Penistone Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Penistone Grammar School is a comprehensive school
and former grammar school
in Penistone
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley
, South Yorkshire
, England
. It was founded in 1392 and its most notable alumnus is Nicholas Saunderson
, the probable inventor of Bayes theorem, in the eighteenth century. The school has undergone many expansions, and now houses nearly 1,600 pupils from age 11 to 18. The school motto and song were until recently Disce Aut Discede ("Learn or leave"), but since a 2003 rebranding this has been changed to "Learning and Achieving Together". The school colours are red and black, and its coat of arms is the six footless martlets of the Clarel family. The school was rebranded again in 2010, changing the logo to one similar to the Seagate
logo, and changing the motto to Never Stop Flying. Its current OFSTED
overall rating is grade 3 ('satisfactory').
, Lord of the Manor
at Penistone
, for the purpose of a school. Later, the school was situated in the town centre on a site opposite St. John the Baptist Church and across the road from the old Cloth Hall. In 1443 the Free Grammar School of Penistone received further bequests and in 1547, after the dissolution of the chantries, the school continued as the free school for the children of Penistone. Following further endowments, the school was rebuilt in 1702 and enjoyed a considerable period of academic renown under a series of very able Masters. In 1892 the school moved from its town centre site to a position about half a mile north-west of the town centre. Around this time the school took boarders. The school remains on this site.
The school was originally an all boys grammar school
. Girls were admitted for the first time in 1907. In the late twentieth century the school ceased to be a grammar school, becoming one of the first neighbourhood comprehensive school
s in the country. It became fully comprehensive in 1969, with partial selection (for more distant pupils) for a few years prior to that. The comprehensive school initially retained its Grammar school name and traditions such as the house system and speech night. These traditions have been slowly scaled back in recent years, and the standard of uniform has been downgraded from blazer
s to sweater
s.
The schools history is now to be encapsulated in a walk way to the new building. With each road named after specific points in the schools history.
. It is the only maintained school in the Local Education Authority
of Barnsley
to have a Sixth Form (See below for more details). The school has also received an Artsmark Silver award. In addition the school has recently been re-certified as an investor in people.
Penistone Grammar School also incorporates a sixth form
centre, Netherfields, in separate buildings to the main school. The current head of the sixth form is Mr Howard Heeley. During the summer of 2006 a video was commissioned of the sixth form
in the attempt to attract potential students. This video can be viewed on the Sixth Form Website. The sixth form currently has around 250 students in attendance. Penistone Grammar School is the only maintained school in the Local Education Authority
of Barnsley
to have a sixth form and so this gives the school an advantage over many of its surrounding rival schools, when it comes to 16 - 18 education.
The new £35 million state of the art school opened on 2 May 2011. Building of the new school started in July 2009, the plan is for the school to be more accessible to the community. The new building has a range of flexible learning spaces to enable teachers to deliver learning in new, innovative ways. The school introduced a new Vertical Tutoring System where pupils of different ages are spread around to help each other improve test scores and homework. The system has received both positive and negative reviews but continues to go ahead. The outcome of a meeting of the governing body held on Tuesday 28 April 2009 to discuss the name of the Advanced Learning Centre being built in Penistone as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme was to keep the existing name. As well as a complete rebuilding of the school, other changes are also being looked in to such as variable times at school within the day, extending learning opportunities within the wider community and increases opportunities of learning away from school and increased use of technology. This fits into the Barnsley LA plan for Advanced Learning Centres (ALCs) to replace their existing secondary schools. The school is currently considering restoring some of its traditions, including the full uniform and house system: proposed houses will include Saunderson, Fulford and Bowman.
Parental and pupil has taken place on these issues.
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...
and former 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 Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley
Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley
The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough of the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire, England. Its main town is Barnsley....
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, 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...
. It was founded in 1392 and its most notable alumnus is Nicholas Saunderson
Nicholas Saunderson
Nicholas Saunderson was an English scientist and mathematician. According to one leading historian of statistics, he may have been the earliest discoverer of Bayes theorem.-Biography:...
