William Parker Sports College
Encyclopedia
The William Parker Sports College, formerly known as Hastings Grammar School, and later as William Parker School, is a secondary school
in Hastings
, East Sussex
in the United Kingdom. It is now the only all-boys' secondary school in East Sussex, and has achieved specialist
Sports College
status.
which is shared with Helenswood School
, a local girls' school. There are over a thousand boys in years 7–11 and about three hundred boys and girls in the shared sixth form. Helenswood has places for 1100 girls in years 7-11. Other local secondary schools include the co-educational
Hillcrest, The Grove and Filsham Valley. Each school takes approximately 200 pupils in a year.
The lessons taught in the Lower school are:
and cricket
, many other sports are played.
William Parker is divided into eight houses
for sporting and pastoral purposes, each of which has its own colour:
This is taken as the foundation of the school, although Parker's will also stated that his widow should enjoy the income from all his property until her death, so no money was available to appoint the first master until twenty years later. The will stipulated that the master should be chosen by the jurates (town councillors) living within the parish of All Saints, rather than by the town council as a whole, and by any heir of William Parker still living in Hastings.
Parker's nephew William became Mayor of Hastings, and his nephew's son (also William) later became master of the school. Titus Oates
, son of the rector of All Saints, Samuel Oates, and later infamous for fabricating a papish plot against the monarchy, started his career by bringing false charges against both William Parkers in an attempt to create a vacancy for the post of master. Records of early masters are incomplete, but in 1759 John Shorter was appointed master, once again by another William Parker, mayor elect.
In 1708 a Kent
ish landowner by the name of James Saunders made various charitable legacies in his will, including provisions for a schoolmaster in Rye
and a schoolmaster and two school mistresses in Hastings. One of the mistresses was to teach 30 pupils in the parish of All Saints and the other in the parish of St Clements, at a salary of £10 per year. The master was to teach reading, writing, Latin, accounting, mathematics and navigation to any poor child in Hastings "from the Seagate next the Fish Market", at a salary of £40 per year, subject to a maximum of 70 pupils. Saunders stipulated that the corporation of each of the towns concerned should oversee the way the other operated their school, with the penalty for failing to comply with the terms of the bequest that all the funds should go to the other town.
Falling income from the two charities meant that by 1809 one master, Joseph Hannay, was employed to teach forty boys on behalf of the Parker school, and fifteen for the Saunders school. The Saunders fund continued to pay two schoolmistresses ten pounds each per year, while the master received three pounds per child. Local complaints about the low rents being charged by the corporation for the Parker fund lands had led to increases from £49 in 1787 to £134 in 1809, but the council also turned down an offer from one James Halloway to rent the estate for £205. Thomas Breeds, another prominent local man, applied to the High Court of Chancery arguing that the funds were being improperly administered, with the result that he himself rented them for £210, no higher bid being received at a public auction
. The expenses of the case were paid by the funds, with the result that the Saunders school had to close for five years, but afterwards two separate masters were appointed.
The two were permanently re-merged in 1878, together with part of the Magdalen trust, to form the Hastings Grammar School Foundation. A Victorian Gothic Revival
building was constructed by John Howell & Son
to the design of Jeffery & Skiller on a slope overlooking Hastings, at Standen's High Field which became Nelson road, and occupied in July 1883. The school was originally designed as a central tower with wings either side. Owing to lack of funds, the wing intended as accommodation for the headmaster and boarders was never built.
s, and secondary modern school
s. The school was naturally classed as a grammar school under this scheme, and had voluntary aided
status: in other words the income from the Foundation was supplemented by a grant from the Local Education Authority. From now on, admission to the school was solely via the eleven-plus examination, and education was free (previously there had been fees of five guineas a year). Classes were held six days a week, with no lessons on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Saturday morning school was abolished in 1967.
. The school was now controlled by a board of ten governors appointed by the borough of Hastings and five appointed by the charitable foundation. The charitable funds remained under the control of the foundation governors, but responsibility for providing buildings now fell to the education authority. A new modern building was constructed further from the town centre, on 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) of land which had long been used as the school's playing fields. The new school was designed for 570 boys, including a sixth form of 120, and is now the Parkstone Road half of the school. The foundation stone of the new school was laid on 4 July 1962, and the school occupied in 1964.
. This was resisted by the borough of Hastings, but local government reorganisation under the following Conservative administration meant that the autonomous county borough was abolished and replaced by East Sussex County Council as the education authority. A decision was taken to change to a comprehensive school intake, and at the same time to merge the school with Hastings Secondary School. A further new building was constructed on the same site, but reached by a separate road entrance in Park Avenue. The school was renamed "the William Parker School".
