Sponne School | |
---|---|
Address | |
Brackley Road , , NN12 6DJ England | |
Coordinates | 52°07′56″N0°59′37″W / 52.1323°N 0.9935°W |
Information | |
Type | Academy |
Established | 15th century |
Founder | William Sponne |
Trust | Tove Learning Trust |
Department for Education URN | 136488 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports |
Headteacher | Graham Forbes |
Gender | Mixed |
Age | 11to 19 |
Enrolment | 1358 |
Colour(s) | Red, Blue and White |
Website | http://www.sponne.org.uk |
Sponne School in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, is the oldest secondary school in Northamptonshire, and one of the oldest in the country. [1] Part of the school was originally Towcester Grammar School, until grammar schools were abolished in Northamptonshire. In 1968, Towcester Grammar School was joined with the next-door Secondary Modern school, and the school was renamed Sponne, after Archdeacon William Sponne, who was Rector at the nearby St. Lawrence Church in the 15th century and the original founder of the school.
Sponne School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form, with 1358 pupils on the roll, around 200 of whom are in the Sixth Form. [2] It is registered as a specialist science and music academy. The school is a member of the Tove Learning Trust, the CEO of which is Dr Jamie Clarke. The Headteacher of the school is Graham Forbes.
On the right end of the school is the Sports Hall and changing rooms, located opposite the E Block.
There are two residential houses in the school; they both used to be occupied by the care-takers. The house at the front of school is now the GUTP office. There is also a 4-acre (16,000 m2) field at the back of the school. It is repainted in the summer and the winter with two football pitches, a hockey pitch, 2 rugby pitches, a 400 m track and a 100 m track. It also has two long jump sandpits, and 2 discus circles. Adjacent to the field is a set of tennis courts.
Sponne was one of the first schools in Britain to switch its dietary policies following celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's anti–obesity TV campaign. In July 2006, 13-year-old William Guntrip set up a playground sweet shop to counteract what he considered to be "overpriced health food". Guntrip took more than £50 a day, selling chocolate bars and fizzy drinks to other pupils during break times. He was allegedly threatened with expulsion and the story was picked up by the national media. [3]
Sponne School offers a Sixth Form for pupils in Year 12 and 13. The Sixth Form provides A-Level grade education and provides the same courses as a sixth form college. Uniform is smart-casual. At the start of Year 12, pupils chooses between 3 and 5 A-Level subjects to study. The school holds a Sixth Form open evening for both internal and external candidates and provides prospective pupils with choice application forms. After a month of Year 12, pupils generally drop one subject; the majority of pupils study 3 subjects to A-Level. Sixth Form classes are smaller than standard secondary school lessons, allowing teachers to provide a more in depth level of teaching. [4]
England international and Nottinghamshire offspin bowler Graeme Swann attended the school between 1990 and 1997. Swann's older brother, Alec, also a first class cricketer for Lancashire, was at the school between 1988 and 1995. His father Raymond, who had previously played cricket for Northumberland and Bedfordshire, was a Mathematics and P.E. teacher at the school.
The former Doncaster Rovers attacking midfielder Harry Forrester attended the school between 2003 and 2008. Elliot Parish is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Hannah Barnes, a cyclist who has represented Great Britain, attended the school. [5] International orchestral and opera conductor, Martyn Brabbins attended Sponne school in the 1970s.
Towcester is an affluent market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative centre of the South Northamptonshire district.
The Judd School is an 11–18 voluntary aided, grammar school and sixth form in Tonbridge, Kent, England. It was established in 1888 at Stafford House on East Street in Tonbridge, where it remained for eight years before moving to its present location on Brook Street, in the south of the town. Founded by the Worshipful Company of Skinners, it was named after 16th century merchant Sir Andrew Judde, whose endowment helped fund the school. The Skinners' Company maintains close links with the school and makes up the majority of the governing body.
Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, private day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorne who made their money through the work and trade of enslaved Africans. The school flourished in the early 20th century under headmaster Sir Cyril Norwood (1906–1916), embodying "the ideals and experiences of a leading public school". Norwood went on to serve as the master at Marlborough College and Harrow, and as president of St John's College, Oxford.
