Wisbech Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Wisbech Grammar School is a co-educational independent school
in Wisbech
, Cambridgeshire for students ages 11 to 18. Founded by the Wisbech Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1379, it is one of the oldest schools in the country. The present headmaster is N.J.G. Hammond, a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
. Entry to the senior school at age 11 is based on a competitive examination. Pupils are also admitted at later stages, including sixth form.
Chartered by Edward VI in 1549 as a grammar school
for boys, for much of its history it offered a largely classical curriculum of Greek, Latin and arithmetic under the governance of the Wisbech Corporation. The school has moved premises several times since its foundation, being based in St Peter's Church, the old guildhall in Hill Street and on South Brink before merging with the Wisbech High School for Girls in 1970 at their present site on North Brink.
For much of the 20th century, it was a non-fee paying voluntary-aided school, but following local council plans to remove this status and merge the Grammar School with a nearby secondary modern school
, the governors took the decision to become fully independent in 1983. Now a fee-paying day school
, 650 pupils ages 4 to 18 attend from the three counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Following the closure of the nearby St Audrey's Convent, a significant feeder
for the senior school, a new junior and infant preparatory school was opened in 1997, now known as Magdalene House
.
Pupils generally take nine General Certificate of Secondary Education
(GCSE) examinations in Year Eleven
(aged 15–16), and they have a choice of three, four or five A-levels in the sixth form. The majority of students go on to higher education
following the completion of their A-levels at the end of Year Thirteen
(aged 17–18). The Wisbech Grammar School Foundation, which assists with bursaries, is a registered charity, number 1087799. Roughly a third of pupils receive support in this way. Former pupils are known as "Old Grammarians", and the school has produced a number of famous alumni.
and St Paul
. The first record of a schoolmaster dates from 1407 when one Maurice Plank was given leave to study at Cambridge University for two terms on the understanding that he would appoint an usher
to teach in his absence.
Soon after foundation, the school moved to the Guild
hall in Hill Street. A record from 1446 details how master Jacob Creffen was granted leave by the Bishop of Ely
to collect an "adequate salary" from each scholar according to the "praiseworthy, ancient and approved custom".
Following the English reformation
, the Guild of the Holy Trinity was dissolved and replaced by the Wisbech Corporation. The school was renamed and re-established by King Edward VI
in 1549, who gave the school a charter
"for the instruction of youth in grammatical knowledge
and polite literature". The charter is still in existence, and is currently held by the Wisbech Museum
. The same year, land was given for the construction of a school house next to the Guildhall building. After the Restoration of Charles II
, the school's charter was renewed with the stipulation that the Capital Burgesses be given the choice of schoolmaster and that the Bishop of Ely "forever shall have the right of visitation, reformation, and correction of the schoolmaster, as of the school aforesaid".
In 1638 a benefactor, William Holmes, gave £400 to the burgesses of Wisbech to be invested in land, and the rest applied for the maintenance of two scholars at Magdalene College, Cambridge
. In his will of 1656 Holmes directed that the whole yearly income of his 46 acre estate in Holbeach
, Lincolnshire be paid yearly towards the maintenance of the scholars and the endowment of the school. Other land and property had been donated to the school in the wills of Thomas Parkes in 1628 and John Crane in 1651. Crane's estate included land in Fleet, Lincolnshire
and an inn on Market Hill called the Black Bull.
In 1792, local businessman Joseph Medworth purchased the site of Wisbech Castle
, including John Thurloe
's 1660 mansion and the land surrounding it from the See of Ely, building the Georgian Crescent along the bailey walls. As part of his scheme, in 1811 he tried to persuade the Corporation to purchase the mansion and demolish the Old Grammar School building in Ship Street with the intention of building a new street through to the market place. The Corporation refused (it is usually assumed that the burgesses intended to purchase the mansion for the same purpose after Medworth's death at a reduced price). As a result, in a "fit of pique", Medworth demolished Thurloe's mansion and erected the present Wisbech Castle building in 1816.
An 1868 inspection by Henry Richmond of the Schools Inquiry Commission notes that the school was in a poor state of repair; the school once had many boarders, but this was no longer possible because the largest dormitory needed extensive repairs. As a result, attendance had fallen from 60 to 22 scholars. Richmond records that the upper boys were reading Cicero
, and their knowledge of Latin grammar was "satisfactory". He also records the teaching of Greek, algebra, and English language, noting that French was taught as an extra. The inspector suggests that the reason for its decline may have been a nearby commercial school, and hints that the feeling in the town was that the largely Classical curriculum was "irrelevant". He also implies that the state of the building may have been the result of differences between the headmaster and the Corporation.
The school continued to use the former guildhall site in Hill Street until 1898, by which stage the medieval building was much altered and in a dilapidated condition. At this point, the school moved to an 18th century house on South Brink. A fundraising campaign was launched to pay for the house, but after insufficient funds were donated, the cost of purchase was met by Alexander, Baron Peckover
. The house and its grounds was originally intended to be the headmaster's residence and provide lodgings for a few boarders, but soon expanded to accommodate the entire school with the construction of classrooms and a hall. The central block of the 18th century town house was used as a panelled library. An unusual feature of the old town house is the cupola
on the roof, evidence of the town's sea-based prosperity.
