, Ross Gilkes, a former Fairfield history master, wrote a school history which was published by the Old Fairfieldians Society.
In 2000, against a background of opposition by Bristol City Council to selective education and declining academic results, Fairfield closed as a grammar school and reopened as a comprehensive, being renamed Fairfield High School. In 2006, the new school moved to new purpose-designed buildings at Stottbury Road, Bristol. One reason for the move was that the existing site had room for only some five hundred pupils, a number which was considered to be too low.
In 2007, the former Fairfield Grammar School buildings in Fairlawn Road were used by the new Redland Green comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, after more than £20 million was spent on upgrading them, but in September 2007 this was reported to be a "temporary home", and by 2008 the school was no longer on site and was located at Cotham
Cotham, Bristol
Cotham is the name of both a council ward of the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and a suburb of the city that falls within that ward. The ward comprises the Cotham suburb, and a small portion of Redland, which is another Bristol suburb.-Cotham:...
.
Notable Old Fairfieldians
- Prof John Barns, Professor of EgyptologyEgyptologyEgyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
at the University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
from 1965-74 - Sir Norman FromeNorman Frederick FromeSir Norman Frederick Frome CIE, DFC was an English ornithologist.Frome was born in Aldershot, and was educated at Fairfield Grammar School and at the University of Bristol....
, ornithologist of British India - Cary GrantCary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
(expelledExpulsion (academia)Expulsion or exclusion refers to the permanent removal of a student from a school system or university for violating that institution's rules. Laws and procedures regarding expulsion vary between countries and states.-State sector:...
, 1918). - Ben J. Green, Cambridge mathematician
- Robert LangRobert Lang (actor)Robert Lang was an English actor of stage and television. Laurence Olivier invited him to join the new National Theatre Company, at the Old Vic, Robert Lang was already earning high praise as an actor. From 1971 until his death he was married to Ann Bell, best known for her portrayal of Marion...
, character actor - Jack Leslie Gardiner, Local Government Expert
- Sir James Joint CMG OBE, Ambassador to Colombia from 1955-60
- Jill Knight, Baroness Knight of Collingtree (briefly), Conservative MP for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1966-97
- Morgan Matthews, documentary filmmaker
- Dame Mary PerkinsMary PerkinsDame Mary Lesley Perkins, DBE is co-founder and a senior executive of Specsavers, a leading bricks and mortar United Kingdom eyeglass company....
, business woman, co-founder of SpecsaversSpecsaversSpecsavers Optical Group Ltd is the biggest optical retailer in the UK and Ireland. It is also the biggest of the four major opticians that control 70% of the British market for spectacles and contact lenses, with Specsavers having a 39% share of the market... - Sir Archibald RussellArchibald RussellArchibald George Blomefield Russell, CVO, FSA was an English art historian and a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Early life:...
, aeronautical engineer, one of the designers of ConcordeConcordeAérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
, Managing Director of BAC FiltonBritish Aircraft CorporationThe British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
from 1966-7 - Albert Wilcox CBE, Chief Constable of Hertfordshire ConstabularyHertfordshire ConstabularyHertfordshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is situated in Welwyn Garden City...
from 1947-69
See also
Category:Old Fairfieldians.- Fairfield High School for GirlsFairfield High School for GirlsFairfield High School for Girls, is an all-girls' secondary school in Droylsden, Greater Manchester.-Admissions:There are around 950 girls and over 50 teachers....
(Manchester)
External links
- Old Fairfieldians Society - official web site
- Fairfield School, Montpelier, Bristol - photograph at bristolindex.co.uk
- Main school building in Fairlawn Road - another photograph at bristolindex.co.uk
