Altrincham Grammar School For Boys
Encyclopedia
Admissions
The school is non-fee paying with admission via an entrance exam. It had foundation schoolFoundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
status which allowed a degree of independence from the local education authority
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
, but from 2011 under the UK Government's Free School Programme
Free school (England)
A Free school is a school in England funded by the taxpayer, non-selective and free to attend but not controlled by local authorities. The concept of free schools is based upon a similar model found in Sweden as well as US charter schools....
it attained Academy status.
Foundation
The school was founded as Altrincham County High School for Boys in 1912 as a result of the Balfour Education Act to provide secondary education (partly fee-paying) for an area which stretched from SaleSale, Greater Manchester
Sale is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, the town lies on flat ground on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Stretford, northeast of Altrincham, and southwest of the city of Manchester...
to Knutsford
Knutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
.
It opened with 57 pupils and 3 staff (a Headmaster, a Deputy and one other), housed in the red brick building which still forms the central block of the school today. The south wing and the assembly hall were added in 1938 and the science block, gymnasium and workshops in 1964.
Trafford
In 1974, the school passed from the control of Cheshire County CouncilCheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council was a County Council, of the second highest level of United Kingdom Government for the residents of Cheshire. Founded in 1889, it ceased to exist on 1 April 2009, when it and the district councils in Cheshire were replaced by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and...
to the newly formed Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
. It remained under Trafford's control until 1996 when it became Grant Maintained. In 1999 the school became a Foundation school
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
when Grant-maintained school
Grant-maintained school
Grant-maintained schools were state schools in England and Wales between 1988 and 1998 that had opted out of local government control, being funded directly by a grant from central government...
status was abolished.
The School Today
The school had a five form entry for several years. In 2003 this increased to six Year 7 forms.In September 2003 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) awarded the school specialist school
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...
status as a Language College
Language College
Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages...
.
Recent additions include new blocks for Art and Design Technology, new ICT (information and communication technologies) suites, the Stamford Hall canteen and the new sixth form block. From September 2011 a new Food Technology block will open.
Recently, a new maths block has been built along with the completion of an Astroturf pitch used for Hockey, Lacrosse and Football. New tennis courts have also been built along with a new sports complex, "The Grammar". This has all come from a £3.5 million grant provided by the government in the mid stages of 2006.
Six more classrooms have being built at the south end of the school, which extended the Religious Education and Maths departments.
On 29 August 2009 the new £3.5 million sports hall was completed, and officially opened on 4 September of the same year with announcements from the headmaster and a special guest, Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
, England and Lancashire cricketer. The new sports hall contains a fitness suite and two large halls. One is known as the Brian Hughes Hall, in memory of the 34 year serving governor who died during the summer, and the other main hall called the Peel Hall after the Peel Group
Peel Group
The Peel Group is a diversified real estate, transport and infrastructure investment company in the United Kingdom. It has assets owned and under management approaching £6 billion...
, founders of the Trafford Centre, which funded £650,000 for the project. The gym has a fitness suite (in association with Trafford Community Leisure Trust), which is now open to the public for membership, a canteen hall, and has several other sporting facilities primarily for the school.
Parents and Friends Association
Since its founding in 1957, the Association has organised social events and fundraising.Altrincham Grammar School Developments was established in 1998 as a company with charitable status. It is charged with raising and holding money for large capital projects.
Clubs and Societies
- Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
- The Arts Society
- The Chess Club
- Film Club
- Programming Club
- Multimedia Club
- Christian Union
- LGBT Society
- The Hindu & Sikh Society
- The Eco-Committee
- The Islamic Society
- The Radio Club (AGRC)
- Debating Society
- AGSB Volunteers
- Ice Sculpture Club
- Lego Mindstorms
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...
project is run by students in the Upper 6th form who wish to enter the business world. In 2007, 'Phoenix Inc' won the Trafford Local Area Final and the Manchester Strategic Board Final.
