Ashby School
 | |
| Established | 1567 |
|---|---|
| Type | Academy |
| Headteacher | Mr. E Green |
| Location |
Nottingham Road Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire LE65 1DT England Coordinates: 52°44′54″N 1°27′48″W / 52.74844°N 1.46335°W |
| DfE number | 855/4508 |
| DfE URN | 138833 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
| Students | 1976 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 14–19 |
| Houses | 8 |
| Publication | The Ashbeian |
| Former name | Ashby Grammar School |
| Website | Ashby School |
Ashby School, formerly known as Ashby Grammar School, is a co-educational day and boys' boarding upper school with academy status in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The school is situated in the centre of Ashby on two sites.
History
Ashby Grammar School, the original boys' school, was founded in 1567 by Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon.[1] The girls' grammar school opened in 1901. They merged in 1972 and became comprehensive. Ashby School became an Academy on 1 October 2012.
Headmasters
- T. A. Woodcock OBE 1927-58
- Charles Padel 1909-12
- John Brinsley the elder 17th century
- David Edward Herbert 1980's
- Jacob Lawson 1994-2002
Former teachers
- Sir Mike Tomlinson CBE, Chief Inspector of Schools from 2000-2 (head of chemistry from 1969–77)
Infrastructure
Ashby School is based on three main sites (A, B and C blocks), based on adjacent roads. The school has spent considerable funds on the construction of a new science block, new rooms in the design department, and more recently, a new block built to accommodate music, art, media studies and English. Construction of the new sixth form centre has recently been completed, there is now a social area, a canteen area and an area for relaxing and talking to friends which is referred to as the "airport lounge". The state-of-the-art Centre, costing £740,000, includes wireless computer facilities and a Sixth Form dining area.
Houses
The school has eight houses: Ashe, Bullen, Crewe, Erdington, Ferrers, Gylby, Hastings, Loudoun.[2] Each house chooses a charity for the year for which it raises money.
Performance
The school adheres to the Ofsted national school grading system and received satisfactory (ranking 2/4) as an average for all areas assessed.[3] The highest rating areas were responsibility of governors, workplace skill development and student well-being where a score of outstanding (rank 1/4) was attained. Academically, the school is average or above the national average in all subjects except GCSE Science, Citizenship, A2 Chemistry & A2 Mathematics.
Gifted and talented
'Da Vinci' is the school's current gifted and talented system. The 'Tip Tops' is a group primary pupils in years 5 and 6 from local primary schools in the Ashby area. They attend after-school sessions in which they are tutored in advanced mathematics, literacy, film studies, science, art, and philosophy by gifted and talented students from Ashby School. The Ashby School's gifted and talented programme was rated three stars by the National Association for Gifted Children in 2010.[4] In November 2011 a Russian cosmonaut involved in the planning of the manned mission to Mars visited the school and gave a lecture to the 'G&T'.
Notable former pupils
Former pupils are known as Old Ashbeians.
- Andrew Betts (Former Charlotte Hornets and Bologna Basketballer)
- Kate Bostock, fashion designer, and current Director of Clothing at M & S
- Henry Dartnall, popular musician
- Dorian West (Former England Hooker)
- The Young Knives
- Pat Ashe, notable legend
- Nathan Buck (Leicestershire County and England U19 Cricket Player)
- Tom Hopper (Actor, best known for playing Sir Percival in Merlin (TV Series))
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Boys’ Grammar School
- Sir Geoffrey Arthur CMG, Ambassador to Kuwait from 1967-8, and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford from 1975–84
- John Bainbridge (astronomer)
- Philip Bent, VC
- Sir John Bonser, barrister
- William Bradshaw (Puritan)
- Jack English (photographer)
- Levi Fox, historian
- Anthony Gilby, clergyman
- Alexander Henry Green, geologist
- Leslie Hale, Baron Hale, Labour MP for Oldham from 1945–50 and Oldham West from 1950–68
- Joseph Hall (bishop)
- Thomas Hemsley CBE, baritone
- Dr Barry Heywood, Director of the British Antarctic Survey from 1994-7
- Sir Joseph Hood, 1st Baronet, Conservative MP from 1918-24 for Wimbledon
- Sir James Hunt, judge
- Reginald Jacques CBE, conductor
- James Jennings, Vice-Chancellor from 1917-20 of the University of Patna
- David Nish, footballer, capped five times for England.
- David Taylor, Labour MP from 1997-2009 for North West Leicestershire
- Bernard Vann, VC
- Sir John Walker CMG OBE, Ambassador to Norway from 1961-2, and to Venezuela from 1955–60
- David Wilson, Chairman from 1987–2007, and founder of Wilson Bowden (based in Coalville and bought by Barratt Developments in 2007)
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Girls’ Grammar School
- Dora Briggs, Principal, Whyalla Campus, University of South Australia, 1990–1994
- Averil Burgess OBE, President of the Girls' Schools Association from 1988-9
- Nora David, Baroness David
- Clare Hollingworth, journalist
- Prof Diane Reay, Professor of Education since 2005 at the University of Cambridge[5]
References
- ↑ Cross, Claire. "Hastings, Henry, third earl of Huntingdon (1536?–1595)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ↑ http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=22934
- ↑ Ofsted Report, 3 November 2005
- ↑ "Gifted and Talented". Ashby School. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ↑ http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/people/staff/reay/