, the probable inventor of Bayes theorem, in the eighteenth century. The school has undergone many expansions, and now houses nearly 1,600 pupils from age 11 to 18. The school motto and song were until recently Disce Aut Discede ("Learn or leave"), but since a 2003 rebranding this has been changed to "Learning and Achieving Together". The school colours are red and black, and its coat of arms is the six footless martlets of the Clarel family. The school was rebranded again in 2010, changing the logo to one similar to the Seagate
Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives. Incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology, Seagate is currently incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and has its principal executive offices in Scotts Valley, California, United States.-1970s:On November 1, 1979...
logo, and changing the motto to Never Stop Flying. Its current 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 ....
overall rating is grade 3 ('satisfactory').
History
The school was founded as the Free Grammar School of Penistone in 1392, when it is recorded that a gift of land was made by John ClarelJohn Clarel
John Clarel was Lord of the Manor of Penistone in the fourteenth century. In 1392 a record was made stating how John Clarel left a gift of land to the people of Penistone for the building of a school for the use of the people...
, Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
at Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
, for the purpose of a school. Later, the school was situated in the town centre on a site opposite St. John the Baptist Church and across the road from the old Cloth Hall. In 1443 the Free Grammar School of Penistone received further bequests and in 1547, after the dissolution of the chantries, the school continued as the free school for the children of Penistone. Following further endowments, the school was rebuilt in 1702 and enjoyed a considerable period of academic renown under a series of very able Masters. In 1892 the school moved from its town centre site to a position about half a mile north-west of the town centre. Around this time the school took boarders. The school remains on this site.
The school was originally an all boys 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...
. Girls were admitted for the first time in 1907. In the late twentieth century the school ceased to be a grammar school, becoming one of the first neighbourhood 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...
s in the country. It became fully comprehensive in 1969, with partial selection (for more distant pupils) for a few years prior to that. The comprehensive school initially retained its Grammar school name and traditions such as the house system and speech night. These traditions have been slowly scaled back in recent years, and the standard of uniform has been downgraded from blazer
Blazer
A blazer is a type of jacket. The term blazer occasionally is synonymous with boating jacket and sports jacket, two different garments. A blazer resembles a suit coat cut more casually — sometimes with flap-less patch pockets and metal buttons. A blazer's cloth is usually durable , because it is an...
s to sweater
Sweater
A sweater, jumper, pullover, sweatshirt, jersey or guernsey is a garment intended to cover the torso and arms. It is often worn over a shirt, blouse, T-shirt, or other top, but may also be worn alone as a top...
s.
The schools history is now to be encapsulated in a walk way to the new building. With each road named after specific points in the schools history.
Present day
In September 2003 the school obtained specialist status to become a Business and Enterprise CollegeBusiness and Enterprise College
Business and Enterprise Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields...
. It is the only maintained school in 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...
of Barnsley
Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley
The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough of the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire, England. Its main town is Barnsley....
to have a Sixth Form (See below for more details). The school has also received an Artsmark Silver award. In addition the school has recently been re-certified as an investor in people.
Penistone Grammar School also incorporates 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,...
centre, Netherfields, in separate buildings to the main school. The current head of the sixth form is Mr Howard Heeley. During the summer of 2006 a video was commissioned of 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,...
in the attempt to attract potential students. This video can be viewed on the Sixth Form Website. The sixth form currently has around 250 students in attendance. Penistone Grammar School is the only maintained school in 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...
of Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
to have a sixth form and so this gives the school an advantage over many of its surrounding rival schools, when it comes to 16 - 18 education.
The new £35 million state of the art school opened on 2 May 2011. Building of the new school started in July 2009, the plan is for the school to be more accessible to the community. The new building has a range of flexible learning spaces to enable teachers to deliver learning in new, innovative ways. The school introduced a new Vertical Tutoring System where pupils of different ages are spread around to help each other improve test scores and homework. The system has received both positive and negative reviews but continues to go ahead. The outcome of a meeting of the governing body held on Tuesday 28 April 2009 to discuss the name of the Advanced Learning Centre being built in Penistone as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme was to keep the existing name. As well as a complete rebuilding of the school, other changes are also being looked in to such as variable times at school within the day, extending learning opportunities within the wider community and increases opportunities of learning away from school and increased use of technology. This fits into the Barnsley LA plan for Advanced Learning Centres (ALCs) to replace their existing secondary schools. The school is currently considering restoring some of its traditions, including the full uniform and house system: proposed houses will include Saunderson, Fulford and Bowman.
