Torquay Boys' Grammar School
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| Motto | Aude Sapere Dare to be Wise |
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| Established | 1904 |
| Type | Trust, selective academy |
| Headteacher | Mr. R. E. Pike, B.A., B.Ed., F.R.S.A. |
| Chairman of Governors | Brian Wills Pope |
| Specialisms | Languages, Business and Enterprise |
| Location | Shiphay Manor Drive Torquay Devon TQ2 7EL England |
| DfE URN | 136321 |
| Students | 1,058 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Blake, Davys, Frobisher, Gilbert, Hawkins, Ralegh |
| Colours | Blue /Red |
| Publication | Torquin |
| Website | www.tbgs.co.uk |
Coordinates: 50°28′34″N 3°33′25″W / 50.476°N 3.557°W
Torquay Boys' Grammar School is a selective boys grammar school in Torquay, Devon, England.
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[edit] Admissions
As of May 2010[update], it has approximately 1,058 students.[1] The school was founded in 1904 and celebrated its centenary in 2004. It has six houses named after famous British mariners.
Notable alumni include Members of Parliament, international rowers, clergymen and a recent player for the England cricket team.
It is situated in Shiphay, south of the Torbay District Hospital, not far from the A3022 and Torre railway station.
[edit] History
The school was founded in 1904 as "The Torquay Pupil Teachers Centre", with premises in Abbey Hall, Rock Road. It opened its doors on 4 September 1904. The school, by now called "Torquay Secondary School", later moved to its new location in Barton Road, where it was established under its current name. The new School was rebuilt on land purchased from Torquay Grammar School for Girls in 1982.
The school currently occupies Shiphay Manor, a 17th century manor with extensive parkland, known as 'The Paddock' (owned by the neighbouring Girls' School), used by boys in year 10 or above for recreation.
In September 2010, it gained Academy status.
[edit] Former teachers
- John Granger, Headmaster from 1996-2009 of Bournemouth School (former Deputy Head)
- Robert Masters, Headmaster since 2004 of The Judd School (former Deputy Head)
- Barry Sindall, Headmaster from 1990-2008 of Colyton Grammar School, and Chief Executive since 2008 of the Grammar Schools Headteachers Association (former Deputy Head)
[edit] Headteachers
- Roy Pike 1987-
- Barry Hobbs -1986
[edit] Observatory
The school has its own astronomical observatory. Opened in 1989, it houses a 19.2" (0.5m) Newtonian reflector, and is used by the school itself, by the Torbay Astronomical Society, and is also regularly open to the public.[2]
The astronomer and broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore is a patron of the school and has maintained close ties- Ralegh House even performed the premiere of his operetta "Galileo" in the late 1990s.
[edit] Academic
The school consistently has amongst the best public examination results in Devon[citation needed] and has become a candidate school which, as of academic year 2009-2011, will offer the International Baccalaureate as a sixth form examination option in addition to A levels.
The school has also performed well at national academic competitions; winning the UK Mathematics Trust and the Further Maths Network "Mathematics Challenge",[3] finishing as runners up in the national quiz championship for schools[4] and finishing third in the Ogden Trust National Schools Business Competition,[5] to name but a few.
Nearly every student from the school goes on to study at university,[citation needed] with between twenty and thirty students going to Oxford or Cambridge each year. The school has been ranked amongst the top 10 boys' schools of its type in the UK for some years.[citation needed]
[edit] House system
Upon joining the school, a boy is assigned to one of the school's six houses.[6] The houses, consisting of around 25 pupils from a year group making a form group, compete in both academic and sporting disciplines to gain points in that year's House Championship. The Houses, of which six are currently in existence, are named after British seafarers.
In the sixth form, many lessons are shared with the neighbouring Torquay Grammar School for Girls, allowing students to benefit from each school's specialities. The sixth form have their own common room, where they are able to purchase food from 'Café Six' (a shop run by the school, selling fresh made paninis, sandwiches and drinks).
