Lewes Priory School
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Lewes Priory School is a British co-educational school for 11 to 16 year-olds located on Mountfield Road in the Sussex town of Lewes.
The Priory School was originally formed in 1969 when the Lewes County Grammar School for Girls, the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys and the Lewes Secondary Modern School were amalgamated to form a comprehensive school called Priory School. Later, in the early 1990s, this was split into a Sixth Form College (16-19) and the separate Priory School (11-16) on the Mountfield Road site.
The Priory School then became centered on the site of the former Secondary Modern School and new building have since been added. The adjacent buildings formerly used by the County Grammar School for Boys and by the Sixth Form College have become part of the Sussex Downs College (Higher Education). The Chapel of the former Boys Grammar School was retained by the Priory School.
In 1991, the new revised version of Priory School opened boasting a new wing — "South Block" — and a heavily refurbished main building. The latter was the home of Lewes Secondary Modern School until 1969, sporting a distinctive copper plated clock tower. The main building included new science labs, a library and design technology rooms, built in anticipation of design technology being in the National Curriculum.
Priory School has a strong tradition of amateur drama that it inherited from the Grammar Schools. Members of the teaching staff wrote an entire musical about the life of local WWI soldier, Private Rupert Freeman, called "In the Pink". The pupils are divided into four "houses" named Fire, Earth, Water and Air. Each pupil is allocated to a house and the houses compete collectively in sport and other activities.
Priory has been awarded Arts and Language College statuses, specialising in these areas with increased funding.
The Priory School rules and regulations regarding uniform are said to be "relaxed", and are plain black trousers, a white shirt or polo shirt, a plain black Priory School sweatshirt and plain black school shoes. Small earrings are permitted, as are watches and hairbands et cetera.
At the beginning of the academic year September 2006, a new arrangement for the school day was put into practice consisting of six lesson periods, Three times a week, one lesson period is used as tutor time. The lunch times have been altered to create three lunch sittings the Year 7 students are always on first lunch, the other years take it in turns to have second and third lunch. Which lunch a student may be sitting varies from day to day.
Ex-Priory students commonly progress to further education courses at the close by Sussex Downs College, or BHASVIC, Varndean and City Colleges in Brighton.
[edit] Chapel
The school has a chapel that was built in the 1950s to honour the boys from the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys who died in World War II. Their names grace the walls of the vestibule to this day. The Latin "Dare Nec Computare" above the door translates to "To give and not to count the cost".
