Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School
| Motto | Success With Care |
|---|---|
| Established | 1579[1] |
| Type | Secondary |
| Headteacher | Miss Teresa Roche |
| Chair of Governors | Mr. Martin Brader |
| Founder | Thomas Fanshawe |
| Location |
Green Lane Dronfield Derbyshire S18 8FZ England Coordinates: 53°18′05″N 1°27′59″W / 53.30145°N 1.46638°W |
| Local authority | Derbyshire |
| DfE URN | 112969 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Staff | 150 |
| Students | 1867 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | –18 |
| Colours | Green and Black |
| Website |
www |
The Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School is a mixed, state comprehensive school for 11–18 year olds, in the town of Dronfield, Derbyshire.
History
Dronfield Grammar School, later renamed the Henry Fanshawe School, was founded in 1578, by the will of Henry Fanshawe, whose wish it was for his nephew, Thomas Fanshawe, to establish the school. Henry Fanshawe had been a local boys' schoolmaster in the town, with a school on a small site on the outskirts of neighbouring Holmesfield. Although his school building no longer exists, a small lane leads into the fields, called 'Fanshawe Lane'. The present school succeeds three previous schools, the Henry Fanshawe School, Gosforth Secondary School and the Gladys Buxton School. The Henry Fanshawe School and The Gosforth School merged in 1990 to form The Dronfield School (a two site school) with the closure of the Gladys Buxton School, and this then became the Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School in 2004, a single site school, with the closure of the Gosforth site. At present, the Gladdys Buxton site remains disused for public schooling use, yet is retained as a reserve should numbers rise, or alternative teaching space be needed. The Gosforth site (formerly the Gosforth School) was demolished in 2005, and Derbyshire County Council have used the extensive fields for a sports development. The Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School was officially opened on 28 January 1991 by Harry Barnes, then Labour MP for North East Derbyshire. The renamed and refurbished school was opened in September 2004 by Ruth Kelly, secretary of state for Education at the time. The school was awarded Technology College status in 2001.
Dronfield Grammar School, The Henry Fanshawe School
Dronfield Grammar School, later the Henry Fanshawe School, opened to educate boys of Dronfield in 1578, by Thomas Fanshawe, nephew of Henry Fanshawe. However, there is evidence to suggest Henry Fanshawe had educated boys in neighbouring Holmesfield for some years. Originally the school occupied a small site on Church Street (Red Brick House), Dronfield, although the school was relocated with increasing pupil numbers, to the current site, on Green Lane, Dronfield. The first building to be built here is now the western edge of 'A block', which now houses I.T. rooms, management offices, finance and reprographics. Before the 1970s, it was also known as Dronfield Grammar School, after this point, it was renamed the Dronfield School. A devastating fire in 1993 destroyed 60% of this site. These buildings were rebuilt, and are now known as 'E block'.
The Gladys Buxton School
Opening in 1960, the Gladys Buxton School opened to serve 11–14 year olds in the recently developed area of Coal Aston. It was officially opened on 7 March 1961 by Mrs Gladys Buxton. The school was similar to the Gosforth High School, relatively the same size with sizeable playing fields. Students would later feed into Henry Fanshawe School. The school was closed in 1990 in order that the Gladys Buxton School, Gosforth Secondary School and Henry Fanshawe School would form the Dronfield School. As a consequence of this, Gladys Buxton School was closed, mainly due to increasing building maintenance costs and falling numbers. Remaining staff and students were relocated, staff going to both sites, students to the Gosforth site.
The Gosforth School
The Gosforth Secondary Modern School was opened in 1955 to serve 11–15 year olds in the Dronfield area, and the larger numbers brought in by the new housing estates. It was officially opened in June 1956 by Lady Simon of Wythenshawe (Shena Potter), the wife of Ernest Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe. It operated under the Gosforth name until 1990 when it was merged with The Gladys Buxton School and the Henry Fanshawe School to form The Dronfield School, when after this it received some staff and students from The Gladys Buxton School. From 1990 up to 2001 it catered for all 11–14 year olds in Dronfield, and for the 2002–3 academic years this was reduced to 11–13, to form the initial stages of another merger. The Dronfield School would become a single site school, and so The Dronfield School, Gosforth site was decommissioned in 2003, and demolished in early 2005, with all students and staff being relocated to the Fanshawe site, being now known as 'Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School', often shortened to 'Henry Fanshawe', 'Fanshawe' or 'DHFS'.
Blocks
- A-Block – This is the original Victorian block, although had been extended many times. The Western edge, overlooking Chesterfield Road, is the oldest part. This building houses I.T. and Citizenship rooms, as well as a few English classrooms, the Leaderhsip Team, Reprographics and the Finance department. It also home to the ELC (E-Learning Centre), used by the school for classes if teachers are missing or need computer space. There is a quandrangle courtyard with a pond and war memorial.
