The Priory Grammar School for Boys, Shrewsbury
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The Priory Grammar School for Boys was a maintained (state-funded)
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 ...
for boys located in Shrewsbury, the county town of
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 ...
, England. It was established in 1910 and the last grammar school students left in 1983.


History

The Priory Grammar School for Boys was established in 1910 in what are now buildings of Grade II-listed status, located on the site of a medieval
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
friary near the Welsh Bridge. A historical account by J. Everard records that the school was originally named ''The Priory County Grammar School'' and had separate sections for boys and girls. Many changes to the school's subsequent organization were caused by wartime requirements. A.R. Florian was the first headmaster of the school. A biographical article on John Lewis Paton (Headmaster of
Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...
) records Florian as having been a teacher at Manchester before moving to Shrewsbury. The school played a part in the
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 ...
with cadet training. An announcement in 1915 records "The following have been appointed to Cadet Commissions in various companies of the 1st Cadet Battalion, 4th KSLI; No 6 Co.: Priory School, Shrewsbury; A R Florian, Captain; R S H Richards, Lieutenant". Eleven old boys of the new school lost their lives serving in the war, commemorated by a war memorial plaque at the school. A portrait of life at the school around 1950 was written by Graham Brown. Later, in the 1950s and 60s a strong interest in archaeology was fostered by Philip A. Barker when he was Art master at the school, and many boys took part in excavations at sites such as the local Roman city of
Uriconium Viroconium or Uriconium, formally Viroconium Cornoviorum, was a Roman city, one corner of which is now occupied by Wroxeter, a small village in Shropshire, England, about east-south-east of Shrewsbury. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to ...
, Roushill in Shrewsbury and
Hen Domen Hen Domen Welsh, meaning "old mound", is the site of a medieval timber motte-and-bailey castle in Powys, Wales. It is the site of the original Montgomery Castle, and was built by Roger de Montgomery in 1070. From 1105 the castle was the home of t ...
. While the school taught all the usual academic subjects, the subject of Classics was given special emphasis during the headship of C.W.E. Peckett 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 opposi ...
. Introductory Latin was introduced at second-year level and was taught by the direct method, using conversation in which little or no English was allowed. The method was demonstrated (using junior pupils from the school) at some of the annual meetings of The Association for the Reform of Latin Teaching. Together with A.R. Munday, Peckett published a number of books for learners of Latin, the best-known being ''Pseudolus Noster'' and ''Principia''. Peckett and Munday also collaborated on an introductory course in Ancient Greek. The Latin motto of the school was ''Possunt quia posse videntur'' ("They can because they think they can"). In 1983 the Priory Grammar School for Boys ceased to exist, as grammar schools selecting pupils on the basis of the Eleven-plus examination in the
Tripartite System of education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland The Tripartite System was the arrangement of state-funded secondary education between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 to 2009 in Northern Ireland. It was an administrative implementation of the Education Act 1944 and the E ...
were phased out in favour of non-selective schools. The buildings were already shared with
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College Shrewsbury Sixth Form College is a post-secondary co-educational sixth-form college located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The college currently has an enrolment of approximately 1,650 students, generally ranging betwee ...
, founded in 1981, and the college now took over the entire premises. The Priory Girls' Grammar School had been opened on a separate site on the outskirts of the town in 1939, and the buildings now contain a secondary school with academy status. It has retained the name of The Priory School, Shrewsbury and is part of the Priory School Trust.


Notable alumni

* Derrick Capper, first Chief Constable of West Midlands Police *
Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A lifel ...
, singer and comedian, attended the school during WWII while evacuated from
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. * Mark Evans (explorer) *Michael Fabian (actor) *
David Harley David Harley is an IT security researcher, author/editor and consultant living in the United Kingdom, known for his books on and research into malware, Mac security, anti-malware product testing and management of email abuse. Career After a ...
, IT researcher and musician * Ian Hunter, singer/songwriter * Geoffrey Othen, cricketer *
Tim Preece Tim Preece (born 5 August 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared on British television since the 1960s and also acted on stage. Early life Preece was born in Shrewsbury in Shropshire and was educated at the Priory Grammar School for Boys, ...
, actor * Guy Jocelyn Reid, sculptor * Peter Reynolds, archaeologist *
Peter Roach (phonetician) Peter John Roach (born 30 June 1943) is a British retired phonetician. He taught at the Universities of Leeds and Reading, and is best known for his work on the pronunciation of British English. Education Peter Roach studied Classics at th ...
*
Trevor Rowley Richard Trevor Rowley FSA (born 25 May 1942) is an English landscape historian and archaeologist known for his work on the Welsh Marches, Oxfordshire and the medieval landscape. He was a founder fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford (1990) and is n ...
, archaeologist *
Christopher Timothy Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...
, actor


See also

* Listed buildings in Shrewsbury (northwest central area) *
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College Shrewsbury Sixth Form College is a post-secondary co-educational sixth-form college located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The college currently has an enrolment of approximately 1,650 students, generally ranging betwee ...
* Priory School, Shrewsbury


References


External links


Shrewsbury Colleges Group website
{{Shrewsbury architecture Educational institutions established in 1910 Schools in Shrewsbury 1910 establishments in England People educated at The Priory Boys' Grammar School, Shrewsbury