Lady Manners School
Encyclopedia
Lady Manners School is an English
secondary school
and Specialist Music College as designated by the Specialist Schools Trust situated in Bakewell
, a market town
in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire
. It was founded on 20 May 1636 by Grace, Lady Manners
, who lived at Haddon Hall
, the current home of Lord and Lady Edward Manners, and has also in the past been known as the Bakewell Grammar School. It is now a member of the Peak 11 group of secondary schools in the Peak District.
According to the report of the 2005 inspection of the school by Robin Coulthard, which rates the school as "outstanding","Lady Manners provides its students with an excellent education. Standards are high and students achieve very well as a result of teaching that is very good in the main school and excellent in the sixth form" - 2005 OFSTED
Report
area. It began as a boys' school, but later changed to admit girls as well. It was a successful grammar school
, but later changed to become a comprehensive school
. Nevertheless, it retains much of the character of a grammar school.
which was to provide an annual income of £15 for "the mayntayninge of a Schoolemaister for ever to teach a free Schoole within the Townshippe of Bakewell, for the better instructinge of the male children of the Inhabitants of Bakewell and Great Rowsley aforesaid..."
The schoolmaster
would "be appointed by the Lords of the Manor of Haddon, in the said Countie of Derby, being the heires or posteritie of the said Grace, Ladie Manners..." and as with the Pursglove Grammar School in Tideswell, the deed stipulated that the schoolmaster was to remain unmarried, and "if the said Schoolemaister shall at any time afterward marry, or shall live disorderly or scandalously, that then the said Schoolemaister shall have noe benefitt by the said Annuitie or rente charge, but shall be displaced from the said Schoole". Additional to his annuity, the schoolmaster was permitted to take a registration fee of a shilling
for each new boy. Additionally the schoolmaster would have received a pay rise following Grace's death as her 1649 will
allowed for the all the monies generated by the land at Elton to be used for school use (during her life she had kept 25% of the income). The school is first referred to as a "Grammer Schoole
" in her will.
The original school day ran from 7 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. "except Sundays and holidays".
receiving an annual salary
of £50 and, for a while, the school became known as "Mr. Browne's".
Up until now, the school had shared accommodation with the older Chantry School, South Church Street, Bakewell. In 1826, the school moved around the corner to The Old Town Hall, King Street. The Old Town Hall had been built in 1709 and, as well as being Town Hall, and Buttermarket, the upper floor had been used for Court
and Quarter Sessions
.
In 1846 Rev. T. Hurst, a graduate of Pembroke College, Cambridge
, and a curate at the Parish Church, took over as schoolmaster.
According to White's Directory of Derbyshire (1857) -
Under Charities, White's Directory adds "Lady Manners, in 1637, left a rent charge of £15 per annum, out of lands at Elton, to a schoolmaster, for the instruction of male children of the township of Bakewell and Great Rowsley. The master also receives a voluntary addition of £40 from the Duke of Rutland, making in the whole, £55 per annum; and according to the revised regulations and rules, 20 youths are admitted on the foundation, on the payment of 1s. for registration, and instructed in English generally, Latin, and Greek. at 5s. 3d. per quarter. Mr. Wm. Kay, L.C.P., the master, has good accommodation for boarders, at his own residence, Bridge street."
In 1862 the school was briefly annexed to Mr. William Kay's private Grammar and Commercial Academy in Bridge Street but remained in the King Street premises. A School Inquiry Report of 1866 states that the Foundation had become "a mere appendage and advertisement to an inferior commercial boarding school kept by the headmaster". At this time "there were then thirty-two boarders
, fourteen dayboys
not on the Foundation, and seven who were".
When Mr. Kay died in 1874, Archdeacon Balston, then Vicar of Bakewell, and a former Headmaster of Eton, recommended that the school should be closed, and in the absence of a suitable successor the monies from Lady Manners' Foundation should be allowed to accumulate. The school closed in 1874, and remained closed for 22 years. Lady Manners School ceased to exist.
ers decided that a new building could be built "to be used as a grammar school by day, earning through its examinations grants from the Science and Art Department, and as a centre for technical classes in the evenings". The new school backed onto Bath Gardens and was opened on 22 September 1896. The school now admitted girls as well as boys - a pre-condition of the County Council's grant of £600 towards the building costs. This was the first time an endowed School of this type had become co-educational.