- B-Block and C-Block – B-Block was originally the Head Masters house, however has changed much since then. Nowadays, it houses 'Student Services', a facility to integrate with students with learning or behavioural difficulties (the leader of this department is Ms. M. Milowiz). C-Block was Built in 1970, this block houses a variety of facilities. On the lower-ground floor, is the 6th form base, Business Studies and Law, on the ground floor is the Geography faculty, on the mezzanine level is 'Vocational Education' (which includes Health and Social Care, Leisure and Tourism, etc.), on the first floor is Sociology, and on the second floor is History, RE and Psychology.
- D-Block – This block now houses the Learning Resource Centre (library), several dynamic teaching rooms (large rooms, with large numbers of computers and tables), the R.E. faculty and 'A level P.E.'. It also includes newly fitted computer rooms – used by any lessons via LRC.
- E-Block – This is the largest building, built in 1996. This houses reception, English, Science, Technology, the Phoenix Hall and several catering outlets called 'Henry's Diner' and 'Fanshawe's Diner'.
- F-Block – Newest block joined to the Sports Hall. Houses Languages, Maths, Science, Art, Drama, Music and the 'Fanshawe Hall' (used for drama and performances) along with one set of PE changing rooms. There was some controversy with the building of this block; many staff have reported shoddy workmanship, with doorframes nailed rather than screwed into walls and poor heating. When the block was completed in 2005, the northern side was found to be 18 inches higher than the southern side, meaning that the floors slope ever so slightly.
- G-Block (sport halls) – rebuilt in the 1980s following a fire.
- H-Block (terrapins) – houses Creative and Expressive Arts (music and drama) and Textiles (a division of Technology).
Past Heads
- Thomas Revell (1579–1584)
- ___ Fletcher (1584–1592)
- ___ Waterhouse (1592–1626)
- ___ Peck (1626 – c.1636)
- Francis Alsopp (c.1636–1640)
- ___ Poole (1640–1660)
- William Whitaker (1660–1680)
- ___ Mason (1680 – c.1692)
- Robert Good (c.1692–1722)
- Rev. John Baynes (1722 – c.1750)
- ___ Allison (c.1750–1774)
- Rev. John Walker (1774–1797)
- Rev. John Russell (1797 – c.1809)
school closed c.1809–1814
- William Pidcock (1814–1847)
- Rev. John Cockerton (1847–1857)
- Rev. John F. Fanshawe (1857–1866)
- Dr. Edward Young Haslam (1866–1869)
- Waller K. Bedingfield (1869–1888)
- Charles Chapman Baggaley (1888–1926)
- Norman Shera Millican (1926–1953)
- Peter John Wallis (1953–1958)
- Maurice Edmundson (1958–1964)
- Dr. Peter Henry Andrews (1964–1985)
- Mr. Thomas I. Thomas (1985–1994)
- Mr. C.J. Burke (1994–2005)
- Mr A. Gibbs (acting) (2005–2006)
- Miss T.B. Roche (2006 – present)
Catchment area
The School takes pupils from a wide area surrounding Dronfield, including the areas surrounding Apperknowle, Holmesfield, and Unstone.
Academic performance
The school gets GCSE results well above the England average and A-level results also above the England average. In 2010, A-level results were: 98% Pass Grade and 24% A* Grade.
Alumni
- Rick Allen (drummer), one-armed (since 1985) drummer of Def Leppard
- Russell Dennett, former member of The Human League in the 1990s
- Richard Peacock (footballer)
- Howard Pressman, radio presenter
- Kevin Pressman, Howard's brother, and goalkeeper for many years of Sheffield Wednesday
- Mark Roe, golfer
- Alison Slack, Miss United Kingdom 1986
Dronfield Grammar School
- Roy Goodall, former captain of Huddersfield Town in the 1930s
- Ron Hall, former Head Boy, co-founded The Sunday Times' Insight team in 1963 (with Clive Irving and Jeremy Wallington under Denis Hamilton) and helping to expose John Profumo, Editor of Insight from 1964-66, Editor from 1978-81 of The Sunday Times Magazine, and from 1982-86 of Sunday Express Magazine[3] He married Dronfield's Head Girl, Ruth, later a harpsichordist.
- Prof David Owens, Professor of Control Systems and Engineering from 1999-2010, and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 2002-06, at the University of Sheffield[4]
- Sir Raymond Needham QC, former Director (in 1939) of the Ministry of Information
Former teachers
- David Martin, overseas positions with the British Council (taught from 1980-84)
References
- ↑ 'Parishes: Doveridge – Duffield', Magna Britannia: volume 5: Derbyshire (1817), pp. 129–142. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50727. Date accessed: 13 October 2008
- ↑ Commemorative brochure produced by the school in 1968 to mark the 400th anniversary of its endowment
- ↑ Ron Hall February 2014
- ↑ David Owens
The Dronfield School by R. A. Redfern., published by The Cottage Press in 1994.