Spalding Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Spalding Grammar School, or as it is fully known The Queen Elizabeth Royal Free Grammar School Spalding, is a selective school on Priory Road
in Spalding
, Lincolnshire
for pupils aged 11–18.
, applied for by the Revd Mr Johnson, and located within part of Spalding Parish Church, called St Thomas's Chapel, until the 19th century. It was founded on its current site in 1881.
. Sir John Gleed was Chairman of the Governors from 1928-46.
Moulton Grammar School was founded under the will of John Harrox (died 1561) who was steward to Sir John Harrington of Weston. The School opened in 1562 with ten pupils and continued to educate boys from the district until it amalgamated with Spalding. The old school buildings still exist but are now private residences.
in November 1993, and in January 2006 new buildings were opened for ICT, sociology, technology, English and drama (with a performing arts studio).
The Modern Languages lab was also built at the same time as the new buildings were opened.
In late 2009, a new Business Studies block, new staff room and atrium were also built.
The headteacher is Mr Nigel Ryan (MA Cantab).
The current number of pupils stands at 919. The sixth form has 320 pupils (with 120 female). There are 68 teaching staff.
as a Languages
and Engineering
College. It became the first school in Lincolnshire to gain joint specialist status in these subjects.
Accompanying the specialist status was building work to improve general aspects of the school, and to provide a Language Lab and Engineering Lab for the teaching of the subjects.
, China. This new opportunity means the school will be offering both staff and pupils the chance to visit Wuxi on Teaching, Sport and Drama exchanges. Links will also be fostered using technology such as the Language Lab installed at the school, allowing students to be paired with Chinese students and speak to them in real time using VOIP communication in order to practice their respective languages. Mandarin has now been introduced to the curriculum.
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
and The Tempest
. As of September 2011 the Drama department will no longer be able to offer GCSE's and A-Level's in Drama
's The Tempest. The production was performed in the round
which director and former Head of English, David Wheeler, believes allows a special relationship to develop between actor and audience. The script was condensed to around two thirds of its original length. This allowed modern songs to be added into the play, ranging from Genesis' 'I Can't Dance
' to 'In The Navy
' (originally by The Village People). The play was met overall positively and Spalding
's local paper the Spalding Guardian gave the performance a strongly positive review.
In November 2009 Shakespeare's Hamlet will be directed by David Wheeler. The production will not use the stage, but nor will it be 'in the round'; director David Wheeler said 'We want to keep the audience guessing about how exactly we will stage the play...but it has been very carefully planned.'
in the town of Spalding
on Priory Road. The school is obliged to accept pupils from the council district of South Holland
- an area of 500 square miles (1,295 km²) - meaning some pupils travel over 20 miles (32.2 km) to reach the school.
was founded under the will of John Harrox (died 1561) who was steward to Sir John Harrington of Weston. The School opened in 1562 with ten pupils and continued to educate boys from the district until it amalgamated with Spalding Grammar School in 1939.
Spalding Priory
Spalding Priory was a small Benedictine house in the town of Spalding, Lincolnshire. It was founded as a cell of Croyland Abbey, in 1052, by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife, Godiva, Countess of Leicester. It was supported by Leofric's eldest son...
in Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
for pupils aged 11–18.
History
It was founded in 1588 by Royal CharterRoyal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
, applied for by the Revd Mr Johnson, and located within part of Spalding Parish Church, called St Thomas's Chapel, until the 19th century. It was founded on its current site in 1881.
Merger with Moulton Grammar School
In 1939, the school doubled in size, having amalgamated with Moulton Grammar School in MoultonMoulton, Lincolnshire
Moulton is the primary village of an extensive Fenland parish, over in length, and encompassing the smaller hamlets/villages of Moulton Chapel, Moulton Seas End and Moulton Eaugate....
. Sir John Gleed was Chairman of the Governors from 1928-46.
Moulton Grammar School was founded under the will of John Harrox (died 1561) who was steward to Sir John Harrington of Weston. The School opened in 1562 with ten pupils and continued to educate boys from the district until it amalgamated with Spalding. The old school buildings still exist but are now private residences.
New buildings
A large sports hall was opened by boxer Henry CooperHenry Cooper (boxer)
Sir Henry Cooper OBE KSG was an English heavyweight boxer known for the effectiveness of his left hook, "Enry's 'Ammer", and his knockdown of the young Muhammad Ali...
in November 1993, and in January 2006 new buildings were opened for ICT, sociology, technology, English and drama (with a performing arts studio).
