Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

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Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
TWGSB School Badge
Motto Faber est quisque suæ fortunæ
("Every man is the maker of his own fortune")
School type Grammar school
Specialist School for Humanities
Headteacher John Harrison BEd (Hons)
Chair of Governors Michael Reidy
Location Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
LEA Kent County Council
Ofsted Number 118790
Pupils c. 1300
School Colours Maroon and Gold
Publication 'Eclectics'
Website www.twgsboys.kent.sch.uk
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Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, also known as Tunbridge Wells Boys' Grammar School or TWGSB, is a grammar school in Royal Tunbridge Wells, a town in Kent, England, UK. The school's Latin motto, "Faber est quisque suæ fortunæ" means "Every man is the maker of his own fortune".

The school has over 100 members of staff and over 1200 pupils ranging from 11 to 18 years of age and entrance is selective, with pupils falling within the top 25% band of ability upon entrance (with students having to take the "eleven plus" examination in order to gain a place). The majority of pupils remain at the school after taking GCSEs and study A-levels; five to AS standard and four to the full A-level standard. The remainder continue into further education elsewhere and a few begin their working life.

The school's current Headteacher, Mr John Harrison started in September 2006. Due to the size of the school, he is flanked by two deputies - Mr. Chris Lawrence and Mr. Aiden Coen - who share the responsibilities of Deputy Headship equally. The Heads of Key Stage 3 (7–9), Key Stage 4 (10-11), and Key Stage 5 (12–13) (whom undertake the titles of Assistant Headteachers) are currently Mr. D Madin, Mr. S Marsh and Mr. W. Kern respectively. Each year group has its own head, who are (in ascending order of year group) Mr. J. Matthews, Mrs. C. Dodds, Mr. P. Douse, Mr. D. Lincoln, Mr. P. Spence, Mrs. J. Speller and Mrs. P. Lowe. The Chair of the Governors is Mr. M. Reidy and Chair of the Parent Teacher Association is Mrs. N. Pyefinch.

The last Ofsted inspection was conducted in January 2005, led by Mr Anthony Shield. The school was praised for "principled and very good leadership" and its standards which were "well above average". Mathematics, science, design and technology, geography and music were the subjects in which students achieved particularly well. The school's lack of space was criticised heavily - despite the opening of the Bates' Block, which serves English, Mathematics and Media Studies - in 2001. Following the inspection, the Governors and Senior Management Team pushed for the construction of a new building on the southern-most side of the site which would serve Music, Drama, History, Religious Education, Politics and Psychology. It was finally completed early in the Autumn Term 2005, costing £1.7 million, and was first used in October 2005.

"The school aims to equip our students for a full and constructive place in society, to help them to be adaptive, to exercise critical judgement and to be prepared for the rapidly changing requirements of the twenty-first century. Academic excellence is very important at this school and we take pride in achieving our results. As a selective school we aim for high standards and the pursuit of academic excellence, helping every student to reach their full potential through the development of skills, concepts and knowledge, within the framework of a caring community. Relationships between staff and students are based on trust, mutual respect and a determination to succeed." From the school website, an extract from the introduction given by the Headteacher, Mr. J. Harrison.

The official school hymn, Jerusalem, is traditionally sung on the afternoons of the individual year group Award Ceremonies.

In recent years, the school has begun to form links with the neighbouring grammar schools in Tunbridge Wells. In the Sixth Form, students from The Skinners' School and Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School are able to attend lessons in a subject at the school should timetable clashes occur at their own school. The same happens in reverse with respect of TWGSB's students. The Boys' school's Drama, English, Design and Technology, Sociology and Physical Education lessons are particularly popular with students from these two schools.

Mr. Derek Barnard who had been Headmaster since 1987 retired in August 2006. He was well known for his 'strict but fair' approach.

Contents

[edit] House System

It was announced by Mr. Harrison in his end-of-term Easter 2007 newsletter, that a house system would come into place as from September 2007. There will be 6 houses, and a competition was held called "Name the Houses", and in his end-of-term 5 newsletter (2007), Mr. Harrison said that the final decision would be for the School Council to decide. In the new academic year, pupils were all issued with their house colours, with Sixth Formers as House Captains and Deputy House Captains.The new house system will allow students to partake in a variety of different inter-house competitions in music, drama, sports, and other subjects.

The house names were announced towards the end of Term 1 (in October 2007), they are thus:

  • Red: Kestrels
  • Orange: Ospreys
  • Yellow: Hawks
  • Green: Merlins
  • Blue: Eagles
  • Purple: Falcons

[edit] Buildings

The school has the following main buildings:-

  • The Main Building
  • The Music & Drama Block
  • The "Bates" Complex (or Mathematics & English Block)
  • The Art & Design Building
  • The Sixth-Form Block

The school also has cricket pitches, rugby pitches, football pitches, Softball pitches and use of the adjacent Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre.

