Ermysted's Grammar School
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| Ermysted's Grammar School | |
| Motto | Suivez La Raison |
| Established | 1492 |
| Type | Voluntary aided grammar |
| Headmaster | Mr T L Ashworth |
| Founders | Peter Toller, William Ermysted |
| Specialism | Science |
| Location | Gargrave Road Skipton North Yorkshire BD23 1PL England  |
| LEA | North Yorkshire |
| Ofsted number | 121716 |
| Staff | 50 |
| Students | 700 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 11 to 18 |
| Houses | Ermysted Hartley Petyt Toller |
| School colours | Black and White |
| Publication | Chronicles of Ermysted's |
| Website | www.ermysteds.n-yorks.sch.uk |
| Coordinates: | |
Ermysted's Grammar School is a LEA-funded selective Boy's Grammar School in Skipton, North Yorkshire teaching over 700 pupils.
It is the seventh oldest state school in Britain and was founded by Peter Toller in the 15th century. The first official record of the school was seen in Peter Toller's will in 1492. Therefore the school records its establishment as the same year.
The motto of the school is 'Suivez La Raison'. Translation from the French is roughly 'follow the truth'. The school operates a house system with inter-house competition in sports, and an annual house quiz held around Christmas. The four houses, Toller (blue tie), Ermysted (yellow tie), Petyt (green tie) and Hartley (red/burgundy tie), are named after key figures in the school's history.
The current Headmaster is Mr Thomas Ashworth, who retires at the end of this school year. The current Head Boy is Christopher Greenwood.
The A-level results of 2006 officially placed it as the best school in Yorkshire, beating many prestigious fee paying schools, and amongst the top 25 nationally. [1] The school repeated this success in the 2007 exams, and was once again amongst the top schools nationally. [2]
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[edit] Brief History
1492- Peter Toller's Will confirmed that he had already founded a school in his chantry of St Nicholas in the Parish Church, the school takes this as its founding date
1548- Edward VI's Government took over all chantry lands. William Ermysted re-founded the school with new lands and moved it to the bottom of Shortbank Road
1707 + 1719 Wills of Old Boys William and Sylvester Petyt were responsible for gifts to the school as well as foundation of the Petyt Library and Petyt Trust
1773- Leeds and Liverpool Canal reached Skipton, partly built on E.G.S. land
1839- New School House begun on Shortbank Road site
1875- Gargrave Road building begun for 50 day boys and 50 boarders
1876-1907- Mr E T Hartley Head Master at the new school
1882- Pool & Old Gym (now ICT, Music and RE rooms) begun
1895- Science block built (A.P.L. + Quiet Room)
1924- First World War Memorial Library set up by Old Boy's Society (Now Room 1 & Library office)
1929- First award of Cook Cup for champion house (Won by Hartley)
1933- "New Buildings" Opened (Rooms A-H, Staff Room and Science Laboratories).
1959- Memorial Hall (to those in the Second World War)
1989- School House closes its doors to boarders. The last two: Chris Bass and Steve Wilmers live in the lap of luxury for their final year.
1982-1998- Mr D M Buckroyd Head Master
1992- Quincentenary Celebrations - visit by H.R.H. The Princess Royal; Pageant; New Sports Hall
1998- Mr T L Ashworth Head Master (incumbent)
2003- New English/CDT Block. Opened by the H.R.H. The Duke of Kent
2006- Ermysted's gains Specialist Status in Science and Mathematics
2007- New Refectory replaces the ageing Canteen as the communal food hall
2008- Old gym and sixth form common room converted into two new ICT classrooms and two new Religious Studies classrooms
[edit] Buildings
The school is situated on a spacious site between Gargrave Road and Grassington Road conveniently located close to the historic centre of Skipton. From the main entrance to the school on Gargrave Road, known as 'the Bottom', the school site slopes gradually up to 'the Top', a large sports field where many activities take place. The bulk of the buildings are old (19th and early 20th Centuries) and centre round 'the Quad'. Newer additions (1990s and 2000s) include the Sports Hall and Canteen to the North of the site, and the 'New Building' housing CDT, English and ICT facilities to the East. Following recent funding increases and money resulting from the school's specialist status, most of the classrooms in the older buildings have been refurbished and brought up to modern standards; such as the introduction of electronic whiteboards. There are currently plans to reconfigure and refurbish the school's library.
[edit] OFSTED Inspections
In the 2000 OFSTED inspection, the school's results were 'very high' against the national average, especially upon entry, where year 7s (age 11/12) work to a level 'expected of pupils aged 14.' It has an 'outstanding' 6th Form with a wide range of subjects.
The school is 'very successful' at allowing pupils to reach high academic standards, and the quality of teaching is 'good.'
In the past decade the school has ranked among the top state schools in England for 'A'-level results.