The Modern Languages lab was also built at the same time as the new buildings were opened.
In late 2009, a new Business Studies block, new staff room and atrium were also built.
Publications
It has a school magazine called The Bentleian; copies dating back to July 1922 are in the school library.Admissions
In years seven to eleven, only male pupils are admitted, but the sixth form accepts females as well. Spalding Grammar is a selective school, and its entrants in the lower school are permitted only by taking the county-wide 11+ tests.The headteacher is Mr Nigel Ryan (MA Cantab).
The current number of pupils stands at 919. The sixth form has 320 pupils (with 120 female). There are 68 teaching staff.
Specialist status
In 2006, the school was granted Specialist StatusSpecialist 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...
as a Languages
Language education
Language education is the teaching and learning of a foreign or second language. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics.- Need for language education :...
and Engineering
Engineering education
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles related to the professional practice of engineering. It includes the initial education for becoming an engineer and any advanced education and specialization that follow...
College. It became the first school in Lincolnshire to gain joint specialist status in these subjects.
Accompanying the specialist status was building work to improve general aspects of the school, and to provide a Language Lab and Engineering Lab for the teaching of the subjects.
School partnerships
Through the Language Status the school has partnered with a High School in WuxiWuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...
, China. This new opportunity means the school will be offering both staff and pupils the chance to visit Wuxi on Teaching, Sport and Drama exchanges. Links will also be fostered using technology such as the Language Lab installed at the school, allowing students to be paired with Chinese students and speak to them in real time using VOIP communication in order to practice their respective languages. Mandarin has now been introduced to the curriculum.
School Opportunities
The school offers many opportunities to its students, such as a range of Flexydays. It also offers the Year 7 Free Learning Block and the Sixth Form Enrichment Block.Physical Education Department
The Physical Education Department at Spalding Grammar School prides itself on its commitment and dedication to extra curricular activities. Along with regular Ski Trips, in 2007, 2008 and 2009 the school ran a variety of mainly football-focused trips to the USA, Spain and Holland.Music department
The School has an active music department, with its own Brass Ensemble, Chamber Choir, Concert Band, Early Music Group, saxophone ensemble, String Ensemble and Rhythm and Blues Band.The dramatic arts
Spalding Grammar School has a long history of dramatic performances. From the annual Speech Day Revue (where Sixth Form Students perform a showcase of songs and sketches about life at Spalding Grammar School) to more recent productions, such as Honk!Honk!
Honk! is a musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling, incorporating a message of tolerance. The book and lyrics are by Anthony Drewe and music is by George Stiles...
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
and The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
. As of September 2011 the Drama department will no longer be able to offer GCSE's and A-Level's in Drama
Recent productions
The most recent production was William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Tempest. The production was performed in the round
Theatre in the round
Theatre-in-the-round or arena theatre is any theatre space in which the audience surrounds the stage area...
which director and former Head of English, David Wheeler, believes allows a special relationship to develop between actor and audience. The script was condensed to around two thirds of its original length. This allowed modern songs to be added into the play, ranging from Genesis' 'I Can't Dance
I Can't Dance
"I Can't Dance" is the fourth track from the Genesis album We Can't Dance and was the second single from the album . The song peaked at number seven on both the U.S...
' to 'In The Navy
In the Navy
"In the Navy" is a song recorded by American disco group Village People released in 1979. It was the last top 10 hit for the group in the United States.-Background and writing:...
' (originally by The Village People). The play was met overall positively and Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
's local paper the Spalding Guardian gave the performance a strongly positive review.
In November 2009 Shakespeare's Hamlet will be directed by David Wheeler. The production will not use the stage, but nor will it be 'in the round'; director David Wheeler said 'We want to keep the audience guessing about how exactly we will stage the play...but it has been very carefully planned.'
Location
The school is located in the south of LincolnshireLincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
in the town of Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
on Priory Road. The school is obliged to accept pupils from the council district of South Holland
South Holland, Lincolnshire
South Holland is a local government district of Lincolnshire. The district council is based in Spalding.It was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the Spalding urban district with East Elloe Rural District and Spalding Rural District...
- an area of 500 square miles (1,295 km²) - meaning some pupils travel over 20 miles (32.2 km) to reach the school.
Notable former pupils
- Jack HobbsJack Hobbs (footballer)Jack Hobbs is a professional English football player, currently playing for Hull City.-Lincoln City:From Moulton, a small village near Spalding, Lincolnshire, Hobbs played for Moulton Harrox from the age of 10. The former Spalding Grammar School student left Moulton Harrox a few years later when...
