The Thomas Alleyne Academy is an Academy in

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. It was founded in 2013, but can trace its roots back to 1558, when the original school was set up from the will of

Thomas Alleyne Thomas Alleyne (c.1488–1558) was an English priest of the sixteenth century. He is remembered for founding schools. Details of his early life are lacking, although he appears to have had roots in Staffordshire where he later endowed two school ...

. It is situated at the northern end of Stevenage High Street, in Stevenage Old Town, adjacent to the roundabout of the A1072 and the

A602 The A602 is a road linking Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England, with A10 at Ware in Hertfordshire, via Stevenage. The course of the road has changed significantly since the 1960s with the construction of several bypasses and relief roads. ...

(former A1), and more than 200 metres to the east of the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

. The Academy has 180 in each year group and is a popular school, with Year 7 places usually oversubscribed. The school was inspected by Ofsted in October 2019 and retained a 'Good' rating. In 2017 the school converted all lighting to LED; a project funded by The Educational Social Enterprise Fund for LED Lighting. In the same year the school moved their heating system from gas to Biomass fuel. The biomass system is fuelled with wood pellets obtained from sustainable forests. In the summer of 2020 the 1950s science block was completely renovated using a Capital Improvement Fund government grant, upgrading the outdated 1950s labs to state of the art new facilities. Francis Cammaerts (1916–2006), French Resistance leader and witness in the ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' Trial, was headmaster from 1952 to 1961. Francis Cammaerts was the author Michael Morpurgo's uncle. Morpurgo wrote a fictional story based on his uncle's experiences in WWII ‘In the Mouth of the Wolf’. In 1969 the school became a comprehensive, Alleyne's School. In 1989 it merged with Stevenage Girls' School and changed to its current name. During the summer of 2012, Thomas Alleyne's was chosen to choose a torchbearer to run with the torch for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. The

Vincent motorcycle Vincent Motorcycles was a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1928 to 1955. The business was established by Philip Vincent who bought an existing manufacturing name HRD, initially renaming it as ''Vincent HRD'', producing his own motorcy ...

factory was based in the current Thomas Alleyne Academy reception between 1928 and 1955. There is a plaque on the reception building commemorating the Vincent motorcycle champion

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

The current head teacher at the Thomas Alleyne Academy is Mr Mark Lewis. Mark Lewis is also the Managing Director of the Hart Schools Trust, a Multi-Academy Trust incorporating Roebuck Academy in Stevenage.

Academy Status

In March 2013, the School (as it was then known) requested to turn into an Academy. On Sunday 1 September 2013, Alleynes became an Academy, with links to North Hertfordshire College. Being an Academy means that Alleynes has more control over finances and their curriculum, which they wouldn't have if they had stayed as a 'School'. This means that the Academy is now funded directly by central government and not the Local Authority.

Notable former pupils

Alleyne's Grammar School

* Sir

Henry Chauncy Sir Henry Chauncy (12 April 1632 – April 1719) was an English lawyer, topographer and antiquarian. He is best known for his county history of Hertfordshire, published in 1700. Life He was born in Ardeley (then known as Yardley), Hertfordshi ...

, historian * Geoffrey Howard, grandson of Sir Ebenezer Howard, pioneer of garden cities * Harry Bates, 1850 to 1899, one of the finest English artists of the nineteenth century * Ken Hensley 1956-1961, of the rock band Uriah Heep

Alleyne's School

* Graham Poll, referee

Notable former Staff

* Roger Luxton (OBE) principal adviser and finally director of children's services at Barking and Dagenham, former school governor *

Tony McWalter Tony McWalter (born 20 March 1945 in Worksop) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was Labour Party and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead between 1997 and 2005. Early life Education He went to the independent cathol ...

MP for Hemel Hemstead from 1997 till 2005. Worked at the school from 2005 till 2019 * Francis Cammaerts ( Headmaster) Special Operations Executive Agent during World War II

References

External links

The Thomas Alleyne Academy

Ofsted Inspection Report

Old Alleynians

Get Information About Schools (gov.uk)

Thomas Alleyne Supporters Association (TASA)

News items

* https://www.thecomet.net/news/education/stevenage-s-thomas-alleyne-school-and-airbus-flying-challenge-5425308 Stevenage students off to a flying start with Airbus mentoring scheme (Oct 2019) *http://www.thecomet.net/news/gcse_results_thomas_alleyne_stevenage_1_1491162 Student from the Thomas Alleyne School carries Olympic Torch through Stevenage Old Town * http://www.106jack.com/news/local-news/olympic-torch-relay-meet-hertfordshires-torchbearers/ MP Praises Thomas Alleyne students on a school charity day to raise money to "Send my friend to school" * http://www.theadvertisergroup.co.uk/Education-and-Training/MP-praises-pupils-support-of-poor-African-students-18072012.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas Alleyne Academy The 1558 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1550s Secondary schools in Hertfordshire Academies in Hertfordshire Schools in Stevenage Grade II listed educational buildings Grade II listed buildings in Hertfordshire