Beverley Grammar School is an 11–16 boys’ comprehensive secondary academy school in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. A school may have been established under the Beverley Grammar School name about 700 AD; on that basis the school is claimed to be the country's oldest grammar school, and the eighth oldest school overall, but the existence of a school here is not continuous. The school shares a joint Sixth form with Beverley High School, styled as Beverley Joint 6th.
Brockenhurst College is a large tertiary college situated in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. Co-educational since the 1920s, Brockenhurst College accepts students over the age of 16 or year 12 students, whichever occurs first due to safeguarding policies.
Itchen Sixth Form College is a mixed sixth form college in Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire, England. It was established in 1906 and was originally a mixed secondary school, it later became Itchen Grammar School under the reforms of the Butler Education Act. It became its present state following further reform in the 1980s.
The Skinners' School, is a British Grammar School with academy status for boys located in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Established in 1887, the school was founded by the Worshipful Company of Skinners in response to a demand for education in the region. Today Skinners' remains an all-boys grammar school, recently awarded specialist status in science and mathematics in recognition of these disciplines' excellent teaching. The current enrolment is 1119 pupils, of whom around 326 are in the sixth form. The first headmaster was Reverend Frederick Knott, after whom Knott House is named. The current Headmaster is Edward Wesson.
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School (SJWMS) is an all boys' grammar school with academy status in Rochester, Kent, and a co-ed sixthform, also referred to as Rochester Math or The Math School. The school was founded by the statesman Sir Joseph Williamson (1633–1701), lord of the nearby Manor of Cobham, Kent, who, in his will, bequeathed £5,000 to set up the school. The school was termed a mathematical school because it specialised in teaching navigation and mathematics to the sons of Freemen of the City of Rochester, the Chatham Naval Dockyard being nearby.
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle, is a co-educational grammar school with academy status in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England. In 2009, there were 877 pupils, of whom 271 were in the sixth form.
William Hulme's Grammar School is a mixed all-though comprehensive school in Whalley Range, Manchester, England.
The Robert Smyth Academy is a secondary school in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England, for 11- to 18-year-olds. It is situated in the north of the town, on Burnmill Road, close to St Luke's Hospital.
Gosforth Academy is an English secondary school in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. As well as having a sixth form department it is a specialist Language College. Many of its mainstream students come from three large feeder middle schools: Gosforth Central Middle School, Gosforth East Middle School and Gosforth Junior High Academy.
Carre's Grammar School is a selective secondary school for boys in Sleaford, a market town in Lincolnshire, England.
Kesteven and Sleaford High SchoolSelective Academy, commonly known as Kesteven and Sleaford High School (KSHS), is a selective school with academy status in Sleaford, an English market town in Lincolnshire. It caters for girls aged between eleven and sixteen in Years 7 to 11, and girls and boys aged sixteen to eighteen in its coeducational Sixth Form.
The Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School is a co-educational state comprehensive school for 11- to 18-year-olds, in the town of Dronfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom.
Central Foundation Boys' School is a voluntary-aided comprehensive secondary school in the London Borough of Islington. It was founded at a meeting in 1865 and opened the following year in Bath Street, before moving to its current location on Cowper Street in 1869. Originally named The Middle Class School of London, it was renamed in 1890 after the establishment of its trust body, the Central Foundation Schools Trust. Its sister school is Central Foundation Girls' School in Tower Hamlets. Both schools are beneficiaries of the charity Central Foundation Schools of London, which in turn is a beneficiary of The Dulwich Estate, successor to the historic College of God's Gift charity.
The Corsham School is a large secondary school, with a sixth form, in Corsham, Wiltshire, England. The school has academy status, and as of April 2024 has 1,243 pupils enrolled.
Ramsey Grammar School is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school located in Ramsey, on the Isle of Man.
St. Patrick's College, also known as St. Patrick's Co-Ed Comprehensive College, is a co-educational 11–18 secondary school in Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It teaches within the Roman Catholic ethos. The school is widely regarded as one of Ireland's most successful athletic schools, having won five All-Ireland titles in gaelic sports.
Towcestrians Sports Club (Towcestrians) is an English sports club based in Towcester, Northamptonshire. It was founded in 1933 as a rugby union club, and subsequently extended its scope to cricket, field hockey, netball, tennis, and softball.