Penistone Grammar School

Penistone Grammar School
North side view with the main entrance
Address
Huddersfield Road Penistone , South Yorkshire , S36 7BX England
Coordinates	53°31′58″N1°38′10″W / 53.5327°N 1.6361°W / 53.5327; -1.6361
Information
Type	Community school Comprehensive school
Mottoes	Disce aut discede (Translation: Learn or Depart) "Learning and Achieving together" "Never Stop Flying"
Established	1392;632 years ago (1392)
Founder	Thomas Clarel
Local authority	Barnsley
Department for Education URN	106653 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Headteacher	Paul Crook
Gender	Co-educational
Age	11to 18
Enrolment	1,828
Capacity	1,826
Sixth form students	224
Colour(s)	Green, Light Blue, Cyan, Orange, Purple; Black and Red
Website	www.penistone-gs.uk

Penistone Grammar School (PGS ^[1] ) is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school and sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England. ^[2]

Founded in 1392, it is the 45th oldest extant school in England with its most notable alumnus being Nicholas Saunderson, the probable inventor of Bayes theorem, in the 18th century. ^[3] The school has undergone many expansions, requiring the erection of several buildings, and now houses over 1,700 pupils from age 11 to 18. ^[4] PGS' Ofsted overall rating is grade 2 ('Good'), following an inspection in February 2023. ^[5]

History

Historic Coat of Arms

The school was founded as the Free Grammar School of Penistone ('Penistone' often spelt 'Peniston') in 1392, when it is recorded that a gift of land was made by Thomas Clarel, Lord of the Manor at Penistone, to John Del Rodes "and others". The land was situated in the town centre on a site opposite St. John the Baptist Church and across the road from the old Cloth Hall (built much later). ^[6]

Penistone Grammar School's foundation deed: Thomas Clarel, Dominus (that is Lord) de Peniston in 1392, granted to John del Rodes and others a piece of land in the Kirk-flatt, sicut se extendit et jacet inter quinque lapides per manus predicti Thomas Clarel pro metis positos, with license to grave turf on the Moors of Penistone. ^[6]

In 1443 the Free Grammar School of Penistone received further bequests and in 1547, after the dissolution of the chantries, the school continued as the free school for the children of Penistone. Following further endowments, the school was rebuilt in 1714. In 1893, the school withdrew from its town centre site to a position about half a mile north-west of the town centre, at Weirfield House. ^[7] The school remains on this site.

Penistone Grammar School at Kirk Flatt, from Dransfield's History of Penistone. Datestone: 1714.

Fulford Hall; opened 28 Oct 1911, demolished 2014

The school was originally an all-boys grammar school with a boarding provision. Girls were admitted for the first time in 1907 (though mixed-sex classes were not until 1911). Fulford was the last headmaster to see boarders, with PGS becoming a day school in 1921. ^[7]

On 28 October 1911, under the tenure of Mr Fulford, the Fulford building opened (though not called that at the time), at a cost of £8,000 (plus £780 for furnishings and equipment). ^[8] Several other buildings were erected, and in 1974, PGS purchased the former Penistone Union Workhouse, later named 'Netherfields', which became the school's sixth form. ^[9]

It became fully comprehensive in 1969, with partial selection (for more distant pupils) from 1957. The comprehensive school initially retained its grammar school name and traditions such as the house system and speech night. These traditions were gradually scaled back. In 2011, the school restored its traditional house system and uniform, and entirely demolished all buildings but Weirfield and the adjacent Stables, which was converted into flats. A new building opened that same year.^{[ citation needed ]}

The school motto was traditionally "Disce Aut Discede" ("Learn or leave"), with the school colours traditionally being red and black. It used the coat of arms of the founding family, the Clarels, which shows six martlets, as its logo. In 2003 the school changed its motto to "Learning and Achieving Together". It rebranded again in 2010 with the motto "Never Stop Flying", a reference to martlets having no legs so always being in flight, changing the logo and school ties to show a single stylised martlet in flight.^{[ citation needed ]}

Present day

A £35 million 'state-of-the-art' school building opened on 2 May 2011, with a complete demolition of the old buildings, except for Fulford, the Stables, and Weirfield. Fulford, erected in 1909, was ultimately demolished in early 2014 after much protest from past students and locals.

After taking over from Glynis Gower, headteacher of 5 years, in 2007, Joanne Higgins stood down in November 2017 with Paul Crook taking her place as headteacher. He was formerly a teacher of PE and a deputy head.

The sixth form at Penistone currently has 300 students in attendance. ^[4] Penistone Grammar School is the only school in the Local Education Authority of Barnsley to have a sixth form alongside its secondary provision.

In 2017, Penistone Grammar School's then headteacher, Jo Higgins, introduced a controversial, zero tolerance style 'Values Driven Expectations' behaviour management scheme, under which a pupil could be reprimanded for forgetting a pen or leaving their shirt untucked. ^[10]

After internal remodelling in 2018, work started on a £4.3 million two-storey extension in 2019, providing an additional 250 places at the school. The building was opened to students in September 2020, and is linked to the main school by a walkway through the science department. ^[11] The block is home to the modern foreign languages department and several science classrooms.

As of 2022, Penistone Grammar School is the only secondary school in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley to not have academy status, remaining under the control of the Local Authority.

The school maintains expansive playing fields, with a martlet-covered bridge over Huddersfield Road connecting the building and fields.

Academic results

Secondary

Penistone Grammar School's secondary results are the best of any school in the Barnsley local authority, achieving an above average Progress 8 score of 0.46. ^[12] In 2023, 83% of pupils passed English and maths, with 66% of pupils achieved a grade 5 (strong pass) or higher. ^[13]

Sixth Form

The sixth form has been within the top 10% of providers nationally for over five consecutive years. The majority (55%) of grades secured are A* or A, and in 2022, the average result was an A-, with over half of students progressing to elite Russell Group universities. ^[14]

Penistone Grammar School Foundation

The Penistone Grammar School Foundation is a charity (number 529458) established in January 1957, but registered in 1965. ^[15] It owns much of the school's old site and its current estate, and generates income for the school.

Houses

The school introduced a four house system from the late 1950s until the mid 1970s, with each being named after locally significant people. ^[16]

Former houses at PGS

House	Colour	Named after
Armitage	Yellow	Heather Armitage - British sprinter and former student (1933–)
Bosville	Blue	Bosville family of Gunthwaite - Local land owners
Clarel	Red	Thomas Clarel - Founder
Dransfield	Green	John Ness Dransfield - Local historian and author of A History of the Parish of Penistone (1906)

The school revived the traditional house system which continues to this day.

Current houses at PGS

House	Colour	Named after
Bowman	Purple	Eric Fisher Bowman - Headmaster 1928–1958
Fulford	Orange	Joseph Woodward Fulford - Headmaster 1893–1921
Netherfield	Green	Netherfield Union Workhouse - Former home to the sixth form college
Saunderson	Light blue	Nicholas Saunderson - Mathematician and former student (1682–1739)
Weirfield	Cyan	Weirfield House - Former schoolhouse and staff area from 1893 until c.2011

List of headmasters

List of headmasters at Penistone Grammar School since 1392 ^{[6] [17]}

Years	Name	Education	Notes
c.1392–1433	Rev. John Del Rodes		Custos of Saint John's Chapel
c.1433–1450	Rev. John Smyth		Chaplain
1450–1472	Rev. William Wordsworth		Chantry Priest at St Mary's
1472–1477	Rev. William Walker		Chantry Priest at St Mary's
1477–1534	Rev. William Addy Snr		Chantry Priest at St Mary's
1534–1556	Rev. William Addy Jnr		Chantry Priest at St Mary's
1556–1613	John Hyde, MA (Cantab)	St John's College, Cambridge
1613–1630	Richard Hey		Died 28 May 1630
1630–1644	John Coatehill		Died 8 May 1644
1644–1666	Rev. George Didsbury, BA	Clare College, Cambridge	Died 24 April 1666
1666–1668	Rev. John Revel, BA	Christ's College, Cambridge	Resigned
1668–1702	Nathan Staniforth, MA (Cantab)	Christ's College, Cambridge	Died 24 November 1702
1702–1726	John Ramsden		Died 12 March 1726
1726–1751	Rev. Jonathan Perkin	Christ's College, Cambridge	Died 3 May 1751
1751–1776	Rev. Francis Haigh, BA	Christ's College, Cambridge	Died 15 November 1776
1776–1786	Rev. Joseph Horsfall		Resigned
1786–1836	Jonathan Wood		Died 22 April 1836
1836–1855	Rev. Samuel Sunderland, BA		Vicar of Penistone. Died 18 July 1855
1855–1867	Rev. John Wesley Aldom, MA (Dubl)	Trinity College, Dublin	Resigned
1867	Rev. Alfred Steane, BA		Resigned after three months [7]
1867	George Curtis Price, BA		Appointed but declined
1867–1868	Walter Mooney Hatch, BA	New College, Oxford	Resigned after a few months
1868–1884	Theophilus Jackson		Resigned
1884–1885	Othman Blakey		Resigned
1885–1888	Harry Hardy		Resigned and became assistant 1888
1888–1892	Lionel Ernest Adams, BA		Resigned
1893–1921	Joseph Woodward Fulford, MA (Dubl)	Trinity College, Dublin
1921–1928	Guy Wilfred Morris, MA (Oxon)	St John's College, Oxford	Resigned, became Master at Colfe's Grammar School. [18]
1928–1958	Eric Fisher Bowman, CBE, MA (Oxon)
1958–1976	Wilfrid Burgess Simms, MA (Oxon)	Merton College, Oxford [19]
1976–1997	Martin Antony (Tony) Bould, BA
1997–1999	Andrew ('Andy') White, BSc, MEd
1999–2002	Pamela Caunt
2002–2007	Glynis Gower, BSc, MSc
2007–2017	Joanne Higgins, BA
2017–	Paul Crook, BEd

