Ripon Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Ripon Grammar School is a co-educational, selective, state secondary grammar school
and specialist
engineering college
located in Ripon
, North Yorkshire
, England
. It is one of the best-performing state schools in the North of England - in 2009, 97% of pupils gained the equivalent of 5 or more GCSEs at Grade C or above, including English and Maths; this figure has been over 95% consistently since at least 2006.
phrase Giorne ymb lare y diowatdomas ("Eager to learn and seek after righteousness").
times, it was re-founded in 1555 during the reign of Queen Mary
. Originally a boys' school, the school merged with Ripon Girls' School to become coeducational in 1962. Although most pupils are day-pupils from the surrounding area and Ripon itself, there are boys' and girls' boarding house
s.
in March 2000 by 1,493 to 747. Although Lord Hattersley
spoke at a local rally in favour of anti-grammar school campaigners, his former (grammar) school
in Sheffield
has since been burnt down by arson and placed in special measures
since becoming a comprehensive. Even the head of the neighbouring secondary modern school
, Ripon College, Paul Lowery was in favour of keeping the selection system as it was, which contributed to the proposal's defeat. The campaign against the school was co-ordinated by Debbie Atkins, who like many local parents chose to send her children to school in Harrogate
, and largely involved people who worked in the education sector.
To force a ballot, petitions had to be successfully raised. These were allowed from December 1998, and Ripon was the only one out of 39 resulting in a ballot. The cost of administration of these petitions and the one ballot was £437,000. The huge cost of administration came from education officials having to write individually to registered parents at feeder primary schools. In the year of the ballot - 1999/2000 - £216,283 was spent on the petition procedure's administration. The vote was allowed by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998
. Unsuccessful attempts at ballots were made in Trafford
and Sutton
, both being areas with outstanding academic success. North Yorkshire
LEA, largely comprehensive, has the best academic results in Yorkshire and the Humber
(Kirklees
has slightly better A-level results, but has only a few sixth forms).
In January 2006 the school was awarded specialist engineering status, which will help fund the improvement of facilities in the science and technology departments.
In May 2006 the school's librarian, Anne-Marie Tarter, was awarded the School Librarian of the Year Award by the School Library Association
.
In 2008/9 construction began on a new sports hall and Sixth Form block. Construction of the sports hall became possible after 12 months of fundraising, which achieved a total of £1 million made up entirely of donations from parents and members of the local community. The Sixth Form block is a joint £1 million project between Ripon Grammar School and Ripon College, as well as other local schools. It will provide e-learning facilities, laboratories and studio space for Sixth Form use, as well as extra common room space. The intention is that construction on both projects will be completed ready for use in September 2009.
Construction on a new music block is set to begin in 2009/10. Planning permission has now been granted, but plans have been delayed by the discovery of gypsum underneath the proposed site.
for a period of seven days, beginning on the 10 June. All staff, first years and other close contacts were offered Tamiflu treatment. Public examinations continued as scheduled. No further cases were confirmed in students.
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...
and specialist
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
engineering college
Engineering college
Engineering colleges generally refer to institutes of higher education which offer an engineering course at degree level. The duration of the course is four to five years depending upon the university to which the college is affiliated. The students learn little of basic science concentrating...
located in Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, 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 is one of the best-performing state schools in the North of England - in 2009, 97% of pupils gained the equivalent of 5 or more GCSEs at Grade C or above, including English and Maths; this figure has been over 95% consistently since at least 2006.
Admissions
It is a selective school, of the very few in that area of northern England (Penrith has the most northern grammar school). It is situated in the north-west of Ripon, towards Bishopton.Traditions
The school motto is the Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
phrase Giorne ymb lare y diowatdomas ("Eager to learn and seek after righteousness").
History
The school was originally founded in SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
times, it was re-founded in 1555 during the reign of Queen Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
. Originally a boys' school, the school merged with Ripon Girls' School to become coeducational in 1962. Although most pupils are day-pupils from the surrounding area and Ripon itself, there are boys' and girls' boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
s.
