Royal Forest of Dean College was a

college of further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other acad ...

located close to the town of Coleford, in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...

in west

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. It was dissolved by government order as of 31 January 2011 in order to be merged to

Gloucestershire College Gloucestershire College (GC or Gloscol) is a college of further and higher education in the county of Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. It offers a range of education and training programmes, which include: * Apprenticeships and higher apprent ...

. Together with its secondary site at Mitcheldean, and around 30 further outreach sites, the college served a mainly rural area.Ofsted
Retrieved 17 September 2010 The college offered a range of courses from

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

and was associated with

University of Gloucestershire , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...

for

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

to Master's degrees.

History

East Dean Grammar School of Cinderford, formed in 1929, merged with Bells Grammar School of Coleford in 1968 to form the Royal Forest of Dean Grammar School on a new site. Bell's Grammar School had a history dating back to 1445 when a school was founded by

Joan Greyndour Joan Greyndour later Joan Barre ( Rigge/Ridge/Rugge (c. 1400 – 17 June 1485) was an English noblewoman. She founded a chantry and school at Newland in Gloucestershire. Life She was born at Charlcombe in about 1400 and her parents were Kather ...

. In 1985, the grammar school was split into a comprehensive school and the tertiary college. A 2009 Ofsted inspection rated the school with a Grade 2 (good). On 31 January 2011, it merged into Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology

Alumni

Royal Forest of Dean Grammar School

* Janet Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 2009–10 and Principal of

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

East Dean Grammar School

* Prof James Cross, Baines Professor of English Language from 1965–85 at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

Valerie Grosvenor Myer Valerie Winifred Grosvenor Myer (April 13, 1935 – August 9, 2007) was a British writer, university teacher, and editor. Early life Valerie Winifred Grosvenor Godwin was born in Lower Soudley in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England ...

, writer * Dame

Muriel Powell (nurse) Dame Muriel Betty Powell, DBE (30 October 1914 – 8 December 1978), was a British nurse, hospital matron, nurse educator, public servant, and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for the Scottish Home and Health Department (SHHD) 1970-76.Muriel Powel ...

CBE * Sir Archibald Russell CBE (attended from 1914-9 when his father was the headmaster), aircraft designer, designed the Bristol Blenheim, the

Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia is a retired British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the Commonwealth. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved sus ...

and later worked on

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 ...

- Chief Engineer from 1944–60 at the Bristol Aeroplane Company * Reg Ward, Chief Executive from 1976-80 of Hereford & Worcester County Council and from 1981-88 of the

London Docklands Development Corporation The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was a quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Docklands area of east London. During its seventeen-year existence it was responsible for regenerating an a ...

* Sir Jimmy Young (broadcaster) CBE, former

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

presenter from 1973-2002

Bells Grammar School

* Edna May Healey, Baroness Healey, writer and wife of

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

, television writer * Dr Cyril Hart OBE (1913-2009),

Verderer Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...

of the Forest of Dean, Author, Forestry Expert and Historian, born in the Forest and lived in Coleford.

References

External links

University of Gloucestershire

EduBase
Educational institutions established in 1985 Coleford, Gloucestershire Education in Gloucestershire 1985 establishments in England {{Gloucestershire-school-stub