In his 1939 history of the school, headmaster H. Lawrence White opines that the purchase of this 18th century house was a "grave mistake" as it was "constantly needing repairs" and was "difficult to warm". He suggests that for the eventual price of conversion, a purpose-built school would have been a more satisfactory decision. Initial plans to build a dormitory for boarding pupils were scrapped, with a physics laboratory being constructed instead, effectively ending the tradition of boarding scholars. The Education Act 1902
brought the school under the control of the Cambridgeshire local education authority
as a voluntary aided school
. By 1917, the boys' Grammar School had 64 pupils attending. Numbers had been swelled by an influx of boys from the Barton House School, a small private school which had closed in 1913.
. Harecroft House had been built in 1844 by Algernon Peckover, and his descendants lived in the house until the death of Susannah Peckover in 1903, after which it was left vacant. The first headmistress was Beatrice Sparks, who was the first woman to complete the Oxford Tripos
in mathematics. New schoolrooms were added to the High School in 1906, 1913, 1922 and 1936, when a mixed-use gymnasium and hall was constructed. This hall is now used as the school dining room. Originally, the High School was also able to take boarders, which continued until after World War II.
The boys' school continued to grow throughout the 20th century. 160 former pupils fought in World War I, of whom 11 were decorated and 9 "mentioned in dispatches
". 19 former pupils were killed in action. During World War II, 272 boys and 26 staff from the Stationers' Company's School
in London were evacuated
to Wisbech, where they were billeted with local families and shared premises with the Grammar School for teaching.
Both the Grammar School and High School co-existed as voluntary aided school
s until 1970 when they merged to become co-educational, with the Grammar School moving into the North Brink High School site under headmaster Dr. D.S. Anderson. Relations between the schools had always been close; the amalgamation had been planned for some time, and a number of new laboratories and classrooms had already been under construction on the North Brink site before the two schools merged. The school magazine Riverline was first published in 1971.
In the late 1970s, Cambridgeshire County Council
LEA
and the local Member of Parliament, Clement Freud
, were critical of the education system in Wisbech. At the time, entry to the co-educational Grammar School was at age 13, meaning that at age 11, all pupils attended the comprehensive single sex Queen's Girls' and Queen's Boys' Schools until an eleven-plus-style examination was taken by all pupils. At this point, adademically able pupils were moved to the selective mixed-sex grammar school, with other children staying within the two secondary modern school
s.
Plans to merge the grammar school with the two secondary modern establishments to form a comprehensive school
were resisted by the Grammar School's governors; in a voluntary-aided school, the local education authority was responsible for its finances, but the governors and headmaster had autonomy over all other school policy. As a result of the governors' refusal, the LEA ceased to maintain the school, which became legally independent on 1 September 1983. The separate Queen's Schools, meanwhile, were merged to become a co-educational comprehensive school, now named the Thomas Clarkson Community College.
Soon after it became independent, the Grammar School lowered its entry age to 11 and joined the Assisted Places Scheme
, a governmental scheme instigated in 1980 which allowed pupils who could not afford to go to fee-paying independent schools a free or subsidised place if they were within the top 10–15% of applicants in the school's entrance examination. By 1994, 53% of the Grammar School's pupils held assisted places, the highest proportion of all schools in the scheme.
In 1991, a major extension to the school site added 19 classrooms, four laboratories, two computer rooms, a sports hall and library. The former gymnasium was rebuilt and extended to become the Russell Hall, the senior school assembly hall and theatrical stage. Following the abolition of the Assisted Places Scheme in 1997, the school instituted a system of means tested bursaries known as governors' assisted places.
A performing arts centre, the Dwight Centre, was completed in April 2003 with facilities for English and music teaching, drama and music technology. The most recent additions to the school are a new sixth form
centre (the Hazel Centre) and the construction of a new astroturf
pitch.
Senior school fees are currently £3,425 per term, with means tested bursaries available at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 known as governors' assisted places. Currently, 205 pupils receive support from the scheme. These are awarded following a review of parental household finances; family income, assets and expenditure, and are reviewed on an annual basis by the school.
The school has a wide catchment area encompassing King's Lynn
, Peterborough
, Whittlesey
, March
, Chatteris
, Hunstanton
and Long Sutton
. School buses run from a number of these places, visiting villages en route, and there are late buses to most destinations for pupils involved in after-school activities.
Pupils generally take nine General Certificate of Secondary Education
(GCSE) subjects in Year Eleven
(aged 15–16), with compulsory maths, English and at least one language, humanity and science subject. Other subjects offered include art, music, resistant materials technology, food and nutrition, textiles, physics, chemistry, biology, French, German, Spanish, history and geography. Sixth form students have a choice of three, four or five A-levels from a choice of 24 subjects. A 2009 Independent Schools Inspectorate report noted that GCSE and A-level results were "well above the national average". In 2010, the number of pupils achieving the Level 2 threshold (equivalent to five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths GCSEs) was listed as the second highest in the Cambridgeshire LEA with a 99% pass rate. At AS and A2 levels, the school was listed as sixth in Cambridgeshire, with an average of 860.9 points. The majority of students go on to higher education following the completion of their A-levels at the end of Year Thirteen
(aged 17–18).
competition, and the mathematics department also runs a regular maths help club.
