Hulme Grammar School

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Map sources for Hulme Grammar School at grid reference SD919036

Hulme Grammar School is a school situated on and around Chamber Road, about three-quarters of a mile south of the centre of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, between Frederick Street and Windsor Road.

The school was founded in the 19th century under the Endowed Schools Act. The foundation of the school followed some time after an earlier Oldham Grammar school, dating from 1611, became defunct. Hulme Grammar School sometimes claims to have been founded in 1611, though the claim to be a continuation of this earlier school is contentious. It was a Direct Grant Grammar school until 1976. It reverted to independence with the phasing-out of the Direct Grant scheme, and is now an independent school which selects its students by a competitive entrance examination and interview. The main buildings were erected in 1895 by the Hulme Trust.

Tuition fees are around £7,500 per year for the main school, and £4,500 for the preparatory schools, although bursaries are available for pupils who perform well in the entrance examination as well as means-tested bursaries for those who would otherwise be unable to afford the full fees.

Boys and girls are taught separately from the ages of 11 to 16, but there is a joint sixth form. The combined number of pupils is around 1,200. Both the boys' and girls' schools have associated preparatory schools (in the British sense) for pupils aged 7 to 11 - "Hulme Court" for the boys, and "Hulme Estcourt" for the girls. There is also a mixed kindergarten.

The school has an extra-curricular programme which includes:

Choir
Comprehensive sports coverage
A Combined Cadet Force Contingent with an Army and a (superior) RAF Section
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme

In recent years the school has dealt with falling numbers of applications partly by of reducing numbers of pupils admitted. Thus, whereas during the early 1990s 120 11-year-old boys were admitted each year, recently the figure has been closer to 90 boys per year.