Priory School is a British co-educational secondary school for 11- to 16-year-olds located on Mountfield Road in the

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

town of

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

History

Priory School was originally formed in 1969 when the Lewes County Grammar School for Girls, the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys and the Lewes Secondary Modern School were amalgamated to form a comprehensive school called Priory School, its name referring to the nearby

Lewes Priory Lewes Priory is a part-demolished medieval Cluniac priory in Lewes, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. The ruins have been designated a Grade I listed building. History The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had o ...

. At this point, although the school was comprehensive for children who lived within the town of Lewes, it was also open to children from the surrounding towns and villages who had passed the

11 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 ...

. During this period there was also academic streaming: the names of the streamed groups were based on the letters of the word MOUNTFIELD. In its early years (from 1969 until around 1980) the school was in three separate locations: the former Girls' Grammar School buildings in Potter's Lane housed the Lower School (ages 12–13), while on Mountfield Road the Secondary Modern buildings housed the Middle School (ages 14–15), with the Upper School (ages 16–18) in the former Boys' Grammar. Later, in the early 1990s, Potter's Lane site was turned into a primary school now housing Southover and Western Road Schools; Priory School itself was split into Priory School (11–16) on the former Secondary Modern site and the Sixth Form (16-18), housed on the former Boys' Grammar School site, merged with Lewes Technical College, which had a site opposite in Mountfield Road, to become Lewes Tertiary College and now

East Sussex College East Sussex College or East Sussex College Group is the largest higher education college in East Sussex, providing education and training from foundation to degree level. The college educates almost half of the county's young people and over ...

. In 2017 the uniform was changed to prohibit new joiners from wearing skirts, and was said by the headteacher to be "gender-neutral". Multiple news outlets and alumni, including

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

criticised the move, stating that the restrictions were more of a contradiction than a progression in uniforms. This decision led to a protest by students in 2019 on the basis of environmental issues, after it was announced that the change would affect every student, as opposed to just the new joiners.

Site

Priory School then became centred on the site of the former Secondary Modern School and new buildings have since been added. The adjacent buildings formerly used by the County Grammar School for Boys and by the Sixth Form have become part of the Lewes Campus of

(Further Education). The Chapel, of the former Boys' Grammar School, was retained by the Priory School. This chapel was built after 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 ...

to commemorate the boys from the school who fought in the war. Next to it is the Music Block, which was rebuilt in 2008 in place of the old temporary one. The new block features improved disabled access, but thin walls and a void beneath the floor make it a rather difficult environment for music lessons. In 1993, the new revised version of Priory School opened boasting a new wing – the "South Block" – and a heavily refurbished main building. The latter was the home of Lewes Secondary Modern School until 1969, sporting a distinctive copper plated

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

. The main building included new science labs, a library and design technology rooms, built in anticipation of design technology being in the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...

. The South Block hosts, on the ground floor, the Art, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages and English classrooms and on the first floor the

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

classrooms. The Performing Arts Block was built recently next to the Main Hall. The nearby Leisure Centre is used for indoor sports and the nearby Convent Fields, the Cricket Nets and the Tennis Courts, for outdoor ones. Between the South Block and the Main Building is a playground called the Quad. The tarmac playground continues until the chapel but there are large muddy and grassy areas surrounding it.

Arts

The Head of History, Jim Butt and co-writer Colin Burgess wrote an entire musical about the life of local

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

soldier, Private Rupert Freeman, called "In the Pink". Priory has been awarded Arts and Language College statuses, specialising in these areas with increased funding. The three modern foreign languages taught are Spanish, French and German. There is also a Chinese club. A number of pupils have gone on to make careers in the arts. Eric Goulden and Pete Thomas made their names in the music business.

Annabel Abbs Annabel Abbs (born 20 October 1964) is an English writer and novelist. Early life The daughter of poet and academic, Professor Peter Abbs and gardening writer, Barbara Abbs, Annabel Abbs lives in London and East Sussex. She is the eldest of th ...

and

Lucy Atkins Lucy Atkins is a British author and journalist. Her novels include ''Magpie Lane''. Her books have been published internationally and ''The Night Visitor'' (2017) has been optioned for television. Atkins is the daughter of the lexicographer B. ...

have had a number of books published.

Chapel

In 1960 a chapel, designed by

Sir Edward Maufe ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, 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 i ...

,Comprehensive List of Building's designed by Sir Edward Maufe
Retrieved September 2011 was built to honour the boys from the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys who died in the Second World War. Their names are shown on the walls of the vestibule, with the Latin motto "Dare Nec Computare" above the door, translating as "To give and not to count the cost".

Notable former pupils

, writer *

, writer * John Authers, financial journalist *

Ralph Brown Ralph William John Brown (born 18 June 1957) is an English actor and writer, known for playing Danny the drug dealer in ''Withnail and I'', the security guard Aaron (a.k.a. "85") in ''Alien 3'', DJ Bob Silver in ''The Boat That Rocked'' aka ' ...

, actor * Eric Goulden, musician * Alex Hughes, Church of England priest and Archdeacon of Cambridge *

Tim Loughton Timothy Paul Loughton, (born 30 May 1962) is a British politician and former banker who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Worthing and Shoreham since the 1997 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Par ...

, Conservative Member of Parliament for

East Worthing and Shoreham East Worthing and Shoreham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Tim Loughton of the Conservative Party. Boundaries The District of Adur, and the Borough of Worthing wards of Broadwater, Gais ...

, journalist (named Piers Pughe-Morgan whilst at Priory) *

Lloyd Russell-Moyle Lloyd Cameron Russell-Moyle (born 14 September 1986) is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in the 2017 general election. He retained his seat in the 201 ...

, Labour Member of Parliament for

Brighton Kemptown Brighton Kemptown, often referred to as Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven by local political parties, is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a Labour Co-op MP. The constit ...

David Rutley David Henry Rutley (born 7 March 1961) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Macclesfield since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Americas and Car ...

, Conservative Member of Parliament for

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

* Ronald Smith, musician *

Emma Tucker Emma Jane Tucker (born 24 October 1966) is an English journalist. She is editor of ''The Sunday Times'', having succeeded Martin Ivens in January 2020. She is a former deputy editor of ''The Times''. In December 2022, she was named the new editor ...

, national newspaper editor *

Graeme K Talboys Graeme K Talboys is an English writer and teacher. Life Graeme Keith Talboys was born at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in Hammersmith on Thursday 26 November 1953. Writing He is represented by Leslie Gardner of Artellus. Reception ...

, writer * Pete Thomas, musician

References

External links

Lewes Priory School websiteLewes Sixth Form College website
{{authority control Secondary schools in East Sussex Educational institutions established in 1969 Lewes 1969 establishments in England Foundation schools in East Sussex