Byrchall High School
| Motto | Be the best that you can be |
|---|---|
| Established | 1588 |
| Type | Academy |
| Headteacher | Mr A.R. Birchall |
| Location |
Warrington Road Ashton-in-Makerfield Greater Manchester WN4 9PQ England  Coordinates: 53°28′53″N 2°38′27″W / 53.4813°N 2.6409°W |
| Local authority | Wigan |
| DfE number | 359/4501 |
| DfE URN | 138699 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1131 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Former name | Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School |
| Website | Byrchall High School |
Byrchall High School is secondary school and specialist Mathematics and Computing College with academy status, located in the Ashton-in-Makerfield area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.
Admissions
It has a mixed intake of both boys and girls aged 11–16. The current pupil population is approximately 1,200. The current headteacher is Mr. Alan Birchall. Byrchall High School is one of three secondary schools in Ashton, the other two being St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, located next to Byrchall High School, and Cansfield High School.
The school is sandwiched between the A49 and the M6 on the southern edge of the Wigan borough, neighbouring St Helens.
History
Grammar school
It was founded in 1588 as Ashton Grammar School by Robert Byrchall on land donated by wealthy local land owner William Gerrard. The original building in Seneley Green is now Garswood Library. Through the school, Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School Old Boys F.C. (now known as Ashtonians AFC) entered the Lancashire Amateur Football League in 1951.
In 1960, Lancashire Education Committee proposed to amalgamate the school with Upholland Grammar School when the school had around 450 pupils. The school was administered by Wigan from April 1974. By 1973 the school had 700 pupils and 800 by 1975.
Comprehensive
It became a comprehensive school in 1978.
Academy
The school became an academy on 1 October 2012.
Extra-curricular activities
The school has been involved in several different Fair Trade schemes, consisting of a tuckshop and various fund raising events. Most recently, four pupils visited Moshi, Tanzania, as Byrchall has links with the local Wazalendo High School.
It is well known locally for its annual senior citizens parties and drama performances, such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Grease.
Academic performance
The school's pupils generally obtain above-average GCSE results; one of the few schools in Wigan LEA to achieve this which is not a faith school.
Alumni
- Russell Beardsmore, former footballer for Manchester United
- Jane Bruton, Editor-in-Chief since 2005 of Grazia (UK)
- Kym Marsh, singer
- Susan Moncrieff, high-jumper who holds the British record
- Ian Thomas-Moore, footballer
Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School
- Sir George Bishop CB OBE, Chairman from 1972-9 of Booker-McConnell, President from 1957-8 of the International Sugar Council
- Prof Jeffrey King, Professor of Civil Engineering from 1953-72 at Queen Mary, University of London
- Rear Adm Robert Love OBE, Chief Naval Engineer Officer since 2008
- Rodney Robert Porter, biochemist, won the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the structure of antibodies, Whitley Professor of Biochemistry from 1967-85 at the University of Oxford
- Sir John Randall, physicist who invented the cavity magnetron, currently found in microwave ovens
- Reginald Treharne, Professor of History from 1930-67 at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth