Aireborough Grammar School was an English state

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

situated on the Yeadon / Guiseley border in

Aireborough Aireborough is a district within the West Yorkshire Urban Area, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is mostly within the present Leeds metropolitan borough, although some areas now in Bradford metropolitan district may also be conside ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. The school was founded in 1910 and closed in 1991.

History

In January 1906, a meeting of Rawdon, Yeadon,

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in th ...

and

Menston Menston is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Along with Burley in Wharfedale, most of Menston is within Wharfedale Ward in the metropolitan borough of Bradford. The remainder of M ...

councils discussed a proposal to create a secondary school for Guiseley. The following May the first meeting of the governing body of Guiseley Secondary School took place. In April 1907, a site in Yeadon was decided upon and the school name was amended to become Yeadon and Guiseley Secondary School. Plans were agreed in October 1907 and construction began.Dobson, A (1961). ''Aireborough Grammar School, a History 1910–1960''. Leeds: Aireborough Grammar School. The school opened on 14 September 1910 with 71 pupils, and the official opening of Yeadon and Guiseley Secondary School took place on 4 November 1910. In 1937, the townships of Rawdon, Yeadon and Guiseley were amalgamated to form the Aireborough Urban District, at which time the name of the school changed to Aireborough Grammar School. When the Butler Education Act 1944 came into force in 1945, the school became a county maintained secondary

, and only admitted pupils who had passed the

eleven plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

. There was considerable building extension work undertaken in the early 1960s which was accompanied by significant increase in pupil numbers and, from 1974, facilitated the school's evolution into a comprehensive school. The ''Jubilee Review'' in 1985 alluded to the fact that "the future may well be uncertain".Mathers,C. Chaplin,S. Molyneux,S. (eds.) (1985) ''Aireborough Grammar School Jubilee Review 1910-1985''. Leeds: Aireborough Grammar School This proved true in May 1991 when the school closed, following which it was demolished and the land was developed as housing. There is some link with the old school, however, as the boundary wall incorporates the carved Rawdon, Yeadon, Guiseley and Menston stones from the facade of the school, and the street names of Coverley Rise and Fairfax Grove in the development pay a passing homage to two of the school houses.

School houses

The school was divided into three houses in 1921: *Coverley (purple and gold). The Calverley family once owned the school land. Dobson suggests there is some link from this family to Sir Roger de Coverley. *Fairfax (green and yellow) was named after the Fairfax family who once owned the village of Menston. *Forster (dark and light blue) was named after

William Edward Forster William Edward Forster, PC, FRS (11 July 18185 April 1886) was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman. His supposed advocacy of the Irish Constabulary's use of lethal force against the National Land League ea ...

who lived at Rawdon and drafted the

Elementary Education Act 1870 The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities with defined powers, autho ...

. In 1937, at the time the school name changed to Aireborough Grammar School, a further house was introduced. This was Cavendish, named after the family name of the Duke of Devonshire, who owned land at nearby

Bolton Abbey Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England, takes its name from the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian monastery now known as Bolton Priory. The priory, closed in the 1539 Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by King He ...

. At some time before the early 1960s the house colours became: *Cavendish: red *Coverley: yellow *Fairfax: green *Forster: blue

Notable former pupils

School alumni include: *

Hedley Verity Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 – 31 July 1943) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 ...

(1905–1943), England cricketer whose 1932 innings analysis of 19.4-16-10-10 remains a world record in a first-class match * Brian Close (1931–2015), youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England *Vice Admiral Sir

Richard Jeffrey Ibbotson Vice Admiral Sir Richard Jeffrey Ibbotson, (born 27 June 1954) is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet. Naval career Educated at Durham University, Ibbotson joined the Royal Navy in 1975 and specialized in ...

KBE CB DSC, MSc, RN (1954– ), awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

for operations in the First Gulf War, 1991Royal Navy website. ''HMS Hurworth'' Retrieved 28 November 2006

HMS Hurworth (M39) HMS ''Hurworth'' is a of the British Royal Navy. Service history In March 1987, ''Hurworth'' was visiting Ostend when the cross channel ferry capsized leaving Zeebrugge; two of her divers were awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal for their eff ...

Royal Naval Museum website. ''Trustees'

Retrieved 28 November 2006 *

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. ...

(1957– ), English singer and recording artist; member of the duo Soft Cell * Nigel Melville (1961– ), one of the few players to captain England rugby team on his debut appearance *

Richard Starkings Richard Starkings (born 27 January 1962) is a British font designer and comic book letterer, editor and writer. He was one of the early pioneers of computer-based comic-book lettering, and is one of the most prolific creators in that industry. ...

(1962– ), creator of the Image Comic book series ''

Elephantmen ''Elephantmen'' is an American ongoing monthly comic book published by Image Comics and written by Richard Starkings with art by Moritat and a number of other artists. Issue #1 was released in July 2006. Overview Some 200 years from now, the M ...

'' and

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''; founder of the Comicraft design and lettering studio and comicbookfonts.com

Notable staff members

*Ernest Tillotson MSc,

FRAS FRAS may refer to: * Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger ...

, FGS (1904–1981), Physics teacher from 1927 to retirement; authority on British earthquakes; member of the Seismological subcommittee of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

; represented the United Kingdom at meetings of the European Seismological Committee

Reunions

Two reunions have taken place since the closure of the school, both of which have been on Nunroyd Park, which is opposite the former school site. *The first reunion was in 1992. *The 2002 reunion is reported in the ''Keighley News'' archive. The school's opening and closing dates in this report are inaccurate.

History

School houses

Notable former pupils

Notable staff members

Reunions

References

Further reading