The school opened with fifty pupils on roll, all between the ages of eight and eighteen. The first Headmaster was Charles J. Mansford, B.A.(London). Subjects taught were Religious Knowledge
, English
, Classics
, Mathematics
, Science
, French
and Drawing
. Boys did Woodwork, girls did Domestic Science. The Bakewell Show Ground was used for games. Fees were £2 per head, but this meant the school operated at a loss and so the County Council agreed to fund 12 scholarships.
The school was one of the first to establish a more modern curriculum. An article in Review of Reviews (1898) says "Within the school there is a School of Science, affiliated with South Kensington, about one half of the scholars being so classed. Girls are taught exactly the same science, for instance, as boys, and at the same time, in the same room. So far the science taught embraces Practical and Theoretical Chemistry, with Practical and Theoretical Physics".
In 1919 four acres of land who bought in Shutts Lane for use as a playing field. This remains part of the school playing field today.
The Foundation Stone of new school buildings, on the present School site in Shutts Lane, was laid by the Duke of Rutland on 20 May 1936, on the 300th anniversary
of the founding of the School by Grace, Lady Manners in 1636. The new buildings were opened on 24 February 1938.
During World War II Lady Manners School shared their building with North Manchester High School for Boys who had been evacuated
. On a two week rotation, Lady Manners pupils went to school in the morning (including Saturday), and Manchester Grammar pupils in the afternoon. The following week, this was reversed.
In the 1960s the school had around 550 boys and girls and was a voluntary controlled school.
In 1972 Grace, Lady Manners Grammar School became a secondary comprehensive
, admitting all pupils within its catchment
for secondary education. By the late 1970s it had around 1300 boys and girls.
The school became grant maintained in the early 1990s.
, an aristocrat who traditionally had great influence in the Bakewell
area). Other traditions which hark back to the school's days as a grammar include the appointment each year of a Head Boy and Head Girl, plus prefects and senior prefects, from among the sixth form
pupils, and an annual commemoration service (known as "commem"), held in honour of its founder Grace, Lady Manners. The school also places its greatest sporting emphasis on rugby union
, and the first team has had success in Britain and on international tours.
The school's peacock emblem is the crest
above the arms
of the Manners family. The motto
, 'Pour y parvenir', is also derived from the Manners family and its translations include "To attain", or "Strive to Attain".
After the First World War, in 1919, the Houses were renamed and an extra House was added. The principle of allocation to the Houses was still geographical. The Houses were then called Nesfield (the South area – Matlock and beyond), Taylor (also South as far as Darley Dale), Glossop (the Bakewell ‘Town’ area) and Barker (the North). These names were those of Governors who had been especially important in the reopening of Lady Manners School in 1896.
In 1924 a new school was opened in Matlock (Ernest Bailey School) so fewer students came from that area and Nesfield House disappeared. Barker House also disappeared for a while at the end of 1937 because when Buxton College became a County School and the Ridgefield boarding annex was no longer needed there were fewer students from the North area. This was a weakness of the principle of allocating students to Houses on a geographical basis. To confuse the situation a little further, there was also a ‘School House’(photographs of the twenty or so members of which still exist for the period 1931 to 1941) which was for ‘boarders’. This House did not seem to compete for the Inter-House trophies in quite the same way as the main Houses, but did have their own activities, organised internally for pupils living in the School House. By 1938, coinciding with the effective occupation of the new school buildings on Shutts Lane, the main Houses were rearranged again - now numbering four; Elton, Haddon, Glossop and Taylor.
In 1947, just after the Second World War, there was another change when the number of Houses became three again and Barker reappeared, replacing Haddon and Elton. Competition between the Houses was no longer just on the basis of Sport, and other activities had become important too.
