Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School
| Established | 1526 |
|---|---|
| Type | Comprehensive, Voluntary aided school |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Location |
Grammar School Road Latchford Warrington (Cheshire) WA4 1JL England  Coordinates: 53°22′49″N 2°33′57″W / 53.38031°N 2.5657°W |
| Local authority | Warrington |
| DfE URN | 133672 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 720 |
| Gender | Mixed-sex education |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Houses | 4 |
| Website | Sir Thomas Boteler C of E High School |
Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School is a comprehensive school in Warrington, Cheshire.
History
Grammar school
It was founded in 1526 by Sir Thomas Boteler, later to be the Sheriff of Lancashire in 1535. He left a legacy to pay for the education of six "poor boyes of the parishe", and this foundation later developed into the Boteler Grammar School for Boys, serving the whole of Warrington. The original school was located in the town centre, and its nineteenth century building, now used as a council depot, survives at School Brow.This building was demolished some years ago having been allowed to fall into a state of neglect. Attempts to gain access before demolition were prevented by Warrington Borough Council but a photographer was sent out to take some pictures prior to demolition. As far as is known no attempts were made to preserve any of the material of the building but in fact the Council denied that anything was older than Victorian. A niche on the front of the building may have been 18th Century but this is speculation. The location being proximate to the parish church is consistent with the original foundation as many English Grammar Schools both before and after the reformation were linked to churches and monastic institutions as one or more of the clergy often acted as the masters being the most literate and educated members of the local community. School Brow is only a short walk from St Elphin's parish church. By the 1930s, the Boteler school educated girls as well as boys. In 1936 a new school for boys only was planned at Latchford, to be built by the Warrington Education Committee. The new boys' school buildings opened on the school's current site in 1940, while the girls remained at the town centre site. They were later moved to a new High School for Girls, on a site now occupied by Priestley College.
From April 1974 the school at Latchford was administered by Cheshire County Council's Education Committee.
Comprehensive
The school became a mixed comprehensive in 1979, as Victoria Park High School. In 2002 it became Warrington's only Church of England school, coinciding with the introduction of school blazers as part of the uniform.
Admissions
The present-day school is for both sexes between the ages of 11 and 16, with no sixth form. It has a Christian ethos and serves the local area of Latchford. It lies just off the A5061 in Knutsford Road, near the railway and the Manchester Ship Canal.
Academic performance
Sir Thomas Boteler celebrated its best ever GCSE exam results in 2011, with 67% of pupils gaining 5A*-C grades and 47% gaining 5A*-C grades including English and Maths.
Notable former pupils
- Steven Arnold, played Ashley Peacock in Coronation Street
- Alison Burrows, Hollyoaks actress
Boteler Grammar School
- David Banks, Editor of the Daily Mirror from 1992-4, and former radio presenter
- Alfred Bennett, author
- Sir Lindor Brown CBE, Waynflete Professor of Physiology at the University of Oxford from 1960-7, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford from 1967-71, President of ASLIB from 1961-3, and President of the International Union of Physiological Sciences from 1962-8
- Richard Cooper, TV writer
- Paul Cullen, rugby league player for Warrington Wolves attended the school 1974-1979.
- Prof Michael Driscoll, Vice-Chancellor since 1996 of Middlesex University
- George Duckworth, cricketer
- Chris Evans (presenter) (Left during 3rd year), expelled for punching a teacher
- Thomas Forshaw, Chairman of Burtonwood Brewery (bought by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries in 2005) from 1956-74
- Michael Hardman MBE, founder of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
- Prof Geoffrey Hewitt, Courtaulds Professor of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London from 1993-9, and President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers from 1989-90
- Derek Mapp, Chairman of Sport England from 2006-7 and Chairman of the East Midlands Development Agency from 1998-2004
- Thomas Percival, invented medical ethics
- Thomas Risley, minister
- Peter Rylands, Liberal MP from 1868-74 for Warrington, and from 1876-1887 for Burnley
- Dr John Stevenson, historian and Editor of The English Historical Review from 1996-2000
- George Tierney (briefly), MP and Leader from 1818-21 of the Whig Party
- Air Commodore George Venn CBE
- Hamlet Winstanley, painter
- Leslie Witts CBE, Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford from 1938-65