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Grammar schools were an imprtant historic school type, rising to imprtance dyring thev Tudior era. Quite a number of these schools survived tin the modern era. Many new grammar schools were established during the Victorian era as the Industrial Revollution and Britain's expanding empire created a need for educated persionnel. Grammar schools in the 20th century became are academically selective exclusive secondary schools. They were once a major part of Britain's secondary school system. The 11+ exams was created for older primary school children. Children that did well on gthe test earned placed in gthe grammar schools. Most of the children were from middle class families who could not afford private education. It was a matter of some pride for parents whose children were accepted to grammar schools. It was decided that children from middle-class families had an advantage with the 11+ exams. Thus school authorities sought to demphasize the 11+ exam and a shift to a secondary system based on non-selective comprehensive schools. Most grammar schools have now conveted to private colleges or other schools or to state funded comprehensives. A few educational authorities still maintain grammar schools. We have developed pages on several of these schools.
The school was founded as the Aberdare County and Intermeduate School in 1896. The school was coeducational and began operations with 140 students. The curiculum at first included: commercial geography, history, English compositioin and literature, mathematics, drawing, Latin, modern l;anguages, natural sciences, drill, and vocal music. Instrumental music could be taken for an added fee. Instruction in the Welsh language was avilalable, but not required. There was a special curriculum for girls which included cookery, sewing, and laws of health. (Apparently these were laws the boys didn't need to learn.)
Here we have an image is of the Balham Grammar School AFC 1st XI in South London. It is a card-mounted photograph of the sort that would almost certainly have been framed and glazed and probably displayed on a wall of the school in question. The play and screenwriter Rodney Ackland attended the school. It clearly no longer exists as I can find no reference to it beyond 1968. Most likely it changed name or merged with another school. The image is undated but I would suggest it is from the late 1920s. An interesting point is that not only do all the boys wear the football shirts open-necked, but they also all wear their collars up. It is unlikely that this would have been allowed for a formal photograph unless this was the accepted norm.
The Bosto Grammar School ws founded by Queen Mary I, the Catholic daughter of Henry VIII who at the time was mairred to Philip of Spain. The school ws founded to replace Catholic institutions that had been closed by Mary's father and brother (Edward VI). Actually Edward had founded many schools. The school in the 20th century has had a uniform consisting of a blazer, but enforcement of the uniform standard has varied.
The Bristol Grammar School is the only selective, co-educational
independent school in the Bristol area The school has extensive facilities providing a wide choice of curriculum, sport and activities with an exceptional pastoral care system for primary school and secondary school pupils and sixth form students. The school was founded in 1532, one of several grammar schools founded in the 16th century that are still operating in Britain today. The school describes itself as one of the United Kingdom's great city schools aimed at children of above-average ability.
Bradford citizens began thinking about a free grammar school (16th century). While schools were established for boys, there was still no secondary school for girls by the late-19th century. Parliament passed the Endowed Schools Act (1869) which was an important step in expanding the British education system. The Act helped to facilitate the foundig of many new secondary schools. W. E. Forster, the MP for Bradford, Mrs Byles and the Ladies' Educational Association in Bradford raised £5,000 to help found a girl's grammar school in Bradford. Girls' Grammar School, Bradford was formally opened (1875). They opened the school in the already cramped Hallfield Road School. The first girls were the daughters of professional men and merchants in Bradford and wider Manningham area. The fee was 12 guineas for a three term year. (free secondary schoolswould not become generally available util after World War II.) Sir Titus Salt and Mr Henry Brown provided some scholship so that academically taslented girls from less affluent families could attend. Many of the girls attended to prepare for the newly opening colleges in Oxford, Cambridge and London that accepted young women.
The School was one of the first in Britain to include Physical Education as part oif the curriculum. As was the case of many schools and British society in general. World War I was a turning point for British women. Women were mobilized for the war effort. Women as a result of men joining the military became a much larger part of the industrial work force.
Women including Bradford Old Girls served as doctors and nurses at home and on the front lines. School life did not chanbge much, but the girls pitched in by knitting socks for servicemen, making sandbags, collecting moss for dressings, and sending parcels to prisoners of war. The school also took in and supported Belgian refugees--a major international humanitarian effort. After the War a new building was found for the Preparatory Department which included boys (1929).
After cosiderable planning a new spacious purpose built school was opened (1936).
During World War II part of the school was af first evacuated to Settle, but when the Luftwaffe did not immediately attack, the girls returned to Bradford. The city did not entirely escape Luftwaffe attacks when the Battle of Britain began, but its northern location meant that it was less vulnerable than cities to the south. The School participated in charity work. Many Old Girls served in the armed forces. The preparatory (junior) schoolwas converted into a rest center for evacuated women and children from the indistrial cities targeted by the Luftwaffe. After the War, Britain began building a free state secondary system. Many grammar schools joined the state system, especially during the 1970s. The Bradford Girl's Grammar School decided to become a private (independent) school. Many boys' grammar and other private schools decided
to accept girls and become coeducational. The Shool has decided to remain a single gender school and points out, "the high position it has maintained in the school league tables has more than justified that belief".
We know very little about the Burton Grammar School at this time. We do have an image from the word working class in 1910. All od the boys appear to be wearing knicker suits, many with Eton collars. We are unsure just what the school uniform was. It appears that suits were required as all the boys are wearing them. The Eton collars do not seem to be required as not all of the boys are wearing them. We do not know to what extent the school specified the type of suit. Apparently the school required that they be knicker suits.
