Skegness Grammar School (sometimes SGS) is a coeducational grammar school and sixth form with academy status, located in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England. Selection to the school is by the eleven-plus examination by entry test or personal interview. The school roll consists of 472 pupils including 106 pupils in the sixth form. Skegness Grammar School was founded over 500 years ago by a Lord High Chancellor of England. It was the first British secondary school to be awarded Grant Maintained status by the government in 1988. The school has been classed as a

High Performing Specialist School The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...

History

Magdalen School

In 1483 William Waynflete, also called William of Wainfleet, later the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

, Provost of Eton College and

Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

founded Magdalen College School in his home town of Wainfleet to act as a satellite feeder school for Magdalen College at Oxford University that he had also founded. In 1933 Magdalen College School closed and was incorporated into its newer and larger buildings at Skegness where it became Skegness Grammar School. The school opened on Wednesday 20 September 1933, and cost £30,000 for 200 places. The headteacher was Kenneth George Spendlove.

School houses

The school is organised into four houses all named after historically prominent people or famous Lincolnshire men: Lumley - after

Aldred Lumley, 10th Earl of Scarbrough Major General Aldred Frederick George Beresford Lumley, 10th Earl of Scarbrough (16 November 1857 – 4 March 1945), styled Viscount Lumley from 1868 to 1884, was an Anglo-Irish peer, soldier and landowner. He was noted for his long service in ...

a major local landowner who was responsible for developing Skegness as a major Victorian holiday resort. Magdalen - after the Magdalen College School in Wainfleet founded by

William of Waynflete William Waynflete (11 August 1486), born William Patten, was Provost of Eton College (1442–1447), Bishop of Winchester (1447–1486) and Lord Chancellor of England (1456–1460). He founded Magdalen College, Oxford and three subsidiary scho ...

, one-time Bishop of Winchester and founder of the college by the same name at Oxford University. Newton - after Lincolnshire's most famous son Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (4 January 164331 March 1727) who was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher,

alchemist Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscience, protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in Chinese alchemy, C ...

and theologian. Tennyson - after locally born

Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

(6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) who was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and one of the most popular classical

English poets This is a list of English-language poets, who have written much of their poetry in English. Main country of residence as a poet (not place of birth): A = Australia, Ag = Antigua, B = Barbados, Bo = Bosnia, C = Canada, Ch = Chile, Cu = Cuba, D = Do ...

of all time.

Grant maintained

The Education Reform Act of 1988 introduced the concept of Grant-maintained schools which shifted the school funding away from the local education authority to direct grant support by central government. Skegness Grammar was the first school in the UK to both apply for and be awarded grant maintained status. The grant maintained system was dis-established by the new Labour government in 1998 and schools were offered the choice of returning to local education authority funding or opting for foundation status.

Academy

The school converted to academy status on 1 September 2012, and is now sponsored by the

David Ross Education Trust David Peter John Ross (born 10 July 1965) is an English millionaire businessman, and one of the co-founders (with Charles Dunstone and Guy Johnson (businessman), Guy Johnson) of Carphone Warehouse. At the peak valuation of his business interests ...

Notable alumni

Noël Greig Noël Antony Miller Greig (25 December 1944 – 9 September 2009) was a British playwright most noted for his work in radical gay theatre. Greig wrote over 50 plays, as well as directing and producing numerous companies both in the United Kingdom a ...

, playwright and gay rights campaigner. *

Tom Jarvis Tom Jarvis (born 2 December 1999) is an English international table tennis player. He is a national champion and has represented England at the Commonwealth Games. Biography Jarvis started playing aged 5 before moving to Sweden at age 16. He wa ...

, Commonwealth Games table tennis player * Debbie Jenner (

Doris D Doris D (born Debbie Jenner; 22 February 1959) is a British singer and dancer who spent her career in the Netherlands. Biography Jenner was born in Skegness, England, and settled in the Netherlands at the age of 20 to start a ballet school there ...

), dancer in the Netherlands * Neil Wallis, former deputy editor of the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'', former editor of the ''

Sunday People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

''. *

Robin Hunter-Clarke Robin James Hunter-Clarke is a British politician. He has served as a county councillor, and has stood as a candidate for election to Parliament and local councils. He was formerly Chief of Staff to Neil Hamilton and UKIP in the Senedd. He was ...

, Chief of Staff to the UK Independence Party in the National Assembly for Wales and Chief of Staff to Neil Hamilton.

Former teachers

John Littlewood (chess player) John Eric Littlewood (25 May 1931 – 16 September 2009) was for many years a leading British chess player and took the title of national senior champion in 2006. Perhaps his most famous game was the one he lost against the world champion Mikhail ...

taught French and Maths from 1955-67; he ran the school chess team''Times'' Tuesday 22 September 2009, page 59

References

External links

The Skegness Grammar School Website

BBC - Skegness Grammar School exam results

BBC - Grammar schools dominate the league tables
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skegness Grammar School, The Boarding schools in Lincolnshire State funded boarding schools in England Educational institutions established in the 15th century Grammar schools in Lincolnshire 1483 establishments in England Academies in Lincolnshire * Skegness