Pate's Grammar School is a
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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
with
academy status in
Cheltenham
Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
, Gloucestershire, England. It caters for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school was founded with a fund bestowed to
Corpus Christi College,
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, by
Richard Pate in 1574. The school became
co-educational
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 ...
in 1986, when Pate's Grammar School for Girls merged with Cheltenham Grammar School.
Pate's has been awarded 'State Secondary School of the Year' twice by ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' in their Good Schools Guide in 2012 and 2020. In 2013, and again in 2024, the school was given an Outstanding judgement by
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...
.
Academic achievements
At
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
level in 2004, 100% of pupils entered earned five A* to C grades, and the school came twelfth in the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
table of performance in
A-/
AS-Level. Again in 2005, 100% of pupils earned five A* to C grades at GCSE, and in 2006, 100% of pupils passed in at least seven subjects with grades A* to C.
The physics department was recognised as the best in the country in a survey published by ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' in May 2006.
In 2012 Pate's achieved the fourth best state secondary school results in the United Kingdom. It was also awarded with 'State Secondary School of the Year'. In 2019 the school was ranked as one of the top secondary state schools in the UK with 95.6% of grades at A*-B at A-level and 87.5% of grades at 9-7 at GCSE.
Sporting achievements
The senior rugby team was coached by ex-England scrum-half
Peter Kingston until his retirement in 2009.
In 2007 Pate's senior rugby teams completed a season unbeaten for the first time in 21 years.
The Old Patesians club has grounds and a clubhouse in Leckhampton, which was built when their previous premises were demolished to make way for Cheltenham's tallest building, Eagle Tower.
Community
The school competes in the
Young Enterprise competition held amongst schools nationwide. The school was also named as one of the four winners of the annual BBC School's Question Time competition in 2009.
The current headmaster is James Richardson, who took over from Russel Ellicot in September 2023.
Developments
The boys' school was established in 1586. The Gothic premises in the High Street were demolished in 1967 to make way for a concrete supermarket, at a time when many other historic buildings, which would now be listed and protected, were also lost. The school playing field existed quite remote from the school in Hesters Way, and a replacement school was built there, after the boundaries had been altered to make way for the Princess Elizabeth Way and Coronation Square council developments. The majority of pupils lived in more affluent areas on the opposite side of the town and needed to commute by public transport. The building opened in 1965 and was designed by the architects Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, and featured innovative use of concrete and brick construction, a copper-clad dome over the library and a moat, but its striking appearance was not universally popular, frequently drawing comparisons with a prison. By the 1980s the concrete had developed significant structural problems. Following the merger with the girls grammar school in 1986, the school became multi-site for a time, utilising the former Monkscroft school buildings on a nearby site, predominantly for lower school pupils. The combination of the issues with running a split-site school, and the decaying condition of both buildings led to their replacement from 1994 with new buildings. During this period the school somehow lost its nomenclature with Richard Pate, becoming known instead as Cheltenham Grammar School, and Pate's name instead became associated with the girls' school at Pittville.
The school converted from a
voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...
into an academy in November 2010.
In summer 2012, Pate's Grammar completed the construction of a new
refectory
A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...
, costing £1.75 million. This also involved upgrading the school canteen to a
cashless catering system operated by sQuid. It was opened by
the Duke of Gloucester on 5 October 2012. The new sixth form block was built and completed in summer 2019.
In 2013, a new school block was opened named 'The George and Eve Tatam Block', after alumni who also sponsor higher level study at both
Corpus Christi, Oxford and
Corpus Christi, Cambridge.
In spring 2019, a new sixth form block opened following a grant received in 2017. The three-storey building comprises study spaces and IT facilities on the lower two floors, whilst the upper floor houses the senior library. The building links directly to the George and Eve Tatum Block next to which it is constructed.
Notable alumni
Pate's Grammar School
*
Ben Chacko, editor since 2014 of the ''
Morning Star''
*
Stephanie Collie, costume designer
*
Siân Berry
Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...
, Green MP since 2024 for
Brighton Pavilion and former leader of the
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
*
Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...
