Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
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| Clitheroe Royal Grammar School | |
 |
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| Motto | In Saxo Condita (Founded on Rock) |
| Established | 1554 |
| Type | foundation grammar |
| Headteacher | Miss Judith Evans |
| Chairman of Governors | The Reverend Canon P Dearden |
| Specialism | Languages |
| Location | Chatburn Road Clitheroe Lancashire BB7 2BA England  |
| LEA | Lancashire County Council |
| Ofsted number | 119812 |
| Students | 1250 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11 to 18 |
| Coordinates: | |
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School is a secondary school in Clitheroe, Lancashire that used to be an all boys school. It was founded in 1554 as "The Free Grammar School of King Philip and Queen Mary" “for the education, instruction and learning of boys and young men in grammar; to be and to continue for ever.”
After 44 years of sharing the school buildings with the boys, the newly-built Girls Grammar School opened in 1958 and amalgamated with the Boys Grammar School in 1985. CRGS celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2004, an event marked by the planting of a tree by HRH The Duke of York.
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School continues to thrive on two sites with the Sixth Form Centre occupying the historic buildings in York Street and the Main School at the former Girls Grammar School buildings on Chatburn Road.
Contents |
[edit] Uniform
The main school uniform consists of:
| Item | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| Blazer | Royal Blue (3 silver-coloured buttons) | Royal Blue (2 plastic buttons) |
| Shirt | Plain White | Plain White |
| Tie | Striped in blue, red, and yellow (with thinner stripes for prefects) | Striped in blue, red, and yellow (with thinner stripes for prefects) |
| Lower Part | Grey, Charcole or Black Trousers | Black Trousers or Grey Skirt |
| Socks | Grey or Black | White |
| Shoes | Plain Black | Plain Black |
[edit] Intake
The Main School intake each year is 120 children who have each passed the 11-plus entrance exam, with 100 from within a 'Catchment Area' and 20 from outside. These are then divided into four forms (C, R, G and S), of 30 pupils each. This means the pupil population at Main School is about 600 (120 per year, with five years). Sixth Form entry is based on GCSE performance and takes in over 300 students per year. The matriculation requirements are five grade Bs at GCSE with at least a Grade C in English Language and Mathematics[1], while some subjects also require specific grades in related GCSE subjects, where applicable.
[edit] Lessons
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School teaches the following for Years 7–11:
- English
- Mathematics
- Modern Foreign Languages
- French
- German
- Spanish (Year 10 onwards)
- Latin (Year 9 onwards)
- Sciences
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
(At GCSE level, these can be taken separately, or as a Double Award)
- Humanities
- History
- Geography
- Classical Civilisation (Year 10 onwards)
- Music
- Religious Studies (with Ethics for GCSE)
- Design and Technology
- Metal Work
- Wood Work
- Systems and Control
- Textiles
- Graphic Products
- Information Communication Technology
- P.E. (Up to two hours a week in year 7–9 and one hour a week in year 10–11, no examination taken)
Students also do a rotation of Personal/Social/Health Education (PSHE) dealing with citizenship and society among other things.
[edit] Sixth Form
At the Sixth Form, the selection of subjects is somewhat wider.
- Art and Design
- Biology
- Business Studies
- Chemistry
- Classical Civilisation
- Computing
- Critical Thinking
- Design and Technology: Product Design
- Economics
- English (Language, Literature or Combined)
- French
- General Studies
- Geography
- German
- History
- Mathematics and Further Mathematics)
- Music
- Physical Education
- Physics
- Politics
- Psychology
- Religious and Ethical Studies
- Sociology
- Spanish
- Theatre Studies
[edit] Teaching
The school employs around 80 teachers along with laboratory and IT technicians.
[edit] Timetable
Unlike many other schools, CRGS does not operate a singles/doubles system. Instead, the timetable consists of five hourly periods per day, with a fifteen minute break between each, allowing teachers to go between the two sites. Lunch is between third and fourth periods, and lasts an hour. Main School registration begins at 8:50am and lasts ten minutes, and the final bell rings at 3:45pm, or, on a Wednesday, 2:30pm. Assemblies are usually held every Tuesday for part of the first period at Main School, and less frequently at the Sixth Form.
[edit] School Council
The school has a student council that meets fortnightly. Two representatives are elected from each of the 20 main-school forms in September, whose responsibility it is to go to these meetings and put forward points about the school. These are usually ideas from pupils passed on to the council members in a tutorial period. Often these relate to fund-raising events (outside of the Fourth Year Charity Committee) or new facilities. A similar system operates at the Sixth Form.
[edit] Commemoration Day
Every year, the school holds a commemoration day to remember the founding of the school. It happens of St John the Baptist's Day in the local parish church of Mary Magdalene.
From the Statutes, dated 1622:
- We ordaine and be yt a Statute of this Schoole for ever. That from henceforth once every year upon St John Baptists day called Midsommer day in the forenoone there shalbee a Sermon preached in the Church of Clitherow where the Maister Usher and Schoolers of the said Schoole shalbee p'sent before the Governors of the said Schoole and therein shalbee a comemoracon of the foundation of the said Schoole with an exhortation to the said Governors Schoolmr and Usher that they faithfully and diligently p'forme their duties.
Or, modernised:
- Let this be a Statute of this school forever. Every year upon St John the Baptist's day (Midsummer's day) in the morning there shall be a Sermon preached in Clitheroe Church where the Master Usher and Scholars of the School shall be sent before the Governors the School and there shall be a commemoration of the foundation of the School with an exhortation to the Governors, Headteacher and Usher that they faithfully and diligently perform their duties.
[edit] Language College bid
After failing in the bid to become a Technology College, a language college committee was set up at CRGS in the autumn term of 2005, seeking to get specialist Language College status for the school. Along with the help of members of staff meetings were held on Tuesday Lunchtimes. The bid was successful, and the school now receives extra funding for expansions and developments into further Language areas.
As a result of the new status, taster courses in Mandarin, Urdu and Russian are being held, which should soon be extended to the local community. The building program has been completed and contains 4 classrooms and 2 store rooms.
[edit] School Newspaper
The school newspaper, the Royal Blazer was printed three times a year. The paper was distributed within school free of charge, and was put up for sale in the local area. Students were encouraged to contribute articles on subjects important to them and the local community. With a readership approaching 2,000 (students, parents, teachers, old boys and girls), it was an important publication for the school. However, it has not been published since 2006, and there have been few attempts to resurrect it.
[edit] Debating Societies
There are debating societies at both the Main School and Sixth Form College. The latter is named "Soundbite" and is run by a small group of upper-sixth students. "Soundbite" fields debaters to most of the major university competitions including Oxford, Cambridge and Durham, and meets on a weekly basis. The Main School society is run by two sixth form students.
[edit] Other Student Groups
There are many groups for students to join and be an active part of, including:
- Drama Club
- Science Club
- Quiz League
- Sport Teams
- Basketball
- Cricket
- Football
- Hockey
- Netball
- Rounders
- Rugby
- Skiing
- Music
- Choirs
- Junior Choir
- Girl's Choir
- Boy's Choir
- Chamber Choir
- Junior Choir
- Instrumental Groups
- Concert Band
- Orchestra
- Swing Band
- String Ensemble
- Choirs
[edit] Famous alumni
[edit] External links
- Clitheroe Royal Grammar School - Official Website
- Ofsted - Recent Ofsted Report
- League Table Results - Latest results for 2005
