Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
Address
Langton Lane Nackington Road Canterbury , Kent , CT4 7AS England
Information
Type	Foundation, Grammar
Motto	Meliora Sequamur May we follow better things.
Established	1881
Local authority	Kent
Department for Education URN	118884 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair of Governors	Jonathan Spencer
Head teacher	Dr Matthew N. F. Baxter
Gender	Boys (co-ed Sixth Form)
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	Approx. 1000
Houses	Burgess, Hardman, MacKenzie, Sharp
Colour(s)	Maroon & Blue
Publication	The Langtonian (defunct), The Langton News, The Langton Press
Alumni	1248 Society (previously the Old Langtonians)
Website	http://www.thelangton.org.uk/

An aerial view of The Langton in 2006

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is a boys' school of over 1000 pupils and staff, located in the outskirts of Canterbury, Kent. It holds both Foundation and Grammar school status.

Its sister school is Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School.

Students from all over East Kent typically join the school in Year 7 and can then stay on until GCSE examinations in Year 11. However, the majority of students decide to stay on into the sixth form, where a large number gain entry into universities, both in the UK and abroad. Notably, while the lower school (Years 7-11) is limited to boys, the sixth form is mixed.

It is situated on the B2068 towards the Canterbury bypass, south of the city.

History

Foundation

The school building before its destruction in the Blitz

The school was founded along with its sister school in 1881, succeeding the Blue Coat Boys' School housed at the Poor Priest's Hospital in order to provide better education for the lower proportion of the Middle Class. The schools were originally called the Canterbury Middle Schools, but in order to dispel the impression that the schools were socially exclusive (the pair were often collectively known as the "middle class school"), they were renamed in 1887 after Simon Langton, Archdeacon of Canterbury (previously the Archbishop of York), who, after his death in 1248, had left behind endowments to the Poor Priest's Hospital (which were later bequeathed to the Simon Langton schools).

The school was initially built on the site of what is now the Whitefriar's Shopping Centre in central Canterbury. The buildings were built of red brick, dressed with Bath stone, the construction of which cost approximately £3000, and the design was simple with little decoration.

Uniform and Traditions

The school's coat of arms

The first piece of uniform was introduced in 1887; a straw hat with a black and yellow band and a separate cap for the winter months. However, by 1927 the black and yellow design was fairly widely replicated by other schools and so was replaced by a red, blue and gold blazer and hat with a coloured button on the crown to signify the wearer's House.

By 1900, the school had a range of traditions. On 24 May, Queen Victoria's birthday, Empire Day was celebrated by a parade and the raising of the Union Flag in the playground, a speech by the headmaster, and a holiday. At the end of each Christmas term, boys would put on an "Entertainment", and over the Christmas holidays they would be expected to read a classic set by the headmaster.

The first Annual Commemoration Service was held in July 1911, and has continued since, being interrupted during wartime only.

Relation to the Church

It was established as early as 1876 by Dr. George Blore, Headmaster of The King's School, that the school could not be a denominational one, as it was not part of the foundation of the cathedral, and it had neither the original grant of Elizabeth I nor the Act of George II.

In a letter to The Guardian in 1906, the school was described by David Dorrity, who was the rector of St. Ann's Church, Manchester, as a secondary school that "is made use of by all who can afford to pay the fees to the denominational schools." He also appears to quote from the school's prospectus of the time:

"Religious instruction is given, but is restricted to lessons from the Bible, and exemption from this instruction or from attendance at prayers may be claimed on written notice being given to the head master."

First and Second World Wars

During World War I, the Simon Langton schools were used by the military. The "New Wing" of Simon Langton Boys was adopted by the South East Mounted Rifles, who transformed the playground into a parade ground, and the playing fields were put to use by the army.

In the Second World War, the school was at first used as a reception centre for evacuees from London and the Medway towns; both staff and senior students helped to billet and feed the influx of children. The school was badly damaged in an air raid on the night of 1 June 1942 but continued on the Whitefriars site until it was relocated at its current site at Nackington in November 1959.

Headmasters

• G. H. Nelson (1881–1884)
• W. P. Mann (1884–1908)
• J. H. Sharp (1908–1925)
• L. W. Myers (1926–1954)
• D. C. H. Rieu (1955–1977)
• J. Harris (1977–2001)
• Dr M. N. F. Baxter (2001–present)

Deputy Headmasters

A. W. Ledger

• A. W. Ledger (1891–1924)
• W. J. "Moke" Thomas (1924–1935)
• W. "Pug" Thomas (1935–1947)
• H. L. Sharman (1947–1961)
• G. J. Trotman (1961–1971)
• J. F. Talbert (1971–1978)
• P. Freeman (1978–1983)
• J. D. Mathews (1983–1989)
• B. P. A. Falconer (1987–1994)
• P. K. Smith (1989–2005)
• G. S. Wybar (1993–2001)
• Dr D. D. S. MacKay (2001–2010)
• K. A. Moffat – Head of School – (2010 – present)

Academic performance

The school achieved dual specialisms in Science and Mathematics. The 2013 OFSTED report declared the school to be "Outstanding" in all areas.

The CERN Courier described the school as "one of the most active in implementing innovative ways of teaching science in the UK".

