Poole Grammar School (commonly abbreviated to PGS) is a selective, all‐boys

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 ...

and

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

in the coastal town of

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

in Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is a member of the South West Academic Trust (SWAT). The school was a

mathematics 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 ...

and

computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

school, with an additional specialism, cognition, added in 2006. It is situated in the north of Poole, on the A349 (known locally as Gravel Hill), in a campus built in 1966, with various additions made since.

Admissions

The school has 1,200 male students from the surrounding area aged 11 to 18. To gain acceptance to the school, pupils must sit and pass the

Eleven-plus 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 academic ...

exams, testing

, English, and

verbal reasoning Verbal reasoning is understanding and reasoning using concepts framed in words. It aims at evaluating ability to think constructively, rather than at simple fluency or vocabulary recognition. Verbal reasoning tests Verbal reasoning tests of inte ...

. Excellence in the fields of sport or arts is not grounds for special admission; however, many of its pupils compete at county, national and international level, or go on to study at film schools, conservatories and art houses.

History

An early Poole Grammar School was built in 1628 by Thomas Robarts, Mayor of Poole. This school taught “Latin grammar and kindred subjects” and saw moderate success in the 18th century, before a decline against “competition from nonconformist academies and the general economic decline of the town,” and eventual closure in 1835.Powell, S. G. R. (2004). ''Finis Opus Coronat: A History of Poole Grammar School 1904-2004'' Poole Grammar School In 1902 the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

approved funding for the construction of Poole Technical and Commercial School, offering “an education of a practical character for boys and girls of twelve years of age and upwards.” On 19 September 1904, following legal disputes between

Poole Borough Council Poole Borough Council was the unitary authority responsible for local government in the Borough of Poole, Dorset, England. It was created on 1 April 1997 following a review by the Local Government Commission for England (1992), becoming adminis ...

Dorset County Council Dorset County Council (DCC) was the county council for the county of Dorset in England. It provided the upper tier of local government, below which were district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council had 46 elected council ...

, and the Board of Education, on the interpretation of the

Education Act 1902 The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7 c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial Act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conservat ...

, the establishment of Poole Secondary School was reported by the ''Poole, Parkstone, and East Dorset Herald''. Within its first two months of existence, Poole Secondary School was granted two acres of land at Seldown by

Lord Wimborne Viscount Wimborne, of Canford Magna in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1918 for Ivor Guest, 2nd Baron Wimborne. The Guest family descends from the engineer and businessm ...

. In 1907 the school's original site was built on this land for £6,500, to mixed reaction with some councillors regarding it as “squat”, but the ''Poole, Parkstone, and East Dorset Herald'' describing it as “one of the finest buildings in the town.” At this time, too, the first headmaster, A. J. Mockridge, was appointed, and around this time the current school colours were adopted. In 1909 a pupil of the school, Tim Aitken, participated in the first of Baden Powell's Scout camps on Brownsea Island. “The immediate post war years also saw

oole Secondary School Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then devel ...

breach one of the last bastions of elite education when, in successive years, the first girl and then the first boy went to

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

.” In 1927 Poole Secondary School was elevated to Grammar School status, following the

Hadow Report Sir William Henry Hadow (27 December 1859 – 8 April 1937) was a leading educational reformer in Great Britain, a musicologist and a composer. Life Born at Ebrington in Gloucestershire and baptised there on 29 January 1860 by his father, ...

. The 1930s were considered the school's "golden age", and in 1933 Poole Grammar School had the highest distinctions in French in England (3); two of the seventeen art distinctions awarded that year; and nine in history – "twice as many as any school in England". The school would go on to achieve the highest number of history distinctions in the country for two more successive years. In 1938 Poole Grammar had the highest number of

School Certificate The School Certificate was a qualification issued by the Board of Studies, New South Wales, typically at the end of Year 10. The successful completion of the School Certificate was a requirement for completion of the Higher School Certificate. T ...

passes in the country, with an average pass rate of 87% during the late thirties, when the average grammar school pass rate was 60%. In 1933 the ''

Bournemouth Echo The ''Bournemouth Daily Echo'', commonly known as the ''Daily Echo'' (a.k.a. the ''Bournemouth Echo''), is a local newspaper that covers the area of southeast Dorset, England, including the towns Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch. Published b ...