[edit] Events
The school and its PTA run a number of popular events. These include a Quiz Night, Wassail Evening (an evening of Wine- and Carol- based merriment), Founders' Day (a celebration of the history of the school), Speech Day (prizegiving and recapitulation of school year), and an annual Summer Fayre amongst other events.
[edit] Sport
Sport is a major part of Ermysted's life. The school competes in Rugby Union, Cross-Country, Orienteering, Cricket and Football tournaments with teams, and gains considerable success in events entered. The 1st XI Football are currently enjoying a fruitful campaign and won the county shield, and the 1st XV Rugby team won the Daily Mail Vase Final 2007, the national schools competition. Meanwhile the cross country team continues to dominate in the North of England perhaps due to the fact that once every year all students are required to participate in a school cross country race, which takes place in Aireville Park during the Autumn Term. In December Ermysted's "Inter Boys team finished runners-up in the National Final of the English Schools' Cross-Country Cup competition, held at St. Albans. This repeated the performance of 2005 Junior Boys team at Leeds. Occurring annually in the Summer Term is Sports Day, during which students compete at athletics in front of a huge crowd.
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[edit] Music
The school's successful Big Band has twice toured Germany under the tutelage of music teacher Simon Gregory and regularly performs in concerts at school as well as at other prestigious local venues. To date they have produced two CDs. There are a number of other ensembles at school, including a string ensemble, Junior Big Band and a jazz combo. A significant proportion of boys receive musical tuition in school and there is a practice room where amateur bands formed by pupils can rehearse after school.
[edit] Drama
School plays occur once every two years, in conjunction with Skipton Girls' High School. The latest production was Electric Warrior in March 2007, based on the life of Marc Bolan and written by Ermysted's very own Head of Sixth Form and Deputy Head, David Clough. The musical was directed by Christopher Greenwood, a Year 12 student at the time and now the Head Boy, was extremely well received. Music was provided by an onstage T-Rex cover band, consisting of current students, who enthusiastically donned glam gear for the occasion. In addition, House plays by Years 7-10 occur annually in the Autumn term. A group took part in the English Schools' Shakespeare Festival in 2007 at which an edited version of Julius Caesar was performed at Bradford's Priestley Theatre.
[edit] Debating
The school has a long history of competitive debating, and after a hiatus of some years, a debating club was set up in late 2006. The school puts forward teams in many events, with some success: in 2007, Ermysted's pupils were placed 3rd out of 24 schools in the 'Great Shakespeare Debate' in Stratford-upon-Avon, and reachead the regional final of the ESU Schools Debating Mace.
[edit] School Publications
School events of note have, for as long as anyone can remember, been faithfully recorded in the Chronicles of Ermysted's. This publication was formerly produced twice a year, but now appears only once, usually just before Christmas. More recently a group of year 13 students have started a new, entirely student-produced, half-termly magazine called 'Ted', which is now also available online [1]. It is hoped that in time this will become an institution as well-loved as the Chronicles.
[edit] School Council
In line with recent trends towards giving pupils a say in their education, the school management has set up a school council. Composed of two representatives from each year, the first members were elected in the Summer Term of 2006. Since then there has been some criticism of the council for its complete lack of power, and failure to live up to any expectations. Members of the council strongly contest this, citing their achievements in providing water fountains in 'the Vendors' (these have since been removed; indeed the rooms themselves have been replaced by offices and no replacement water fountains established) and improving waste paper recycling.
[edit] Famous alumni
- Iain Macleod, MP and former Chancellor of the Exchequer.
- Simon Beaufoy, Writer of Oscar-winning film The Full Monty and highly-acclaimed Yasmin
- Andrew Hodgson, former Bradford Bulls and Salford City Reds rugby league player.
- Rick Holden, former Man City player and present Barnsley FC Assistant Manager
- Paul Zenon, comedian and magician.
- Blake Morrison, poet and author.
[edit] Trivia
- John Wesley, the famous Methodist preacher, once applied to become headmaster of Ermysted's - he was rejected.
- Old boy Harry Tindall is the grandfather of England Rugby Union hero Mike Tindall.
- Ermysted's Rugby 1st Team recently played at Twickenham, beating Wilmslow High 3-0 to claim the Daily Mail Vase (A National Competition).
- A House Quiz takes place annually in school during which sixteen pupils from each year are chosen to represent their houses.
- Mr Howarth, Head of History, published a spectacular book 'A Grammar School At War' in 2007, focusing upon the 54 Old Boys and Masters of the Skipton School who died serving in the armed forces during World War One. Copies are still available at the school and at the "Craven Museum" in the Skipton Town Hall.
[edit] References
- ^ Ermysted's Grammar School - News
- ^ Pupils have A-level success down to a fine art - Yorkshire Post
