Ashby School
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2013) |
| Ashby School | |
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| Address | |
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Nottingham Road , , LE65 1DT England | |
| Coordinates | 52°44′54″N 1°27′48″W / 52.74844°N 1.46335°WCoordinates: 52°44′54″N 1°27′48″W / 52.74844°N 1.46335°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Established | 1567 |
| Department for Education URN | 148549 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Head teacher | Mr G Staniforth |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 14 to 19 |
| Enrolment | 1976 |
| Houses | 4 |
| Colour(s) | Burgundy, Grey and Black |
| Publication | The Ashbeian |
| Former name | Ashby Grammar School |
| Website | http://www.ashbyschool.org.uk |
Ashby School, formerly known as Ashby Grammar School, is a co-educational day and boys' boarding Leicestershire 14-19 upper school with academy status in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The school is situated in the centre of Ashby on two sites.
History[]
Ashby Grammar School, the original boys' school, was founded in 1567 by Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon.[1] The girls' grammar school opened in 1901. They merged in 1972 and became comprehensive. Ashby School became an Academy on 1 October 2012.
Headteachers[]
- T. A. Woodcock OBE
- Charles Padel
- John Brinsley the elder
- Dr Ron Allison
- David Edward Herbert
- Cedric Ingleton
- Vivian Keller Garnet
- Eddie Green
- Geoff Staniforth
Former teachers[]
- Sir Mike Tomlinson CBE, Chief Inspector of Schools from 2000 to 2002 (head of chemistry from 1969 to 1977)
Infrastructure[]
Ashby School is based on two main sites (A, C and S blocks; and B block), based on adjacent roads. The school has spent considerable funds on the construction of a new science block, new rooms in the design department, and more recently, a new block built to accommodate music, art and media studies. However, from the 2020 academic year onwards, the former B block has been renovated into a new Sixth Form Campus where all KS5 (Year 12 and Year 13) lessons will take place; KS4 (Year 10 and Year 11) lessons now exclusively take place in the former A and C blocks.
Ashby School (School House) boarding accommodation[]
The school provides boarding accommodation for 75 boys from 10 -18 attending Ashby School, Ivanhoe College and Ashby Church of England School. It is located in a much extended Georgian House. Ofsted noted the homely nature of the house but was critical of many aspects that no longer meet modern standards. Fifteen years ago it was judged to be good. Ofsted acknowledges that the new senior leadership team accepts the judgment and is working to resolve the problem.[2]
Day school house system[]
The school has four houses: Bullen (yellow), Ferrers (blue), Hastings (green) and Loudoun (purple).[3] Each house chooses a charity for the year for which it raises money.
Performance[]
In October 2019, Ofsted gave the school an "inadequate rating", though conceding that the teaching was good and the students were well behaved enthusiastic learners. Inadequate management procedures brought the overall grade down.Safeguarding of students was ranked as inadequate due to fire procedures being not tight enough and registers not being completed accurately, for example students being marked as educated off-site when they are actually on-site.[4]
Gifted and talented[]
'Da Vinci' is the school's current gifted and talented system. The 'Tip Tops' is a group of primary pupils in years 5 and 6 from local primary schools in the Ashby area. They attend after-school sessions in which they are tutored in advanced mathematics, literacy, film studies, science, art, and philosophy by gifted and talented students from Ashby School. The Ashby School's gifted and talented programme was rated three stars by the National Association for Gifted Children in 2010.[5] In November 2011 a Russian cosmonaut involved in the planning of the manned mission to Mars visited the school and gave a lecture to the 'G&T'.
Medals controversy[]
In 2016 Ashby School created controversy when it proposed to auction the medals, including a Victoria Cross, won by Lt Col. Philip Bent that had been donated to the school "to inspire future pupils".[6][7] The medals had been on long-term loan to the Royal Leicestershire Regimental Museum (part of Newarke Houses Museum), but had not been on display there for over forty years.[7] The school planned to use the proceeds to fund the building of a sports pavilion.[6][7] In 2018, the school received funding from the National Healthy Schools Programme for a new pavilion.[8]
Notable former pupils[]
 | This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. (August 2021) |
Former pupils are known as Old Ashbeians.
- Andrew Betts, basketball player
- Henry Dartnall, popular musician
- Dorian West (former England Hooker)
- The Young Knives
- Nathan Buck (Leicestershire County and England U19 Cricket Player)
- Tom Hopper (actor, best known for playing Sir Percival in Merlin (TV Series))
- Jane Plant, geochemist, scientist, and author
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Boys’ Grammar School[]
- Sir Geoffrey Arthur, Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, 1975–84
- John Bainbridge (astronomer)
- Philip Bent, VC
- Sir John Bonser, barrister
- William Bradshaw, puritan
- Jack English, photographer
- Levi Fox, historian
- Anthony Gilby, clergyman
- Alexander Henry Green, geologist
- Leslie Hale, Baron Hale, Labour MP for Oldham from 1945 to 1950 and Oldham West from 1950 to 1968
- Joseph Hall, Bishop of Norwich
- Thomas Hemsley CBE, baritone
- Sir Joseph Hood, 1st Baronet, Conservative MP from 1918 to 1924 for Wimbledon
- Sir James Hunt, judge
- Reginald Jacques CBE, conductor
- David Nish, footballer, capped five times for England
- David Taylor, Labour MP from 1997 to 2009 for North West Leicestershire
- Bernard Vann, VC
- , past president of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and the Glasgow Institute of Architects
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Girls' Grammar School[]
- OBE, Chairman from 1993 to 2000 of the Independent Schools Inspectorate, Headmistress from 1975 to 1993 of South Hampstead High School
- Nora David, Baroness David
- Clare Hollingworth, journalist
- , actress, plays Jennifer Aldridge (née Archer) in The Archers[9]
- Prof Diane Reay, Professor of Education since 2005 at the University of Cambridge[10]
References[]
- ^ Cross, Claire. "Hastings, Henry, third earl of Huntingdon (1536?–1595)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "School House Ofsted Report 2018". ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ Care and Welfare - House System/Tutor Groups/Year Tutors/Teen Health
- ^ "Ofsted report 2019". ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "Gifted and Talented". Ashby School. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "War hero family's anger over school's Victoria Cross sale bid". BBC News. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "School under fire for plan to sell WW1 hero's Victoria Cross". The Telegraph. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ Owen, Dave (18 June 2018). "Dilapidated fire hit sports pavilion in Ashby to get £300k revamp". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ "Angela Piper's Derbyshire Childhood". Derbyshirelife.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ^ "Diane Reay : Faculty of Education". Educ.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
External links[]
Authority control  |
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- Educational institutions established in the 1560s
- 1567 establishments in England
- Upper schools in Leicestershire
- Boarding schools in Leicestershire
- Ashby-de-la-Zouch
- Academies in Leicestershire
- State funded boarding schools in England