The school stages theatrical productions regularly, either in the Russell Hall or the Dwight Centre drama studio. Recent productions include She Stoops to Conquer
, The Recruiting Officer
, My Fair Lady
, Amadeus
and most recently The Duchess of Malfi
. Drama and Theatre Studies is now an A-Level option. The school publishes two magazines: Riverline, a yearly school review which is largely written by students, and The Wisbechian, a shorter newsletter which is issued at the school Speech Day in October.
70 pupils participate in various stages of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
, and the school runs expeditions to a variety of locations in the Lake District, Snowdonia and the Yorkshire Dales. The school has a long-running exchange scheme with the Willibrord Gymnasium in Emmerich in North Germany, as well as a château trip for second formers and a study visit to France. Lower sixth formers can participate in the Young Enterprise
scheme, and in 2010 the school companies were awarded 1st and 2nd "Best Company" in the Peterborough region and second in the regional finals. The school's design department has reached the national finals of the Greenpower competition to design and build an electric racing car for the last three years in a row with their car "Twin Cambs".
Sport is also played at the school, and this rotates on a termly basis with rugby, hockey and cricket for boys, hockey, netball and tennis for girls. The sports teams compete against similar schools from Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. Athletics and indoor sports are usually played jointly.
, named after significant figures in the history of the school: Clarkson (red), named after Thomas Clarkson
, the school's most famous alumnus, Holmes (yellow), named after William Holmes, a 17th century benefactor, Peckover (blue), named after the Peckover family
, a Quaker banking family which donated Harecroft House to the school, and Sparks (green), named after Beatrice Sparks, the first headmistress of the Girls' High School. The school houses compete in a variety of academic, musical and sporting settings. Ties and badges are awarded for service to the house, and a full school colours tie can also be awarded for service to the school.
The present school houses are an amalgamation of houses from the boys' Grammar and girls' High schools; in 1971, the houses were named Parke-Southwell, Peckover-Crane, Clarkson-Dennis and Holmes-Sparks. Thomas Parke and John Crane were 17th century benefactors of the Grammar school, John Dennis was a Wisbech solicitor who was a governor of the Girls' High School between 1904–1932 and Alfred Southwell was mayor of Wisbech in 1903, who chaired the committee formed to set up the school and was subsequently the first chairman of the governors. The Southwell family, incidentally, once owned Bevis Hall, the manor in Wisbech St Mary which once held juristriction over the land on North Brink on which Harecroft House is sited.
Former pupils are known as "Old Grammarians". The school has a number of notable alumni. The earliest recorded alumnus is Thomas Herring
(1693–1757), who was Archbishop of Canterbury
between 1747 and 1757. Perhaps the most famous alumnus is the abolitionist, Thomas Clarkson
(1760–1846), whose father, John, was headmaster at the school. His essay on slavery and subsequent campaigning led to the foundation of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and the passage of the Slave Trade Act
of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves. Thomas Clarkson's younger brother John Clarkson
(1764–1828) also attended the school. He subscribed to his brother's abolitionist cause, and became the first governor of the free Sierra Leone
colony, founding the country's capital city, Freetown
.
Other figures from this era include General Sir Charles Wale
(1765–1845), the last British governor of Martinique
, and The Hon.
Charles Lindsay (1760–1846), the last Bishop of Kildare
.
Victorian composer and organist W. H. Jude
(1851–1922) was a prolific lecturer and hymnodist, and opened over 1000 organs across the UK and Australasia during his career. Another composer associated with the school was Peter Fenn (1931–2011), director of music for Anglia Television
, who attended the school as an evacuee during World War II. Philip Vassar Hunter
(1883–1956) was awarded the CBE
for his anti-submarine research in World War I, and in World War II invented the buoyant cable which contributed to the defeat of the magnetic mine
. He was later President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers
and manager of the British Ice Hockey Association
.
Sir Frank Stockdale (1883–1949) was a Holmes Scholar, and during his career as an agriculturalist played a leading part in establishing rubber, tea, and coconut research institutions. He was appointed the first comptroller
for development and welfare in the West Indies in 1940, and was co-chairman of the Anglo Caribbean Commission
. Brian Hitch
(1934–2004), diplomat, was also a Holmes Scholar and was High Commissioner to Malta between 1988 and 1991.
The school has recently produced a number of actresses including Zara Dawson
and Claire Goose
. Other alumni include author John Gordon
, known for his children's novel The Giant Under The Snow
, economist Professor Stephen Littlechild, who developed the price-cap
system of electricity regulation, Denys Bullard
(1912–1994), MP for South West Norfolk, Fred Hoyles (1923–2004), Wimbledon
tennis referee-in-chief from 1976 to 1982, Ray DaSilva, founder of the Norwich Puppet Theatre
and Richard Blakesley, joint inventor of the Kymera wand, which won £200,000 backing on Dragons' Den
.
, and its closure allowed the then headmaster, Robert Repper, to transfer most of the teaching staff to the new junior school. The junior and infant school has now become a preparatory school
for the senior school. It was retitled as Magdalene House in 2005, a reference to a 17th century scholarship which allowed two Wisbech Grammar School pupils to study at Magdalene College, Cambridge
. There were 177 pupils registered in 2008, of whom 23 were in reception and the rest in years 1 to 6.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in Wisbech
Wisbech
Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
, Cambridgeshire for students ages 11 to 18. Founded by the Wisbech Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1379, it is one of the oldest schools in the country. The present headmaster is N.J.G. Hammond, a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is an association of the headmasters or headmistressess of 243 leading day and boarding independent schools in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and the Republic of Ireland...