By 1959 there were plans to create a fourth House again and this time the new House was to be named Cockerton. This naming was a tribute to the Cockerton family that had given over 50 years of service to the School, firstly with Mr VR Cockerton and then with his son Mr RWP Cockerton. Both had been School Governors and Mr VR Cockerton had been actively involved in the establishing of the current school site.
So ever since the early 1960s there have been four Houses – Barker, Cockerton, Glossop and Taylor – just like now – and students are no longer allocated to these Houses according to where they live, but according to which of the pairs of form tutor groups they are in.
estate) in the 1990s to a new sixth form centre and sports facilities opened in 2005. This latest extension was funded partly by the sale of the school's boarding house, Castle Hill, which until its sale provided catered accommodation for school pupils. The boarding house closed in 2003.
Music is a major strength at the school with a wide variety of extra-curricular ensembles including Senior Orchestra (about 80 members), Senior Choir (about 100), Junior Choir (125), Brass Band (40), Senior Wind Band (35), Intermediate Strings, Junior Strings, Intermediate Wind Band, Junior Wind Band, Folk Group, etc.
In July 2004, the Lady Manners School Orchestra
reached the national finals of the National Festival of Music for Youth and performed in the Royal Festival Hall
, London.
In July 2005, the orchestra, conducted by Robert Steadman
, was awarded "outstanding performance" at the National Festival Music for Youth Finals at Symphony Hall, Birmingham
and in November 2005 they were invited to play at the Schools' Prom at the Royal Albert Hall
where the 70+ strong orchestra performed a suite
from John Williams'
score from Jurassic Park
and Elgar's
Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1 (Land of Hope and Glory
) with a 5,000 strong audience
singing along and indoor fireworks
.
In July 2007 the school's Senior String Orchestra, also conducted by Robert Steadman
, was awarded "outstanding performance" at the National Festival of Music for Youth at Symphony Hall, Birmingham
performing a programme of Edward Elgar
, Robert Steadman and Edvard Grieg
.
In July 2008, the music department managed to achieve the unprecedented by having 5 ensembles reach the National Festival of Music for Youth: the School Orchestra (who performed King Arthur a new work written by Jonathan Roberts (a 6th-form student), Nimrod from the "Enigma Variations
" by Elgar and Riverdance
by Bill Whelan
; the String Orchestra who performed two movements from the St. Paul's Suite by Holst
, the Prelude from Psycho
by Bernard Hermann and Frolicsome Finale from "Simple Symphony
" by Benjamin Britten
; the School Jazz Orchestra who performed a programme of four works including "Birdland"; the School Brass Band; and the Senior String Quartet who performed Dvořák
and Scott Joplin
.
Since 2004, the music department has taken one ensemble on a short UK tour in the summer term. Most years this has been a combined brass and wind band who have visited places such as London, Edinburgh and Yorkshire giving a number of concerts. In 2009, the Senior Strings visited London
and Oxford
and gave performances in the Long Library, Blenheim Palace
and Keble College chapel in Oxford. There are plans to take the Senior Orchestra to Hungary
in summer 2010.
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...
secondary school
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...
and Specialist Music College as designated by the Specialist Schools Trust situated in Bakewell
Bakewell
Bakewell is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, deriving its name from 'Beadeca's Well'. It is the only town included in the Peak District National Park, and is well known for the local confection Bakewell Pudding...
, a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. It was founded on 20 May 1636 by Grace, Lady Manners
Grace, Lady Manners
Grace, Lady Manners was an English noblewoman who lived at Haddon Hall near Bakewell, Derbyshire. She founded Lady Manners School in 1636.-Biography:...
, who lived at Haddon Hall
Haddon Hall
Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye at Bakewell, Derbyshire, one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland, occupied by Lord Edward Manners and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it has been described as "the most complete and most interesting house of [its]...
, the current home of Lord and Lady Edward Manners, and has also in the past been known as the Bakewell Grammar School. It is now a member of the Peak 11 group of secondary schools in the Peak District.
