Lewes Priory School
Encyclopedia
Lewes Priory School is a British co-educational school for 11 to 16 year-olds located on Mountfield Road in the East Sussex
town of Lewes
. It is a specialist school as an Arts College
, Language College
, and Science College
.
In its early years (from 1969 until around 1980) the school was in three separate locations: the former Girls Grammar School buildings in Potter's Lane housed the Lower School (ages 12–13), while on Mountfield Road the Secondary Modern buildings housed the Middle School (ages 14–15), with the Upper School (ages 16–18) in the former Boys Grammar.
Later, in the early 1990s, the school was split into a Sixth Form College (16-19) and the separate Priory School (11-16) on the Mountfield Road site.
to commemorate the boys from the school who fought in the war. Next to it is the Music Block, which was rebuilt in 2008 in place of the old temporary one. The new block features improved disabled access, but thin walls and a void beneath the floor make it a rather difficult environment for music lessons.
In 1991, the new revised version of Priory School opened boasting a new wing — the "South Block" — and a heavily refurbished main building. The latter was the home of Lewes Secondary Modern School until 1969, sporting a distinctive copper plated clock tower
. The main building included new science
labs, a library
and design technology rooms, built in anticipation of design technology being in the National Curriculum. The South Block hosts, on the ground floor, the Art, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages, and English classrooms and on the first floor the Humanities
classrooms. The Performing Arts Block was built recently next to the Main Hall.
The nearby Leisure Centre is used for indoor sports and the nearby Convent Fields, the Cricket Nets and the Tennis Courts, for outdoor ones. Between the South Block and the Main Building is a playground called The Quad. The tarmac playground continues until the chapel but there are large muddy and grassy areas surrounding it.
that it inherited from the Grammar Schools. The Head of History, Jim Butt and co-writer Colin Burgess wrote an entire musical about the life of local WWI soldier, Private Rupert Freeman, called "In the Pink". The pupils are divided into four "houses" named Fire, Earth, Water and Air. Each pupil is allocated to a house and the houses compete collectively in sport and other activities.
Priory has been awarded Arts and Language College statuses, specializing in these areas with increased funding. The three modern foreign languages taught are Spanish
, French
and German
. There is also a Chinese
club. These four languages are represented by the flags of their home countries (along with the Union Flag) outside the entrance of the school. The school will sit, but not teach, an Italian
GCSE.
A number of pupils have gone on to make careers in the arts.
Eric Goulden, Pete Thomas
, Hugh Harris and Tom (Keith) Morley, made their names in the music business. Graeme K Talboys
has had a number of books published.
Priory alumni commonly progress to further education courses at the close by Sussex Downs College
, or BHASVIC, Varndean and City Colleges in Brighton. The current Headteacher is Mr. Anthony Smith, who replaced outgoing headteacher Mr Martyn Ofield in September 2010.
, was built to honour the boys from the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys who died in World War II. Their names grace the walls of the vestibule to this day. The Latin "Dare Nec Computare" above the door translates to "To give and not to count the cost". Some of the schools assemblies are now held in the chapel, including a weekly collective worship which students attend. These sessions have speakers from various religions, but mainly Christian.
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
town of Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
. It is a specialist school as an Arts College
Arts College
Arts Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, the performing, visual and/or media arts...
, Language College
Language College
Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages...
, and Science College
Science College
Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, science and mathematics...
.
History
The Priory School was originally formed in 1969 when the Lewes County Grammar School for Girls, the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys and the Lewes Secondary Modern School were amalgamated to form a comprehensive school called Priory School. At this point, although the school was comprehensive for children who lived within the town of Lewes, it was also open to children from the surrounding towns and villages who had passed the 11 plus. During this period there was also academic streaming: the names of the streamed groups were based on the letters of the word MOUNTFIELD.In its early years (from 1969 until around 1980) the school was in three separate locations: the former Girls Grammar School buildings in Potter's Lane housed the Lower School (ages 12–13), while on Mountfield Road the Secondary Modern buildings housed the Middle School (ages 14–15), with the Upper School (ages 16–18) in the former Boys Grammar.
Later, in the early 1990s, the school was split into a Sixth Form College (16-19) and the separate Priory School (11-16) on the Mountfield Road site.