, professional footballer
*
Sue Limb
Margaret Susan Limb (born 1946) is a British writer and broadcaster.
Biography
Limb was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Her family moved to Cheltenham where her father worked at GCHQ. Educated at Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham, she studied ...
, novelist
Cheltenham Grammar School
Music
*
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
, composer
*
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...
, musician and founder of
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
*
Philip Lane, composer
Sport
*
Gilbert Jessop, cricketer
*
Robert Lanchbury,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
cricketer
*
Alfred Payne, cricketer
Engineers
*
Sir Benjamin Baker, engineer of the
Forth Bridge
*
Sir Frederick Handley Page, founder of the aircraft company
Handley Page
Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...
*
Gordon Lewis, aeronautical engineer, and designer of the
Olympus and
Pegasus
Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...
engines with
Bristol Siddeley
*
Bob Parkinson, rocket engineer with
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...
, worked on
HOTOL
Academia
*
William Henry Corfield, revolutionised hygiene and household sanitation in Victorian England.
*
Sir Rowland Biffen, developed disease resistant wheat strains
*
H. J. Round, scientist, played an important part in the discovery of
light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corre ...
s
*
Martin Hume Johnson, Professor of Reproductive Sciences from 1992 to 2012 at the University of Cambridge (
Christ's College)
*
Piers Coleman
Piers Coleman (born 1958) is a British-born theoretical physicist, working in the field of theoretical condensed matter physics. Coleman is professor of physics at Rutgers University in New Jersey and at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Edu ...
, theoretical physicist, Professor of Physics
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
and brother of
Jaz Coleman
Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman (born 26 February 1960) is an English singer and musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of post-punk group Killing Joke. In addition, Coleman has composed orchestral and sound ...
.
*
Anthony Howe, professor of modern history since 2003 at
UEA
*
Kit Fine, philosopher
Politics
*
Adrian Bailey
Adrian Edward Bailey (born 11 December 1945) is a retired British Labour and Co-operative politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich West from 2000, when he won the seat at a by-election in November 2000 until he sto ...
, Labour MP from 2000 to 2019 for
West Bromwich West.
*
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...
, Liberal MP from 1885 to 1906 for South Caernarfonshire,
Eifion
Film & TV
*
John Ringham, character actor
*
Rex Tucker, TV director, Head of BBC TV drama from 1969–81
*
Desmond Wilcox, TV reporter, late husband of
Dame Esther Rantzen
Authors
*
Robert Hawker, poet
*
Geoff Dyer, writer
Other
*
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
John Chard,
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer; received the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
(VC) for his service in January 1879 at
Rorke's Drift
*
Peter Lampl, founder of the
Sutton Trust
The Sutton Trust is an educational Charitable organization, charity in the United Kingdom which aims to improve social mobility and address educational disadvantage. The charity was set up by educational philanthropist, Sir Peter Lampl in 1997.
...
*
Sir Edgar Vaughan, ambassador from 1960 to 1963 to
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
*
Ernest Blackie,
Bishop of Grimsby from 1935 to 1937
*
The Baron Christopher, general secretary from 1976 to 1988 of the
Inland Revenue Staff Federation
*
John Clink,
Flag Officer Sea Training since 2015
*
Laura Winter,
Sport Commentator, With
F1TV Since 2019
Pate's Grammar School for Girls
*
Mary Honeyball, Labour MEP 2000 - 2019 for
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
*
Dame Felicity Lott, soprano
*
Dame Lesley Rees, endocrinologist, professor of chemical endocrinology since 1978 at
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical school, medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal ...
*
Fiona Sampson, poet, professor of poetry since 2013 at the
University of Roehampton
*
Anne Warner, professor of developmental biology at UCL, and director from 1999 to 2006 of UCL's
Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology
See also
*
Old Patesians RFC
References
External links
Pate's Grammar School official site
Pate's Grammar School OED (Outdoor Education Department) official OED site
Pate's Grammar School CCF (Combined Cadet Force) official CCF site
{{Authority control
*
Schools in Cheltenham
Grammar schools in Gloucestershire
Educational institutions established in the 1570s
1574 establishments in England
Academies in Gloucestershire