[edit] Uniform

Years 7 to 11 inclusive:-

  • Blazer with the school badge (and house colour sewn onto the pocket)
  • School tie
  • Plain black trousers – not jeans or corduroy, no pinstripe
  • White shirt
  • Dark grey v-neck pullover – years 7-9
  • Dark grey or black v-neck pullover – years 10 & 11
  • Plain grey or dark coloured socks
  • Black shoes (not suede)
  • If a scarf is worn it must be in the school colours

Physical education and games kit:-

  • Reversible rugby top
  • Optional full tracksuit
  • White airtex t-shirt (with school logo)
  • Black shorts
  • Black football socks
  • Football boots
  • Trainer shoes

Through the school uniform, the school are able to ensure that boys are not singled out by others due to reasons concerning appearance. They also expect all boys to be tidy in their appearance; so hair should be of a reasonable length (not beyond the collar) and extreme haircuts are not acceptable. No personal jewellery should be worn, this means no rings and no earrings at any time. The School's Senior Management believe that if a boy wants to ‘stand out from the crowd’ within this school, he should do so through his behaviour and his actions, not his appearance.

The School Uniform is now available at Horncastles of Sevenoaks, and at Simmonds of Tunbridge Wells (both in the shop and online).

[edit] Specialist Humanities Status

In July 2007, the school, after undertaking many tasks (such as the Exodus project) was granted the bid to become a Humanities Specialist School. This specialist status affects the Geography, History, English and Religious Education Departments mainly. The aims of gaining the status include:-

  • The development of innovative strategies for teaching and learning in humanities-based subjects and the spreading of good practices using modern and traditional technologies and experiences beyond the classroom, ensuring young people are skilled in the techniques and concepts germane to the specialist subjects and can apply them to other contexts.
  • The encouragement of students to participate actively in society and celebrate cultural diversity from across the world, especially the cultures of pupils and the local community.

An effect of this, is that as from 2008 onwards, the 'Year 9 Options' selections will also have to include (as well as other key subjects as designated by the school) the taking of either Geography or History, as Religious Education and English are already compulsory (or 'core') subjects at TWGSB.

[edit] Subjects (The Curriculum)

The school offers a broad range of subjects right through to A-level. These are:

Teachers and assistants are all fully qualified, and are professional specialists in their own areas of expertise (i.e. the subjects that they teach).

[edit] The School Day

The school day begins at 8:43am, with a 25 minute registration period, when certain year groups will have their assembly. Students then receive their first one hour lesson, before a 17 minute break. At 10.30am, another two hours of lessons begin before lunch at 12.30pm. The 5 minute afternoon registration begins at 1.30pm, and then the final two lessons take place, allowing the school day to finish at 3.35pm.

[edit] Prefects

The school makes use of a successful prefect system, whereby responsibilities are given to the upper school to keep the school's rules of conduct in effect. This role can increase to senior prefect, whereby the onus is upon the students to help in the everyday running of the school, and are often chosen as the representatives for special functions. The Headboy and Deputies are drawn from this group. For the year of 2007/08, the Headboy will be Leo Harris, with a small team of five Deputies consisting of Stewart Turnbull, Parin Patel, Chloe Robinson, Sebastian Allen and Ryan Lightfoot. The decision was announced on 19 July. Standard prefect positions are awarded to the vast majority of year 11 and year 10 at the end of the school year when the year 11 prefects are on study leave.

[edit] Extra-Curricular Activities

The always increasing list of school clubs currently includes bridge, mathematical puzzles club, Writing Club, a book club, chess, Christian Union (also known as Thirst), drama, art clubs, an electronics club, homework clubs, choirs, jazz band, the orchestra, the windband, School Magazine Club (producing the TWGSB Eclectics Magazine annually), Science Club, Plant & Ecology Club, History Club, Geography Club, Latin American Salsa Dance Club, Young Engineers and a variety of other ICT-related and DT-related clubs. There are a wide variety of other activities for pupils to participate in during their spare time including VSU Youth in Action, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, CSLA and a mathematics clinic. The school also has two student councils; The School Council and The Sixth Form Council. The School council consists mainly of lower school students who meet once a week to organise trips and discussing their views on the school. The Sixth Form Council consists of year 12 and 13 students. The leadership team for the academic year 2007-08 is; Stewart Turnbull (Chairman), Jonny Cluny (Vice-Chairman), Parin Patel (Secretary) and Leo Harris (Treasurer). The main aims of the Sixth Form Council are organising social events for the Sixth Form and the school as a whole. Stewart Turnbull also works with the School Council to help bring the two together.

New clubs are planned to be introduced soon, offering opportunities to pupils who wish to expand their interests.

[edit] Student Success Outside of School

One of the main aims of the school is to encourage year 7 pupils to become well rounded young adults by the time they leave. This policy has been a great success for the school and student achievements outside of school are praised no end. Their Wall of Fame showcases many past and present pupils who have achieved highly outside of school, from sports players to talented musicians.

[edit] Famous Alumni

Former pupils include former England rugby captain Martin Corry, Nick Brown, Labour MP for Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Wallsend and Gary Brazil former professional footballer. Ian Wynne, bronze medallist in the 2004 Athens Olympic games also attended the school along with the actor Oliver Chris who appeared in The Office and Dave Walker who received an OBE for his outspoken campaigning for civil unions to be recognised by the Christian faith.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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