Colyton Grammar School
 | |
| Motto | Expectation and Excellence (Originally Esse Qvam Videri) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1546 |
| Type | Grammar school, Academy |
| Headteacher | Tim Harris[1] |
| Chairman of Governors | Dr Christopher J Bastin |
| Location |
Whitwell Lane Colyford Devon EX24 6HN England Coordinates: 50°43′41″N 3°04′21″W / 50.728°N 3.0725°W |
| DfE URN | 136366 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
| Students | 826, including around 214 in the sixth Form |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Colours | Blue and gold |
| Website |
www |
Colyton Grammar School (commonly abbreviated to 'CGS') is a co-educational grammar school located in the village of Colyford in East Devon, England that teaches students from years 7 to 13 (ages 11 to 18). The school has been classified by Ofsted as 'Outstanding' in three successive reports.
The school has an open campus style setting situated on a site of over 18 acres (7.3 ha) in total. There have been a number of improvements to the campus in recent years.
The School has 826 students and just over 50 teaching staff and a similar number of support staff. Paul Evans became headteacher in 2008, succeeding Barry Sindall, who had held the position of headteacher for 18 years. Evans left that post at the end of the 2014-15 academic year and was replaced by Mrs J Wainwright. Mr T Harris joined the school as the new headteacher at the start of the 2016-17 academic year.
History
The school was founded in 1546 by a group of twenty yeomen and merchants who bought some land from the crown "for the benefit of Colyton". Their first act was to endow a grammar school "for the goodly and virtuous education of children in Colyton for ever".
The school was situated in a single room over the porch of the parish church until the Feoffees hired a room in the town and the school was moved. In 1612, the school moved to the Church House, which had been enlarged by having another storey built on to it.
The first headmaster on record was William Hull, who joined the school in 1603, for a salary of £5 a year. The first headmistress – Mrs. Susanah Stokes – was appointed in 1792. It was only in 1875 that the school was established as a day and boarding school with its current name – Colyton Grammar School.
On 20 June 1876, the school population reached a record low of just one pupil. Numbers steadily increased again and by August 1884, there were 33 pupils. The school was closed in 1900 due to a lack of pupils and remained closed until 1905, when it was re-opened with a new headmaster.
In 1913, a change in the school's constitution allows girls to be admitted for the first time and the school officially becomes a co-educational grammar school. A Board of Governors with fifteen members was instituted in 1914. In 1929, the school moved to its present site in Colyford.
Recent developments
The school began a program of development and expansion in 1991, adding and renovating many buildings over the subsequent two decades. This included two new Study Centres, the "Study Centre" and the "Sindalls Building", a major renovation of the Chemistry block, the "Jowett Building", a new, expansive Science and Design & Technology block, the "Feoffees Building", a new Music building, a new Art building, the large "Walker Building" which contains the school library, History, Psychology and Modern Language classrooms, a new Humanities building, the "Coly Building", including RE and Geography classrooms, a new canteen named "Take Five", and a complete refurbishment of the "Cottrill Hall", the main school hall.
The school offers the AQA Baccalaureate but has no current plans to offer the International Baccalaureate as an alternative to A levels.
The school, as of 2007, had students taking GCSEs in year 10 as opposed to year 11, allowing for a three-year Sixth Form. After changes to the GCSE courses, as of September 2016, the GCSE exams will be taken in year 11 again.
On 1 January 2011, Devon County Council ceased to maintain the school. The school became one of the Coalition Government's Academies. Colyton Grammar School Academy Trust, an exempt charity and company limited by guarantee, assumed responsibility for this state-funded independent school.
The school is a member of the South West Academic Trust, which brings together selective schools across the south west of England to share good practice.
In late 2013, the Head of Science was arrested following a police investigation into his online activities.[2]
References
- ↑ Colyton Grammar School
- ↑ "Colyton Grammar School teacher sentenced for child abuse images", BBC News South West, 3 December 2013