Kirkham Grammar School is a selective, co-educational private day and boarding school in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. It was founded in 1549.[1] Its roots can be traced back to the chantry school attached to St Michael's Church in the 13th century. The school remained in the church grounds until it moved to occupy its present site on Ribby Road in 1911. The front range of the school and the headmaster's house are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[2]
Kirkham Grammar School | |
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Address | |
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Ribby Road , , PR4 2BH England | |
Information | |
Typ | Private day and boarding Grammar school |
Motto | Ingredere Ut Proficias (Enter in order to profit) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Church of England |
Established | 1549 |
Local authority | Lancashire |
Deputy Head | Martin Hancock |
Head | Deborah Parkinson |
Gender | Mixed |
Age | 3 to 18 |
Enrolment | 900 pupils (approx.) |
Former pupils | Old Kirkhamians |
Campus | Rural/suburban |
Specialism | None |
Website | http://www.kirkhamgrammar.co.uk |
School history
editIn 1585 the Thirty Men of Kirkham, a group which administered parish business, took control of the school. By the early part of the seventeenth century, the school had fallen into disrepair and had been without a master for seven years. Isabell Birley, an alehouse keeper, came to the rescue in 1621, presenting the Thirty Men of Kirkham with £30 for the restoration of the school.[3]
In 1655 Henry Colburn, an old boy of the school, left money and land to the school in his will, putting it in the trust of the Worshipful Company of Drapers in London. Then began a long partnership between the company and the school, which has continued to the present day, though the Drapers surrendered control of the school in 1944, having endowed it with large extensions in 1938.[citation needed]
The present school building was built between 1909 and 1911[4] when the front range and the headmaster's house were constructed to a design by the architect F. H. Greenaway of London.[2] In 1944, the school became part of the UK governmental tripartite system as a voluntary-aided boys' grammar school. In 1965 a major extension, the Norwood Science Building was opened. In 1979 the Board of Governors took the decision to revert to independent status and Kirkham Grammar School became a co-educational school for the first time.
The last decade of the 20th century witnessed a rise in pupil numbers from 500 to 900. The school's [5] partnership with BAE Systems was first established in 1994. In July 2013, the school provided accommodation for teenagers attending BAE Systems' "taster weeks" [6]
The school applied to host a Pre-Games Olympic Training Camp before the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London.[7] Andrew Flintoff runs a cricket academy at the school.[8]
In recent years Kirkham Grammar School has produced a number of rugby players who have appeared at the highest level of the sport, Richard Wigglesworth and Kieran Brookes were part of the 2015 England's Six Nations squad, while Kieran Marmion was part of the Ireland squad. In Sevens rugby Daniel Bibby and Richard de Carpentier have represented England in the HSBC World Sevens Series where they came across fellow Old Boy Adam Newton playing for Spain.[9][10] In 2016 Daniel Bibby became the first alumnus of the school to become an Olympian gaining a silver medal for Great Britain at the Rio Games in Sevens.[11]
Development
editThe school celebrated its 450th anniversary in 1999 and has undertaken a major development programme with phase one, science laboratories and a classroom project, being completed in November 2005.[12] The second phase, a new £1.5M extension project, was launched in May 2007 to give the school extra facilities with twelve new classrooms.[13] The classrooms, with full Information technology (IT) multimedia teaching aids and access to laptops with wireless Internet facilities, opened in December. A time capsule was buried in the foundations.[12]
In January 2007, the new Lawrence House Pavilion was officially opened with a performance of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. The pavilion houses a drama studio, changing rooms, kitchen and a lounge area funded by the Lawrence House Trust, together with the Katie Caine Trust, after which the studio was named and also The Friends of Kirkham Grammar. The pavilion cost £220,000.[14]
In October 2007, the school's sports pitch was relaid with all weather AstroTurf, and with floodlights it is also used by local community partners for sports such as hockey and football. The old pitch was recycled with part of it being used to make new pathways for North Shore Golf Club in Blackpool.[7]
Nursery School
editThe Nursery School is a purpose built preschool which adjoins the junior school. It was opened in September 2003[15] at a cost of £250,000.[16]
Old Kirkhamians
editThis article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. (August 2021) |
- Zachary Langton (1698–1788), clergyman[17]
- Ralph Copeland (1837–1905), astronomer[18]
- Eric Laithwaite (1921–1997), engineer[19]
- Ronald Brown (1926–2019), Suffragan Bishop of Birkenhead
- Frank Dernie (Formula One Engineer), (born 1950)
- Graham Clark (1941–2023), opera singer[20]
- Anthony John Lewis (1942–2020), mathematician, sports statistician[21]
- Alastair Little (born 1950, died 2022), celebrity chef.[22]
- Clive Tyldesley (born 1954), football commentator[23]
- Tony Cocker (born 1959), former Chief Executive of E.ON UK[24]
- John Buckley (born 1967), Professor of Military History
- Matthew Pateman (born 1969), Professor of Popular Aesthetics
- Pat Sanderson (born 1977), rugby union player[25]
- Ranvir Singh (born 1977), television presenter[26]
- Tupele Dorgu (born 1977), actress
- Alex Sanderson (born 1979), rugby union player[25][27]
- Mark McQueen (born 1980), film & TV director
