Torquay Boys' Grammar School is a selective

boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

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 ...

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. , it had 1,113 students. The school was founded in 1904. It is situated in Shiphay, south of

Torbay Hospital Torbay Hospital is the main hospital of South Devon, England. It is managed by the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was founded as the Torbay Hospital, Provident Dispensary and Eye Infirmary in 1844. Constructi ...

, not far from the A3022 and

Torre railway station Torre railway station is a suburban station on the Riviera Line in Torquay, Devon, England. It is measured from . The station is managed by Great Western Railway but is not staffed. The station buildings are Grade II listed. History A broad ...

as well as being directly next to Torquay Girls Grammar School.

History

The school was founded in 1904 as "The Torquay Pupil Teachers Centre", with premises in Abbey Hall, Rock Road. It opened its doors on 4 September 1904. The school, by now called "Torquay School", later moved to its new location in Barton Road, where it was established under its current name. The new School was later rebuilt on land purchased from Torquay Grammar School for Girls in 1982. As part of its centenary in 2004, the school opened a new hall known as the Cavanna Centenary Hall. The school currently occupies Shiphay Manor, a 17th-century manor with extensive parkland, known as 'The Paddock' (owned by the neighbouring Girls' School), used by boys in year 11 or above for recreation. The school is made up of a number of buildings: The Centenary Hall (used for charities and assemblies), Music Block (also houses the PE changing rooms), TBGS Languages Centre (where languages are taught; it is also home to a kitchen for teacher use), the D Block (used for Philosophy & Applied Ethics and Business and Enterprise), the Manor (used for Art and Media Studies), the Observatory (used by the astronomical society) and the main school building (used for all subjects otherwise.) In September 2010, it gained

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 ...

status. A long-standing headteacher, Roy Pike, worked for 43 years at the school, 27 years as head.. He retired in 2013, and was succeeded by Peter Lawrence.

Buildings and Facilities

* Main School Building – Houses the Bistro (now known as the "Retreat"), Offices, Reception, Library, Sixth Form Block, Sports Hall, Science, Maths, English, Geography, History, ICT and Technology Classrooms. * Manor – Art and Media Studies are taught there. * Languages College – The school's languages are taught there (Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Mandarin) and it also houses a kitchen that teachers can use. * Centenary Hall – Used for assemblies and some clubs. Can be hired out to the community. * Music Suite and PE Changing Rooms- Music is taught upstairs and the PE Changing Rooms are downstairs, although the Sports Hall is situated inside the main school building. * D Block – Philosophy & Applied Ethics and Business and Enterprise are taught here. * Astroturf – A bottom astroturf used mainly for football and can be hired out to the community. The top astroturf is mainly used for football, tennis and basketball. Can also be hired out to the community. * Playing fields – These are used for all sports and can not be hired out to the community.

Former teachers

Arnold Ridley William Arnold Ridley, OBE (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984) was an English playwright and actor, earlier in his career known for writing the play '' The Ghost Train'' and later in life in the British TV sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977) as ...

– between the wars- playwright and actor who played Private Godfrey in ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' * John Granger, Headmaster from 1996 to 2009 of Bournemouth School (former Deputy Head of school) * Robert Masters, Headmaster since 2004 of

The Judd School The Judd School (often known simply as Judd) is a voluntary aided grammar school in Tonbridge, Kent, England. It was established in 1888 at Stafford House on East Street in Tonbridge, where it remained for eight years before moving to its present ...

(former Deputy Head) * Barry Sindall, Headmaster from 1990 to 2008 of

Colyton Grammar School Colyton Grammar School (commonly abbreviated to 'CGS') is a co-educational grammar school (and Academy) located in the village of Colyford in East Devon, England that caters for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school has been classified by Ofsted as ...

, and Chief Executive since 2008 of the Grammar Schools Headteachers Association (former Deputy Head) * Steve Margetts, Principal since 2014 of Torquay Academy (former Head of Davys House and Business, Economics and Enterprise)

Headteachers

* William Jackson 1904-1936 * John W. Harmer 1936 -1966 * Gerald Smith 1966-1981 * Barry K. Hobbs 1981-1986 * Roy E Pike 1987-2013 * Peter Lawrence 2014-

Partnerships

The school is partnered with the neighboring Girls Grammar School ( Torquay Girls' Grammar School) and Torquay Academy.