'' reported a governors meeting at

Parkstone Grammar School Parkstone Grammar School (commonly abbreviated to "PGS") is a selective, all-girls academy school in Poole specializing in science and languages, on the southern coast of England. Admissions The school is situated in the northern end of the tow ...

decided that "Parkstone Grammar School should… become A School for Girls, and Poole Grammar School a School for Boys". This division was disliked by the then student body, with the debating society passing "This House Believes that Co-Education is the Best Education" by 97 votes to 15. This started the separation of boys and girls which is still in effect today. The two grammar schools have very close links as they are only around half a mile (0.8 km) apart. They share certain social activities, drama performances and a number of sixth form subjects including languages and ancient history. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Poole Grammar School admissions were solely boys who had passed the 11+, with the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 (7 and 8 Geo 6 c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the "Butler Act" after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Historians ...

ending fee paying students. In 1960 Poole Grammar School's current location between Broadstone and Canford Heath on the A349 (Gravel Hill) was identified as a countryside site for the much-needed expansion in size of the school. The original Seldown site is now a car park and National Express Coach pick up point. Work began on 30 April 1964 and the buildings were ceremonially opened by

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

on 11 October 1966. During this period Poole Grammar School was celebrated by the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' and in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as an example of the success of the grammar school system, particularly because of the school's success at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, where it was only beaten in successful applications "by a handful of major public schools". This success was not insignificant: Twenty-three places between 1950 and 1962. A fire in 1971 caused £5,000 worth of damage to the school. Between 2006 and 2009 the Ashley Thorne Building (named after a former and long serving governor of the school) was built to house the music and drama departments, as well as a new library. The latter has since been converted into Sixth Form study space and the library moved to its previous position in the school.

Uniform

Poole Grammar students in Years 7–11 wear a uniform of a green blazer, black or grey trousers and a white shirt. The boys in Years 7–8 wear a school tie without stripes, those in Year 9–11 wear a tie with stripes. Once entering the

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 ...

, students may wear their own choice of clothing, though this must still include a shirt and tie, smart trousers and either brown or black shoes. For sport, the boys are required to wear a white T-shirt, the school's green and yellow rugby jersey, black shorts and bottle green football socks. When attending science classes or certain Design Technology classes the boys are expected to bring a white lab coat.

Subjects

Poole Grammar School mandates GCSEs in either double or triple science, English language and literature, mathematics, and religion and philosophy. The school also offers GCSEs in art, biology, computing and ICT, Design Technology (resistant Materials; graphics; food technology), drama, geography, history, foreign languages ( French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

), and music. Poole Grammar offers A-Levels in all of the above subjects, as well as ancient history, business studies, economics, geology, media studies, politics, psychology, and sociology.

Sports

Sport is a major part of life at Poole Grammar, which has only had four heads of sport and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

since the school was founded. The school owns large playing fields adjacent to the main buildings. They are used as

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

pitches, with two overlapping cricket fields and as a running track during the summer. Pupils also play sports on the school playground. The two large gyms provide changing facilities, a

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

, indoor

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

courts and a room for weights and fitness training. The school boasts two astroturf

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

courts, installed in 2008, with a further two concrete courts on the playground used during the summer term. A multi-use games area was installed in 2010. In 2021 Poole Grammar School was granted £3.8 million from the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

to build new sports facilities. In 2022 Poole Grammar School's under 15s rugby side reached the finals of the national schools rugby, beating

Dr. Challoner's Grammar School Dr Challoner's Grammar School (also known as DCGS, Challoner's Boys or simply Challoner's) is a selective grammar school for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form, in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. It was given academy status in January ...

22-12 in the semi-finals, and lost the national final 19-17 to

Hill House School, Doncaster Hill House School is a co-educational independent school for pupils from the ages of 3 to 18 in South Yorkshire, England. In 2012, Hill House was named 'independent school of the Year' at the independent school awards. It is a member of Headma ...

at the Saracen's Stadium at

Barnet Copthall Barnet Copthall is a sports venue on the Hendon-Mill Hill borders in London, which houses several complexes, including a local authority-owned swimming pool and gymnasium facilities, a golf-driving range with 9 hole pitch and putt run by Metro ...