[edit] Blake house
Blake house is named after Admiral Robert Blake (1599–1657); its house colour is blue.[7] The Head of House is Mr. B. Prince, who teaches Physical Education and was formerly deputy-head of Frobisher House. As with all of the school's houses, Blake has a strong tradition of charity work. As well as the separately-run form activities, every December Blake House write, produce and perform a variety show for the Gateway Club, giving a Christmas outing to the patrons, many of whom do not get to leave their home very often.
[edit] Davys house
Davys House is named after John Davis (1543—1605); its colour is white.[8] The Head of House is David Hore who teaches History and organises the Year 7 trip to Normandy in the Summer. The Deputy Head of House is James Hunt who teaches English.
"Friday Form Groups" or "Vertical Form Groups" that exist within Davys House form a unique atmosphere. This is where Pupils of the House are mixed into various years (contrary to the normal placement of a Tutor Group consisting of only one year, seen throughout the school) and assigned a teacher different to their normal Form Tutor. This event usually happens every Friday, but come together for special occasions such as the Away Day. This idea was initially implemented to enhance the relations between the various years in the school, thus creating a more well rounded and united House. However, since its introduction, the Vertical Tutor Group system has been used in competitions, allowing a more fair spread of ability than various years against each other.
The rivalry between the different Vertical Tutor Groups are kept on a leader board, where points are awarded for various competitions, how well the group does in school and on how much money they raise for the Davys House Charity, which the House still holds dear as one of its Main focuses and Goals. It has since become a tradition that prefects and any willing students are welcomed into contributing quizzes and competitions for Friday Forms, as well as for any other events and activities that may occur. In this sense, Davys House can be seen as a House led by the pupils to the extent near that of the teachers and Mr. Hore (Head), themselves.
[edit] Frobisher house
Frobisher House is named after Sir Martin Frobisher (c. 1535 or 1539–1594).[9] It is the second-youngest of the current houses (splitting from the Ralegh House in 1994) and its house colour is yellow. The current head of house is Mrs Jones, an Art and Technology teacher. Frobisher has narrowly missed out on winning the House Championship during the previous 5 years, the closest was in the 2004–2005 academic year when Ralegh pipped Frobisher to the post by just 1/4pt. It first won the House Championship in the 2010-2011 academic year when it beat second place, Hawkins House, by 15 points.
The intake for the academic year 1993–1994 was increased to allow for the creation of an extra form group called 7 Frobisher-Ralegh. For the purposes of the House Championship, the form group was considered part of Ralegh, but otherwise it was a separate House under Mr J G A Palmer.
In the academic year 1994–1995, Frobisher became a truly separate house. Adjustments made because of the House's small size included Frobisher assembles taking place in the school library rather than school hall (until the academic year 1995–1996).
Frobisher have a long history of producing a show for the school. This year the show will be an adaptation of "A Knight's Tale". This particular show is a new type of production in the school, since it is to be performed in the round.
[edit] Gilbert house
Gilbert house is named after Sir Humphrey Gilbert. (c. 1537–1583)[10] The current Head of House is PE teacher Mr Lyne-Ley, former deputy Head of House for Hawkins. The former deputy Head of House is RE Teacher Mr R Davies, who recently[when?] moved to Ralegh house. The new deputy head of house is Modern Foreign Languages teacher, Miss A Roberts. The house colour is green. England cricketer Chris Read was a pupil in Gilbert House, and was guest of honour at the opening of the school's new changing rooms. Gilbert is also known for its charity work, raising large sums for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Gilbert is one of the most steadfast houses in producing a pantomime each year since 2005, the first being Jack and The Beanstalk. 2007 brought the show Aladdin, which was almost entirely produced by students from the Gilbert house, with some performers coming from the Grammar School for Girls.
[edit] Hawkins house
Hawkins house is named after Sir John Hawkins (1532–1595).[11] Hawkins house is the newest house, established in the academic year 2006–2007. Its creation was mainly due to headmaster Roy Pike's wishes for class sizes to be reduced across the school. The head of house for Hawkins is Mrs Morath, formerly the deputy head of Ralegh House. Its house colour is purple. As of academic year 2008-2009, the deputy head of Hawkins is Mr. J. Bainbridge. In the first five years of its existence, Hawkins produced four shows: an adaptation of Snow White, The Rocky Monster Show, The Blues Brothers and Tarzan (joint with Davys house).