. Entry to the senior school at age 11 is based on a competitive examination. Pupils are also admitted at later stages, including sixth form.
Chartered by Edward VI in 1549 as a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
for boys, for much of its history it offered a largely classical curriculum of Greek, Latin and arithmetic under the governance of the Wisbech Corporation. The school has moved premises several times since its foundation, being based in St Peter's Church, the old guildhall in Hill Street and on South Brink before merging with the Wisbech High School for Girls in 1970 at their present site on North Brink.
For much of the 20th century, it was a non-fee paying voluntary-aided school, but following local council plans to remove this status and merge the Grammar School with a nearby 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...
, the governors took the decision to become fully independent in 1983. Now a fee-paying day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
, 650 pupils ages 4 to 18 attend from the three counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Following the closure of the nearby St Audrey's Convent, a significant feeder
Feeder school
Feeder school is a name applied to schools, colleges, universities, or other educational institutions that provide a significant number of graduates who intend to continue their studies at specific schools, or even in specific fields....
for the senior school, a new junior and infant preparatory school was opened in 1997, now known as Magdalene House
Magdalene House
Magdalene House is the preparatory school for Wisbech Grammar School which enrolls boys and girls from reception to year six. There were 177 pupils registered in 2008, of whom 23 were in Reception and the rest in Years 1 to 6.-History:...
.
Pupils generally take nine General Certificate of Secondary Education
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
(GCSE) examinations in Year Eleven
Year Eleven
Year Eleven is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is usually the eleventh year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between fifteen and seventeen....
(aged 15–16), and they have a choice of three, four or five A-levels in the sixth form. The majority of students go on to higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
following the completion of their A-levels at the end of Year Thirteen
Year Thirteen
Year Thirteen is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the thirteenth and final year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory education...
(aged 17–18). The Wisbech Grammar School Foundation, which assists with bursaries, is a registered charity, number 1087799. Roughly a third of pupils receive support in this way. Former pupils are known as "Old Grammarians", and the school has produced a number of famous alumni.
Early history
Although the school has moved location on several occasions, each of its former buildings is still in existence. The school was founded by the Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1379 above the south porch of St Peter's Church. The Guild was a powerful force in the later Middle Ages. The historical name "Schola Sanctae Trinitatis De Wysbech" is still used on the school's crest, which is derived from the seal of the Wisbech Corporation (itself based on the fomer Guild seal) and features the seated figures of St PeterSaint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and St Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
. The first record of a schoolmaster dates from 1407 when one Maurice Plank was given leave to study at Cambridge University for two terms on the understanding that he would appoint an usher
Church usher
In many denominations of the Christian Church, a Church usher is the first official representative seen when entering the church. The role of the usher in church is a volunteer position, and is often considered one of honor, particularly if the church or a church committee member selects an usher...
to teach in his absence.
Soon after foundation, the school moved to the Guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
hall in Hill Street. A record from 1446 details how master Jacob Creffen was granted leave by the Bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
to collect an "adequate salary" from each scholar according to the "praiseworthy, ancient and approved custom".
Following the English reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, the Guild of the Holy Trinity was dissolved and replaced by the Wisbech Corporation. The school was renamed and re-established by King Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
in 1549, who gave the school a charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
"for the instruction of youth in grammatical knowledge
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 polite literature". The charter is still in existence, and is currently held by the Wisbech Museum
Wisbech & Fenland Museum
The Wisbech & Fenland Museum, located in the town of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the United Kingdom. The Museum Society was founded in 1835 and the present building was opened in 1847....
. The same year, land was given for the construction of a school house next to the Guildhall building. After the Restoration of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, the school's charter was renewed with the stipulation that the Capital Burgesses be given the choice of schoolmaster and that the Bishop of Ely "forever shall have the right of visitation, reformation, and correction of the schoolmaster, as of the school aforesaid".
In 1638 a benefactor, William Holmes, gave £400 to the burgesses of Wisbech to be invested in land, and the rest applied for the maintenance of two scholars at Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
. In his will of 1656 Holmes directed that the whole yearly income of his 46 acre estate in Holbeach
Holbeach
Holbeach is a fenland market town with in the South Holland district of southern Lincolnshire, England. The town lies from Spalding; from Boston; from King's Lynn; from Peterborough; and a by road from the county town of Lincoln. It is on the junction of the A151 and A17...
, Lincolnshire be paid yearly towards the maintenance of the scholars and the endowment of the school. Other land and property had been donated to the school in the wills of Thomas Parkes in 1628 and John Crane in 1651. Crane's estate included land in Fleet, Lincolnshire
Fleet, Lincolnshire
Fleet is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on Delph Bank, south-east from Holbeach.Fleet Grade I listed Anglican church, dating from the late 12th century, is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. The 120 foot high church tower with spire is...
and an inn on Market Hill called the Black Bull.
In 1792, local businessman Joseph Medworth purchased the site of Wisbech Castle
Wisbech Castle
Wisbech castle was a motte-and-bailey castle built to fortify Wisbech, in the Fenland area of Cambridgeshire, England by William I in 1072. The Norman castle, reputedly was destroyed during a devastating flood of 1236, the original design and layout is still unknown.In the 15th century repairs were...
, including John Thurloe
John Thurloe
John Thurloe was a secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell.-Life:...
's 1660 mansion and the land surrounding it from the See of Ely, building the Georgian Crescent along the bailey walls. As part of his scheme, in 1811 he tried to persuade the Corporation to purchase the mansion and demolish the Old Grammar School building in Ship Street with the intention of building a new street through to the market place. The Corporation refused (it is usually assumed that the burgesses intended to purchase the mansion for the same purpose after Medworth's death at a reduced price). As a result, in a "fit of pique", Medworth demolished Thurloe's mansion and erected the present Wisbech Castle building in 1816.
An 1868 inspection by Henry Richmond of the Schools Inquiry Commission notes that the school was in a poor state of repair; the school once had many boarders, but this was no longer possible because the largest dormitory needed extensive repairs. As a result, attendance had fallen from 60 to 22 scholars. Richmond records that the upper boys were reading Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, and their knowledge of Latin grammar was "satisfactory". He also records the teaching of Greek, algebra, and English language, noting that French was taught as an extra. The inspector suggests that the reason for its decline may have been a nearby commercial school, and hints that the feeling in the town was that the largely Classical curriculum was "irrelevant". He also implies that the state of the building may have been the result of differences between the headmaster and the Corporation.
The school continued to use the former guildhall site in Hill Street until 1898, by which stage the medieval building was much altered and in a dilapidated condition. At this point, the school moved to an 18th century house on South Brink. A fundraising campaign was launched to pay for the house, but after insufficient funds were donated, the cost of purchase was met by Alexander, Baron Peckover
Baron Peckover
Baron Peckover, of Wisbech in the County of Cambridge, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 July 1907 for the banker and philanthropist Alexander Peckover, 1st Baron Peckover. He was Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire from 1894 to 1907...
. The house and its grounds was originally intended to be the headmaster's residence and provide lodgings for a few boarders, but soon expanded to accommodate the entire school with the construction of classrooms and a hall. The central block of the 18th century town house was used as a panelled library. An unusual feature of the old town house is the cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
on the roof, evidence of the town's sea-based prosperity.
In his 1939 history of the school, headmaster H. Lawrence White opines that the purchase of this 18th century house was a "grave mistake" as it was "constantly needing repairs" and was "difficult to warm". He suggests that for the eventual price of conversion, a purpose-built school would have been a more satisfactory decision. Initial plans to build a dormitory for boarding pupils were scrapped, with a physics laboratory being constructed instead, effectively ending the tradition of boarding scholars. The Education Act 1902
Education Act 1902
The Education Act 1902 , also known as Balfour's Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting education in England and Wales. At the time of passage of the Act, the Conservative Party was in power...
brought the school under the control of the Cambridgeshire 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...
as a voluntary aided school
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...
. By 1917, the boys' Grammar School had 64 pupils attending. Numbers had been swelled by an influx of boys from the Barton House School, a small private school which had closed in 1913.
Modern history
The 1902 Education Act also made it a legal requirement for the County Council to provide an equal educational opportunity for girls. A conference was held in October 1903 to discuss the founding of a girls' school, and by January 1905 Wisbech High School for Girls was established in Harecroft House on the North Brink. The house had been donated on a long-term lease for the purpose by the Peckover familyPeckover House & Garden
Peckover House & Garden is a National Trust property located in North Brink, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England.Peckover House was built in 1722 and bought by Jonathan Peckover at the end of the 18th century. Alexander Peckover was created Baron Peckover of Wisbech in 1907...
. Harecroft House had been built in 1844 by Algernon Peckover, and his descendants lived in the house until the death of Susannah Peckover in 1903, after which it was left vacant. The first headmistress was Beatrice Sparks, who was the first woman to complete the Oxford Tripos
Tripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
in mathematics. New schoolrooms were added to the High School in 1906, 1913, 1922 and 1936, when a mixed-use gymnasium and hall was constructed. This hall is now used as the school dining room. Originally, the High School was also able to take boarders, which continued until after World War II.
The boys' school continued to grow throughout the 20th century. 160 former pupils fought in World War I, of whom 11 were decorated and 9 "mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
". 19 former pupils were killed in action. During World War II, 272 boys and 26 staff from the Stationers' Company's School
Stationers' Company's School
The Stationers' Company's School was a former boys' grammar school, then comprehensive in Hornsey.-History:It started as the Stationers' Company's Foundation School. In 1861 it was established at Bolt Court near Fleet Street. In 1891 it moved to Mayfield Road in Hornsey, west of Crouch End.-Grammar...
in London were evacuated
Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
Evacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save the population of urban or military areas in the United Kingdom from aerial bombing of cities and military targets such as docks. Civilians, particularly children, were moved to areas thought to be less at risk....
to Wisbech, where they were billeted with local families and shared premises with the Grammar School for teaching.
Both the Grammar School and High School co-existed as voluntary aided school
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...
s until 1970 when they merged to become co-educational, with the Grammar School moving into the North Brink High School site under headmaster Dr. D.S. Anderson. Relations between the schools had always been close; the amalgamation had been planned for some time, and a number of new laboratories and classrooms had already been under construction on the North Brink site before the two schools merged. The school magazine Riverline was first published in 1971.
In the late 1970s, Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council currently consists of 69 councillors, representing 60 electoral divisions. The Conservative Party has a majority on the council, having gained control in the 1997 local elections...