Towards 2000 the Alan Booth Jones Cricket centre opened, which featured indoor cricket and other sports facilities used both by the school and externally.
In 2006, the school re-instated the roles of Head Boy, Deputy Head Boy and Prefects for the Year 7-11 year group. They are chosen from the current group of year 11s and are distinguished from the rest of the year group by their tie, which is dark blue with the school crest and the person's role.
Summer
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, East Sussex
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:...
in the United Kingdom. It is now the only all-boys' secondary school in East Sussex, and has achieved 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...
Sports College
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
status.
Admissions
There is a separate Sixth formSixth 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,...
which is shared with Helenswood School
Helenswood School
Helenswood Girls School is an all-female secondary school in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex in the United Kingdom, and has achieved specialist Arts College status. It takes girls from age 11 to age 16, and there is a separate Sixth form which is shared with William Parker School, a local boys'...
, a local girls' school. There are over a thousand boys in years 7–11 and about three hundred boys and girls in the shared sixth form. Helenswood has places for 1100 girls in years 7-11. Other local secondary schools include the co-educational
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
Hillcrest, The Grove and Filsham Valley. Each school takes approximately 200 pupils in a year.
Upper School
- Business, Economics and Politics
- Art
- Science
- Music
- PE
- PSHE (Form tutor related)
- Food Technology
Lower School
The lower school is a 1/2 storey building with a 'bare-brick' style. The classrooms here are; MFL (Modern Foreign Languages), Mathematics, Science, DT, Graphics, ICT, Drama, PE and SEN (Special Educational Needs). Also on the Lower School grounds is a Sports Centre, Engineers Garage and Athletics Track.The lessons taught in the Lower school are:
- Modern Foreign Languages: French and Spanish
- Mathematics
- Design Technology
- Graphics
- Drama
- ICT
- Science
- Music
- PE
- PSHE (Sex education and Form tutor related)
- Dancing
Other Facilities
- 465 Computers for student use
- Drama studio
- Nine science laboratories
- Three Art and design suites
- Fully equipped graphics studio capable of working with up to 28 students
- Open-plan Resource and Library Centre
- Air-conditioned classrooms
- 90% of classrooms equipped with interactive whiteboards
- ABJ indoor cricket school (built in commemoration of Alan Booth Jones)
- Dance Studio
- Small theatre
- Train 2 Learn Centre
- William Parker Community Athletics Arena
Sports, Clubs, and Traditions
Apart from footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, many other sports are played.
William Parker is divided into eight houses
House system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
for sporting and pastoral purposes, each of which has its own colour:
- Becket (dark blue)
- De Cham (orange)
- Magdalen (purple)
- Norman (light blue)
- Parker (yellow)
- Saunders (green)
- Saxon (red)
- Wykeham (burgundy)
History
In 1619 The Rev. William Parker, Rector of All Saints Church, Hastings died, leaving a will which said:- "I give unto the Mayor, Jurates and Comynaltye of Hastings and to their successors for ever towards the maynteynance of a Religious and godlie Schoolemaster in the sayd towne w'ch shall instructe and teach the youthe of the Inhabitants of Hastings in learninge, manners and other vertuous education to gette their livinge. To which sayd use I give all my land in the parishe of Oer."
This is taken as the foundation of the school, although Parker's will also stated that his widow should enjoy the income from all his property until her death, so no money was available to appoint the first master until twenty years later. The will stipulated that the master should be chosen by the jurates (town councillors) living within the parish of All Saints, rather than by the town council as a whole, and by any heir of William Parker still living in Hastings.
Parker's nephew William became Mayor of Hastings, and his nephew's son (also William) later became master of the school. Titus Oates
Titus Oates
Titus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
, son of the rector of All Saints, Samuel Oates, and later infamous for fabricating a papish plot against the monarchy, started his career by bringing false charges against both William Parkers in an attempt to create a vacancy for the post of master. Records of early masters are incomplete, but in 1759 John Shorter was appointed master, once again by another William Parker, mayor elect.
In 1708 a Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
ish landowner by the name of James Saunders made various charitable legacies in his will, including provisions for a schoolmaster in Rye
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
and a schoolmaster and two school mistresses in Hastings. One of the mistresses was to teach 30 pupils in the parish of All Saints and the other in the parish of St Clements, at a salary of £10 per year. The master was to teach reading, writing, Latin, accounting, mathematics and navigation to any poor child in Hastings "from the Seagate next the Fish Market", at a salary of £40 per year, subject to a maximum of 70 pupils. Saunders stipulated that the corporation of each of the towns concerned should oversee the way the other operated their school, with the penalty for failing to comply with the terms of the bequest that all the funds should go to the other town.