Staff and Head Boys
There are currently nearly 80 teachers at the school as well as part-time and student teachers, secretaries, music teachers and Sodexo staff who run the school cafeteria. The current Headmaster is Mr Tim Gartside, with Deputy Headmaster Mr Ed Hall. Head of Upper & Lower School is Mr John Wales. Chairman of Governors: Mr C. Barrat. Vice-Chair of Governors: Mr N.J.Evans.Head teachers
- W B J Milhouse (1912–1913)
- Mr Saville-Laver (1913–1933)
- W Hamblin (1933–1950)
- A Crowther (1950–1970)
- N S R Bickers (1971–1987)
- K L Nodding (1987–1993)
- Bryan Purvis (1993-7)
- David Wheeldon (1999–2003)
- Timothy Gartside (2003–present)
Notable former pupils
- Paul AllottPaul AllottPaul John Walter Allott is a former English cricketer who played county cricket for Lancashire, Minor Counties cricket for Staffordshire and first-class cricket in New Zealand for Wellington, as well as thirteen Test match appearances and thirteen One Day International appearances for England.He...
- former Lancashire and England cricketer - Roger Ashton-GriffithsRoger Ashton-GriffithsRoger Ashton-Griffiths is a British character actor, screenwriter and film director.He graduated from Lancaster University and the University of East London , and began his career as a singer with English National Opera at the London Coliseum.He has appeared in numerous high-profile films,...
- film actor (You Will Meet A Tall Dark StrangerYou Will Meet a Tall Dark StrangerYou Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a 2010 English-language Spanish-American co-production comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It features Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto, Lucy Punch, Naomi Watts, Roger Ashton-Griffiths and Pauline...
, Gangs of New YorkGangs of New YorkGangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
, etc.) - Alan BarnesAlan Barnes (musician)Alan Barnes is an English Jazz musician.- Career :Alan Barnes attended Leeds College of Music between 1977–80 where he studied saxophone, woodwinds and arranging before moving to London. In 1980 he played with the Midnight Follies Orchestra and the following year was with the Pasadena Roof...
- jazz musician - Sir Robert Booth CBE, Chairman from 1975–82 of the National Exhibition CentreNational Exhibition CentreThe National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...
, and Chief Executive from 1977-8 - Graham BradyGraham BradyGraham Stuart Brady is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Altrincham and Sale West. He served as a shadow minister for Europe under four Conservative leaders before resigning in 2007 in protest at David Cameron's opposition to grammar schools...
- Conservative MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Altrincham and Sale West from 1997 and Chairman of the 1922 Committee1922 CommitteeIn British politics, the 1922 Committee is a committee of Conservative Members of Parliament. Voting membership is limited to backbench MPs although frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings. While the party was in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader...
from 2010. - Ian BrownIan BrownIan George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
- solo artist and former lead singer of the indie rock band The Stone RosesThe Stone RosesThe Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
. - Prof Gerald Dix, Lever Professor of Civic Design from 1975–88 at the University of LiverpoolUniversity of LiverpoolThe University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
, and President from 1987–90 of the World Society for Ekistics - Hugh Freeman, psychiatrist and Editor from 1983–93 of the British Journal of PsychiatryBritish Journal of PsychiatryThe British Journal of Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed medical journal published monthly by the Royal College of Psychiatrists containing original research, systematic reviews, commentaries on contentious articles, short reports, a comprehensive book review section, and a correspondence column...
- Ronald GowRonald GowRonald Gow was an English dramatist, best known for Love on the Dole .Born in Heaton Moor, Stockport, Cheshire, the son of a bank manager, Gow attended Altrincham County High School. After training as a chemist, he returned to his old school as a teacher...
- dramatist, who returned to the school to teach in the 1920s - Prof Ian HargreavesIan HargreavesProf Ian Richard Hargreaves is Professor of Journalism at the Centre for Journalism Studies at Cardiff University, Wales, UK...