LEA
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
and the local Member of Parliament, Clement Freud
Clement Freud
Sir Clement Raphael Freud was an English broadcaster, writer, politician and chef.-Early life:Freud was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish parents Ernst Ludwig Freud and Lucie née Brasch. He was the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the brother of artist Lucian Freud...
, were critical of the education system in Wisbech. At the time, entry to the co-educational Grammar School was at age 13, meaning that at age 11, all pupils attended the comprehensive single sex Queen's Girls' and Queen's Boys' Schools until an eleven-plus-style examination was taken by all pupils. At this point, adademically able pupils were moved to the selective mixed-sex grammar school, with other children staying within the two 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.
Plans to merge the grammar school with the two secondary modern establishments to form a 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...
were resisted by the Grammar School's governors; in a voluntary-aided school, the local education authority was responsible for its finances, but the governors and headmaster had autonomy over all other school policy. As a result of the governors' refusal, the LEA ceased to maintain the school, which became legally independent on 1 September 1983. The separate Queen's Schools, meanwhile, were merged to become a co-educational comprehensive school, now named the Thomas Clarkson Community College.
Soon after it became independent, the Grammar School lowered its entry age to 11 and joined the Assisted Places Scheme
Assisted Places Scheme
The Assisted Places Scheme was established in the UK by the Conservative government in 1980. Children who could not afford to go to fee-paying independent schools were provided with free or subsidised places - if they were able to score within the top 10-15% of applicants in the school's entrance...
, a governmental scheme instigated in 1980 which allowed pupils who could not afford to go to fee-paying independent schools a free or subsidised place if they were within the top 10–15% of applicants in the school's entrance examination. By 1994, 53% of the Grammar School's pupils held assisted places, the highest proportion of all schools in the scheme.
In 1991, a major extension to the school site added 19 classrooms, four laboratories, two computer rooms, a sports hall and library. The former gymnasium was rebuilt and extended to become the Russell Hall, the senior school assembly hall and theatrical stage. Following the abolition of the Assisted Places Scheme in 1997, the school instituted a system of means tested bursaries known as governors' assisted places.
A performing arts centre, the Dwight Centre, was completed in April 2003 with facilities for English and music teaching, drama and music technology. The most recent additions to the school are a new 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 (the Hazel Centre) and the construction of a new astroturf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
pitch.
Admission and fees
The main senior school entry is at age 11 by a competitive examination. Pupils can also enter at second, third and fourth form levels. Offers of sixth form places are made on the basis of interview and a report. In 2008, the senior school had 507 pupils, of whom 125 were in the sixth form, with roughly equal numbers of boys and girls.Senior school fees are currently £3,425 per term, with means tested bursaries available at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 known as governors' assisted places. Currently, 205 pupils receive support from the scheme. These are awarded following a review of parental household finances; family income, assets and expenditure, and are reviewed on an annual basis by the school.
The school has a wide catchment area encompassing King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, Whittlesey
Whittlesey
Whittlesey, historically known as Whittlesea as the name of the railway station is still spelt, or Witesie, is an ancient Fenland market town around six miles east of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire in England...
, March
March, Cambridgeshire
March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. March was the county town of the Isle of Ely, a separate administrative county between 1889 and 1965, and is now the administrative centre of Fenland District Council.The town was an important...
, Chatteris
Chatteris
Chatteris is a civil parish and one of four market towns in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely...
, Hunstanton
Hunstanton
Hunstanton, often pronounced by locals as and known colloquially as 'Sunny Hunny', is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, facing The Wash....
and Long Sutton
Long Sutton, Lincolnshire
Long Sutton, is a market town in Lincolnshire, England. Located in South Holland district, it lies close to the Wash.-Geography:The town has an estimated population of 5,037 in 2007. It is 13 miles east from Spalding.-Lincolnshire Fens:...
. School buses run from a number of these places, visiting villages en route, and there are late buses to most destinations for pupils involved in after-school activities.
Curriculum
Grammar School attendance is divided into three terms, with a five-day school week (Monday to Friday). The school day is divided into eight periods of 40 minutes in length, with a morning break and a longer lunch period.Pupils generally take nine General Certificate of Secondary Education
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
(GCSE) subjects in Year Eleven
Year Eleven
Year Eleven is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is usually the eleventh year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between fifteen and seventeen....
(aged 15–16), with compulsory maths, English and at least one language, humanity and science subject. Other subjects offered include art, music, resistant materials technology, food and nutrition, textiles, physics, chemistry, biology, French, German, Spanish, history and geography. Sixth form students have a choice of three, four or five A-levels from a choice of 24 subjects. A 2009 Independent Schools Inspectorate report noted that GCSE and A-level results were "well above the national average". In 2010, the number of pupils achieving the Level 2 threshold (equivalent to five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths GCSEs) was listed as the second highest in the Cambridgeshire LEA with a 99% pass rate. At AS and A2 levels, the school was listed as sixth in Cambridgeshire, with an average of 860.9 points. The majority of students go on to higher education following the completion of their A-levels at the end of Year Thirteen
Year Thirteen
Year Thirteen is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the thirteenth and final year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory education...
(aged 17–18).