Falling income from the two charities meant that by 1809 one master, Joseph Hannay, was employed to teach forty boys on behalf of the Parker school, and fifteen for the Saunders school. The Saunders fund continued to pay two schoolmistresses ten pounds each per year, while the master received three pounds per child. Local complaints about the low rents being charged by the corporation for the Parker fund lands had led to increases from £49 in 1787 to £134 in 1809, but the council also turned down an offer from one James Halloway to rent the estate for £205. Thomas Breeds, another prominent local man, applied to the High Court of Chancery arguing that the funds were being improperly administered, with the result that he himself rented them for £210, no higher bid being received at a public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
. The expenses of the case were paid by the funds, with the result that the Saunders school had to close for five years, but afterwards two separate masters were appointed.
The two were permanently re-merged in 1878, together with part of the Magdalen trust, to form the Hastings Grammar School Foundation. A Victorian Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
building was constructed by John Howell & Son
John Howell & Son
John Howell & Son, known as John Howell, was the leading building and engineering company in Hastings, Sussex in the 1860s. Its founder, John Howell Senior engineered churches and other public buildings in the area to the designs of innovative architects, including Holy Trinity Church in 1860 to...
to the design of Jeffery & Skiller on a slope overlooking Hastings, at Standen's High Field which became Nelson road, and occupied in July 1883. The school was originally designed as a central tower with wings either side. Owing to lack of funds, the wing intended as accommodation for the headmaster and boarders was never built.
Modern educational reforms
Following the Education Act of 1902, the school began to receive a grant from the British Government. Under the Education Act of 1944, secondary schools in England were reorganised in three categories: grammar schools, technical schoolTechnical school
Technical school is a general term used for two-year college which provide mostly employment-preparation skills for trained labor, such as welding, culinary arts and office management.-Associations supporting technical schools:...
s, and 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...
s. The school was naturally classed as a grammar school under this scheme, and had voluntary aided
Voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
status: in other words the income from the Foundation was supplemented by a grant from the Local Education Authority. From now on, admission to the school was solely via the eleven-plus examination, and education was free (previously there had been fees of five guineas a year). Classes were held six days a week, with no lessons on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Saturday morning school was abolished in 1967.
Voluntary controlled status
In 1959 the school governors decided to change the status of the school from voluntary aided to voluntary controlledVoluntary controlled school
A voluntary controlled school is a state-funded school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in which a foundation or trust has some formal influence in the running of the school...
. The school was now controlled by a board of ten governors appointed by the borough of Hastings and five appointed by the charitable foundation. The charitable funds remained under the control of the foundation governors, but responsibility for providing buildings now fell to the education authority. A new modern building was constructed further from the town centre, on 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) of land which had long been used as the school's playing fields. The new school was designed for 570 boys, including a sixth form of 120, and is now the Parkstone Road half of the school. The foundation stone of the new school was laid on 4 July 1962, and the school occupied in 1964.
Comprehensive school
The incoming Labour government of 1965 introduced a change in national education policy intended to phase out grammar school education and replace it with comprehensive educationComprehensive 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...
. This was resisted by the borough of Hastings, but local government reorganisation under the following Conservative administration meant that the autonomous county borough was abolished and replaced by East Sussex County Council as the education authority. A decision was taken to change to a comprehensive school intake, and at the same time to merge the school with Hastings Secondary School. A further new building was constructed on the same site, but reached by a separate road entrance in Park Avenue. The school was renamed "the William Parker School".
College
In 1998, the school achieved specialist Sports College status, following the new opening of an athletics arena.Towards 2000 the Alan Booth Jones Cricket centre opened, which featured indoor cricket and other sports facilities used both by the school and externally.
In 2006, the school re-instated the roles of Head Boy, Deputy Head Boy and Prefects for the Year 7-11 year group. They are chosen from the current group of year 11s and are distinguished from the rest of the year group by their tie, which is dark blue with the school crest and the person's role.
Uniform
Winter- Blazer and badge
- Plain white or blue shirt
- House tie with matching colour (see above)
- Dark grey or black trousers
- Black shoes
- Optional-Navy blue v-neck jumper or William Parker "Hoodie"
Summer
- William Parker Polo Shirts instead of shirt and tie
Noted Hastings Grammar School alumni
- Archibald BelaneyGrey OwlGrey Owl was the name Archibald Belaney adopted when he took on a First Nations identity as an adult...
(1888-1938), who emigrated to Canada, claimed to be half-ApacheApacheApache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
, and wrote a number of books under the name of Grey Owl. - Sir Herbert ButcherHerbert ButcherSir Herbert Walter Butcher, 1st Baronet was an English Conservative and National Liberalpolitician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1937 to 1966....
