Newport Free Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Newport Free Grammar School, in Newport
, Essex
, England
was founded in 1588. The school is a mixed comprehensive school
with a sixth form
. It previously existed in different forms including a boarding school
and a grammar school
. The Headteacher is Mr Seán O' Hagan and the Deputy headteachers are Kay Turner, Matthew Gibson and Mike Hodgkiss. There are about 852 students, including 194 in the sixth form.
status in July 2003 from DfES and has been a Language College since September 2003. The school achieved a second specialism in Science
, commencing 1 September 2008 but this was later lost.
In 2011 NFGS was ranked 405th out of the 429 institutions supplying A-Level results to the Telegraph league table, based on A-Level A*, A and B grade %ages.
Following their inspection on 15 March 2006, Ofsted
rated the school as good, Grade 2 on a four point scale. They said:
Newport, Essex
Newport is a large village in Essex near Saffron Walden, in which Newport Free Grammar School is located. The village has a population of just over 2,000....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, 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...
was founded in 1588. The school is a mixed 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...
with a 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,...
. It previously existed in different forms including a boarding school
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...
and 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 Headteacher is Mr Seán O' Hagan and the Deputy headteachers are Kay Turner, Matthew Gibson and Mike Hodgkiss. There are about 852 students, including 194 in the sixth form.
Specialist status
The school achieved Specialist Language CollegeLanguage 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...
status in July 2003 from DfES and has been a Language College since September 2003. The school achieved a second specialism in Science
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...
, commencing 1 September 2008 but this was later lost.
Academic standards
A-Level resultsIn 2011 NFGS was ranked 405th out of the 429 institutions supplying A-Level results to the Telegraph league table, based on A-Level A*, A and B grade %ages.
Following their inspection on 15 March 2006, Ofsted
Office for Standards in Education
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 ....
rated the school as good, Grade 2 on a four point scale. They said:
"Newport Free Grammar is a good school which provides good value for money. The acquisition of language college status has had a big impact on standards and quality. Much of the teaching is good though it needs improving in mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT). In subjects such as languages and humanities, teaching is sometimes outstanding, even inspirational. The school demonstrates that it has good capacity to maintain high standards where they exist and to use these as exemplars of good practice and thus further improve overall."
Notable alumni
- Charles George BroydenCharles George BroydenCharles George Broyden was a mathematician who specialized in optimization problems and numerical linear algebra...
, Mathematician. - Martin CatonMartin CatonMartin Philip Caton is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Gower since 1997.Caton was born in Bishop's Stortford and educated at the Newport Free Grammar School near Saffron Walden, the Norfolk School of Agriculture, and the Aberystwyth College of Further...
, MP for GowerGower (UK Parliament constituency)Gower is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament , using the first-past-the-post voting system.... - Jimmy DohertyJimmy Doherty (farmer)Jimmy Doherty is a Suffolk based farmer and television presenter for the BBC, famous for the show Jimmy's Farm, based around his and his partner Michaela Furney's Essex Pig Company.-Biography:...
, BBC broadcaster and Farmer - Paul EpworthPaul EpworthPaul Epworth is an award-winning British music producer, musician, and songwriter. His production credits include Adele, Cee Lo Green, Florence and the Machine, Plan B, Friendly Fires, Bloc Party, Primal Scream, The Rapture, Jack Peñate, Kate Nash and Maxïmo Park.-Lomax:From 2002-2004 Paul provided...
, music producer - James FrainJames FrainJames Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. He is possibly best known for his role in the Showtime series The Tudors in which he appeared as Thomas Cromwell from 2007 to 2009, and for his role as vampire Franklin Mott in season three of the HBO drama True Blood, as well as his role...
, film actor - Matt HollandMatt HollandMatthew Rhys "Matt" Holland is a former English-born Irish footballer, who represented Republic of Ireland at international level...
, Republic of IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
footballer - Jamie OliverJamie OliverJames "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
, chef