Altrincham Grammar School for Boys is a boys'

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 ...

in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England.

Admissions

The school is a fully selective non-fee paying grammar school with admission via an entrance exam. Its previous status as a foundation school allowed for a degree of independence from the local education authority, until in 2011, under the government's education reforms, it attained

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 philosop ...

status.

History

The school was founded as Altrincham County High School for Boys (ACHS) in 1912 as a result of the Balfour Education Act, to provide secondary education (partly fee-paying) for an area which stretched from Sale to

Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town in the borough of Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England. Knutsford is south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and 12.5 miles (20 km) south-east of Warrington. The population at the 2011 Census was ...

. It opened with 57 pupils and 3 staff (Headmaster, Deputy and one secretary), housed in the red brick building which still forms the central block of the school today. The south wing and the assembly hall were added in 1938 and the science block, gymnasium and workshops in 1964. In 1974, the school passed from the control of

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

to the newly formed

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

Metropolitan Borough Council. It remained under Trafford's control until 1996 when it became a

grant-maintained school Grant-maintained schools or GM schools were state schools in England and Wales between 1988 and 1998 that had opted out of local government control, being funded directly by a grant from central government. Some of these schools had selective ad ...

. In 1999, it evolved into a foundation school, when grant-maintained school status was abolished. In September 2003, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) awarded the school specialist school status as a

Language College Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the specialist schools programme (SSP) in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages. Schools that succes ...

. Recent additions include new blocks for art and design, new ICT suites, the new Stamford Hall canteen, a food technology room, and The Grammar gym. In October 2013, a new physics centre was opened by the physicist Brian Cox, housing six laboratories, a staff room and a large preparation room. As of January 2021, the school completed a new building with an additional 9 classrooms, a new library, extra toilets and a small staff room. It is aimed to allow the school to increase their pupil intake per year.

Notable former pupils

* Paul Allott – former Lancashire and England cricketer and currently Director of Cricket at Lancashire *

Roger Ashton-Griffiths Roger Ashton-Griffiths (born 19 January 1957) is an English character actor, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his role as Mace Tyrell in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. Life and career Born in Hertfordshire, ...

– film actor * Alan Barnes – jazz musician * Sir

Graham Brady Sir Graham Stuart Brady (born 20 May 1967) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 20 ...

– Conservative MP for Altrincham and Sale West and Chairman of the

1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...

* Ian Brown – solo artist and lead singer of the indie rock band

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Ewan Clarkson Ewan Clarkson (1929–2010) was an English author specialising in books about nature, particularly wild animals. Life and career Clarkson was born in Workington on 23 January 1929.''International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004'', Routled ...

- author *

Nick Cohen Nicholas Cohen (born 1961) is a British journalist, author and political commentator. He was a columnist for '' The Observer'' and a blogger for '' The Spectator''. Following accusations of sexual harassment, he left The Observer in 2022 and be ...

– journalist and author *

Ashley Taylor Dawson Philip Ashley Taylor Dawson (born 11 January 1982), known as Ashley Taylor Dawson, is an English actor and singer. He is known for portraying the role of Darren Osborne in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', as well as being a member of th ...

–

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...

actor * Mark Foster – record-producer and DJ *

Ronald Gow Ronald Gow (1 November 1897 – 27 April 1993) was an English dramatist, best known for ''Love on the Dole'' (1934). Born in Heaton Moor, Stockport, Cheshire, the son of a bank manager, Gow attended Altrincham County High School. After t ...

– dramatist, who returned to the school to teach in the 1920s * Prof Ian Hargreaves, Editor of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' from 1994 to 1996, and the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'' from 1996–8 * John Hopkins – conductor of the

BBC Northern Orchestra The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at MediaC ...

from 1952 to 1957, founder of the New Zealand Youth Orchestra and Director of Music at the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

1963–73 * Steve Jackson – Co-founder of Games Workshop and Lionhead *

Ian Livingstone Sir Ian Livingstone (born 29 December 1949) is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. Along with Steve Jackson, he is the co-founder of a series of role-playing gamebooks, ''Fighting Fantasy'', and the author of many books within that s ...

– Executive Chairman of Eidos Interactive, co-founder of Games Workshop and publisher of

Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, ...

and

Lara Croft Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around th ...

* Prof John Morrill, Professor of British and Irish History at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

* John Squire – Lead guitarist of the indie rock band

Brendan Creed Brendan William John Creed (born 3 January 1993) is an English field hockey player who plays as a defender for Belgian club Beerschot and the England and Great Britain national teams. Club career Creed will play club hockey for Belgian club ...

- Great Britain and England field hockey player *

Simon Wolstencroft Simon John Wolstencroft (born 19 January 1963 in Altrincham, Cheshire) is an English rock drummer, best known for playing with The Fall from 1986 to 1997. He also played with early incarnations of The Smiths and The Stone Roses. His highly pra ...

- Rock drummer with The Fall. He also played with early incarnations of

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

and

Former teachers

Fred Talbot Frederick Wilson Talbot (born 17 December 1949) is a Scottish former television presenter. He spent much of his career in North West England. In February 2015, and again in May 2017, he was found guilty of a string of indecent sexual assaults ...

, weather forecaster (taught biology; convicted of indecent assault against two boys at the school)

The Old Altrinchamians' Association

The Old Altrinchamians' Association is a former pupils' society with golf, football and cricket sections. The Association also holds an Annual Reunion Dinner and publishes an annual newsletter.

Feeder schools

Most of the schools in the local area enter their boys into the 11+ exams. The school does have a catchment area where a boy living very close by can have a good chance. The priority catchment area is defined as the Postal addresses of WA13/WA14/WA15/M33 and M23 which lie within the Trafford Local Authority. However some students travel all the way from Warrington and Stockport and thus commute to and from school. Boys can also use the local

Hale Railway Station Hale railway station serves the area of Hale in the south of Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It is also used by people living in the surrounding areas of Bowdon and Hale Barns. The station is located on Ashley Road. It is on the Mid- ...

Altrincham Interchange Altrincham Interchange is a transport hub in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It consists of a bus station on Stamford New Road, a Northern Trains-operated heavy rail station on the Mid-Cheshire Line, and a light rail stop which forms ...

, which are very close to the school.

References

External links

*
Old Altrinchamians' Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altrincham Grammar School For Boys Educational institutions established in 1912 Boys' schools in Greater Manchester Grammar schools in Trafford 1912 establishments in England Altrincham Academies in Trafford