, National LiberalNational Liberal Party (UK, 1931)The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
MP for Holland with BostonHolland with Boston (UK Parliament constituency)Holland with Boston was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
from 1937-66 - Michael Jabez FosterMichael Jabez FosterMichael Jabez Foster is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye from 1997 until 2010...
, Labour MP for Hastings and Rye from 1997-2010. - Sir David Penry-DaveyDavid Penry-DaveySir David Herbert Penry-Davey is a British High Court judge.He was educated at Hastings Grammar School and at King's College London . He was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1965. He was made a Crown Court recorder in 1986, a QC in 1988, and has been a judge of the High Court of Justice since...
, judge at the High Court of JusticeHigh Court of JusticeThe High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
since 1997 - Arthur Spencer RobertsArthur Spencer RobertsArthur Spencer Roberts was a British painter interested mainly in animal and wildlife subjects, but who also produced portraits and paintings of military scenes...
, painter - Paddy TomkinsPaddy TomkinsPaddy Tomkins QPM was appointed HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland by Royal Warrant in March 2007. He was formerly the Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, which he joined in 2002 and was succeeded by David Strang. He initially joined Sussex Police in 1979 and in 1993...
, Chief Constable from 2002-7 of Lothian and Borders PoliceLothian and Borders PoliceLothian and Borders Police is the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian... - Edwin Constable http://www.chemie.unibas.ch/~constable/index.html, Professor of Chemistry, University of Basel, 1966-1972
- Simon FullerSimon FullerSimon Fuller is a British artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other U.S...
, Manager of The Spice GirlsSpice GirlsThe Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
and David BeckhamDavid BeckhamDavid Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
; creator of "Pop IdolPop IdolPop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
" - Alan OakmanAlan OakmanAlan Oakman was an English first-class cricketer. He had a long career for Sussex, playing 538 first-class matches over a 21-year period, and played two Test matches for England...
, England and Sussex cricketer. Played in the famous 1956 Old Trafford test against Australia when Jim Laker took 19 wickets.
Noted William Parker School alumni
- Kevin BallKevin BallKevin Ball aka 'The Hatchet' is a former professional footballer and now coach. Between 6 March and 8 May 2006 Ball acted as Sunderland caretaker manager for the last ten games of the 2005–06 season following the sacking of Mick McCarthy, taking five points from these games...
, former Portsmouth and Sunderland football player. First man from Hastings to play in top flight English football. Now a coach as Sunderland. - Gareth BarryGareth BarryGareth Barry is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national football team.Barry moved to Aston Villa from Brighton & Hove Albion as a youngster, and spent 12 years at the club. He captained Aston Villa, and, at the end of his career with the club, lay eighth in...
, England and Manchester City football player. - Darren BoydDarren BoydDarren Boyd is an English actor well known for his roles in Smack the Pony, Green Wing, Whites and most recently for playing the role of John Cleese in Holy Flying Circus. He is a classically trained singer, and played a jazz musician in NBC’s Watching Ellie...
, actor - Jake and Dinos ChapmanJake and Dinos ChapmanIakovos "Jake" Chapman and Konstantinos "Dinos" Chapman are English visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers, who work together as a collaborative sibling duo...
, artists - John DigweedJohn DigweedJohn Digweed is an English DJ, record producer and acclaimed actor.-Biography:John Digweed began DJing around age 4...
, British DJ and record producer - Dean HammondDean HammondDean John Hammond is an English football player who plays for Southampton in the Championship. He previously played in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Leyton Orient and Colchester United.-Football career:...
, current Southampton FC captain and was formerly Brighton & Hove Albion captain. - Shwan JalalShwan JalalShwan Saman Jalal is a footballer who plays for Bournemouth as a goalkeeper. He played for the England C team from 2005 to 2006.-Club career:...
, Bournemouth football player. - Michael YardyMichael YardyMichael Howard Yardy is an English cricketer. He captains Sussex County Cricket Club and is a left-handed batsman whose unusual technique has attracted a great deal of attention due to a pronounced shuffle from leg to off immediately prior to the bowler releasing the ball...
, England and Sussex cricket player.
Noted former teachers
- Tom Cookson (died 1993) husband of Catherine CooksonCatherine CooksonDame Catherine Cookson DBE was a British author. She became the United Kingdom's most widely read novelist, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers...
, popular novelist. - Sion Jenkins, former deputy head, convicted of the murder of his foster-daughter Billie-Jo Jenkins in 1997 released on second appeal after the second retrial failed to reach a verdict. The trial judge ordered that he be formally acquitted on 9 February 2006.
- John Banks, master of the Parker school from 1848 to 1878, wrote a book in his retirement recounting his youthful activities as a smuggler, learning about hydrostatics while engaged in watering down smuggled over-proof brandy.