[edit] Ralegh house
Ralegh house is named after Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618).[12] Ralegh is one of the original four houses and its house colour is red. The Head of House is the Philosophy and Applied Ethics teacher Rhys Davies. The Deputy head is Biology teacher Faye Salmon.
[edit] Centenary
To celebrate the school's centenary in 2004, the school decided to create a new theatre and hall, which was completed in 2007 and staged its first production, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, in early May of that year. The hall was officially opened in March 2008 by HRH The Earl of Wessex,[13] and named the 'Cavanna Centenary Hall' in recognition of donations from local business the Cavanna Group.
[edit] Notable members of staff
- Retired teacher Carole Church was awarded the Ted Wragg Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2004.
- This was followed by retired teacher Dave Berry who was also awarded the Ted Wragg Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2006.[14]
[edit] Notable former pupils
- Graham Booth, UKIP MEP for South West England from 2002–08
- Prof Peter Bradshaw, Thomas V. Jones Professor of Engineering from 1988-95 at Stanford University
- Prof Denys Brunsden OBE, Professor of Geography from 1983-96 at King's College London, President from 1986-7 of the Geographical Association
- Colin Breed, Liberal Democrat MP from 1997-2010 for South East Cornwall
- Raymond Cattell, psychologist[15]
- Very Reverend Neil Collings
- Geoff Dart, Director since 2010 of the Office of Manpower Economics
- Roger Deakins, cinematographer
- Hiley Edwards (1951–2009), cricketer who played for and captained Devon County Cricket Club
- Ian Hibell, long-distance cyclist, photographer, author and adventurer
- Ben Howard, musician
- Chris Lintott, Sir Patrick Moore's co-presenter and outside broadcast reporter on the BBC's The Sky At Night
- Rt Rev Lawrence Edward Luscombe, Bishop of Brechin 1975-90, Primus of Scotland 1985-1990
- Arthur Narracott, Aviation Correspondent from 1940-67 of The Times
- Chris Read, England cricket team wicket-keeper
- Steve Ridgway, CEO of Virgin Atlantic Airways
- Orlando Rogers (1985–2011), Royal Marines Captain, Ocean Rower and adventurer
- Adrian Sanders, Liberal Democrat MP since 1997 for Torbay[16]
- Mike Sangster, tennis player
- Prof David Southwood, Professor of Physics since 1986 at Imperial College London, and Director of Science and Robotic Exploration since 2008 at the European Space Agency
- Dr Bill Strang CBE, Chief Engineer from 1960-7, and Technical Director from 1967-71 at the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), and hence headed the design team of Concorde (with Lucien Servanty) as its UK Technical Director from 1966-77[17]
- Sir Ray Tindle, owner of Tindle Newspaper Group
- Yorick Wilks, artificial intelligence pioneer
[edit] References
- ^ TBGS Self Evaluation published May 2010
- ^ The Torquay Boys' Grammar School Observatory
- ^ Further Mathematics Network
- ^ Junior Challenge 2007
- ^ Business Competition
- ^ Torquay Boys' Grammar School - Pastoral Overview
- ^ Torquay Boys' Grammar School - Blake House
- ^ Torquay Boys' Grammar School - Davys House
- ^ Torquay Boys' Grammar School - Frobisher House
- ^ Torquay Boys' Grammar School - Gilbert House
- ^ Torquay Boys' Grammar School - Hawkins House
- ^ Torquay Boys' Grammar School - Raleigh House
- ^ "Prince Tells Students to Take Up Challenge", Herald Express, March 4, 2008, http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=134844&command=displayContent&sourceNode=134828&contentPK=20049898, retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Hindmarch, Sonali (July 7, 2006), "Inspirational tales as teachers of the year are announced", SecEd, http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/news/article.html?uid=1728, retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Sheehy, Noel (2003), Fifty Key Thinkers in Psychology, London: Routledge, p. 61.
- ^ Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (1999), The Almanac of British Politics, London: Routledge, p. 692.
- ^ William Strang