Parents' ballot
Ripon was the first and only school catchment area in England in which parents voted to keep a selective schoolSelective school
A selective school is a school that admits students on the basis of some sort of selection criteria, usually academic. The term may have different connotations in different systems....
in March 2000 by 1,493 to 747. Although Lord Hattersley
Roy Hattersley
Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley is a British Labour politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.-Early life:...
spoke at a local rally in favour of anti-grammar school campaigners, his former (grammar) school
The City School (Sheffield)
The City School, Stradbroke Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, was formerly known as City Grammar School...
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
has since been burnt down by arson and placed in special measures
Special measures
Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...
since becoming a comprehensive. Even the head of the neighbouring secondary modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
, Ripon College, Paul Lowery was in favour of keeping the selection system as it was, which contributed to the proposal's defeat. The campaign against the school was co-ordinated by Debbie Atkins, who like many local parents chose to send her children to school in Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, and largely involved people who worked in the education sector.
To force a ballot, petitions had to be successfully raised. These were allowed from December 1998, and Ripon was the only one out of 39 resulting in a ballot. The cost of administration of these petitions and the one ballot was £437,000. The huge cost of administration came from education officials having to write individually to registered parents at feeder primary schools. In the year of the ballot - 1999/2000 - £216,283 was spent on the petition procedure's administration. The vote was allowed by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998
School Standards and Framework Act 1998
The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was the major education legislation passed by the incoming Labour government of Tony Blair.This Act:* imposed a limit of 30 on infant class sizes....
. Unsuccessful attempts at ballots were made in Trafford
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
and Sutton
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...
, both being areas with outstanding academic success. North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
LEA, largely comprehensive, has the best academic results in Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the nine regions of England and formally one of the government office regions. It covers most of the historic county of Yorkshire, along with the part of northern Lincolnshire that was, from 1974 to 1996, within the former shire county of Humberside. The...
(Kirklees
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
has slightly better A-level results, but has only a few sixth forms).
Specialist status
During 2005, Ripon Grammar celebrated the 450th anniversary of its re-founding in 1555. During this year, extensive fund-raising occurred, which has been spent on many projects aimed at improving the school's facilities. One of the most ambitious of these was the building of a sports hall and another was the refurbishment of 6 science labs.In January 2006 the school was awarded specialist engineering status, which will help fund the improvement of facilities in the science and technology departments.
In May 2006 the school's librarian, Anne-Marie Tarter, was awarded the School Librarian of the Year Award by the School Library Association
School Library Association
The School Library Association is an independent organization in the United Kingdom which promotes libraries and literacy in schools. The SLA was founded in 1937 and is based at Wanborough, Wiltshire, near Swindon...
.
New buildings
Construction of a new maths and engineering block was completed in summer 2007, housing the maths department with five teaching rooms and an engineering room, used for teaching Design and Technology and AS Engineering. This project was in line with the school's newly achieved specialist engineering status.In 2008/9 construction began on a new sports hall and Sixth Form block. Construction of the sports hall became possible after 12 months of fundraising, which achieved a total of £1 million made up entirely of donations from parents and members of the local community. The Sixth Form block is a joint £1 million project between Ripon Grammar School and Ripon College, as well as other local schools. It will provide e-learning facilities, laboratories and studio space for Sixth Form use, as well as extra common room space. The intention is that construction on both projects will be completed ready for use in September 2009.
Construction on a new music block is set to begin in 2009/10. Planning permission has now been granted, but plans have been delayed by the discovery of gypsum underneath the proposed site.
Swine flu
Ripon Grammar School became the first school in North Yorkshire affected by the 2009 swine flu outbreak after a first year pupil was confirmed with the virus. The school was closed following advice from the Health Protection AgencyHealth Protection Agency
The Health Protection Agency, or, in Welsh, Yr Asiantaeth Diogelu Iechyd is a statutory corporation. It is an independent UK organisation that was set up by the government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards...
for a period of seven days, beginning on the 10 June. All staff, first years and other close contacts were offered Tamiflu treatment. Public examinations continued as scheduled. No further cases were confirmed in students.