. Also in 2022 Poole Grammar School's inaugural

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the Wor ...

team beat

Canford School Canford School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18). Situated in 300 acres of parkland near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, south west England, it is one of the largest s ...

. The pupils partake in many sports throughout the year from football to

. During the winter term, pupils participate in rugby during their games lessons. During the spring term, the pupils play football. In the summer term, pupils play a variety of games including

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, tennis and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. Most of these sports contain an inter-form tournament towards the end of the term. Pupils competing in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

train on Canford Heath during lunch hour.

Year 7 Entry

The school has accepted pupils from the age of 11 (

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 ...

) since 2013 after a large-scale change to the structure of schooling in Poole. Large-scale construction work west of the main entrance between 2006 and 2009 added the Ashley Thorne Building, a three-storey wing housing four new classrooms, a new music department and a fully equipped drama studio which often hosts productions. Other smaller adjustments have been made around the school to help group subject lessons into rooms closer to each other. The location of the new buildings was chosen to prevent the reduction in the size of the school's playing fields, although the new food technology block was built where the athletics area used to be. A new rubber-surfaced pitch has also been built within this area, as well as a new set of long-jumping pits.

Headteachers

* Mr. John Dyson Esq. 1904-1906 (Chairman of Governors, no Headmaster yet appointed) * Mr. G. E. Boyer, 1906-7 * Mr. Albert James Mockridge, 1907-1928 * Mr. Archibald Greenfield, 1928-1950 * Mr. Frank H. Stevens, 1950-1954 * Mr. John Cleave, 1954-1972 (after whom the school theatre is named) * Mr. Nigel Gilpin, 1973-1990 (to whom the school's main hall is dedicated) * Mr. Haydn Adams, 1990 * Mr. John Wheway, 1990 * Mr. Alex Clarke, 1990-2004 * Mr. Ian Carter, 2004-2014 * Mr. Andy Baker, 2014-2020 * Dr. Amanda J Smith, 2020-

Notable former pupils

Nick Aplin Nick Aplin (born 7 March 1952) is a Senior Lecturer at the Physical Education and Sports Science Academic Group (PESS) at the National Institute of Education (NIE). In 1971 he studied at Loughborough College Loughborough College is a genera ...

Edgar F. Codd Edgar Frank "Ted" Codd (19 August 1923 – 18 April 2003) was an English computer scientist who, while working for IBM, invented the relational model for database management, the theoretical basis for relational databases and relational databa ...

, invented

relational database A relational database is a (most commonly digital) database based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. A system used to maintain relational databases is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Many relatio ...

s when at IBM's San Jose Research Laboratory in California *

Jim Cregan James Cregan (born 9 March 1946) is an English rock guitarist and bassist, best known for his associations with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rod Stewart. Cregan is a former husband of the singer Linda Lewis and worked with her as a r ...

, musician * Michael Joseph Crumpton FRS was Director of Research (Laboratories) for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories (now part of

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

) * Prof

Ronald P. Dore Ronald Philip Dore (1 February 1925 – 14 November 2018) was a British sociologist specialising in Japanese economy and society and the comparative study of types of capitalism. He was an associate of the Centre for Economic Performance at ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

* John Finnemore, writer and actor * Ant Henson, British singer-songwriter * Paul Higham, cricketer *

Dave Lanning Dave Lanning (24 March 1938 – 29 October 2016) was an English sports commentator and journalist, best known for his coverage of Professional Darts. He was brought up in Poole and educated at Poole Grammar School. Broadcasting career He was o ...

, sports commentator * Richard Oakes, guitarist for the band

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...

* Harry Cornick, footballer with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

* Josh Carmichael, footballer with Weymouth *

Piers Copeland Piers Copeland (born 26 November 1998) is a Welsh middle-distance runner specialising in the 1500 metres. He represented Great Britain at the 2021 European Indoor Championships finishing fifth in the final. Earlier, he won a silver medal at the ...

, Professional Athlete * Jacob Peters, Professional Swimmer

References

External links

Poole Grammar School WebsiteOld Grammarians Website
* https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/15844168.gallery-110-pictures-poole-grammar-school-years/ (For images of the school) {{authority control Schools in Poole Grammar schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Educational institutions established in 1904 Academies in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Boys' schools in Dorset 1904 establishments in England