Dr Challoner's Grammar School
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| Dr Challoner's Grammar School |
|
| Motto | Ad Astra Per Aspera / Excellence With Integrity |
| Established | 1624 |
| Type | Boys' Grammar School |
| Headteacher | Dr Mark Fenton |
| Students | 1,285 |
| Location | Amersham, Buckinghamshire United Kingdom |
| admin@challoners.com | |
| Website | www.challoners.com |
Dr Challoner's Grammar School, abbreviated to DCGS, is a Voluntary Controlled Grammar School of approximately 1,285 boys located in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England.
It was founded in 1624 in accordance with the last will and testament of Dr Robert Chaloner (spelt with only one ‘l’). Chaloner was Rector of Amersham from 1576 to 1584, when he took up office as a Canon of Windsor, Berkshire, a post he held until his death in 1621.
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[edit] History
In his will, Robert Chaloner left money to establish a grammar school in Amersham. The school was situated in Old Amersham for almost three centuries before moving, with the support of Buckinghamshire County Council, to its present buildings in Amersham-on-the Hill in 1905. At this time, the school embraced the principle of co-education for the first time which, according to the school’s first prospectus in 1906, was "practically universal in America". Each year the boys at Challoners celebrate a founders day where they go to the church where Robert Chaloner was rector.
By 1937, Challoner's was incorporated into the state system of education and by the early 1950s the school had about 350 boys and girls on roll. However, plans for expansion to 550 pupils were overtaken by rapid population growth in the area and the decision was made to establish a separate school for girls in Little Chalfont: Dr Challoner's High School, which opened in 1962. The two schools continue to maintain very close links.
The continued expansion of the Grammar School to its present size of over 1,200 boys saw major building projects in the 1950s, 1980s and 1990s. The more recent of these developments have provided the school with some of the most attractive school buildings in the county, complementing the original "arts and crafts" style of the 1905 block which still forms the hub of the school. This is blighted somewhat by the earlier towerblock that rises from the school's centre.
In 2002, Challoner's became one of the first Science Colleges in the United Kingdom, committed to continued excellence in the fields of Mathematics and Science alongside its other all round strengths. The school will start a second specialism as a Language College in April 2007.
After not having a school magazine for some decades, Ad Astra begun as an annual school publication in 2003. Now in full colour, it reports on the academic year in an often light-hearted manner. It is run by a staff editor, and a dedicated team of student editors.
In 2005, the school celebrated the 100th anniversary of the move to the current (Chesham Road) site, also building the Centenary Sports Pitch. The current headmaster is Dr. Mark Fenton, who attended Peterhouse, Cambridge University as an undergraduate and Anglia Ruskin University (formally known as Anglia Polytechnic) as a graduate student.
In that same year, a house system was set up, with each of the six houses named after a previous headmasters: Foxell, Holman, Newman, Pearson, Rayner and Thorne.
[edit] Alumni
Notable former students include:
- Greg Hands - Conservative MP for Hammersmith & Fulham
- Sir Roger Moore - actor (although it is worth noting that he attended Challoner's only for a short period of time while an evacuee during the Second World War)
- Paul Richards - Labour politician and author
- Abdul Waheed - (born Donald Stewert-Whyte) two years after leaving Challoner's was arrested in connection with the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
- Rick Warden - actor
- James Westhead - television journalist and presenter, BBC Washington correspondent
[edit] Further reading
- F. R. Treadgold, B.A (1973). Dr Challoner and his school. (Amersham).
- F. R. Treadgold, B.A (1974). "Challoner's" 1624 - 1974: The story of Dr. Challoner's Grammar School, Amersham. The Leagrave Press Ltd, Luton. ISBN 0-85236-051-7.
