| Motto | Serve and Obey |
|---|---|
| Established | 1656 |
| Type | Voluntary aided grammar school with boarding |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Headmaster | Mr. M J Barratt |
| Deputy Headmasters |
Mr. M Warren-Smith Dr. P Pack Mr. G Hickey |
| Chairman of Governors | Joff Hamilton |
| Founder | William Adams Esq |
| Specialism | Technology, Languages and Training School |
| Location | High Street Newport, Shropshire TF10 7BD England |
| Local authority | Telford and Wrekin |
| DfE URN | 123593 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 804 |
| Gender | Male (11–16), Co-educational (16–18) |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses |
Clive (red) Darwin (blue) Talbot (black & white) Webb (green) |
| Colours | Traditional colours: Maroon, Navy blue + either White or Gold |
| Publication |
Formerly: The Novaportan Currently: The Eighth Hour |
| Former pupils | Old Novaportans |
| Website | www.adamsgs.org.uk |
Adams' Grammar School is a selective state grammar school in Newport, Shropshire, rated by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills as a Grade 1 outstanding school (in all categories), the latest OFSTED report concludes "this is a truly impressive school".[1] Its name is sometimes abbreviated to AGS, although it is often referred to locally as 'Adams' or simply 'The Grammar'.
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Adams' was founded in 1656 by William Adams, a wealthy citizen of the City of London and a haberdasher who was born in the town. The school was first opened on 25 March 1657, during the politically unstable and volatile period of the English Interregnum, therefore, having received permission from Oliver Cromwell to found the school, William Adams sought to further ensure the school's continued existence by appointing the Master and Wardens of the Haberdashers' Company as Governors in perpetuity. As one of the few schools opened during this period, the school's terms of foundation were again confirmed, upon restoration of the monarchy and coronation of Charles II as king, by an act of parliament, a copy of which is held in the school archives.
Adams endowed the school with a large agricultural 900-acre (3.6 km2) estate at Knighton in Shropshire with which to provide funding for its operation well into the future. This estate was eventually sold off in several portions over the course of the 20th century and the proceeds of the final sale were used by the Haberdashers to purchase Longford Hall as a boarding house for the school. The grammar school was initially endowed with 1400 books just after its foundation, this at the time represented one of the largest libraries in England, the average Oxbridge college then having only around 1000 books. Rather unfortunately only seven of these 1400 books are still in the hands of the school, with the rest having been sold at various times when the school has suffered financial hardship.
The school, under the headmastership of Reverend Samuel Lea MA, turned down the services of Dr Samuel Johnson, later to be the pre-eminent scholar of the 18th century.
The school has seen significant improvements to the facilities in recent years with the addition of a new sports hall, performing arts centre and science and technology block. The music department was condemned in 2006, and the replacement is still under construction.
The school regularly places in the top 50 schools in the country and top 20 state schools in the country based on GCSE and A-level results. Adam's also ranks within the three best schools for A-level results in Shropshire, along with the prestigious Shrewsbury School and the Newport Girls High School. These figures also represent some of the highest in the West Midlands for predominantly rural counties. In 2011 100% of GCSE were passed at grade A*-C. The school has also developed quite the reputation for a high number of students gaining access into the Russel Group universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. A high proportion of students also go on to study highly competitive subjects such as medicine, law, dentistry and veterinary medicine.
The current headmaster is Mr Michael Barratt, incumbent since 2008. Mr M Warren-Smith (who was formerly head of Darwin House and Religious Studies) and Dr P Pack, (former head of maths and also the chair of Amnesty International's International Executive Committee.[2]) are the current Deputy Masters. The incumbent master of senior boys' boarding is Mr R Mulhern whilst the junior boys' housemaster is Mr M Skeate.
The school also operates an extra-curricular house system. This system is used as the basis for inter-house sports competitions and has traditionally been a source of pride for the students of its respective houses. Clive House, named after Robert Clive of India sports a bright red and is currently led by its housemaster Dr P Dolding. Darwin house, traditionally sporting Royal blue is named after the famed 19th century naturalist of the same name and is led by housemaster Mr D Tozer. Talbot House, the last of the three original 'Salopian' houses, has traditionally been characterised most by its sporting colours of black and white (arranged in hoops when playing rugby), it is named after the Earl Talbot, one the foremost English Military commanders of the wars in France and is currently led by its housemaster Mr N Robins. Webb house is the youngest of the houses at Adams', founded in 1994 it has since adopted emerald green as its distinguishing colour; the house is named after Dawley-born merchant naval officer and accomplished swimmer Captain Matthew Webb. Webb house has for many years now been led by Mr. Rodney Jones. Throughout the academic year there are many house events, revolving around the arts, sports or academic subjects. These include the House Music Competition, Dixon Cup (drama), Smedley Cup (rugby), House 7's, House Netball and House Speaking. House Geography and Languages also occur.