Extra-curricular activities
After school and during lunch breaks, the school runs a large number of staff-led activities, clubs and societies including archery, Latin, astronomy, "Grow, cook, eat" (a food and nutrition club), philosophy, electronics and photography. The Music Department also has rehearsals for the school orchestra, chamber choir, wind band and brass ensemble amongst other ensembles. Two thirds of the student body enter the Maths ChallengeUnited Kingdom Mathematics Trust
The United Kingdom Mathematics Trust was founded in 1996 to help with the education of children in mathematics within the UK.-History:...
competition, and the mathematics department also runs a regular maths help club.
The school stages theatrical productions regularly, either in the Russell Hall or the Dwight Centre drama studio. Recent productions include She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, son of an Anglo-Irish vicar, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a great favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in Britain and the United States. It is one of the few plays from the 18th...
, The Recruiting Officer
The Recruiting Officer
The Recruiting Officer is a 1706 play by the Irish writer George Farquhar, which follows the social and sexual exploits of two officers, the womanising Plume and the cowardly Brazen, in the town of Shrewsbury to recruit soldiers...
, My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
, Amadeus
Amadeus
Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
and most recently The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
. Drama and Theatre Studies is now an A-Level option. The school publishes two magazines: Riverline, a yearly school review which is largely written by students, and The Wisbechian, a shorter newsletter which is issued at the school Speech Day in October.
70 pupils participate in various stages of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....
, and the school runs expeditions to a variety of locations in the Lake District, Snowdonia and the Yorkshire Dales. The school has a long-running exchange scheme with the Willibrord Gymnasium in Emmerich in North Germany, as well as a château trip for second formers and a study visit to France. Lower sixth formers can participate in the Young Enterprise
Young Enterprise
Young Enterprise is a not-for-profit business and enterprise education charity in the United Kingdom. It is made up of 12 regional organisations, each operating individually under a license agreement...
scheme, and in 2010 the school companies were awarded 1st and 2nd "Best Company" in the Peterborough region and second in the regional finals. The school's design department has reached the national finals of the Greenpower competition to design and build an electric racing car for the last three years in a row with their car "Twin Cambs".
Sport is also played at the school, and this rotates on a termly basis with rugby, hockey and cricket for boys, hockey, netball and tennis for girls. The sports teams compete against similar schools from Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. Athletics and indoor sports are usually played jointly.
Uniform and Houses
The school has a strict uniform policy of blazers, shirts and ties for boys, and blazers, blouses and skirts for girls in the first five years. Sixth form students wear a different uniform more akin to a business suit. The school has four housesHouse 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...
, named after significant figures in the history of the school: Clarkson (red), named after Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
, the school's most famous alumnus, Holmes (yellow), named after William Holmes, a 17th century benefactor, Peckover (blue), named after the Peckover family
Peckover House & Garden
Peckover House & Garden is a National Trust property located in North Brink, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England.Peckover House was built in 1722 and bought by Jonathan Peckover at the end of the 18th century. Alexander Peckover was created Baron Peckover of Wisbech in 1907...
, a Quaker banking family which donated Harecroft House to the school, and Sparks (green), named after Beatrice Sparks, the first headmistress of the Girls' High School. The school houses compete in a variety of academic, musical and sporting settings. Ties and badges are awarded for service to the house, and a full school colours tie can also be awarded for service to the school.
The present school houses are an amalgamation of houses from the boys' Grammar and girls' High schools; in 1971, the houses were named Parke-Southwell, Peckover-Crane, Clarkson-Dennis and Holmes-Sparks. Thomas Parke and John Crane were 17th century benefactors of the Grammar school, John Dennis was a Wisbech solicitor who was a governor of the Girls' High School between 1904–1932 and Alfred Southwell was mayor of Wisbech in 1903, who chaired the committee formed to set up the school and was subsequently the first chairman of the governors. The Southwell family, incidentally, once owned Bevis Hall, the manor in Wisbech St Mary which once held juristriction over the land on North Brink on which Harecroft House is sited.
Alumni
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.He was educated at Wisbech Grammar School and later Jesus College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was a contemporary of Matthew Hutton, who succeeded him in turn in each of his dioceses...
(1693–1757), who was Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
between 1747 and 1757. Perhaps the most famous alumnus is the abolitionist, Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
(1760–1846), whose father, John, was headmaster at the school. His essay on slavery and subsequent campaigning led to the foundation of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and the passage of the Slave Trade Act
Slave Trade Act
The Slave Trade Act was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed on 25 March 1807, with the long title "An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade". The original act is in the Parliamentary Archives...
of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves. Thomas Clarkson's younger brother John Clarkson
John Clarkson (abolitionist)
Lieutenant John Clarkson, RN was the younger brother of Thomas Clarkson, one of the central figures in the abolition of slavery in England and the British Empire at the close of the 18th century...
(1764–1828) also attended the school. He subscribed to his brother's abolitionist cause, and became the first governor of the free Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone Company
The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the second British colony in Africa in 1792 through the resettlement of black American ex-slaves who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War...
colony, founding the country's capital city, Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
.
Other figures from this era include General Sir Charles Wale
Charles Wale
Charles Wale was an English General and the last British governor of Martinique between about 1812 and 1815 He became Colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot on 25 February 1831 and was given the governorship in recognition of his capture Guadeloupe from the French...
(1765–1845), the last British governor of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, and The Hon.
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Charles Lindsay (1760–1846), the last Bishop of Kildare
Bishop of Kildare
The Bishop of Kildare was an episcopal title which took its name after the town of Kildare in County Kildare, Ireland. The title is no longer in use by any of the main Christian churches having been united with other bishoprics. In the Roman Catholic Church, the title has been merged with that of...
