Byrchall High School
Encyclopedia
The Byrchall High School is a modern comprehensive school
and specialist Mathematics and Computing College
, in the Ashton-in-Makerfield
area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
, Greater Manchester
s in Ashton, the other two being St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, located next to Byrchall High School, and Cansfield High School
.
The school is sandwiched between the A49
and the M6
on the southern edge of the Wigan borough, neighbouring St Helens
.
Library. Through the school, Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School Old Boys F.C. (now known as Ashtonians AFC) entered the Lancashire Amateur Football League
in 1951.
In 1960, Lancashire Education Committee proposed to amalgamate the school with Upholland Grammar School when the school had around 450 boys and girls. The school was administered by Wigan from April 1974. By 1973 the school had 700 boys and girls and 800 by 1975.
, Tanzania
, as Byrchall has links with Wazalendo High School there.
It is well known locally for its annual senior citizens parties and drama performances, such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
and Grease
.
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...
and specialist Mathematics and Computing College
Mathematics and Computing College
Mathematics and Computing Colleges were introduced in England in 2002 as part of the Government's Specialist Schools Programme which was designed to raise standards in secondary education. Specialist schools focus specifically on their chosen specialism but must also meet the requirements of the...
, in the Ashton-in-Makerfield
Ashton-in-Makerfield
Ashton-in-Makerfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester. It is situated south of Wigan, north-northwest of Warrington and west of the city of Manchester. In 2001 it had a population of 28,505....
area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
Admissions
It has a mixed intake of both boys and girls aged 11–16. The current student population is approximately 1200. The current headteacher is Mr. Alan Birchall. The Byrchall High School is one of three secondary schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s in Ashton, the other two being St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, located next to Byrchall High School, and Cansfield High School
Cansfield High School
Cansfield High Specialist Language College, previously known as Ashton-in-Makerfield Secondary Modern, is a Specialist Language College in the United Kingdom. It is a coed school with students between the ages of 11 and 16. The school is located in the Ashton in Makerfield area of the Metropolitan...
.
The school is sandwiched between the A49
A49 road
The A49 is a major road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with...
and the M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
on the southern edge of the Wigan borough, neighbouring St Helens
Metropolitan Borough of St Helens
The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It is named after its largest town St Helens, and covers an area which includes the settlements of Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown, Haydock, Rainhill, Eccleston, Clock Face, Billinge and...
.
Grammar school
It was founded in 1588 as Ashton Grammar School by Robert Byrchall on land donated by wealthy local land owner William Gerrard. The original building in Seneley Green is now GarswoodGarswood
Garswood is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England, within a civil parish called Seneley Green.-History:Historically within Lancashire, Garswood is from Old English wudu "wood" with an uncertain first element...
Library. Through the school, Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School Old Boys F.C. (now known as Ashtonians AFC) entered the Lancashire Amateur Football League
Lancashire Amateur League
The Lancashire Amateur Football League is an English association football league founded in 1899. Currently the league consists of eight divisions - Premier, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven...
in 1951.
In 1960, Lancashire Education Committee proposed to amalgamate the school with Upholland Grammar School when the school had around 450 boys and girls. The school was administered by Wigan from April 1974. By 1973 the school had 700 boys and girls and 800 by 1975.
Extra-curricular activities
It has been involved in several different Fair Trade schemes, consisting of a tuckshop and various fund raising events. Most recently, four pupils visited MoshiMoshi
Moshi is a Tanzanian town with a population of 144,739 in Kilimanjaro Region. The town is situated on the lower slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, a volcanic mountain that is the highest mountain in Africa....
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, as Byrchall has links with Wazalendo High School there.
It is well known locally for its annual senior citizens parties and drama performances, such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
and Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
.
Academic performance
The school gets above-average GCSE results - one of the few in Wigan LEA to do this that is not a faith school. A-level provision in Wigan LEA is at two sixth form colleges or two faith schools.Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School
- Sir George Bishop CB OBE, Chairman from 1972-9 of Booker-McConnell, President from 1957-8 of the International Sugar CouncilInternational Sugar OrganizationThe International Sugar Organization is an intergovernmental organization, based in London, which was established by the International Sugar Agreement of 1968, as the body responsible for administering the Agreement...
- Prof Jeffrey King, Professor of Civil Engineering from 1953-72 at Queen Mary, University of LondonQueen Mary, University of LondonQueen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
- Rear AdmRear AdmiralRear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Robert Love OBE, Chief Naval Engineer Officer since 2008 - Rodney Robert PorterRodney Robert PorterRodney Robert Porter, FRS was an English biochemist and Nobel laureate.Born in Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, Lancashire, England, Rodney Robert Porter received his Bachelors of Sciences degree from the University of Liverpool in 1939 for Biochemistry. He moved to the University of Cambridge where...
, biochemist, won the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
for discovering the structure of antibodiesAntibodyAn antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin, is a large Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique part of the foreign target, termed an antigen...
, Whitley Professor of Biochemistry from 1967-85 at the University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096... - Sir John RandallJohn Randall (physicist)Sir John Turton Randall, FRS, FRSE, was a British physicist and biophysicist, credited with radical improvement of the cavity magnetron, an essential component of centimetric wavelength radar, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War. It is also the key component of...
, physicist who invented the cavity magnetronCavity magnetronThe cavity magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates microwaves using the interaction of a stream of electrons with a magnetic field. The 'resonant' cavity magnetron variant of the earlier magnetron tube was invented by John Randall and Harry Boot in 1940 at the University of...
, currently found in microwave ovenMicrowave ovenA microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
s - Reginald Treharne, Professor of History from 1930-67 at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
- Although not attendees of the school, The Byrchall school is the location of the music video for track "Ribena" by macclesfield based band 'Pegasus Bridge'.