"The brilliance of Simon Langton School is to take a flavour of the excitement I experienced and continue to experience every day in university life – the excitement of knowing what nobody has ever known before – and bringing it into the classroom." Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice Chancellor, Cambridge University at the opening of the Langton Star Centre 2011.

The Langton Star Centre

The Langton Star Centre facility

The Langton Star Centre is an organisation led by Dr Becky Parker MBE that supports research groups of students involved in cutting-edge scientific research, the principal aim of which is to "increase interest in science and engineering amongst post-16 school students such that they move on to study these subjects at university and take up careers in science and engineering." Projects run by the centre include the CERN@school project, the LUCID project (both in collaboration with CERN), the Imperial College plasma physics project, the Faulkes Telescope Project, and MBP² (Myelin Basic Protein Project) with the help of the University of Kent in support of the Wellcome Trust.

Channel 4 news stated that "boys [at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys] have gone well beyond the curriculum to take part in cutting-edge scientific experiments; plasma physics, space satellites and medical research", and even went as far to say that the school had "outwitted NASA" with the LUCID project.

Writer in Residence

In November 2006, the acclaimed author Simon Scarrow took up the newly formed position of Writer in Residence at SLBS, a position he said he is "honoured to accept". Simon will visit the school on a regular basis to hold creative writing sessions for students as well as judging the annual Scarrow Award for Fiction.

The ASD Department

This department is the first programme for pupils with autism spectrum disorder in a grammar school in England. This programme seeks to facilitate inclusion into mainstream education by encouraging positive policies to promote social integration. The department housed ten pupils. In 2011 the department widened to become the Faculty of Support and Guidance, responsible for all students with Special Needs, under the leadership of Mrs Grace Reed.

Notable former pupils

See also: Category:People educated at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys

As of 2012, all former students of the School are given the opportunity to join the 1248 Society, which replaces the Old Langtonians Association as an alumni organisation which organises events and get-togethers for former members of the School.

Musical alumni

The school has been linked with the music of the Canterbury scene as founding members of the Wilde Flowers, Caravan and Soft Machine were alumni. Robert Wyatt is probably the most well known of the musicians that stemmed from Soft Machine. Ian MacDonald, then editor of NME, was quoted in 1975 to have described the school as "an exclusive, private establishment for the sons of local intellectuals and artists. Very free, emphatically geared to the uninhibited development of self-expression. A hot-bed to teenage avant-garderie."

Other musical Langtonians include the following:

• Adrian Brett - flautist
• Tony Coe - jazz musician
• Ben Hancox - violinist, played at the royal wedding 2011
• Joseph McManners
• Mark Padmore - tenor
• Trevor Pinnock - conductor and harpsichordist

Other alumni

Other notable alumni include the following (listed alphabetically):

• Tony Buzan (briefly), psychologist known for mind maps
• Ross Clark, journalist
• Gideon Coe - radio DJ currently on BBC 6 Music, and sometime journalist.
• Tim Crawley MRBS, sculptor [1]
• Sir Bernard Crossland, Professor and Head of Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from 1959-82 at Queen's University Belfast
• Rt Rev Archibald Howard Cullen
• Bishop Michael Charles Evans
• Steve Goldsmith, cricketer
• Nik Gowing - news presenter
• Wing Commander Jack Hoskins
• F. W. Jordan, physicist who invented the flip-flop circuit in 1918 with William Eccles
• Raymond Kendall, Secretary General from 1985-2000 of Interpol
• Sir Freddie Laker, airline entrepreneur was an alumnus of the school (albeit expelled).
• Denis Lemon, founder and editor of Gay News
• Folarin Ogunsola, Gambian Sportsman
• Adam Roberts (British Writer), science fiction novelist
• Sir Alec Rose, yachtsman, circumnavigated the world single-handedly
• Frank Twyman, President from 1930–2 of the Optical Society, invented the Twyman–Green interferometer, and wrote the book Prism and Lens Making
• Brigadier Ernest Walter Davie Western DSO
• Milo Yiannopoulos, right wing political journalist

Controversies

In November 2016, the School was at the centre of a controversy after the right-wing political activist, and former alumnus of the school, Milo Yiannopoulos, was invited to speak to the school's Langton Liberal Arts Society on the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. On the advice of the Department for Education's Counter Extremism Unit, the School withdrew the invitation, resulting in Yiannopoulos claiming it had given in to bullying. Joanna Williams, mother of two Langton pupils, and education editor at right-wing online magazine Spiked, wrote on The Spectator magazine website that "banning him sends the message to six-formers the way to deal with ideas they find politically distasteful 'is to howl in protest and insist they go away'".

Miscellanea

• A former headmaster, John Harris, was Vice-Chairman of the National Grammar Schools Association.
• In February 2006, 300 students of the school were struck down by influenza.
• In early 2011 the school became one of the first sites in the world to utilise the kinetic energy from the students' walking over pressure pads in a corridor with PaveGen systems technology that converts the energy from footsteps into electricity.
• Under guidance of Professor James Soderholm, students are now able to publish books through the entity 'Langton Press'. The Langton Press first published Recently Conceived in May 2015 which holds a collection of Year 13 EPQ's. Professor J Soderholm has since published two further books under this organisation and currently holds the post of 'Director of Humanities'.

External links

• The Langton Online
• Parents Association
• Old Langtonians Association
• Langton Star Centre
• EduBase

News items

• Young Scientist of the Year in 2009