.
Victorian composer and organist W. H. Jude
W. H. Jude
William Herbert Jude , usually credited as W.H. Jude, was an English composer and organist. Born in Westleton, Suffolk in September 1851, his parents later moved to Norfolk. He was a precocious child, and attended Wisbech Grammar School where records note that by age eight he was composing...
(1851–1922) was a prolific lecturer and hymnodist, and opened over 1000 organs across the UK and Australasia during his career. Another composer associated with the school was Peter Fenn (1931–2011), director of music for Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
, who attended the school as an evacuee during World War II. Philip Vassar Hunter
Philip Vassar Hunter
Philip Vassar Hunter CBE was a British engineer and businessman. Born in 1883 in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, he attended Wisbech Grammar School and was later educated at Faraday House, an engineering college in Charing Cross, London....
(1883–1956) was awarded the CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for his anti-submarine research in World War I, and in World War II invented the buoyant cable which contributed to the defeat of the magnetic mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
. He was later President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers
Institution of Electrical Engineers
The Institution of Electrical Engineers was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. The I.E.E...
and manager of the British Ice Hockey Association
British Ice Hockey Association
The British Ice Hockey Association was founded in 1913 and was the governing body of ice hockey in the United Kingdom during the 1913–14 season and between 1923 and 1999 when it was replaced by Ice Hockey UK....
.
Sir Frank Stockdale (1883–1949) was a Holmes Scholar, and during his career as an agriculturalist played a leading part in establishing rubber, tea, and coconut research institutions. He was appointed the first comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
for development and welfare in the West Indies in 1940, and was co-chairman of the Anglo Caribbean Commission
Caribbean Commission
The Caribbean Commission, originally the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission, was established on 9 March 1942 to improve the common social and economic problems of the region and deal with wartime issues. In 1946, the governments of the U.S. and U.K. invited France and the Netherlands to join,...
. Brian Hitch
Brian Hitch
Brian Hitch was a British diplomat, academic and musician who was High Commissioner to Malta between 1988 and 1991. Born in Wisbech, he attended Wisbech Grammar School, where he attained the Holmes Scholarship to Magdalene College, Cambridge...
(1934–2004), diplomat, was also a Holmes Scholar and was High Commissioner to Malta between 1988 and 1991.
The school has recently produced a number of actresses including Zara Dawson
Zara Dawson
Zara Dawson is an English actress and television presenter.-Career:Her most high-profile television roles to date include Down to Earth , Holby City, Doctors, Mike Bassett: Manager and Family Affairs, in which she played Eve O'...
and Claire Goose
Claire Goose
Claire Goose is a British actress. She is best known for her role as nurse Tina Seabrook in the BBC television drama Casualty and later as DS Mel Silver in Waking the Dead.-Life and career:...
. Other alumni include author John Gordon
John Gordon (author)
John Gordon is an English writer of adolescent supernatural fiction. He is the author of fifteen fantasy novels , four short story collections, over fifty short stories and a teenage memoir....
, known for his children's novel The Giant Under The Snow
The Giant Under The Snow
The Giant Under The Snow is a children's fantasy adventure novel by John Gordon. First published in 1968 the story tells the tale of three school friends who discover an ancient treasure and become embroiled in the final act of an epic battle of good against evil...
, economist Professor Stephen Littlechild, who developed the price-cap
Price-cap regulation
Price-cap regulation is a form of regulation designed in the 1980s by UK Treasury economist Stephen Littlechild, which has been applied to all of the privatized British network utilities...
system of electricity regulation, Denys Bullard
Denys Bullard
Denys Gradwell Bullard was a British farmer and politician. Although he was an entertaining speaker, his political career was a precarious one as he was only elected in marginal constituencies.-Farming background:...
(1912–1994), MP for South West Norfolk, Fred Hoyles (1923–2004), Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
tennis referee-in-chief from 1976 to 1982, Ray DaSilva, founder of the Norwich Puppet Theatre
Norwich Puppet Theatre
The Norwich Puppet Theatre is a nationally unique venue dedicated to puppetry housed in the Medieval church of Saint James a Grade 1 listed building, in the city of Norwich, England....
and Richard Blakesley, joint inventor of the Kymera wand, which won £200,000 backing on Dragons' Den
Dragons' Den (UK)
Dragons' Den is a British television series, hosted by Evan Davis. The format of the show is owned by Sony Pictures and is based on the original Japanese series, which has been sold around the world...
.
Magdalene House
A junior and infant department opened in September 1997 after the closure of St Audrey's Convent school. St Audrey's was a feeder schoolFeeder school
Feeder school is a name applied to schools, colleges, universities, or other educational institutions that provide a significant number of graduates who intend to continue their studies at specific schools, or even in specific fields....
, and its closure allowed the then headmaster, Robert Repper, to transfer most of the teaching staff to the new junior school. The junior and infant school has now become a preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
for the senior school. It was retitled as Magdalene House in 2005, a reference to a 17th century scholarship which allowed two Wisbech Grammar School pupils to study at Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
. There were 177 pupils registered in 2008, of whom 23 were in reception and the rest in years 1 to 6.
External links
- Official school website
- Wisbech Grammar School at the Independent Schools CouncilIndependent Schools CouncilThe Independent Schools Council is a non-profit organisation that represents 1,234 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector...