Watford Grammar School for Boys
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Watford Grammar School for Boys (in short more commonly WBGS than WGSB), a secondary school in Watford, Hertfordshire, is located near the Watford Metropolitan Line Underground station. The school is well known for the high academic achievements of its pupils. It is a state school, and frequently ranks highly in the league tables for state school examination results (at GCSE and A Level).
Since 1995 the school has been selecting a proportion of its intake on the basis of academic ability. This has always been controversial, and the proportion of pupils entering the school as a result of their performance in this exam has fluctuated significantly over recent years. There has also been a distinct rise in the school's GCSE and A Level exam performances since the introduction of academic selection. However, the last couple of years have seen a decline in exam performances. It is a voluntary aided school of some 1200 students. It became a Beacon School in 2001 and gained Specialist College status in science and mathematics in 2003.
Notable former students include the conductor Sir Andrew Davis, the musicians Gerald Moore (piano), Michael Thompson, David Pyatt and Michael Purton (horns), Mr Booth (Drum Kit) and the 1950s TV light music presenter and conductor Eric Robinson; the broadcaster and children's novelist Michael Rosen; the businessmen Sir Ian Prosser (Bass, etc) and Brian Pettifer (Bovis); Bishops (Chichester) John Hind and (Hereford) Anthony Priddis; the actors John Grillo, Terry Scott and Garard Green; and the educationist Dr George Walker. Indie band fans will be pleased to discover that the lead singer of Smiths-ish band Gene (band), Martin Rossiter, was in the same year as Elevate/Sophia drummer Jim Elkington. His new band is The Zincs.
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[edit] Trivia
The grounds of Watford Grammar School for Boys were used, along with those of Watford Grammar School for Girls, in the 2006 film "The History Boys".
[edit] Sports
The school has a good sporting reputation, especially in its rugby, hockey and cricket teams, which have won the County Cup several times. It has sports fields both within its grounds and elsewhere. It has the use of two astroturf pitches, a gym and a sports hall.
It has recently sold off some of its grounds as a housing development.
[edit] History
The Watford Boys' and Girls' Grammar Schools were founded by Dame Elizabeth Fuller in 1704. Originally there was only one school. They separated later.
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[edit] School Facts
WBGS is a voluntary aided school, for ages 11-18. It has 903 pupils in years 7-11 and 341 in the Sixth Form. It has recently gone through an Ofsted inspection (see school website for further information) and has received numerous positive comments.
