Steyning Grammar School is a coeducational day and boarding, senior school and sixth form, located in Steyning, West Sussex, England.
The school has two lower school sites catering for Years 7 and 8. The original site was located in Church Street,
Steyning, which moved to
The Towers in
Upper Beading in August 2022. A second site opened at Rock Road in
Storrington
Storrington is a small town in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, and one of two in the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. it has a population of around 4,60 ...
in September 2017, on the former site of
Rydon Community College. A larger upper school site at Shooting Field, Steyning caters for students in Years 9 to 11 who study the
Key Stage 4 curriculum over three years. The school's
Sixth Form College for students in Years 12 and 13 is also based at the Shooting Field site. The Shooting Field site is served by Brighton & Hove bus route 2 once a day each weekday morning.
History
Steyning Grammar School was founded and endowed as a
grammar school in 1614 by William Holland, an
Alderman of
Chichester. In 1968, it merged with Steyning Secondary Modern School to form the current comprehensive school. The combined school shares two sites in Steyning. The original half-timbered Church Street site housed years 7 and 8 until the end of the 2021-22 academic year after which this age group ('Lower School') transferred to the Towers site in nearby Upper Beeding. The main Shooting Field site houses years 9-11 and the sixth form college. A third lower school site opened in Storrington in September 2017 following the closure of
Rydon Community College. Some
Physical education lessons are taught at Steyning Leisure Centre.
On 11 March 2020, after only two one-hour meetings open to the community, school governors voted to convert the 400-year-old school to an
academy as part of the Bohunt Trust. A teaching union warned that the school has "nothing to gain and everything to lose" and there was talk of
strike action
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
after the plans were announced.
Converting Steyning Grammar School into an academy "would give Bohunt complete control over its curriculum and the hiring of teachers".
Bohunt Education Trust runs eight schools in total, including secondary schools in
Worthing and
Horsham
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
.
In December 2021 a viral report of a "bleak" Christmas dinner composed of "a mince pie, dry bread roll, slice of turkey, single pig in blanket, and a tiny square of stuffing" went
viral
Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents).
Viral may also refer to:
Viral behavior, or virality
Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example:
* Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
, reports indicating the school apologised and the £3.50 cost of the meal was refunded.
Notable alumni
*
Greg Barker,
Conservative MP for
Bexhill and Battle
*Sir
Tom Blundell, head of
biochemistry at the
University of Cambridge
*
Bernard Holden MBE, President of the
Bluebell Railway and pioneer in railway preservation
*
Adam Stephen Kelly, award-winning film
writer,
director and
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
*
Ralph Lainson
Ralph Lainson OBE, FRS (21 February 1927 – 5 May 2015) was a British parasitologist who studied leishmaniasis in Brazil. He was the first to publish a record of Chagas disease.
Life
Lainson was born in Upper Beeding, Sussex on 21 February 1927 ...
OBE, parasitologist
*
Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to:
Entertainment
* Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981
* Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...
, author and anarchist
*
Geoffrey Munn
Geoffrey Charles Munn, OBE, MVO, FSA, FLS (born 11 April 1953 in Hastings) is a British jewellery specialist, television presenter and writer. He is best known as one of the experts on the BBC's ''Antiques Roadshow''.
Career
Munn's first ...
OBE, MVO. Historian; retired managing director of London jewellers,
Wartski
Wartski is a British family firm of antique dealers specialising in Russian works of art; particularly those by Carl Fabergé, fine jewellery and silver. Founded in North Wales in 1865, the business is located at 60 St James's Street, London, SW ...
, BBC
Antiques Roadshow jewellery expert
*
Elizabeth Norton
Elizabeth Norton is a British historian specialising in the queens of England and the Tudor period. She obtained a Master of Arts in archaeology and anthropology from the University of Cambridge, being awarded a Double First Class degree, and a ...
, historian
*
John Pell, 1611–85, originator of
Pell's equation
*
Jessica Rosemary Shepherd
Jessica Rosemary Shepherd FLS (born October 1984) is a painter, artist, publisher and botanist who works under the names of Úrsula Romero and Inky Leaves.
Early career
After attending Steyning Grammar School, Shepherd studied for a BSc in bo ...
, botanical artist and botanist
*
Connor Swindells
Connor Ryan Swindells (born 19 September 1996) is an English actor and model. He gained prominence through his role as Adam Groff in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Sex Education'' (2019–present). He has since starred in the BBC One historical dram ...
, actor
*
Maisie Peters
Maisie Hannah Peters (born 28 May 2000) is an English singer-songwriter. After independently releasing two singles, she was signed to Atlantic Records, with whom she released two EPs and the second series soundtrack to the British comedy serie ...
, singer
*
John Trevett
John Charles Pullman Trevett (30 July 1942 – 29 April 2019) was an English first-class cricketer.
Trevett was born at Woking in July 1942. He was educated at Steyning Grammar School, before going up to Wadham College, Oxford. While studying a ...
(1942–2019), cricketer
*
Ted Walker
Edward Joseph (Ted) Walker FRSL (28 November 1934 – 19 March 2004) was a prize-winning English poet, short story writer, travel writer, TV and radio dramatist and broadcaster.
Early life
Ted Walker was born in Lancing, West Sussex, the son of ...
, 1934–2004, poet, author and dramatist
*
Lancelot Ware
Lancelot Lionel Ware OBE (5 June 191515 August 2000) was an English barrister and biochemist. He co-founded Mensa, the international society for intellectually gifted people, with the Australian barrister Roland Berrill in 1946. It was origin ...
OBE, 1915–2000, co-founder of
Mensa
Mensa may refer to:
* Mensa International, an organization for people with a high intelligence quotient (IQ)
* Mensa (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname
* Mensa (constellation), a constellation in the southern sky
* Men ...
Boarding
Steyning Grammar School has a boarding site located at Church Street. It is opposite the Lower School and is around half a mile away from the Upper School in Shooting Field. Steyning is one of a small number of
state schools with boarding facilities.
Boarders can join at the beginning of Year 9 and Year 12 to follow GCSE and A-level courses respectively.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Official Steyning Grammar School website
*
{{authority control
Steyning
Boarding schools in West Sussex
Educational institutions established in the 1610s
1614 establishments in England
Secondary schools in West Sussex
Church of England secondary schools in the Diocese of Chichester
Academies in West Sussex
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