Ashby School, formerly known as Ashby Grammar School, is a

co-education 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 ...

al day secondary 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 Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The school is situated in the centre of Ashby on two sites.

History

Ashby Grammar School, the original boys' school, was founded in 1567 by

Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG, KB (c. 153514 December 1595) was an English Puritan nobleman. Educated alongside the future Edward VI, he was briefly imprisoned by Mary I, and later considered by some as a potential successor to E ...

. The girls' grammar school opened in 1901. They merged in 1972 and became comprehensive. Ashby School became an

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 ...

on 1 October 2012. Previously an

upper school Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. England The three-tier model Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority of ...

, in September 2022 the school expanded its age range to 11, and became a full secondary school.

Headteachers

* T. A. Woodcock OBE * Charles Padel * John Brinsley the elder * Dr Ron Allison * David Edward Herbert * Cedric Ingleton * Vivian Keller Garnet * Eddie Green * Geoff Staniforth

Former teachers

* Sir Mike Tomlinson CBE, Chief Inspector of Schools from 2000 to 2002 (head of chemistry from 1969 to 1977)

Infrastructure

Ashby School is based on two main sites (A, C and S blocks; and B block), based on adjacent roads. The school has spent considerable funds on the construction of a new science block, new rooms in the design department, and more recently, a new block built to accommodate music, art and media studies. However, from the 2020 academic year onwards, the former B block has been renovated into a new Sixth Form Campus where all KS5 (Year 12 and Year 13) lessons will take place; KS4 (Year 10 and Year 11) lessons now exclusively take place in the former A and C blocks.

Ashby School (School House) boarding accommodation

The school provided boarding accommodation for 75 boys from 10 -18 attending Ashby School, Ivanhoe College and Ashby Church of England School. It is located in a much extended Georgian House. Ofsted noted the homely nature of the house but was critical of many aspects that no longer meet modern standards. Fifteen years ago it was judged to be good. Ofsted acknowledges that the new senior leadership team accepts the judgment and is working to resolve the problem. The boarding provision was removed a few years ago, and the buildings re-purposed into a sixth form area, as part of a change to make the school sites more secure. Separating the KS4 and KS5 students.

School house system

Until 2022, the school had four

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 ...

: Bullen (yellow), Ferrers (blue), Hastings (green) and Loudoun (purple). In 2021, a new house system was created by the sixth form senior team for sixth formers. These new houses are: Eagles (red), Falcons (blue), Hawks (green), and Kestrels (yellow). Since 2022, the senior team positions of head boy and head girl have been renamed to house captain.

Performance

In October 2019, Ofsted gave the school an "inadequate rating", though conceding that the teaching was good and the students were well behaved enthusiastic learners. Inadequate management procedures brought the overall grade down. Safeguarding of students was ranked as inadequate due to fire procedures being not tight enough and registers not being completed accurately, for example students being marked as educated off-site when they are actually on-site.

Gifted and talented

'Da Vinci' is the school's current gifted and talented system. The 'Tip Tops' is a group of primary pupils in years 5 and 6 from local primary schools in the Ashby area. They attend after-school sessions in which they are tutored in advanced mathematics, literacy, film studies, science, art, and philosophy by gifted and talented students from Ashby School. The Ashby School's gifted and talented programme was rated three stars by the

National Association for Gifted Children National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in 2010. In November 2011 a Russian cosmonaut involved in the planning of the crewed mission to Mars visited the school and gave a lecture to the 'G&T'.

Medals controversy

In 2016 Ashby School created controversy when it proposed to auction the medals, including a Victoria Cross, won by Lt Col. Philip Bent that had been donated to the school "to inspire future pupils". The medals had been on long-term loan to the Royal Leicestershire Regimental Museum (part of

Newarke Houses Museum The Newarke Houses Museum is a public museum in Leicester, England. It incorporates the museum of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, and has a range of exhibits illustrating post-medieval and contemporary Leicester. The museum is close to the 15 ...

), but had not been on display there for over forty years. The school planned to use the proceeds to fund the building of a sports pavilion. In 2018, the school received funding from the

National Healthy Schools Programme The National Healthy Schools Programme (NHSP) was a joint Department of Health and Department for Children, Schools and Families project intended to improve health, raise pupil achievement, improve social inclusion and encourage closer working b ...

for a new pavilion.

Notable former pupils

Former pupils are known as Old Ashbeians. * Andrew Betts, basketball player * Henry Dartnall, popular musician *

Dorian West Dorian Edward West MBE (born 5 October 1967) nicknamed "Nobby" is a former English international rugby union footballer. West was born in Wrexham, Wales, but his family moved to England when he was young. Before professionalism, he was a pol ...