Notable alumni
- Heather ArmitageHeather ArmitageHeather Joy Armitage is a British athlete who competed in sprint events.She competed for Great Britain in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia where she won the silver medal in the 4 x 100 metres with her team mates Anne Pashley, Jean Scrivens and June Foulds...
, athlete - Jean Bacon - Professor of Computer Science at CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, author of 'Concurrent Systems', 1998. - Mark BeeversMark BeeversMark Geoffrey Beevers is an English professional football defender playing in the centre back position who is currently on loan at Milton Keynes Dons on loan from Sheffield Wednesday.-Career:...
(b.1989) - footballer, Sheffield Wednesday. - Roland BoyesRoland BoyesRoland Boyes was a British Labour Party politician, amateur photographer and, in retirement, a fundraiser for research into Alzheimer's disease.- Early years :...
(1937–2006) - left-wing MP for Durham from 1979 to 84 and Houghton & Washington 1983-97. Front bench spokesman for environment and defence. Book of photographs "People in Parliament" 1990. Strong supporter of Alzheimers's Research Trust. - Katherine BruntKatherine BruntKatherine Helen Brunt is an English cricketer and member of the current England women's team. In 2006, she was named England women's Cricketer of the Year and again in 2010 ....
(b.1985) - cricketer, played for England (and World Cup winner). - Anne CampbellAnne CampbellAnne Campbell is an English Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 1992 to 2005.-Early life:She went to Newnham College, Cambridge, taking the Maths Tripos, and gaining an MA in 1965....
(b.1940) - MP for CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
from 1992 to 2005; Chair of the Fabian Society, 2008. - Paul CopleyPaul CopleyPaul Mackriell Copley is an award-winning English actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Copley was born in Denby Dale, West Yorkshire, and grew up beside a dairy farm there. His father, Harold, was involved with local amateur dramatic productions, as were the rest of his family...
(b.1944) - actor often in Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
radio plays, stereotypically playing a YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
man. - Sam EllisSam Ellis (athlete)Sam Ellis is a British 800 metres runner from Barnsley. He won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 2006 European Athletics Championships...
(b.1982) - 2006 European Athletics Championships2006 European Championships in AthleticsThe 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...
800m bronze medalist. - Alec Ewart GlasseyAlec Ewart GlasseyAlec Ewart Glassey was a British Liberal politician. He was Member of Parliament for East Dorset from 1929 to 1931.-Early life:...
(1887–1970) - politician, MP for East DorsetEast Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)East Dorset is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was formally known as the Eastern Division of Dorset. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
from 1929-31. - Steven HoughtonSteven HoughtonSteven Houghton is a British actor and singer.-Early life and career:Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Houghton trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds. His first West End production was Children of Eden...
(b.1971) - actor, starred in London's burningLondon's BurningLondon's Burning was a British television drama programme produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network that focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch at a fictional fire station called Blackwall.It was broadcast between 1986 and... - Kieran HydeKieran HydeKieran Hyde is a professional rugby league footballer, currently contracted to the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats of Super League. He is a fullback by choice, but can play anywhere in the three quarter line...
(b.1990) - rugby league player, Bradford Bulls. - Noel MooreNoel MooreNoel Ernest Ackroyd Moore was a British civil servant who was responsible for running the process leading to the decimalisation of the UK's currency in 1971. He was later principal of the Civil Service College.-Early life:...
(1928–2008) - civil servant who oversaw the decimalisationDecimal DayDecimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-Old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...
project. - Chris Morgan (b.1977) - footballer, Sheffield United.
- Nicholas SaundersonNicholas SaundersonNicholas Saunderson was an English scientist and mathematician. According to one leading historian of statistics, he may have been the earliest discoverer of Bayes theorem.-Biography:...
(1682–1739) - mathematician and Lucasian Professor at Cambridge UniversityUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
from 1711 to 1739. - Ellen WhitakerEllen WhitakerEllen Whitaker is a British female show jumping rider, ranked 16th by the British Showjumping Association for September 2011. She is the daughter of rider Steven Whitaker and niece of riders John Whitaker and Michael Whitaker...
(b.1986) - showjumper and European bronze medallist. - Rolo TomassiRolo TomassiRolo Tomassi are a British mathcore band from Sheffield, England. Their name is taken from the fictional character in the film L.A. Confidential. On 22 September 2008, the band released their debut album, Hysterics, through Hassle Records....
- Mathcore Band
Parental and pupil has taken place on these issues.