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Penistone Grammar School | |
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![]() North side view with the main entrance | |
Address | |
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Huddersfield Road , , S36 7BX England | |
Coordinates | 53°31′58″N1°38′10″W / 53.5327°N 1.6361°W |
Information | |
Type | Community school Comprehensive school |
Mottoes | Disce aut discede (traditional, Learn or Leave) "Never Stop Flying" (current) |
Established | 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) | Red and Black. (Houses: Green – Netherfield, Light Blue – Saunderson, Cyan – Weirfield, Orange – Fulford, Purple – Bowman) |
Website | www |
Penistone Grammar School (PGS [1] ) is a large co-educational secondary school with a sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England. [2]
Founded in 1392, it is amongst the oldest extant schools in England, with alumni including Nicholas Saunderson, the probable inventor of Bayes theorem, in the 18th century. [3] At various times in its history it has been single-sex and mixed, free and fee-paying, selective and comprehensive, boarding and day. It has undergone several moves and extensions, and today houses around 1,700 pupils from age 11 to 18. [4] PGS' Ofsted overall rating is grade 2 ('Good'), following an inspection in February 2023. [5]
The school was founded as the Free Grammar School of Penistone (then 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, Kirk Flatt, was situated in the town centre on a site opposite St. John the Baptist Church (a site later rebuilt as the Sheffield Union Bank, which later became an HSBC branch, and is today the Vault restaurant). [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]
Thomas Clarel was born 28 Edward III 1355, and died by drowning in the River Don, 1 May 1442. His will was dated 20 November 1441, and he was buried in the friary church, Tickhill, near the family's hall. [7] The school was originally an all-boys grammar school, accepting both boarders and day pupils.
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.
PGS played a role in creating association football. In 1836, headmaster Samuel Sunderland brought a football game to PGS from the University of Cambridge. At that time, most schools has their own ball games but when students at Cambridge wanted to play together they had to agree on one style, which later was published as the Cambridge rules. His PGS student John Charles Shaw took this game to the first two FA clubs, Sheffield F.C. in 1857 and Hallam F.C. in 1860, which first wrote their own Sheffield rules then merged them with Cambridge's to create the modern laws of the game in 1863. Another student, John Marsh, founded Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in 1867. [8]
In 1886, the Charities Commission restructured the school, replacing the majority of its trustees with local government representation. [9]
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. [10] The school remains on this site.
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. [10]
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). [11] 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. [12]
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 uses a badge based on the coat of arms of the founding family, the Clarels, which shows six martlets, from which the school colors red and black are derived. (From 2010–2024 it briefly used a revisionist logo with part-circles in house colors and a single stylised martlet.) The school's traditional motto is "Disce Aut Discede" ("Learn or leave"). In 2003, the school briefly changed motto to "Learning and Achieving Together", before revising this in again 2010 to "Never Stop Flying", a reference to martlets having no feet so always being in flight.[ citation needed ]
A £35-million 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 demolished in 2014 after protest from past students and locals.
In 2017, Penistone Grammar School 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. [13]
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. [14] 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 not to have academy status, remaining under the control of the Local Authority.
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.
The school maintains a 30 acre site in the west of Penistone, including extensive playing fields, used mostly for football, rugby, cricket, and athletics. Facilities include a gym, dance studio, 3G football pitches and tennis courts. It has a theatre and music studios. It has a Combined Cadet Force.
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. [15] In 2023, 83% of pupils passed English and maths, with 66% of pupils achieved a grade 5 (strong pass) or higher. [16]
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-. [17]
The Penistone Grammar School Foundation is a charity (number 529458) established in January 1957, but registered in 1965. [18] It owns much of the school's old Kirk Flatt site and its current estate, which generates income for the school.