Site
The Priory School then became centred on the site of the former Secondary Modern School and new buildings have since been added. The adjacent buildings formerly used by the County Grammar School for Boys and by the Sixth Form College have become part of the Sussex Downs College (Higher Education). The Chapel, of the former Boys Grammar School, was retained by the Priory School. This chapel was built after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to commemorate the boys from the school who fought in the war. Next to it is the Music Block, which was rebuilt in 2008 in place of the old temporary one. The new block features improved disabled access, but thin walls and a void beneath the floor make it a rather difficult environment for music lessons.
In 1991, the new revised version of Priory School opened boasting a new wing — the "South Block" — and a heavily refurbished main building. The latter was the home of Lewes Secondary Modern School until 1969, sporting a distinctive copper plated clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
. The main building included new science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
labs, a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
and design technology rooms, built in anticipation of design technology being in the National Curriculum. The South Block hosts, on the ground floor, the Art, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages, and English classrooms and on the first floor the Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
classrooms. The Performing Arts Block was built recently next to the Main Hall.
The nearby Leisure Centre is used for indoor sports and the nearby Convent Fields, the Cricket Nets and the Tennis Courts, for outdoor ones. Between the South Block and the Main Building is a playground called The Quad. The tarmac playground continues until the chapel but there are large muddy and grassy areas surrounding it.
The arts
Priory School has a strong tradition of amateur dramaDrama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
that it inherited from the Grammar Schools. The Head of History, Jim Butt and co-writer Colin Burgess wrote an entire musical about the life of local WWI soldier, Private Rupert Freeman, called "In the Pink". The pupils are divided into four "houses" named Fire, Earth, Water and Air. Each pupil is allocated to a house and the houses compete collectively in sport and other activities.
Priory has been awarded Arts and Language College statuses, specializing in these areas with increased funding. The three modern foreign languages taught are Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, 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 German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. There is also a Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
club. These four languages are represented by the flags of their home countries (along with the Union Flag) outside the entrance of the school. The school will sit, but not teach, an Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
GCSE.
A number of pupils have gone on to make careers in the arts.
Eric Goulden, Pete Thomas
Pete Thomas
Pete Thomas is best known as the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello. Tom Waits has referred to him as "one of the best rock drummers alive".-Career:...
, Hugh Harris and Tom (Keith) Morley, made their names in the music business. Graeme K Talboys
Graeme K Talboys
Graeme K Talboys is an English writer and teacher.-Life:Talboys was born November 1953 at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Hammersmith. His early life was lived on the edge of Richmond Park, before the family left London for Norwich. They then moved to Sussex where he spent his formative teenage years...
has had a number of books published.
Uniform
The current Priory School uniform is:a navy blue blazer, mid-grey pullover, blue and silver striped tie, mid-grey trousers or skirt, a long sleeved shirt and plain black school shoes.Present day
At the beginning of the academic year September 2009, a new arrangement for the school day was put into practice consisting of five lesson periods, with half an hour of tutor time per day. The lunch times have been altered to create three lunch sittings. Which lunch a student may be sitting varies from day to day. Each lesson lasts 60 minutes. Break time is 15 minutes long and lunch is 30 minutes. Between these three there are gaps of 5 minutes to give students time to get around.Priory alumni commonly progress to further education courses at the close by Sussex Downs College
Sussex Downs College
Sussex Downs College is a further education college in East Sussex, England, that was established in 2001 through a merger of Lewes Tertiary College and Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology, with Park Sixth Form College in Eastbourne added in 2003...
, or BHASVIC, Varndean and City Colleges in Brighton. The current Headteacher is Mr. Anthony Smith, who replaced outgoing headteacher Mr Martyn Ofield in September 2010.
Chapel
In 1960 a chapel, designed by Sir Edward MaufeEdward Maufe
Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe KBE, R.A, F.R.I.B.A. was an English architect and designer, noted chiefly for his work on places of worship and remembrance memorials. He was a skilled interior designer and designed many pieces of furniture...
, was built to honour the boys from the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys who died in World War II. Their names grace the walls of the vestibule to this day. The Latin "Dare Nec Computare" above the door translates to "To give and not to count the cost". Some of the schools assemblies are now held in the chapel, including a weekly collective worship which students attend. These sessions have speakers from various religions, but mainly Christian.