Thomas Adams School
|
Thomas Adams School Crest | |
| Established | 1650 |
|---|---|
| Type | Voluntary controlled school |
| Principal | Elizabeth Dakin |
| Location |
Lowe Hill Wem Shropshire SY4 5UB England Coordinates: 52°51′32″N 2°43′48″W / 52.8589°N 2.7301°W |
| DfE number | 893/4503 |
| DfE URN | 123589 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Clee, Lawley, Haughmond, Caradoc, Corndon, Hawkstone & Grinshill |
| Colours | Blue, White |
| Affiliations |
Keele University Drapers' Company of London |
| Former name | The Free School of Wem |
| Website |
www |
Thomas Adams School is a Shropshire Council maintained secondary school in Wem. The school takes pupils from ages 11–18 and currently has just over 1,400 on roll. Unusually for a state school there is a boarding unit. The school has the Schools for Health Award and in 2002 obtained Media Arts College status.[1] Adams Grammar School (informally known as Wem Grammar School) was merged with Wem Secondary Modern School to form Thomas Adams School in 1976.
The school is rated by Ofsted to be good.[2] The school has a strong connection with the Drapers Company, an ancient London guild who nominate two governors to sit on the school's governing body. The Drapers Company is well known for its educational connections and charitable contributions, it helps support a number of schools and universities which have historical links with the company.
The school was founded in 1650 by Sir Thomas Adams, the Lord Mayor of London in 1645, who was described by the diarist Samuel Pepys as a "comely old alderman". He was a Sheriff of London, Master of the Company of Drapers and an MP. He was a staunch royalist, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his royalist sympathies but was later sent by Parliament to the Hague in 1660 to wait upon King Charles II who was about to be restored to the throne. He also paid for the Bible to translated into Persian.
Famous past-pupils of the Thomas Adams School include the comedians Greg Davies and Peter Jones, the golfer Sandy Lyle, General Sir Charles Warren and lawyer/politician Sir Henry Maddocks.
The sixth form is known as "Adams College" and this should not be confused with Adams College in South Africa.