New Mills School & Sixth Form is a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

, situated in the town of

New Mills New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a deep gorge cut thro ...

, in the north west of Derbyshire.

Admissions

The school teaches pupils from

Year 7 Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 in the United ...

Year 11 Year 11 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is the eleventh or twelfth year of core education. For some Year 11 students it is their final year ...

. The school was given its title as Business and Enterprise College in 2005 and this status was renewed in 2009. The school's main feeder primary schools are New Mills, Newtown, St George's, Thornsett, Hayfield, Hague Bar and St Mary's.

History

Grammar school

The school was opened in 1912 as the New Mills Grammar School and celebrated its 100th birthday in 2012. It had around 500 boys and girls in the early 1960s, then 600 by 1964 and 700 by 1969, with a sixth form of 200. The school was designed by George H. Widdows, the Chief Architect of

Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire, England. It has 64 councillors representing 61 divisions, with three divisions having two members each. They are Glossop and Charlesworth, ...

, described as "a leading designer of schools in the early C20 and an exponent of advanced ideas on school planning and hygiene", and is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Headteachers

* Norman Taylor (d.1962, had a distinguished war career) * Philip Vennis 1962–71 (died 1999; former deputy headteacher, Ounsdale High School 1955–62, Principal of

Itchen College Itchen Sixth Form College (also known as Itchen College) is a mixed sixth form college in Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire, England. It was established in 1906 and was originally a mixed secondary school, it later became Itchen Grammar School un ...

1971–88) * Jesse Elms, resigned early 2014. * John Kuczaj, temporary headteacher for the rest of the 2013–14 school year. * Debbie McGloin, 2014–19, current headteacher of Glossopdale School. * Alison Barker and Caroline Jesson, 2019–21 (still in senior leadership positions). * Heather Watts, current head.

Subjects

There were 23 subjects at New Mills School, taught by 59 teachers in 8 different buildings and 50 rooms: rooms 5–18,

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

1–2,

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

1–4,

Maths Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

1–6,

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 ...

1–5,

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

1–2,

Art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

1–3, the Gym, Workshop 1–2, Food 1–2, 8 Science labs and a

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

centre. The school lost its sixth form, in spite of considerable local support, in 2017 and in 2019 it now is a 11–16 Comprehensive. The school is home to Take Part in the Art, a local arts scheme.

Notable former pupils

New Mills Grammar School

Thomas Brimelow, Baron Brimelow Thomas Brimelow, Baron Brimelow (25 October 1915 – 2 August 1995, London, United Kingdom) was a British diplomat. He served as Ambassador to Poland (1966–69), Permanent Under-Secretary at the British Foreign Office (1973-75), and Member ...

CMG OBE, Ambassador to Poland from 1966–69 * Prof Reginald Coates, civil engineer *

Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer and songwriter. He was lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He grew up in ne ...

, singer *

Sir Martin Doughty ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, chairman of

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

from 2006, and of the

Association of National Park Authorities The Association of National Park Authorities (ANPA) is a body that exists to provide the national park authorities of England, Wales and Scotland a focus for collaborative working and the sharing of best practice across the parks, training of nati ...

from 1997–2001, and leader of Derbyshire County Council from 1992–2001 * Sir

Brian Heap Sir Robert Brian Heap (born 27 February 1935) is a British biological scientist. He was educated at New Mills Grammar School in the Peak District, Derbyshire, and the University of Nottingham (where he earned his BSc and PhD). He also has an MA ...

CBE, master of

St Edmund's College, Cambridge St Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the four Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept only students reading for postgraduate degr ...

from 1996–2004 *

Tony Marchington Anthony Frank Marchington (2 December 1955 – 16 October 2011) was an English biotechnology entrepreneur and businessman, famous as the co-founder of Oxford Molecular, and the former owner of the famous Class A3 4472 ''Flying Scotsman'' loco ...

, entrepreneur *

John Pilkington Hudson John Pilkington Hudson, (24 July 1910 – 6 December 2007) was an English horticultural scientist who did pioneer work on long-distance transportability of what became known as the kiwifruit. He was also a celebrated bomb disposal expert. Backgr ...

CBE GM, Professor of Horticultural Science at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and Director of the

Long Ashton Research Station Long Ashton Research Station (LARS) was an agricultural and horticultural government-funded research centre located in the village of Long Ashton near Bristol, UK. It was created in 1903 to study and improve the West Country cider industry and be ...

from 1967–75, and Professor of Horticulture from 1958–67 at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

* Roy Powell, jazz pianist

New Mills Secondary School

Tess Daly Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014. ...

, television presenter

References

External links

School website

History of the grammar school

EduBase
{{authority control New Mills Community schools in Derbyshire Secondary schools in Derbyshire Grade II listed buildings in Derbyshire Grade II listed educational buildings Educational institutions established in 1912 1912 establishments in England