Bishop Vesey's Grammar School

16th century

The first foundation deed set up by Bishop John Vesey in 1527 provided an endowment from property income of £7 a year and twenty-one people were appointed Trustees to manage the school and pay a fit and proper person to teach Grammar and Rhetoric. Many of the trustees were related to Vesey including his brother Hugh Harman and his brother-in-law William Gibbons, among others. William Gibbons was appointed as the first warden under the Charter of Incorporation, yet no schoolmaster was ever appointed by the trustees of the deed at this time. Because Vesey was not living in Sutton at the time, he did not oversee the trustees duties and obligations. There is no evidence the original trustees carried out their duties of the school.^[2]

By 22 August 1540 a second deed was established by Vesey providing for the endowed properties to be held by the Warden and Society of Sutton. The deed states that the schoolmaster must be a layman. Between 1527 and 1540 many developments had occurred in relation to the English Reformation and this stipulation highlighted Vesey's intent to retain Catholic tradition at the time. John Savage was appointed as the first headmaster in 1540. Tuition was free, with traditional, academic subjects such as logic, rhetoric and grammar being taught to the local boys. Until 1544, St Mary's Hall was used as a schoolroom and then a school was built close to the church on Blind Lane, behind where the Masonic Buildings (the former Town Hall) are located.^[2]

On 5 October 1546 John Savage died and Lawrence Nowell of Brasenose College, Oxford was appointed as his successor. The Corporation started court proceedings to remove him from office due to neglect of the school, presumably because Nowell prioritised his research work. The course decided that he could not be dismissed "except if any notable crime could be proved against him". Nowell won the case, but still agreed to resign the post in early 1548. The Corporation paid him a gratuity of £10 of which Vesey contributed a third to encourage him to leave. Nowell was a supporter of the Reformation which increased the will to remove him from the position.^[2]

When Vesey died in 1554, for eighty years after his death the trustees disregarded their obligations for personal gain. School land was leased to friends and family members at low rents which prevented schoolmasters from receiving enough income to maintain the school.^[2]

17th century

In 1617 Robert Blakesley exhibited a bill against the Warden and Society of Sutton. A commission was established and found that lands with an annual value of £67 had been taken by former wardens and as little as £10 annually was given to the headmaster. The commission advised the Corporation that proceedings should be made to recover the school land but because Blakesley did not live in Sutton the Court settled against Blakesley. The Corporation did not take action to improve the school's finances.^[2]

Complaints relating to the diligence of the Trustees and the Corporation came before the Chancery Court which ordered in 1636 that control be transferred to a new board of fourteen Trustees.

18th century

In 1728, the Corporation provided land for a new school building in the present location, one of the conditions being that the headmaster Paul Lowe should agree to teach English, writing and arithmetic to twelve parish boys. At that time there was no stipulated age of entry to the school. Entry required the ability to read, and usually to pay.

William Webb was appointed headmaster in 1764 and under him a sound basic education was provided and the school prospered. He was headmaster for 53 years until his death in 1817. His successor Charles Barker had an entirely different view of the role of the school. His interest was in the teaching of Classics. He often had only a handful of students and in 1840, only one pupil was enrolled at the school. He was a strong supporter of the proposal for the setting up of National Schools for the provision of general education.

19th century

Upon Barker's death in 1842, James Eccleston was appointed headmaster, but was so embroiled in debt that in order to avoid prison he departed in 1849 for Tasmania.

In 1840, the Grammar Schools Act tightened up controls on schools. With better controls, and a return to a basic curriculum, the school again began to prosper. Under Joseph Wright, appointed in 1859, a full general education was offered. The buildings were extended in 1861 and in 1863 there were 26 boys enrolled. This increased to 51 boys in 1866, 69 boys in 1869, and 105 boys in 1875.

The 1881 census shows the headmaster Rev. Albert Smith resident with his family, a second master Major Dunn, six staff including domestic servants and ten boarding boys. At this time there were also about eighty day boys who were expected to pay either 10s a quarter if from the parish or £2.10s a quarter if from elsewhere.

20th century

On 29 July 1972, a 32-year-old art teacher, David Stephenson, was arrested by Russian officials for currency violations in Odessa, when a school party was visiting the Black Sea area. He was accused of making a speculative currency transaction with a Polish citizen, under Article 80 of Section 1 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code. He was released in late October 1972.

In September 1972, the school admitted no new pupils as its entry age was increased from 11 to 12. However, the entry age reverted to 11 from September 1992, when two year groups (11- and 12-year-olds) were admitted to the school, with a reduced intake however of 120 a year rather than 150.

There were plans to turn the whole area comprehensive in the late 1970s, but the Conservatives gained control of Birmingham City Council in 1976, preventing this from happening. That notwithstanding, the girls' grammar school in Sutton did convert to a girls' comprehensive school briefly, though it reverted to being a grammar school following a local referendum in the early 1980s. As an independent foundation Bishop Vesey's managed to escape this period of turbulence.

In November 1981, 13-year-old John Haddon was abducted on his way to school from nearby Sutton Park and subsequently murdered. His body was found near Fenny Drayton. Two males, Paul Corrigan aged 30 and 15-year-old Derek McInnes, were charged with his murder in December 1981.^[3]

In the 1990s, the rugby pitch at the Tamworth Road end of the playing fields was sold for residential development, to fund various projects such as the "Randon Design Centre". The Randon Design Centre was constructed in 1990 at a cost of £1.5 million. The block houses the art and design and technology departments and was designed by Birmingham-based Associated Architects. The library, which was located on the site of the Randon Design Centre, was moved into an extension constructed on the main school building.^[4] Funds from the sale are still available to the school, but the school are not allowed to sell any more of these fields.

21st century

The school formally converted to academy status in April 2012, appointing an Executive Head in charge of fundraising and photography, and promoting Deputy Head Dominic Robson to the position of Headteacher. As a result of its academy status it is no longer directly under local authority control. However it continues to cooperate with Birmingham local authorities in respects to admissions.