Thomas Adams School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

boarding school and

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 ...

in Wem,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England. The school takes pupils from ages 11–18 and currently has just over 1,400 on roll. The school has the Schools for Health Award and in 2002 obtained Media Arts College status.

History

The school was founded in 1650 by Sir Thomas Adams, the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

in 1645, who was described by the diarist

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

as a "comely old alderman". He was a

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

, Master of the Company of Drapers and an MP. He was a staunch royalist, who was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

for his royalist sympathies but was later sent by Parliament to

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in 1660 to wait upon King Charles II who was about to be restored to the throne. He also paid for the Bible to translated into

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. Adams Grammar School merged with Wem Secondary Modern School in 1976 to form Adams School, later named Thomas Adams School. In March 2020 the school joined The Priory Trust. The Priory Trust was renamed to the 3-18 Trust. The school is rated (in 2014 and 2017) by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

to be good. The school has a strong connection with the

Drapers Company The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Dr ...

, an ancient London guild who nominate two governors to sit on the school's governing body. The Drapers Company is well known for its educational connections and charitable contributions, it helps support a number of schools and universities which have historical links with the company.

Notable staff

Samuel Garbet Samuel Garbet (d. 1751?) was an English topographer. Biography Garbet was born in Norton, in the parish of Wroxeter, Shropshire. He was educated at Donnington School and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he entered 12 June 1700, and graduated wi ...

topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...

and local historian of Wem, was second master at Wem Grammar School 1712-42, retiring after declining the school headship.

Notable alumni

Although there is no active alumni association, over 1,400 ex-pupils of Adams Grammar School, Wem Modern School, Adams School and Thomas Adams School are members of the

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

group ''Adams School Wem Nostalgia Group''.Link to Adams School Wem Nostalgia Group on Facebook
/ref> Notable past-pupils of the Thomas Adams School include:

Wem Grammar School

Peter Jones (actor) Peter Geoffrey Francis Jones (12 June 1920 – 10 April 2000) was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster. Early life and early career Peter Jones, born in Wem, Shropshire, was educated at Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College, maki ...

Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. He spen ...

, golfer * Sir Henry Maddocks, lawyer/politician * General Sir Charles Warren * Sir John Bickerton Williams, lawyer, nonconformist historian

Thomas Adams School

Greg Davies Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Greg in ''We Are Klang'', Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'', Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'', the Taskmaster in '' Tas ...

, comedian * Paul Jones, footballer * Neil Thomas (gymnast)

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in Shropshire Educational institutions established in the 1650s 1650 establishments in England Boarding schools in Shropshire Academies in Shropshire Wem