According to the report of the 2005 inspection of the school by Robin Coulthard, which rates the school as "outstanding","Lady Manners provides its students with an excellent education. Standards are high and students achieve very well as a result of teaching that is very good in the main school and excellent in the sixth form" - 2005 OFSTED
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
Report
History
Lady Manners has a long history of providing education in the Peak DistrictPeak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
area. It began as a boys' school, but later changed to admit girls as well. It was a successful 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...
, but later changed to become a 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...
. Nevertheless, it retains much of the character of a grammar school.
Beginnings
In May 1636 Grace, Lady Manners bought some land at EltonElton, Derbyshire
Elton is an a village in Derbyshire, England and in the Peak District. There are no shops situated in the village but Elton has a small post office, cafe, church, school and a sports field. Its nearest towns are Bakewell and Matlock...
which was to provide an annual income of £15 for "the mayntayninge of a Schoolemaister for ever to teach a free Schoole within the Townshippe of Bakewell, for the better instructinge of the male children of the Inhabitants of Bakewell and Great Rowsley aforesaid..."
The schoolmaster
Schoolmaster
A schoolmaster, or simply master, once referred to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British public schools, but is generally obsolete elsewhere.The teacher in charge of a school is the headmaster...
would "be appointed by the Lords of the Manor of Haddon, in the said Countie of Derby, being the heires or posteritie of the said Grace, Ladie Manners..." and as with the Pursglove Grammar School in Tideswell, the deed stipulated that the schoolmaster was to remain unmarried, and "if the said Schoolemaister shall at any time afterward marry, or shall live disorderly or scandalously, that then the said Schoolemaister shall have noe benefitt by the said Annuitie or rente charge, but shall be displaced from the said Schoole". Additional to his annuity, the schoolmaster was permitted to take a registration fee of a shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
for each new boy. Additionally the schoolmaster would have received a pay rise following Grace's death as her 1649 will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
allowed for the all the monies generated by the land at Elton to be used for school use (during her life she had kept 25% of the income). The school is first referred to as a "Grammer Schoole
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 her will.
The original school day ran from 7 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. "except Sundays and holidays".
19th century
In 1806 the schoolmaster, Rev. M. Chapman handed over to the Rev. J. Browne who was appointed by the Duke of RutlandDuke of Rutland
Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the peerage of England, derived from Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. The Earl of Rutland was elevated to the status of Duke in 1703 and the titles were merged....
receiving an annual salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
of £50 and, for a while, the school became known as "Mr. Browne's".
Up until now, the school had shared accommodation with the older Chantry School, South Church Street, Bakewell. In 1826, the school moved around the corner to The Old Town Hall, King Street. The Old Town Hall had been built in 1709 and, as well as being Town Hall, and Buttermarket, the upper floor had been used for Court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
and Quarter Sessions
Quarter Sessions
The Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...
.
In 1846 Rev. T. Hurst, a graduate of Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
, and a curate at the Parish Church, took over as schoolmaster.
According to White's Directory of Derbyshire (1857) -
Under Charities, White's Directory adds "Lady Manners, in 1637, left a rent charge of £15 per annum, out of lands at Elton, to a schoolmaster, for the instruction of male children of the township of Bakewell and Great Rowsley. The master also receives a voluntary addition of £40 from the Duke of Rutland, making in the whole, £55 per annum; and according to the revised regulations and rules, 20 youths are admitted on the foundation, on the payment of 1s. for registration, and instructed in English generally, Latin, and Greek. at 5s. 3d. per quarter. Mr. Wm. Kay, L.C.P., the master, has good accommodation for boarders, at his own residence, Bridge street."
In 1862 the school was briefly annexed to Mr. William Kay's private Grammar and Commercial Academy in Bridge Street but remained in the King Street premises. A School Inquiry Report of 1866 states that the Foundation had become "a mere appendage and advertisement to an inferior commercial boarding school kept by the headmaster". At this time "there were then thirty-two boarders
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, fourteen dayboys
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
not on the Foundation, and seven who were".