Observatory

Torquay Boys Grammar School, Shiphay - geograph

The school has its own

astronomical observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

. Opened in 1989, it houses a 19.2" (0.5m)

Newtonian reflector The Newtonian telescope, also called the Newtonian reflector or just a Newtonian, is a type of reflecting telescope invented by the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton, using a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror. Newton' ...

, and is used by the school itself, by the Torbay Astronomical Society, and is also regularly open to the public. The astronomer and broadcaster

Sir Patrick Moore Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore (; 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012) was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter. Moore was president of the Brit ...

was a patron of the school and maintained close ties – Ralegh House even performed the premiere of his operetta "Galileo" in the late 1990s. Current presenter of the BBC television programme "The Sky at Night" Chris Lintott, who lectures at Oxford University, was also a student of the school.

Academic

The school consistently is among the best public examination results in Devon and has become a candidate school which, as of academic year 2009–2011, will offer the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

as a sixth form examination option in addition to A levels. The school has also performed well at national academic competitions; winning the UK Mathematics Trust and the Further Maths Network "Math Challenge", finishing as runners up in the national quiz championship for schools and finishing third in the Ogden Trust National Schools Business Competition, to name but a few.

House system

Upon joining the school, every student is assigned to one of the school's six

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

. The houses, consisting of around 25 pupils from a year group making a form group, compete in both academic and sporting disciplines to gain points in that year's House Championship. The Houses, of which six are currently in existence, are named after a famous Devon landmark as of 2021.

Burgh house

Burgh Island Burgh House is named after

Burgh Island Burgh Island is a tidal island on the coast of South Devon in England near the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel. The other buildings are thr ...

; its house colour is blue.

Dart house

Dart House is named after the

River Dart The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth. Name Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...

; its colour is white. Formerly called Clifford House (circa 1950s) and then Davys House.

Fox Tor house

Fox Tor House is named after

Fox Tor Fox Tor is a relatively minor tor on Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. On the flank of the tor, about 500 m to the north stands Childe's Tomb - according to local legend, the last resting place of Childe the Hunter, an unfortunat ...

in Dartmoor. It is the second-youngest of the current houses (splitting from the Rougemont House (formerly Ralegh) in 1994) and its house colour is yellow.

Goodrington house

Goodrington house is named after

Goodrington Goodrington is a coastal village in Devon, England. It is situated in Tor Bay and lies between Torquay and Brixham, less than south of Paignton. Its beach is known as Goodrington Sands. History Goodrington is mentioned in the Domesday Book ...

near

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

. The house colour is green.

Haldon house

Haldon house is named after

Haldon Forest Haldon Forest is a forest located in the Haldon Hills, Devon, England. The forest consists of several different woods. Geographically, Haldon Forest is located between the towns of Chudleigh and Exminster and is south of Exeter. Management It ...

. Haldon house is the newest house, established in the academic year 2006–2007.

Rougemont house

Rougemont house is named after

Rougemont Castle Rougemont Castle, also known as Exeter Castle, is the historic castle of the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was built into the northern corner of the Roman city walls starting in or shortly after the year 1068, following Exeter's rebellion ...

. Rougemont is one of the original four houses and its house colour is red. This house was formerly known as Ralegh house.

Centenary

To celebrate the school's centenary in 2004, the school decided to create a new theatre and hall, which was completed in 2007 and staged its first production, ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...

'', in early May of that year. The hall was officially opened in March 2008 by

The Earl of Wessex Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the W ...

, and named the 'Cavanna Centenary Hall' in recognition of donations from local business the Cavanna Group.

Notable members of staff

* Retired teacher Carole Church was awarded the

Ted Wragg Professor Edward Conrad Wragg (26 June 1938 – 10 November 2005) known as Ted Wragg, was a British educationalist and academic known for his advocacy of the cause of education and opposition to political interference in the field. He was Prof ...

Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2004. * This was followed by retired teacher Dave Berry who was also awarded the

Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2006.

Notable former pupils

Martin Turner Martin Robert Turner (born 1 October 1947) is an English musician best known for his time as the bass guitarist, lead vocalist and a founding member of the rock band, Wishbone Ash. Career Turner was with Wishbone Ash, known for their twin le ...

, rock musician,

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included ''Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), ''Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and '' ...

Raymond Cattell Raymond Bernard Cattell (20 March 1905 – 2 February 1998) was a British-American psychologist, known for his psychometric research into intrapersonal psychological structure.Gillis, J. (2014). ''Psychology's Secret Genius: The Lives and Works ...

, psychologist Pioneer of psychometric testing *

Neil Collings Neil Collings was an eminent Anglican priest in the 21st century. Education and career He was born on 26 August 1946 and educated at Torquay Boys' Grammar School and King's College London and ordained in 1970. After this he was Curate, then Vica ...

Ben Howard Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut EP ''Games in the Dark'' (2008) was followed by two more EPs, '' These Waters'' (2009) and '' Old Pine'' (2010). Signed t ...

, Musician * Chris Read, cricketer who played as wicket-keeper for the

England cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...

* Hiley Edwards (1951–2009), cricketer who played for and captained

Devon County Cricket Club Devon County Cricket Club (Devon Cricket) is one of 20 minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Devon. The team is currently a member of the National Counties Champi ...

Richard Leaman Rear Admiral Richard Derek Leaman, (born 27 July 1956) is a British charity executive and former senior Royal Navy officer. Since 2017, he has been chief executive officer of the Tall Ships Youth Trust. He was previously CEO of The Guide Dogs f ...

, CEO of

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, known colloquially as Guide Dogs, is a British charitable organization founded in 1934. The Association uses guide dogs to help blind and partially blind people. The organization also participates in ...

and former senior Royal Navy officer * Ted Luscombe,

Bishop of Brechin The Bishop of Brechin is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Brechin or angus, Scotland, Angus, based at Dundee. Brechin Cathedral, Brechin is a parish church of the established (presbyterian) Church of Scotland. The diocese had a long-es ...

1975–90,

Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, styled "The Most Reverend the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church", is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The current Primus is the Most Revd. Mark Strange who became primus on ...

1985-1990 *

Terence Frederick Mitchell Terence Frederick Mitchell (3 May 1919 – 1 January 2007), commonly known as T. F. Mitchell, was a British linguist and Professor of Linguistics and Phonetics at the University of Leeds. Biography Mitchell was born in Devon and educated at T ...

(1919-2007), Professor of

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

Phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. * Harry Robinson,

World War II 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 ...

veteran and

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO) recipient *

Adrian Sanders Adrian Mark Sanders (born 25 April 1959) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Torbay in Devon from 1997 until his defeat in the 2015 general election. Early life Sanders is the ...

, Liberal Democrat MP for Torbay, between 1997 and 2015. * Professor

David Southwood David John Southwood (born 30 June 1945) is a British space science, space scientist who holds the post of Senior Research Investigator at Imperial College London. He was the President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2012–2014, and earlie ...

, Science Director of the European Space Agency, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, Head of Physics Department Imperial College. * Bill Strang , Chief Engineer from 1960 to 1967, and Technical Director from 1967 to 1971 at the

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1 ...

(BAC), and hence headed the design team of

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

(with Lucien Servanty) as its UK Technical Director from 1966 to 1977 *

Roger Deakins Sir Roger Alexander Deakins (born 24 May 1949) is an English cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with directors the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes and Denis Villeneuve. Deakins has been admitted to both the British Society of Cinema ...

, Academy Award-winning Cinematographer. *Doc Rowe,

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

, author and film-maker, prominent lecturer on and advocate for folk traditions and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. *

Yorick Wilks Yorick Wilks FBCS (born 27 October 1939), a British computer scientist, is emeritus professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Sheffield, visiting professor of artificial intelligence at Gresham College (a post created especiall ...

Pioneer Professor of Artificial Intelligence applied to language processing on a computer. *

Chris Lintott Christopher John Lintott (born 26 November 1980) is a British astrophysicist, author and broadcaster. He is a Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. Lintott is involved in a number of popular scien ...

Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics at Oxford University and The Sky at Night presenter.

* Alex Fletcher, professional footballer for

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

. *

Sam Skinner (rugby union) Samuel George Skinner (born 31 January 1995) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Edinburgh. Born in England, he represents Scotland at international level after qualifying on ancestry gro ...

, professional rugby union player for

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

and

Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, ...

. * Matt Hickey, first-class cricketer

References

External links

*
School profile from Direct gov
{{authority control Grammar schools in Torbay Educational institutions established in 1904 Boys' schools in Devon Academies in Torbay International Baccalaureate schools in England 1904 establishments in England Schools in Torquay