The school maintains a house system, with each being named after locally significant people and its former buildings. [19]
House | Colour | Named after |
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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 |
House | Colour | Named after |
---|---|---|
Armitage | Yellow | Armitage family – Local gentry |
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) |
Years | Name | Education | Notes |
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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. Buried in the same grave as Nathan Staniforth at Penistone Church. | |
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 | Wrote a biography of Nicholas Saunderson. Died 22 April 1836 | |
1836–1855 | Rev. Samuel Sunderland, BA | Clare College, Cambridge | Brought football from Cambridge to PGS. [21] 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 [10] | |
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 | Owens College, Manchester [22] | 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. [23] |
1928–1958 | Eric Fisher Bowman, CBE, MA (Oxon) | Oxford | |
1958–1976 | Wilfrid Burgess Simms, MA (Oxon) | Merton College, Oxford [24] | |
1976–1997 | Martin Antony (Tony) Bould, BA | Retired 1997. Died 6 October 2014 | |
1997–1999 | Andrew ('Andy') White, BSc, MEd | ||
1999–2002 | Pamela Caunt | ||
2002–2007 | Glynis Gower, BSc, MSc | Retired [25] | |
2007–2017 | Joanne Higgins, BA | Resigned, became CEO of Dudley Academies Trust | |
2017– | Paul Crook, BEd |
Nicholas Saunderson was a blind English scientist and mathematician. According to one historian of statistics, he may have been the earliest discoverer of Bayes' theorem. He worked as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, a post also held by Isaac Newton, Charles Babbage and Stephen Hawking.
Barnsley is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 96,888 in 2021, while the wider borough had a population of 244,600 in the 2021 census.
Stocksbridge is a town and civil parish, in the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. The town is approximately 9 miles from Barnsley and 10 miles from Sheffield.
Penistone is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 24,760 at the 2021 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is 8 miles (13 km) west of Barnsley, 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Glossop, 14.2 miles (23 km) north-west of Sheffield, 27 miles (43 km) south-west of Leeds and 29 miles (47 km) east of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennines. The town is frequently noted on lists of unusual place names.
The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England; the main settlement is Barnsley and other notable towns include Penistone, Wombwell and Hoyland.
Dodworth is a village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 5,742, increasing to 5,900 at the 2011 Census.
Ecclesfield is a village and civil parish in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Sheffield City Centre. Ecclesfield civil parish had a population of 32,073 at the 2011 Census. Ecclesfield wards of the City of Sheffield had a population of 35,994 in 2011. The population of Ecclesfield village stood at 7,163 in the most recent census.
The Woodhead line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. A key feature of the route is the passage under the high moorlands of the northern Peak District through the Woodhead Tunnels. The line was electrified in 1953 and closed between Hadfield and Penistone in 1981.
Deepcar is a village located on the eastern fringe of the town of Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire, England. It is in the electoral ward of Stocksbridge and Upper Don, 7 miles (11 km) approximately north-west of Sheffield city centre.
The Little Don River also known as the Porter, is a tributary of the River Don in South Yorkshire, England. Arising on the Langsett Moors in the northern Peak District, the Little Don River feeds the Langsett and Underbank Reservoirs. It runs through the town of Stocksbridge before joining the River Don.
Penistone and Stocksbridge is a constituency in South Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Marie Tidball, a Labour MP. As with all Westminster constituencies, adults qualifying to vote in the seat elect one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system at least every five years.
Thurgoland is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England, on the A629 road. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,801, increasing to 1,969 at the 2011 Census.
Thurlstone is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Penistone, in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. Originally it was a small farming community. Some industries developed using water power from the River Don such as corn milling, wire drawing and various wool and cloth processes. Most of these are now gone and only James Durrans and Service Direct owned by 'Don Eddie' remain. The village is now a dormitory for the urban areas of South and West Yorkshire. The village now falls in the Penistone West ward of the Barnsley MBC.
Saint John the Baptist Church, Penistone Parish Church, or Penistone Church is a Church of England church in the Parish of Penistone, near Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. The church is a Grade I listed building and is located in the centre of the town of Penistone.
Hoylandswaine is a village in the civil parish of Penistone, in the Barnsley district, in the county of South Yorkshire, England. In 2021 it had a population of 1038. Until 1974 it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Tates Travel was a local bus operator based in Barnsley in England, operating services in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Miriam Joy Cates is a British politician who was the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Penistone and Stocksbridge from 2019 to 2024.
Marie Tidball is a British Labour politician and disability rights campaigner, who has been the Member of Parliament for Penistone and Stocksbridge since 2024.