When Mr. Kay died in 1874, Archdeacon Balston, then Vicar of Bakewell, and a former Headmaster of Eton, recommended that the school should be closed, and in the absence of a suitable successor the monies from Lady Manners' Foundation should be allowed to accumulate. The school closed in 1874, and remained closed for 22 years. Lady Manners School ceased to exist.
A new start
The Charity CommissionCharity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
ers decided that a new building could be built "to be used as a grammar school by day, earning through its examinations grants from the Science and Art Department, and as a centre for technical classes in the evenings". The new school backed onto Bath Gardens and was opened on 22 September 1896. The school now admitted girls as well as boys - a pre-condition of the County Council's grant of £600 towards the building costs. This was the first time an endowed School of this type had become co-educational.
The school opened with fifty pupils on roll, all between the ages of eight and eighteen. The first Headmaster was Charles J. Mansford, B.A.(London). Subjects taught were Religious Knowledge
Religious Education
Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
. Boys did Woodwork, girls did Domestic Science. The Bakewell Show Ground was used for games. Fees were £2 per head, but this meant the school operated at a loss and so the County Council agreed to fund 12 scholarships.
The school was one of the first to establish a more modern curriculum. An article in Review of Reviews (1898) says "Within the school there is a School of Science, affiliated with South Kensington, about one half of the scholars being so classed. Girls are taught exactly the same science, for instance, as boys, and at the same time, in the same room. So far the science taught embraces Practical and Theoretical Chemistry, with Practical and Theoretical Physics".
The 20th Century
In 1900 two boarding houses were set up, at Dagnall for boys, and in The Avenue for girls, and in 1909 the Old Bath House (now Haig House) was bought as extra premises for Fifth and Sixth Form, and Staff.In 1919 four acres of land who bought in Shutts Lane for use as a playing field. This remains part of the school playing field today.
The Foundation Stone of new school buildings, on the present School site in Shutts Lane, was laid by the Duke of Rutland on 20 May 1936, on the 300th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
of the founding of the School by Grace, Lady Manners in 1636. The new buildings were opened on 24 February 1938.
During World War II Lady Manners School shared their building with North Manchester High School for Boys who had been evacuated
Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
Evacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save the population of urban or military areas in the United Kingdom from aerial bombing of cities and military targets such as docks. Civilians, particularly children, were moved to areas thought to be less at risk....
. On a two week rotation, Lady Manners pupils went to school in the morning (including Saturday), and Manchester Grammar pupils in the afternoon. The following week, this was reversed.
In the 1960s the school had around 550 boys and girls and was a voluntary controlled school.
In 1972 Grace, Lady Manners Grammar School became a secondary 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...
, admitting all pupils within its catchment
Catchment area (human geography)
In human geography, a catchment area is the area and population from which a city or individual service attracts visitors or customers. For example, a school catchment area is the geographic area from which students are eligible to attend a local school...
for secondary education. By the late 1970s it had around 1300 boys and girls.
The school became grant maintained in the early 1990s.
Traditions
Pupils wear a traditional uniform, which includes shirt, tie and blazer, the latter two of which bear the school's emblem - a male peacock with feathers spread (the peacock was the symbol of the Duke of RutlandDuke of Rutland
Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the peerage of England, derived from Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. The Earl of Rutland was elevated to the status of Duke in 1703 and the titles were merged....
, an aristocrat who traditionally had great influence in the Bakewell
Bakewell
Bakewell is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, deriving its name from 'Beadeca's Well'. It is the only town included in the Peak District National Park, and is well known for the local confection Bakewell Pudding...
area). Other traditions which hark back to the school's days as a grammar include the appointment each year of a Head Boy and Head Girl, plus prefects and senior prefects, from among the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
pupils, and an annual commemoration service (known as "commem"), held in honour of its founder Grace, Lady Manners. The school also places its greatest sporting emphasis on rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, and the first team has had success in Britain and on international tours.