, Editor of The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
from 1994-6, and the New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
from 1996-8 - John HopkinsJohn Hopkins (conductor)John Hopkins OBE is a Yorkshire-born, British conductor and administrator. Hopkins moved to New Zealand in 1957 and to Australia in 1963. He conducted the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in 1987 in one of New Zealand's first Orchestral Composers' Reading Workshops...
- conductor of the BBC Northern Orchestra from 1952–57, founder of the New Zealand Youth Orchestra and Director of Music at the Australian Broadcasting Commission 1963–73 - Rev Prof Leslie Houlden, Professor of Theology from 1987–94 at King's College LondonKing's College LondonKing's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, and Principal from 1970-7 of Ripon College CuddesdonRipon College CuddesdonRipon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England.-History:Ripon College Cuddesdon was formed from an amalgamation in 1975 of Cuddesdon College and Ripon Hall... - Glyn Hughes (1935–2011) poet, novelist and artist
- Steve JacksonSteve Jackson (UK)Steve Jackson is a game designer, writer and game reviewer.-History:In early 1975, Steve Jackson co-founded the company Games Workshop with John Peake and Ian Livingstone....
- Co-founder of Games WorkshopGames WorkshopGames Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
and LionheadLionheadLionhead may refer to* Lionhead Studios, a computer game development company* Lionhead , a variety of goldfish* a breed of domestic rabbits: see List of rabbit breeds* the head of a lion... - Rev Prof Barnabas Lindars, Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis from 1978–90 at the University of ManchesterUniversity of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
- Ian LivingstoneIan LivingstoneIan Livingstone OBE is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. He is a co-writer of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and co-founder of Games Workshop....
- Executive Chairman of Eidos InteractiveEidos InteractiveEidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
, co-founder of Games WorkshopGames WorkshopGames Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
and publisher of Tomb RaiderTomb RaiderTomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
and Lara CroftLara CroftLara Croft is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Square Enix video game series Tomb Raider. She is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic British archaeologist-adventurer who ventures into ancient, hazardous tombs and ruins around the world... - John Lowry CBE, President from 2001-2 of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeonsBritish Association of Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeonsThe British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is the British medical association for oral and maxillofacial surgeons - dentists who are also trained in oral surgery.-History:...
- Sir Eric Mensforth CBE, Chairman from 1953–68 of Westland AircraftWestland AircraftWestland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Ltd just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915...
- Rev Prof John MorrillJohn Morrill (historian)John Morrill FBA is a British historian. He specialises in the political, religious, social and cultural histories of early-modern Britain....
, Professor of British and Irish History since 1998 at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally... - Prof Alfred Murphy CBE, metallurgist and Vice-Chancellor from 1969–70 of Cranfield UniversityCranfield UniversityCranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
- John SquireJohn SquireJohn Thomas Squire is an English musician, songwriter and artist.Squire is best known as the guitarist for The Stone Roses, a rock band in which he formed a songwriting partnership with lead singer Ian Brown. After leaving The Stone Roses he went on to found The Seahorses and has since released...
- former guitarist of the indie rock band The Stone RosesThe Stone RosesThe Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s... - Prof Roger Warwick, Professor of Anatomy from 1955–85 at Guy's Hospital Medical SchoolKing's College London School of Medicine and DentistryKing's College London School of Medicine is the medical school of King's College London, and one of the United Hospitals...
, and former editor of Gray's AnatomyGray's AnatomyGray's Anatomy is an English-language human anatomy textbook originally written by Henry Gray. The book is widely regarded as an extremely influential work on the subject, and has continued to be revised and republished from its initial publication in 1858 to the present day... - Tom Ross - 2010 Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate for Altrincham and Sale West - Paul "Zappo" Mack - Writer in NME Magazine
Former teachers
- Fred TalbotFred TalbotFrederick "Fred" Talbot is a Scottish-born British television presenter and meteorologist, well-known for his weather forecasts for the British TV show This Morning on ITV....
, weather forecaster (taught biology) - Frank Dodman, maritime artist