(former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Hooker) *

The Young Knives Young Knives are an English indie rock band from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. The name is based on a misunderstanding of "young knaves", which was found by the band when rummaging through a book. The band was originally named Simple Pa ...

Nathan Buck Nathan Liam Buck (born 26 April 1991) is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler who plays for Northamptonshire. He was born in Leicester, and started playing for Grace Dieu Park Cricket Club in Thri ...

(Leicestershire County and England U19 Cricket Player) *

Tom Hopper Thomas Edward Hopper (born 28 January 1985) is a British actor. He has appeared as Percival in ''Merlin'', Billy Bones in '' Black Sails'', Dickon Tarly in ''Game of Thrones'', and Luther Hargreeves in ''The Umbrella Academy''. Early life T ...

(actor, best known for playing Sir Percival in

Merlin (TV Series) ''Merlin'' (also known as ''The Adventures of Merlin'') is a British fantasy- adventure drama television programme, loosely based on the Arthurian legends regarding the close relations of Merlin and King Arthur. Created by Julian Jones, Jake ...

) * Jane Plant, geochemist, scientist, and author

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Boys’ Grammar School

* Sir

Geoffrey Arthur Sir Geoffrey George Arthur, (19 March 1920 – 15 May 1984) was a British diplomat and academic administrator. After a career in the Foreign Office, he was Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1975 until his death in 1984. Early life and ...

, Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, 1975–84 * John Bainbridge (astronomer) * Philip Bent, VC * Sir John Bonser, barrister * William Bradshaw, puritan * Jack English, photographer * Levi Fox, historian * Anthony Gilby, clergyman *

Alexander Henry Green Alexander Henry Green Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (10 October 183219 August 1896) was an England, English geologist. Life Green was born at Maidstone on 10 October 1832, was the eldest son of Thomas Sheldon Green, head-master of the Ashby Gr ...

, geologist * Leslie Hale, Baron Hale, Labour MP for

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

from 1945 to 1950 and

Oldham West Oldham West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham in the north-west of Greater Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament ...

from 1950 to 1968 * Joseph Hall, Bishop of Norwich *

Thomas Hemsley Thomas Jeffrey Hemsley, CBE (12 April 192711 April 2013) was an English baritone. Hemsley was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, and attended Ashby de la Zouch Grammar School. He took a degree in natural sciences from Brasenose College, Oxford. ...

CBE, baritone *

Sir Joseph Hood, 1st Baronet Sir Joseph Hood, 1st Baronet (31 March 1863 – 10 January 1931) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. Biography Born in Ashby de la Zouch (Ashby), Leicestershire, Hood was educated at the local grammar school. He subsequ ...

, Conservative MP from 1918 to 1924 for Wimbledon * Sir

James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in . After retiring from racing in ...

, judge *

Reginald Jacques Thomas Reginald Jacques (13 January 1894 – 2 June 1969) was an English choral and orchestral conductor. His legacy includes various choral music arrangements, but he is not primarily remembered as a composer. Jacques was born in Ashby-de ...

CBE, conductor *

David Nish David John Nish (born 26 September 1947) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. Nish's £225,000 transfer from Leicester City to Derby County in 1972 broke the British transfer record.BBC NewsWere you there...when the Rams ...

, footballer, capped five times for England * David Taylor, Labour MP from 1997 to 2009 for

North West Leicestershire North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 census was 93,348. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Castle Donington, Coalville and Ibstock. The ...

Bernard Vann Lieutenant Colonel Bernard William Vann, (9 July 1887 – 3 October 1918) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Common ...

, VC * John Lane, architect, past president of the

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is the professional body for architects in Scotland. History Previously the (lapsed) Architectural Institute of Scotland, it was re-founded in 1916 as the Incorporation of Architects in ...

and the Glasgow Institute of Architects

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Girls' Grammar School

* Averil Burgess OBE, Chairman from 1993 to 2000 of the Independent Schools Inspectorate, Headmistress from 1975 to 1993 of

South Hampstead High School ) , established = as St. Johns Wood School , closed = , type = Independent day school , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

* Nora David, Baroness David *

Clare Hollingworth Clare Hollingworth (10 October 1911 – 10 January 2017) was an English journalist and author. She was the first war correspondent to report the outbreak of World War II, described as "the scoop of the century". As a rookie reporter for ''The ...

, journalist * Angela Piper, actress, plays Jennifer Aldridge (née Archer) in ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...

'' * Prof

Diane Reay Diane Reay is a sociologist and academic, who is Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge. She is noted for her study about educational inequalities among students in state schools in the United Kingdom. She has maintained that there ...

, Professor of Education since 2005 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 ...

References

External links

Official site

{{Authority control Educational institutions established in the 1560s 1567 establishments in England Secondary schools in Leicestershire Ashby-de-la-Zouch Academies in Leicestershire