Emblem and motto
Crest (heraldry)
A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
above the arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the Manners family. The motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
, 'Pour y parvenir', is also derived from the Manners family and its translations include "To attain", or "Strive to Attain".
The House System
The House System was created in 1912. At that time there were three Houses established called Town, North and South. The planning for this took place during 1911 and the reason for creating the Houses was to help develop Sport in school so that, with a competitive dimension, students would enthusiastically play for their Houses. They provided a chance for students to achieve success and enjoy friendly yet meaningful competition. So Sports Day on 21 June 1912, which was actually the Fourteenth Annual Sports Day, was the first time that the Houses competed against one another for the Wrench Shield. The first ever winners were Town House (the equivalent of the current Glossop House).After the First World War, in 1919, the Houses were renamed and an extra House was added. The principle of allocation to the Houses was still geographical. The Houses were then called Nesfield (the South area – Matlock and beyond), Taylor (also South as far as Darley Dale), Glossop (the Bakewell ‘Town’ area) and Barker (the North). These names were those of Governors who had been especially important in the reopening of Lady Manners School in 1896.
In 1924 a new school was opened in Matlock (Ernest Bailey School) so fewer students came from that area and Nesfield House disappeared. Barker House also disappeared for a while at the end of 1937 because when Buxton College became a County School and the Ridgefield boarding annex was no longer needed there were fewer students from the North area. This was a weakness of the principle of allocating students to Houses on a geographical basis. To confuse the situation a little further, there was also a ‘School House’(photographs of the twenty or so members of which still exist for the period 1931 to 1941) which was for ‘boarders’. This House did not seem to compete for the Inter-House trophies in quite the same way as the main Houses, but did have their own activities, organised internally for pupils living in the School House. By 1938, coinciding with the effective occupation of the new school buildings on Shutts Lane, the main Houses were rearranged again - now numbering four; Elton, Haddon, Glossop and Taylor.
In 1947, just after the Second World War, there was another change when the number of Houses became three again and Barker reappeared, replacing Haddon and Elton. Competition between the Houses was no longer just on the basis of Sport, and other activities had become important too.
By 1959 there were plans to create a fourth House again and this time the new House was to be named Cockerton. This naming was a tribute to the Cockerton family that had given over 50 years of service to the School, firstly with Mr VR Cockerton and then with his son Mr RWP Cockerton. Both had been School Governors and Mr VR Cockerton had been actively involved in the establishing of the current school site.
So ever since the early 1960s there have been four Houses – Barker, Cockerton, Glossop and Taylor – just like now – and students are no longer allocated to these Houses according to where they live, but according to which of the pairs of form tutor groups they are in.
New Buildings
The school has been repeatedly extended in recent years, from the Cavendish library (named for the family surname of the Dukes of Devonshire, the influential aristocratic family of the nearby ChatsworthChatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
estate) in the 1990s to a new sixth form centre and sports facilities opened in 2005. This latest extension was funded partly by the sale of the school's boarding house, Castle Hill, which until its sale provided catered accommodation for school pupils. The boarding house closed in 2003.
Music & the school orchestra
In July 2004, the Lady Manners School Orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
reached the national finals of the National Festival of Music for Youth and performed in the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, London.
In July 2005, the orchestra, conducted by Robert Steadman
Robert Steadman
Robert Steadman is a British composerof classical music who mostly works in a post-minimalist style but also writes lighter music, including musicals, and compositions for educational purposes...
, was awarded "outstanding performance" at the National Festival Music for Youth Finals at Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue located inside the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by the Queen in June 1991, although had been opened on April 15, 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hosts around 270 events...
and in November 2005 they were invited to play at the Schools' Prom at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
where the 70+ strong orchestra performed a suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
from John Williams'
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
score from Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
and Elgar's
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1 (Land of Hope and Glory
Land of Hope and Glory
"Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar and lyrics by A. C. Benson, written in 1902.- Composition :...
) with a 5,000 strong audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
singing along and indoor fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
.
In July 2007 the school's Senior String Orchestra, also conducted by Robert Steadman
Robert Steadman
Robert Steadman is a British composerof classical music who mostly works in a post-minimalist style but also writes lighter music, including musicals, and compositions for educational purposes...
, was awarded "outstanding performance" at the National Festival of Music for Youth at Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue located inside the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by the Queen in June 1991, although had been opened on April 15, 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hosts around 270 events...
performing a programme of Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
, Robert Steadman and Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
.
In July 2008, the music department managed to achieve the unprecedented by having 5 ensembles reach the National Festival of Music for Youth: the School Orchestra (who performed King Arthur a new work written by Jonathan Roberts (a 6th-form student), Nimrod from the "Enigma Variations
Enigma Variations
Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra , Op. 36, commonly referred to as the Enigma Variations, is a set of a theme and its fourteen variations written for orchestra by Edward Elgar in 1898–1899. It is Elgar's best-known large-scale composition, for both the music itself and the...
" by Elgar and Riverdance
Riverdance
Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish stepdancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. It originated as an interval performance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, a moment that is still considered a significant...
by Bill Whelan
Bill Whelan
Bill Whelan, is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The end result, Riverdance, was a seven-minute display of traditional Irish dancing that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze...
; the String Orchestra who performed two movements from the St. Paul's Suite by Holst
Holst
Holst and von Holst are surnames. In Denmark and Norway it is of Medieval age, meaning Holsatian . It may refer to:-Holst:*Alison Holst , New Zealand food writer and television chef...
, the Prelude from Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
by Bernard Hermann and Frolicsome Finale from "Simple Symphony
Simple Symphony
The Simple Symphony, Op.4 is a work for string orchestra or string quartet by Benjamin Britten.It was written as a piece for string orchestra and received its first performance in 1934 in Norwich, with Britten conducting an amateur orchestra....
" by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
; the School Jazz Orchestra who performed a programme of four works including "Birdland"; the School Brass Band; and the Senior String Quartet who performed Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
and Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
.
Since 2004, the music department has taken one ensemble on a short UK tour in the summer term. Most years this has been a combined brass and wind band who have visited places such as London, Edinburgh and Yorkshire giving a number of concerts. In 2009, the Senior Strings visited London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and gave performances in the Long Library, Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, residence of the dukes of Marlborough. It is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between...
and Keble College chapel in Oxford. There are plans to take the Senior Orchestra to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
in summer 2010.
Academic performance
It gets well above average GCSE results and A-level results. In 2010, GCSE results placed Lady Manners School 7th in Derbyshire, with 70% of students achieving 5 or more GCSE A* to C including English and Mathematics (the average in England was 53.5%). In 2011, this was bettered with 76% of GCSE students achieving 5 or more GCSE A* to C including English and Mathematics.Notable alumni
- Barry AskewBarry AskewBarry Askew is a former British newspaper editor.Askew grew up in Preston, and worked for the Lancashire Evening Post, winning the IPC National Press Awards Campaigning Journalist award in 1972, and soon becoming editor of the paper.In April 1981, Askew was appointed as editor of the News of the...
, Editor of the News of the WorldNews of the WorldThe News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
in 1981, the Matlock MercuryMatlock MercuryThe Matlock Mercury is a Weekly newspaper published on a Thursday in the United Kingdom which serves Matlock, Darley Dale, Wirksworth, Bakewell and smaller villages in the Derbyshire Dales area of Derbyshire....
from 1961-3, and the Sheffield StarSheffield StarThe Star, often known as the Sheffield Star is a daily newspaper published in Sheffield, England, from Monday to Saturday each week. Originally a broadsheet, the newspaper became a tabloid in 1989...
from 1968–81 - Thomas DenmanThomas Denman (physician)Thomas Denman, the elder, M.D. was an English physician. He was the second son of John Denman , an apothecary born at Bakewell, Derbyshire, on 27 June 1733. After a career in naval medicine he made a considerable amount of money in midwifery...