Former teachers
- Thomas Ashworth, Headteacher of Ermysted's Grammar SchoolErmysted's Grammar SchoolErmysteds Grammar School is a LEA-funded selective boys' Grammar School in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England, teaching over 800 pupils.It is the seventh oldest state school in Britain and was founded by Peter Toller in the 15th century. The first official record of the school was seen in Peter...
in SkiptonSkiptonSkipton is a market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the course of both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, on the south side of the Yorkshire Dales, northwest of Bradford and west of York...
from 1998-2008 (Head of Maths from 1983-8)
Old Riponians
Former pupils are known as Old Riponians. Notable old Riponians include:- William HagueWilliam HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsSecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State... - Katharine VinerKatharine VinerKatharine Viner is a British journalist who is deputy editor of The Guardian.Raised in Yorkshire, the daughter of teachers, she was educated at Ripon Grammar School and read English at Oxford University. Just before her finals, Viner won a competition organised by The Guardians women's page and...
, deputy editor of The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format... - Richard HammondRichard HammondRichard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
, television presenter - Top Gear/Total WipeoutTotal WipeoutTotal Wipeout is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on 3 January 2009. Each week 20 contestants compete in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges are based in large pools of water or mud and generally involve large...
/Richard Hammond's Blast LabRichard Hammond's Blast LabRichard Hammond's Blast Lab is a children's television programme made by DCD Media-owned September Films and Hamster's Wheel Productions for the BBC and shown on the CBBC Channel and CBBC outputs on both BBC One and BBC Two.... - David CurryDavid CurryDavid Maurice Curry is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
, former 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,...
for Skipton & Ripon (head boyHead boyHead Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
in 1962) - Bruce OldfieldBruce OldfieldBruce Oldfield OBE is a British fashion designer, best known for his couture occasionwear. He dresses Hollywood actresses, British and International royalty and European aristocracy; famous clients have included Sienna Miller, Barbra Streisand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Diana Ross, Emmanuelle...
, fashion designer - Matthew Hutton (Archbishop of Canterbury)Matthew Hutton (Archbishop of Canterbury)Matthew Hutton was a high churchman in the Church of England, serving as Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury...
- Prof David George KendallDavid George KendallDavid George Kendall FRS was an English statistician, who spent much of his academic life in the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. He worked with M. S...
, statisticianStatisticsStatistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, Professor of Mathematical Statistics from 1962-85 at the University of CambridgeUniversity 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... - Peter SquiresPeter SquiresPeter John Squires is an English former rugby union player and a first-class cricketer, who played in forty nine first-class matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1972 and 1976....
, British Lion & England Rugby Union International/Yorkshire County Cricketer - Prof Peter Toyne CBE, Vice-Chancellor from 1992-2000 of Liverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
(JMU), and Rector from 1986-92 of Liverpool Polytechnic - Paul HullahPaul HullahPaul William Hullah is an English writer who has published several volumes of poetry, short stories, and literary criticism, as well as a series of literature-based EFL textbooks for university students in Japan and articles in several academic journals in the field of EFL...
, writerWriterA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images.... - Peter Marshall CMG, Ambassador to Algeria from 1995-6
- Rev Maurice Edwards OBE, Chaplain-in-Chief of the RAF from 1940-4
- Francis PigouFrancis PigouThe Very Rev Francis Pigou , DD was an eminent Anglican priest in the second half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th.-Career:...
, Dean of Bristol from 1891 to 1916 - Beilby PorteusBeilby PorteusBeilby Porteus , successively Bishop of Chester and of London was an Anglican reformer and leading abolitionist in England...
, Georgian Bishop of ChesterBishop of ChesterThe Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.The diocese expands across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the City of Chester where the seat is located at the Cathedral...
and LondonBishop of LondonThe Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey... - Rt Rev William StubbsWilliam StubbsWilliam Stubbs was an English historian and Bishop of Oxford.The son of William Morley Stubbs, a solicitor, he was born at Knaresborough, Yorkshire, and was educated at Ripon Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated in 1848, obtaining a first-class in classics and a third in...
the VictorianVictorian eraThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Bishop of OxfordBishop of OxfordThe Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...
from 1889–1901, and Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford)Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford)The Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford is an old-established professorial position. The first appointment was made in 1724...
from 1866–84