Cowbridge Grammar School is one of the best known grammar schools in Wales and a good example of a country grammar school. We have include the school on our English list as we do not have a section on Welsh education yet. As far as we can tll, there is little difference between Wales and Ehgland in trms of educaion, although we would be interested in hearing from our Wlh reders on this issue. Cowbridge Grammar has a considrable history. We know that it was functioning as early as 1608. In 1860 it was functioning as both a day and boarding school. One of its more famous students was the actor Anthony Hopkins, although he was not a very successful scholar while at the school. A master published a memoir based on his experiences in a boarding house at Cowbridge at the same time Anthony was at the school.
Boys at Dudley grammar school in the 1940s all appear to be wearing similar colored suits. One boy wears a datk suit. Another boy wears a double breasted suit. They do not appear to be blazers. There are no school badges on their coat jackets. Available photographs show what looks like all of the boys wearing short pants and kneesocks. The uniformity of their uniforms suggests that it was a school rule. We do not not know at this time what the rule was for the other forms. Quite a few of the boys in the late 1940s do not have ties and wear rather sporty open collar shirts. HBC had thought that this informal style a characteristic of Scotland, but it may have been a post-War British style that persisted in Scotland more than England.
The Farham Grammar School was a boys' school. One source suggess that a school may have operated as early as 1351 when a chantry was established at Farnham Castle. There is documented evidece that the grammar school was founded in 1585. Not a lot of information is available on the operation of the school in the year ages, but there are records of applications and bequests.
The school was located by the 17th century in West Street, Farnham until 1906. At that time the school moved into new premises on Morley Road. The school was officially closed after the 1973-74 school yera. At that time, educational reforms introduced coeducation. The Grammar School facilities were taken over by Farnham College. The school is located in Farnham, Many of the boys came from rural areas. In the early years the boys came from Farnham and surrounding villages. By the 20th century boys from Guildford, Woking, and Godalming also attended.
We do not have many details concerning the history of the Farnworth Grammar School. It was founded in 1715. The school was closed about 1983 and demolished in 1988. It was a small grammar school in the north-west of England. The school appears to have had a strict uniform requirement after World War II. We are unsure what the uniformn was like in earlier years.
The Hayes Grammar School appears to have been one of the few such schools that was coeducational. This was unsusual as most grammar schools were single gender schools. The full name was the Hayes County Grammar School. The school still exists, but became a comprehensive in 1974-75, with the new name Hayes Manor School. When it was a grammar school, the boys wore blazers with colored piping. The girls wore sweaters. The available image from 1958 shows the boys wearing flannel shorts and knee socks.
The Lancaster Royal Grammar has a long history. It is one of the oldest schools in England. In fact it is one of the oldest in the whole of England that is still in existence. It was founded in 1235 A.D., before the better known public schools such as Eton and Harrow. He has provided us a perspectus from the 1860s which provide some interesting insights about the school, including the fees together with the requisite school uniform list. The uniform in the 1950s consisted of a dark blue blazer, lught grey shirt, dark blue tie with royal blue stripes, dark grey shorts, dark grey kneesocks with blue bands in the turn-over top, and black shoes. A HBC reader tells us that he attended the Lancaster Royal Grammar in the 1970s. He reports that the school is still going strong and the uniform exactly the same except long grey trousers and black ankle socks are now the standard.
Leigh is a city in Lacashire. We do not have any information on the history of the Leigh Grammar School. There appears to have been both a boys and girls grammar. I'm not sure to what extent the two schools cooperated. There does not seem to be school internet sites, but there are references to the school (presumably the boys' grammar in several biographies. A few former students complain that music was discouraged.
Steyning Grammar School like quite a number of British schools has an amazing hustory. The school dates back to the 17th century. It was founded and endowed as a grammar school by William Holland, an Alderman of Chichester (1614). The townn of Steyning has existed since Anglo-Saxon times. It os located in West Sussex near Horsham in the South Downs, four miles north of the Channel town of Shoreham-by-Sea. A grammar school in modern times was an acacademically selective secondary schools. Children who did well in he 11-plus exam were channeled into the grammar schools. As part of educational reforms, most grammar schools were converted into comprehnsives (1960s-70s). It was felt at the time that this would expand educational opportunity. Steyning Grammar was merged with Steyning Secondary Modern School to form a comprehensive school (1968). The combined school thus shares two sites in Steyning. The original histoic half-timbered Church Street site housed years 7 and 8 (not to be confused with age groups) until the 2021-22 academic year finished. At his time the group ('Lower School') transferred to the Towers site in Upper Beeding close by. The main Shooting Field accomodated years 9-11 and the sixth form college. A third lower school site opened in Storrington (September 2017 after the closure of Rydon Community College (September 2017). The Steyning Leisure Centre was used for some of the PE ckasses. School governors over the oppositionn of many teachers voted to convert the school to an academy as part of the Bohunt Trust. This converted to a private or independent school as the British tend to use. This is a rare example of a schoolm opting out of the state system. We are not sure why this decision was taken. The Bohunt Education Trust runs eight schools, including other secondary schools in Worthing and Horsham.
A HBC reader has submitted photographs from his school, Wellinton Grammar School. The school was of course named after the famed general. We have no information on the school at this time. We do know that it was operating in the 1930s. An Old Boy from the school has placed the Worls War II Roll of Honor on the internet. The school should not be confused with the public school, Welington School. The available photographs submitted are from the 1960s. The boys wore a uniform of dark suits and could choose either long or short trousers.
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