(1733–1815) - physician - Helen GoodmanHelen GoodmanHelen Catherine Goodman is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland since 2005, and was the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for in the Department for Work and Pensions until 2010 with responsibility for Child Poverty and childcare.-Early...
Labour M.P. since 2005 for Bishop AucklandBishop Auckland (UK Parliament constituency)Bishop Auckland is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. Since 1935 it has elected Labour MPs.-Boundaries:... - Billy HughesBilly Hughes (educationist)Herbert Delauney Hughes , known as Billy Hughes, was a British adult educationist and Labour Party politician...
(1914–1995) - member of parliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and educator - Alex HammondAlex HammondAlex Hammond is a British television presenter, reporter and horse racing expert, working currently for Sky Sports News and At the Races.-Media career:...
- Television Presenter for Sky Sports. - Peter Lawton - actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
known for his role as Craig Jackson in EmmerdaleEmmerdaleEmmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
. - Richard LumsdenRichard LumsdenRichard James Lumsden is a British actor, writer, composer and musician. He played Nathan in Channel 4's drama Sugar Rush and on radio he plays Ray in Clare in the Community.-Career:...
(born 24 June 1965) is a British actor, writer, composer and musician. - Becky MeasuresBecky MeasuresBecky Measures , from Bakewell, Derbyshire, is a DJ on Peak FM, an independent local radio station in Derbyshire and charity fund-raiser....
- radio DJ at Peak FM - Edward MilnerEdward MilnerEdward Milner was an English landscape architect.-Early life and career:Edward Milner was born in Darley, Derbyshire, the eldest child of Henry Milner and Mary née Scales. Henry Milner was employed at Chatsworth by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, as a gardener and porter...
- landscape architectLandscape architectA landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture.... - Sir Maurice OldfieldMaurice OldfieldSir Maurice Oldfield GCMG, CBE , was a British intelligence officer and espionage administrator.-Early life:...
CMG CBE - former director-general - "C" - of MI6 from 1973-8 - Helen PellerHelen PellerHelen Peller is a prominent British classical bassoonist and former student of Charles Cracknell.She was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, and is now part of the Zephyr Winds.-References:...
is a prominent British classical bassoonist and former student of Charles CracknellCharles CracknellCharles W. P. Cracknell MBE was a British classical bassoonist and pedagogue. He taught at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where his students included John Orford, Helen Peller, Steve Marsden, Laurence Perkins, and Jeremy Ward. He was the principal bassoonist of the Hallé...
. - Julie PriceJulie Price (bassoonist)Julie Price is an English bassoonist. She is bassoonist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, a chamber music recitalist and an academic teacher.-Professional career:...
, co-principal bassoonist of the BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:... - Alison UttleyAlison UttleyAlison Uttley , née Alice Jane Taylor, was a prolific British writer of over 100 books. She is now best known for her children's series about Little Grey Rabbit, and Sam Pig....
- writer - Laura WadeLaura WadeLaura Wade is a British playwright. Wade grew up in Sheffield, where her father worked for a computer company....
- playwright - Matthew WardMatthew WardMatthew Ward was an American English/French translator noted for his 1989 rendition of Albert Camus' The Stranger. He made several important alterations from the more British-toned translation by Stuart Gilbert. Most notably he altered the quite well known opening line "Mother died today" to...
- Radio Broadcaster, TV Personality - Phillip WhiteheadPhillip WhiteheadPhillip Whitehead, was a British Labour politician, television producer and writer.Born in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, he was adopted by a local family, and attended Lady Manners School in Bakewell and Exeter College at Oxford University, where he obtained his BA .Whitehead apparently went to...
- the late Labour MEP for the East MidlandsEast MidlandsThe East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
, former chairman of the European Parliamentary Labour Party, television producer and Labour MP for Derby North 1970-83
External links and Sources
- The school's official website
- Article by Roy Hattersley in THE GUARDIAN, 27 September 2005
- 2005 OFSTED Report
- "The Story of the School of Grace Lady Manners, Bakewell" by R.A. Harvey, published J.W. Northend, Sheffield, 1982.