The school has a number of dedicated boarding houses, they play a significant role in school life as the physical residence of the school's 150 or so junior and senior boarders. The present junior hall (Longford Hall) is located at the school's playing fields about a mile away whilst the three senior boys' boarding houses (Beaumaris, Roddam and Picken) are to be found situated in large Georgian townhouses facing the High Street just 50 metres away from the main gates on the same side of the road as the main school (often referred to as 'Big School').
Due to the CCF, the school sends many recruits to Sandhurst, Royal Air Force College Cranwell and the Britannia Royal Naval College. The CCF play a vital role in the life of the Town, parading every year on Remembrance Sunday. The CCF Marching Band will also be becoming more inolved in the near future and are due to play at the Newport carnival and in the Civic Parade in June. Boys can Join the CCF in January of Second form and will pass out in May of the same year. The aim of the corps is to provide boys with a wide range of military skills, adventurous pursuits and leadership experience. The corps is commanded by Major Matthew Skeate who is supported by second Lieutenant Garthwaite and SSI Wakeman. The RAF section was led by Flight Lieutenant Weaver who was decommissioned in August 2011 and the role has now passed to Flying Officer Harris and Pilot Officer Lambert. The corps has its own building, commonly known as "Noah's Ark" where the stores are housed and NCO Meetings and some lessons take place. The corps fequently hold Overnight Exercises where battle drills and fieldcraft are practiced. These can be either held at Longford Hall, MOD Nesscliffe or MOD Swynnerton. After the Sixth form go on study leave, the CCF prepares for the Annual House CCF Competition, known as the Thompstone Trophy, after Lieutenant Colonel Brian Thompstone. This entails a Drill Competition, Shooting, Command Tasks, Memory Games, Army Related Quizzes, Section Attacks, CQB and an Obs lane.[3]
Both the CCF(Army) and CCF(RAF) sections hold summer camps visiting working bases such as RAF Cranwell and Barry Buddon. Cadets can also attend Adventurous Training Camps held annually at Llanbedr and Windermere, Easter camps at RAF Akrotiri, Summer Camps at Ramstein Air Base and Leadership Courses at RAF Cranwell, MOD Nesscliffe or Cadet Training Centre, Frimley Park. The members of the CCF Band can also attend music camps at Britannia Royal Naval College and Altcar. The school also takes a small contingent of cadets to complete the annual Nijmegen March. As well as this, cadets have the opportunity to attend special camps such as the 65th D-Day Landing commemoration and the Cadet 150 Celebrations.[4]
Through the Cadet Vocational Qualifications Organisation (CVQO) the School CCF offers cadets (aged 16–19) and above the opportunity to gain internationally-recognised BTEC First Diploma qualifications in Public Services. Each BTEC First Diploma is the equivalent of 4 GCSEs, grade C – A*.
Adams' is a selective state school which admits both boarding and day pupils, thanks to the school's recent academic success it has achieved a relatively high national profile and enjoys at least some recognition on the international stage (with ever increasing numbers of foreign students, notably those from Hong Kong). Adams' is a specialist Technology College as well as a Language College and a Training School. The school, including the sixth form, has approximately 800 pupils, all of whom wear a common uniform, with the exception of sixth formers (both Upper and Lower) who wear a navy blue, as opposed to maroon blazer. It is however, of essentially the same design, with the exception of the addition of gold blazer buttons in the place of plastic marroon ones.
The school currently runs student exchange visit programs with the following schools in France, Germany and Poland:
| School | City |
|---|---|
| Oberschule zum Dom | Lübeck |
| Collège Roqua | Aubenas |
| I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Cypriana Kamila Norwida | Bydgoszcz |
The School runs an Old Novaportans' Club which arranges many reunions, meals and sporting events throughout the year in which its members can take part. Upon leaving the school, all students are encouraged to join and stay in touch with the school.
Former pupils are known as "Old Novaportans" (initialised as "ON").
Former Staff
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