- Richard Wigglesworth (born 1983), rugby union player
- Kieran Brookes (born 1990), rugby union player[28]
- Richard de Carpentier (born 1990), rugby union 7s player[29]
- Kevin Wolze (born 1990), German footballer
- Daniel Bibby (born 1991), rugby union 7s player (Olympic Silver Medallist, Rio 2016)[30]
- Rhys Bennett (born 1991), English footballer
- Joshua Morris (born 1991), English footballer
- Kieran Marmion (born 1992), rugby union player[31][32]
- Kieran Wilkinson (born 1999), rugby union player[33][34]
- James Cartmell (actor) (born 2000), actor[35]
- Ray Ingleby, businessman, entrepreneur[36]
Past Headmasters since 1911
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Kirkham Grammar School, Ribby Road, Preston (2021)". www.schoolandcollegelistings.com. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ a b Historic England. "Grammar School (front range only), Kirkham (1317961)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ "Education & Schools – Kirkham Treasures". Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Kirkham Grammar School". Red Rose Collections from Lancashire County Council. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "The BAE files | World news | The Guardian". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Apprenticeship opportunities | Careers in the UK". BAE Systems | International. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ a b Thomas, Cherry (15 November 2007). "School's new pitch is a truly green venture". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "{title}". Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ worldrugby.org. "World Rugby Sevens series". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Adam Robert Newton". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Dan the Man for Great Britain sevens team". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ a b Thomas, Cherry (27 December 2007). "£1.5m classrooms nearing completion". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "Kirkham school takes part in national event". Blackpool Gazette. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ Butler, Heather (1 February 2007). "Kirkham school's drama boost". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "Pre-School". Kirkham Grammar School. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "Tots to teens at school". Blackpool Gazette. 12 March 2003. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1892). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 32. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ "1905Obs....28..470. Page 472". The Observatory. 28: 470. 1905. Bibcode:1905Obs....28..470. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Obituary: Professor Eric Laithwaite". The Independent. 13 December 1997. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Clark speech". www.lboro.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Remembering Tony Lewis, cricket statistician and co-creator of the Duckworth-Lewis method". The Independent. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Alastair Little obituary". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ TYLDESLEY, CLIVE (2021). NOT FOR ME, CLIVE : stories from the voice of football. [S.l.]: HEADLINE BOOK PUBLISHING. ISBN 978-1-4722-8128-9. OCLC 1227383505.
- ^ Appointment in 2011
- ^ a b "Sandersons help put Kirkham on the map". The Rugby Paper. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
- ^ Ettridge, Lisa (6 September 2007). "Former Fylde schoolgirl lands BBC job". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ Westerby, John. "Alex Sanderson: I'd have turned to a life of drinking and smoking without a scholarship that let me concentrate on rugby". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Kieran Brookes". Rugby Football Union. 12 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ FRY, Joan Marian (1 December 2012). "Physical education and sport in independent schools. John Catt Educational ISBN 978 1 908095 442 (299 pages)". Asian Journal of Physical Education & Recreation. 18 (2): 289. doi:10.24112/ajper.181851. ISSN 2075-4604.
- ^ "Dan the Man for Great Britain sevens team". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Kieran Marmion". Zimbio. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ Abbas, Wajih (12 November 2021). "Kieran Marmion Wiki, Biography, Age, Wife, Net Worth, Family, Instagram, Twitter & More Facts". Get Biography Info Of Your Favorite Personality. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ Abbas, Wajih (12 November 2021). "Kieran Marmion Biography". Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Kirkham beat Sedbergh in Daily Mail schools trophy". www.schoolsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "James Cartmell Alfie James Production". Twitter. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "This Is Lancashire - The Ray Ingleby Story part one". 21 June 2009. Archived from the original on 21 June 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Old Kirkhamians' Association". Kirkham Grammar School. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ "Schools remembered" (PDF). p. 6.
- ^ "Bill Kennedy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ "This is how Lancashire looked in 1991". www.lancasterguardian.co.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ "Thoughts and prayers for Barry Stacey". Twitter. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ "Meet the Headteacher - four of the regions top headteachers". Great British Life. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Headmaster in quit shock at Kirkham Grammar School". www.lythamstannesexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ "Headmaster's Welcome". Kirkham Grammar School. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ "Kirkham Grammar School". The Parliamentary Review. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
External links
edit- Official school website
- Profile on the Independent Schools Council website