- defender at Leicester City F.C.Leicester City F.C.Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester... - John Miller (motor racing team owner) (1979–85)
- Maurice Johnson (antiquary) (c.1700-5)
- William Hobson MillsWilliam Hobson MillsWilliam Hobson Mills FRS was a British organic chemist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1923 and won its Davy Medal in 1933....
, organic chemist who investigated stereochemistryStereochemistryStereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms within molecules. An important branch of stereochemistry is the study of chiral molecules....
and found the Mills-Nixon effect - Sir J R Somers Vine CMG (1859–66), Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor of LondonLord Mayor of LondonThe Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
from 1871-5 (previous to Sir William SoulsbyWilliam SoulsbySir William Jameson Soulsby KCVO CB CIE was an English barrister who served as Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor of London for 55 years. The Times referred to him as "in a sense, the permanent Lord Mayor."...
) - Stuart StoreyStuart StoreyStuart Storey is a British sports commentator and former 110m hurdler.-Early life:He grew up in Holbeach, later helping to coach fellow Holbeachian Geoff Capes at Holbeach Athletics Club. He was educated at Spalding Grammar School...
(1954–61) - BBC sports commentator. - Dave Tice (1962-4) - founder of Australia's first heavy metal band BuffaloBuffalo (band)Buffalo was an early heavy metal band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1971. The band left a legacy with Australia's heavy metal, pub rock and alternative rock movements. The band had evolved from the Brisbane blues-rock outfit Head, which was originally formed in 1968 by Dave Tice and Peter Wells...
, and lead singer 1969-77 - John Tippler (1940–1945) Director of Engineering & Network, BTBT GroupBT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
UK Communications, 1980–1989, and IT Institute 1986-1988.
Moulton Grammar School
The Grammar School in MoultonMoulton, Lincolnshire
Moulton is the primary village of an extensive Fenland parish, over in length, and encompassing the smaller hamlets/villages of Moulton Chapel, Moulton Seas End and Moulton Eaugate....
was founded under the will of John Harrox (died 1561) who was steward to Sir John Harrington of Weston. The School opened in 1562 with ten pupils and continued to educate boys from the district until it amalgamated with Spalding Grammar School in 1939.
- Johnny DouglasJohnny DouglasJohn "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...
(1895-7), captain of English Cricket Team from 1911–21 - Rt Rev Kenneth HealeyKenneth HealeyKenneth Healey was the 3rd Bishop of Grimsby. Educated at Moulton Grammar School, he was ordained in 1932. His first post was as a Curate in Grantham after which became Rector of Bloxholm. Subsequently Rural Dean of Lafford and then Archdeacon of Lincoln, from 1966 he was one of the Diocese’s’s...
, Bishop of GrimsbyBishop of GrimsbyThe Bishop of Grimsby is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Grimsby in Lincolnshire. The suffragan bishop's official residence is Bishop's House, Church Lane,...
from 1958–66 - Walter PlowrightWalter PlowrightWalter Plowright, CMG, FRS, FRCVS was an English veterinary scientist who devoted his career to the eradication of the cattle plague rinderpest....
(1923–2010) veterinary scientist who devoted his career to the eradication of the cattle plague rinderpest
Former teachers
- Richard BentleyRichard BentleyRichard Bentley was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge....
- EnglishEnglandEngland 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...
theologian, classical scholarClassicsClassics 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...
and criticCriticA critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
- (Former Headmaster) - Peter Millen - (Chemistry) LibDemLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
candidate in 1997 for South Holland seat. - Edward Marlar, Headmaster 1934-37 - later Headmaster King Edward VI School, Lichfield 1937-46, Headmaster Whitgift SchoolWhitgift SchoolWhitgift School is an independent day school educating approximately 1,400 boys aged 10 to 18 in South Croydon, London in a parkland site.- History and grounds :...
1946-61 - Timothy NeveTimothy Neve-Life:He was born at Spalding, Lincolnshire, on 12 October 1724, the only surviving son, by his first wife, of Timothy Neve the antiquary. He was admitted at Corpus Christi College, Oxford on 27 October 1737, at the age of thirteen, and was elected scholar in 1737 and fellow in 1747. He graduated...
, churchman
See also
- Spalding High SchoolSpalding High School (United Kingdom)Spalding High School is a female-only selective school with a sports college status: it also has a mixed sixth form. It has been known commonly as SHS.-Admissions:...
- mainly a school for girls, but accepts boys into the sixth form.