Notable Old Penistonians

See also: Category:People educated at Penistone Grammar School

Old Penistonian Nicholas Saunderson, Mathematician

• Prof Nicholas Saunderson (1682–1739) – Mathematician and Lucasian Professor at Cambridge University 1711–1739 ^[20]
• Alec Glassey (1887–1970) – Liberal MP for East Dorset 1929–1931
• Eileen Colwell (1904–2002) – Pioneer children's librarian ^[21]
• Geoffrey Allan Crossley, CMG (1920–2009) – Diplomat and British Ambassador to Colombia and the Holy Sea
• Noel Moore (1928–2008) – Civil Servant who oversaw the decimalisation project
• Neil Robinson (1929–2009) – CoE Priest; Archdeacon of Suffolk 1987–1994
• Prof Alan Mercer (1931–2014) – Professor of Operational Research, founding member of Lancaster University's Department of Management Science ^[22]
• Heather Armitage (1933–) – British gold medal sprinter ^[23]
• Roland Boyes (1937–2006) – Labour MP for Houghton and Washington (1992–1997); MEP for Durham 1979–1984; Photographer
• Prof David Hey (1938–2016) – Historian ^[24]
• Anne Campbell (1940–) – Labour MP for Cambridge, 1992–2005
• John Haigh (1941–2021) – Lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Sussex ^{[25] [26]}
• Prof Jean Bacon (1942–) – Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cambridge ^[27]
• Paul Copley (1944–) – Actor and voice-over artist
• Katherine Brunt (1985–) – England Women's Cricketer ^[28]
• Marc Roberts (1990–) – Professional Footballer ^[29]
• John Stones (1994–) – England Footballer ^[30]

Old Penistonian John Stones, Footballer

References

1. "Penistone Grammar School – PGS History". Penistone Pictorial. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
2. "Welcome from the Principal". Penistone Grammar School. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
3. Stephen M. Stigler (1983), "Who Discovered Bayes' Theorem?" The American Statistician 37(4):290–296.
4. Penistone Grammar School "Current Staff and Student Numbers FOI Request 2019", 14 October 2019
5. "Penistone Grammar School - Rating and Reports". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
6. Dransfield, John N (1906). A History of the Parish of Penistone. James H. Wood (The Don Press).
7. Addy, John. "Penistone Grammar School in the Nineteenth Century". Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 40: 116.
8. "Penistone Almanack" (PDF). Penistone Archive. 1914. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
9. "The Workhouse in Penistone, Yorkshire, W. Riding". www.workhouses.org.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
10. "Pupils 'terrified' of new Penistone school behaviour rules". BBC News. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
11. "School extension underway". Barnsley Chronicle. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
12. "Compare School Performance - All schools and colleges in Barnsley". compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
13. "Compare School Performance - Penistone Grammar School". compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
14. "Performance 2022_Page_6.jpg | Performance". Penistone Grammar. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
15. "PENISTONE GRAMMAR SCHOOL FOUNDATION – Charity 529458". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
16. Briggs, Jack. "Penistone Grammar School - PGS History". Penistone Pictorial. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
17. Bould, Martin Antony, ed. (1992). Six hundred glorious years 1392–1992.
18. BEARDWOOD, H (1910). "The History of Colfe's Grammar School" (PDF).
19. "Obituary: Eric Simms". The Guardian. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
20. David Hey (2002). A History of Penistone and District. Wharncliffe books. p. 50. ISBN   1-903425-21-2.
21. Tucker, Nicholas (January 2011). "Colwell, Eileen Hilda (1904–2002)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 6 July 2021.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
22. J J O'Connor and E F Robertson, Stefan Banach, MacTutor History of Mathematics (University of St Andrews, Scotland, April 2015)
23. "Heather Armitage – Penistone Grammar School's Olympic Medallist". www.pgs-archive.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
24. Dyer, Christopher (25 February 2016). "David Hey obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
25. Ford, Anna. "Obituary: John Haigh". The University of Sussex. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
26. Dunwoody, Martin (24 March 2021). "John Haigh obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
27. Jean Bacon, an oral history conducted in 2001 by Janet Abbate, IEEE History Center, Hoboken, NJ, USA.
28. "England lady cricketer gives tips". Yorkshire Live. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
29. "Roberts: 'I've done it the long way round' – Barnsley News from the Barnsley Chronicle". Barnsley Chronicle. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
30. Thomson, Doug (13 May 2014). "Why John Stones' elevation to England's stand-by squad brings pride to Penistone". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 8 April 2018.

External links

• PGS Archive
• History of PGS
• PGS performance at BBC News
• pgsonline
• OFSTED report ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
• Archived 5 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine