Prince Henry's Grammar School (a

specialist A specialist is someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. Specialist may also refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist officer, military rank in ...

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 successf ...

), also known as Prince Henry's or PHGS, is a

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 ...

comprehensive

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

established in 1607 in the market town of

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. The school teaches pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 and has around 1,400 students and 84 teachers. It retains a high position within regional league tables. In 2016, Prince Henry's had the third-highest results for General Certificate of Secondary Education (

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 ...

) examinations in Leeds. Also in 2016, PHGS was the best state school in Leeds for A Level results. The school has repeatedly received a “good” rating from

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 ...

with outstanding features; however, in the past it has been criticised for the state of the old school building. Despite its name, Prince Henry's is now a state-funded comprehensive

academy school An academy school in England is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individual Academy Funding Agreements. 80% ...

History

Origins

The money for the school originally came from the will of Thomas Cave, a local cloth merchant, in 1603. Thomas Cave left £250 for the establishment of a school in the parish of Otley on the condition that an equal amount of money be raised by the local community within four years. A royal charter was granted by King James I on 30 April 1607, just four days before the deadline laid out in the will expired. The royal charter was granted after a petition by local residents, including

Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

and the local vicar, Reverend William Harrison, who became the first schoolmaster. A 1610 court case from York shows that the relatives of Thomas Cave and the executors of the will were reluctant to release the money from the will because of the delay in acquiring land for the school, which went against the terms attached to the money in the will. The court found in favour of the parishioners of Otley. The money, however, still did not arrive in the parish . The situation led to a second court case in 1611, which eventually caused the money to be obtained and used to buy land for the school. £380 was used to buy land from James and Mary Green near

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England; it is known for its racecourse and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological finds indicate there was a settlement in Thirsk aro ...

. This land was then rented back to the couple and their descendants for a thousand years in exchange for 40

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a year, which was used to pay wages for the school staff. According to the Royal Charter, which established the school, the original name of the school was "The Free Grammar School of Prince Henry at Otley". Free in this context meant that the school was free from church jurisdiction and free to choose their own curriculum. The School was named after King James's son Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales, who was at the time the heir to the throne, but died in 1612. Teaching began in 1611 in the Old Vicarage as a permanent site had not yet been procured. The original statutes of the school in 1611 state that the school master must be fluent in both Latin and Greek and that they would be paid £20 a year for their work, there was no increase in this amount until 1861. The school day at the time lasted from 7am to 5pm, with two hours for lunch between 11am and 1pm, depending on seasonal conditions. According to the original charter the school was founded to teach both rich and poor in the local parish. Land was granted by the Archbishop of York, who had an estate in Otley, for the creation of a permanent school. The original school building was built in Manor Square and finished in 1614. This site was sold in 1883 and since then has been an art gallery and is currently a restaurant.

First school

The original school building was only one floor. A second floor was added in 1790 after a £40 grant from the Archbishop of York. There was a further grant of £16 in 1808 from the archbishop for repairs. Due to declining class sizes in later years the building was also the site of an infant school and a Sunday school. The school building was also used as a court room after 1850 until the building of the Otley Courthouse in 1874. Between 1789 and 1806 the school master was William Bawdwen, who translated the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. An inspection of the school in 1824 found that there were around 5 pupils receiving a free education in Latin and Greek. However, a further 40 pupils received lessons in maths and English writing and grammar which their parents paid for. These subjects and the style of teaching is likely to be the same from the very beginning of the school.

New scheme and closure

In April 1861 a new scheme to govern the school was approved by the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

. This scheme removed the original charter and governor system and created a charity for the school which was run by eleven trustees. The curriculum at this time composed of 'the principles of the Christian religion', Latin, French, reading, writing, arithmetic, natural philosophy, history, geography, book-keeping, land-surveying, drawing, and design and music. The school at this time was open to every boy between 7 and 18 from the parish of Otley. The cost for boys under 10 was 1s 3d a week, rising to 2s for those over 10. The school master was to be paid £20 a year as well as 75% of the school fees, with the rest going to the upkeep of the school. The introduction of fees to all pupils led to a slow decline in new students starting in the school. An inspection of the school in 1867 found that there were 30 students, 20 of which were under the age of 12. At this time the school was open for 48 weeks a year and 30½ hours a week. The school closed in 1874 due to financial issues and increased competition with other schools which were being established across the country after the

Elementary Education Act 1870 The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75), commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities wit ...

. The school did not reopen until 1918. In 1883 the schoolhouse was sold for £800 by the trustees.

Reopening and later history

In 1888, a new scheme under the

Endowed Schools Act 1869 The Endowed Schools Act 1869 ( 32 & 33 Vict. c. 56) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Endowed Schools Acts 1869 to 1948. It was passed during William Ewart Gladstone’s first ministry, to restructure endowed ...

allowed the funds raised by the sale of the school to be used to give four grants of £15 each, which would last for three years, and be given to local boys to attend other grammar schools in Leeds, Bradford or Ripon. By 1904, due to investment of the former school's finances the school was making £120 a year profit, despite the fact it did not exist. The West Riding County Council in 1904 decided to build a new secondary school for the Wharfedale district in Guiseley, instead of Otley, despite hopes that Prince Henry's Grammar School could be recreated. The

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

planned to reopen the school in 1909, but these plans were slowed down by the County Council and the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The new plan laid out that the school should have 15 governors managing the school, and that the school should be in or near Otley. The plan for the first time also allowed girls to attend. The School was at this time also renamed to its present name of "Prince Henry's Grammar School". In 1909 the school still owned the property near Thirsk that it had acquired in 1611, but it was now being rented by the

Earls of Harewood Earl of Harewood (), in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1812 for Edward Lascelles, 1st Earl of Harewood, Edward Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy sugar plantation own ...

for the price of a year. The school trust also had £3000 in savings. The school governors bought the current Farnley Lane site of the school for £1,575, but in 1911 the County Council refused to help any further to develop the site into a school. In 1917 the MP James Hastings Duncan made an appeal to the Minister for Education which finally led to the reopening of the school. The school reopened after 44 years on 18 September 1918, temporarily based out of the Mechanics Institute, which later became Otley Town Hall. When it reopened there were 117 students. For the first time the school was also eligible for local and national education grants. Teaching began in the new school building on Farnley Lane in 1927. Under the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Histori ...

Prince Henry's became the local grammar school under the

Tripartite System The Tripartite System was the selective school system of State school#United Kingdom, state-funded secondary education between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 onwards in Northern Ireland. It was an administrative implementa ...

. The victory of the Labour party in the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

general elections, and the release of Circular 10/65 marked an end to the Grammar School system. In 1967 Otley Secondary Modern School joined with Prince Henry's, which then became a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

. Otley Secondary Modern School was founded in 1935 and was located in North Lane. Following the merger new buildings were constructed at the Farnley Lane site, to accommodate the extra pupils, which were opened by

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

in 1970. In 2007, the school completed the integration of a rugby academy into its sixth form. In 2010 the school pioneered a race equality programme which has been rolled out across the country. The school caused controversy in 2013 by asking parents to contribute £360 for each child so that the school may gave them iPads. Parents raised concerns about the cost of the scheme, whether the iPad was the best model to use and the potential threat to the concept of free education. The scheme went ahead later in 2014.

School governors

The original school governors were: *

* Guy Palmes *Sir Robert Dyneley of Bramhope *Thomas Fawkes Esq. of Farnley Hall *Christopher Cave, Yeoman of Otley *Christopher Cave, Yeoman of Menston *Jeffrey Pickard, Yeoman of Menston Other noteworthy governors have included 2nd Lord Fairfax, Charles Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax, Henry Arthington, 4th Lord Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax, William Palmes, and William Gabriel Davy, as well as several members of the

Vavasour family The Vavasour family are an Recusancy, English Catholic family whose history dates back to Normans, Norman times. There are several branches of the family, some of whom have intermarried with other notable Catholic families, and are descended from ...

, Hawkesworth family and the Fawkes family. Under the new scheme of 1861 the governors were replaced with trustees. These trustees were for the most part local factory owners such as Peter Garnett, Jeremiah Garnett, Thomas Hartley, William Ackroyd and William Fison, father of Frederick Fison.

Specialist statuses

In 1999 the school became a Specialist Language College. Since then the school has taught Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Italian to its pupils. The funding from this status has allowed the school to create new teaching resources as well as provide language lessons to local primary schools and evening courses to the community.

Building and facilities

The school's current location is to the north of the

River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...

; the front of the building is an old Edwardian school house complete with clock tower. The building has received frequent additions, the most recent of which was a new science block added in May 2008. In 2014 £900,000 was used to build four new classrooms, create a new sixth form area as well as improvements to the original 1927 building. The School's sports facilities include a swimming pool, gym, several tennis courts and rugby pitches as well as two fully equipped sports halls.

Extracurricular activities and school trips

The school's media and music departments produce an annual musical; recent years have seen ''Les Misérables'', ''Back to the Eighties'', ''Grease'', ''South Pacific'' and ''Return to the Forbidden Planet'' performed. The music department ensembles run throughout the year and include: PHOJO (Jazz Orchestra); Concert Band; Orchestra; Senior Choir; Strings; Junior Band and 'Sing Up!' (A year 7/8 vocal group). These groups often perform at local churches in

and

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

as well as at art exhibition openings and abroad (France, Italy and Belgium most recently). Sporting achievements include rugby, which is a popular sport at PHGS as is netball. In the 2003–04 season the school

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team won the ''

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'' Under-18 Vase. In 2017 one team from the school was undefeated for the entire season. The PE department organises a biennial rugby tour to Dubai. PHGS runs foreign exchanges, as the school has international links in Europe,

Durban, South Africa Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay o ...

and China. The history department runs biennial trips to Russia, Italy and to the battlefields of the First World War. The language department do frequent trips and exchanges to France, Spain, Germany and China. The school is a long-term participant in the EU's Comenius exchange programme, and has worked with schools in Spain, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Students from the school take part in the Citizenship Foundation's national bar mock trials and a number of sixth formers are members of the debating society, which has won several national awards.

Iraq War walkout controversy

On 5 March 2003 prior to the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, the school suspended two sixth formers for trying to organise a demonstration against the war at the school and giving anti-war speeches in the school cafeteria.

Academy controversy

During 2011 school governors examined the possibility of the school becoming an

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. There was "almost unanimous opposition" from two public meetings to the school becoming an Academy. Despite this the governors voted 10 to 9 in favour of conversion. NUT and NASUWT teachers, through fear of changes in pay and conditions, decided to strike on six days during November, with unions giving notice that 64 teachers would take part. The Unions demanded that the conversion must be halted for further consultation. The strike reached national news coverage, as well as a large amount of coverage in local news channels, newspapers and radio. Across the six days of strike action by the unions a number of teachers, students and parents protested at the school gates. On 26 November there was a protest march throughout

which was made up of nearly 400 members of the community. Protests continued up until the day of the conversion, and finally on 1 December the school converted to an academy. The conversion was also opposed by the local vicar, the local MP,

Greg Mulholland Gregory Thomas Mulholland (born 31 August 1970) is a British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat politician who was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP for Leeds North West (UK Parliament constituency), Leeds North West. He was f ...

and Otley Town Council.

Alumni

Lizzie Armitstead Elizabeth Mary Deignan (née Armitstead; born 18 December 1988) is an English professional world champion track cycling, track and Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam . She was the 2 ...

– silver medal

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, professional track and road racing cyclist * Qais Ashfaq – English professional boxer *

Jill Atkins Gillian "Jill" Atkins (born 30 May 1963) is a former field hockey player, who was a member of the British squad that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spa ...

– three-time Olympian and former

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player *

Clio Barnard Clio Barnard (born 1 January 1965) is a British director of documentary and feature films. She won widespread critical acclaim and multiple awards for her debut, '' The Arbor'', an experimental documentary about Bradford playwright Andrea Dunba ...

– filmmaker and documentarian * Liz Blackman – former MP for Erewash * Olivia Blake – current MP for Sheffield Hallam * Lewis Boyce – rugby union player for

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and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

* David Thomas Broughton – musician *Brian Harvey Ellison – late

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saxophonist * Coyle Girelli – vocalist and guitarist for

The Chevin The Chevin is the ridge on the south side of Wharfedale in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, overlooking the market town of Otley, and often known as Otley Chevin. Etymology The name is Brythonic in origin, the earliest attestation of the name ...

* Jon Langford – bass guitarist for

* Mat Steel – guitarist and keyboardist for

* Mal Taylor – drummer for

Danny Care Daniel Stuart Care (born 2 January 1987) is an English professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team. Early life Care was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He ...

– Harlequins and

scrum-half *

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– cabinet-maker * Georgia Coates – British swimmer *

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– content executive at ''

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'', ''

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'' (American version), and ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

''. * Jeremiah Garnett – one of the co-founders of ''

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'' * Richard Garnett – philologist and author * Thomas Garnett – paper manufacturer and naturalist * Harry Hepworth – British artistic gymnast, bronze medallist at 2024 Summer Olympics * Paul Hill –

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and

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* Rachel Leech – scientist who studied the biology of plant chloroplasts *

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– former

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* Tim Marshall – journalist, broadcaster, and former

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foreign affairs editor * Ben Sowrey – rugby union player for

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– actor *

Tye Raymont Tye Raymont (born 19 July 2005) is an English professional rugby union footballer who plays for Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks as a prop forward. Club career Born in Leeds, he played he played 19 of Fylde RFC's 26 matches in National Leagu ...

– Rugby Union player and England International *

Jack Walker Jack Walker (19 May 1929 – 17 August 2000) was a British industrialist and businessman. Walker built his fortune in the steel industry, amassing a personal fortune of £600 million. He then went on to become the owner and benefactor of Blac ...

– Rugby Union player and England International

References

External links

Prince Henry's Grammar School WebsiteDepartment for Children, Schools and Families Performance Tables (GCSE and equivalent)Ofsted Reports
{{Authority control Academies in Leeds Educational institutions established in the 1600s 1607 establishments in England Otley Secondary schools in Leeds Schools with a royal charter Specialist language colleges in England Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales