Cirencester Grammar School (CGS) was a

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 ...

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England, founded in about 1461 and closed in 1966.

History

The principal founder of the school was John Chadworth (d. 1471),

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

. He is recorded in

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

as a "Gloucester Man". He was educated at Oxford and was afterwards a Fellow and Provost of King's College, Cambridge.

Princess Alexandra of Kent Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Alexandra were first cousins through their fathers, King George V ...

visited the school on 23 July 1958 as part of its quincentenary celebrations.

Closure

The school finally closed in July 1966, at the end of the summer term, as part of a reorganisation of county schools. In September 1966 its

forms Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data * ...

became part of the Cirencester School, combining with pupils from the Deer Park Secondary Modern School, and the new First Form entrants for 1966 went directly to the Deer Park site. Eventually the old Cirencester Grammar School forms all moved there, also. The School's Victoria Road buildings still survive much as they were in 1966. They were taken over by a junior school (previously in Lewis Lane), which was subsequently joined by a primary school. The junior school closed in July 2010

Notable former pupils

* Dr

Vernon Ellis Cosslett Vernon Ellis Cosslett, FRS (16 June 1908 – 21 November 1990) was a British microscopist. The eighth child (of six sons and five daughters) of Welsh cabinet maker and carpenter, later clerk of works on the estate of the Earl of Eldon at Stowe ...

, physicist and former president of the

Association of University Teachers The Association of University Teachers (AUT) was the trade union and professional association that represented academic (teaching and research) and academic-related (librarians, IT professionals and senior administrators) staff at pre-1992 uni ...

and the

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the society gained it ...

* William Court, Professor of Economic History at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

from 1947 to 1970 and president of the

Economic History Society The Economic History Society (EHS) is a learned society that was established at the London School of Economics in 1926 to support the research and teaching of economic history in the United Kingdom and internationally. The society also acts as a ...

from 1969 to 1970 *

James Dallaway The Rev. Prebendary James Dallaway FSA (20 February 1763 – 6 June 1834) was an English antiquary, topographer, and miscellaneous writer. He is known for his account of Constantinople and the Greek islands, published in 1797; and his county h ...

(1763–1834),

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

, topographer and writer. *

Wally Hammond Walter Reginald Hammond (19 June 1903 – 1 July 1965) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed cap ...

, cricketer whose centenary was celebrated at a reunion in Cirencester in 2003. *

Edward Jenner Edward Jenner, (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was a British physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines, and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...

, who invented

inoculation Inoculation is the act of implanting a pathogen or other microorganism. It may refer to methods of artificially inducing immunity against various infectious diseases, or it may be used to describe the spreading of disease, as in "self-inoculati ...

to control

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

s. * Prof Christopher Price, president of the

Association for Clinical Biochemistry Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

from 2003 to 2006 * Prof Clement John Tranter CBE, mathematician * Raymond Fletcher was presented with the OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 for Services to Disabled People.

Notable staff

Sir

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

was music master at the school from 1959 to 1962, and it was here that he started his lifelong association with writing works for non-specialist children to perform. He wrote many works for the school's orchestra and choir, including ''

O magnum mysterium O magnum mysterium is a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas. Text The text is drawn from the Matins of Christmas in the Roman Breviary. ; Latin text: : O magnum mysterium, : et admirabile sacramentum, : ut animalia viderent Do ...

''. The school took part in the 1962 Bath Festival, with

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

playing a composition by

Sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

er Stephen Arnold.

Head masters

* to 1880: Rev. William Bartram * to 1945: Mr W. N. Weech''The Times'', June 16, 1945 (Issue 50170), pg. 2; col E *1945–1949: Captain

Peter Gedge Peter Maurice Sydney Gedge (18 May 1910 – 27 February 1993) was a Scottish teacher and rugby union player.Bath, p139 He was capped once for in 1933. Early life Peter Gedge was born on 18 May 1910 in York to Henry Theodore Sydney Gedge, a cl ...

*1949–1954: Douglas Whiting, later head of Cheadle Hulme School and Director of

Voluntary Service Overseas Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact throug ...

*1954–1961: John Vernon Bartlett, later head of Culham Teacher Training College''The Times'', January 27, 1961 (Issue 54990), pg. 15, col. E

References

{{authority control Defunct schools in Gloucestershire 1461 establishments in England Defunct grammar schools in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1966 Educational institutions established in the 15th century 1966 disestablishments in England