Urmston Grammar

Urmston Grammar (known as Urmston Grammar School until September 2010), is a co-educational grammar school in Urmston, Greater Manchester, England. It is an academy located within the Trafford Local Authority area, though not controlled by it.

History

Founded in 1929 ,Urmston Grammar was initially co-Ed but in the early 60s a new Urmston Grammar School for Boys was built due to overcrowding at Newton Road. Later the two schools rejoined with Urmston Grammar School for Girls to become one again. Since then the school has developed various new buildings and facilities. These include the Reading Room, the Theatre and the Fitness Suite as well as a state of the art Music Room which was opened by George Fenton. The school offers a secure environment with access to the very latest facilities, including cloud access and campus wide WiFi. Urmston Grammar was awarded specialist Science College status in 2004 and later, in 2007 it was awarded High Performing Specialist College status, and as from April 2008 Language College status as a second specialism. Urmston Grammar School converted to academy status as of September 2010, where it was 1 of the first 32 schools to convert, since then it has been known as Urmston Grammar. In the English Baccalaureate the school appeared 55th in the list of state schools in England.

Academic performance

The majority of the school's pupils go on to higher education; in the 2005 academic year, 90% went on to university.^[1] Urmston Grammar's most recent Ofsted report (2008) graded the school as "outstanding".

In GCSE, 60% of all examinations sat were awarded either A/A* grade in 2010 which increased to 63% in 2014 and has been roughly at this level since. 2013 Urmston Grammar achieved 80% in the Baccalaureate.

In A-level the school generally achieves 60% A*-B, which increases roughly by 1% year-on-year with 2017 Urmston Grammar students recording their highest number of A*-A grades. In 2012 the school was placed 86th in The Independent 'The Top 100 Selective Schools at A-level'^[2] .

Extra-curricular activities

Outside students' academic life, there is a wide range of extra-curricular activities which include sport, music, drama and many science-related clubs and activities such as debating. Students enjoy gathering and discussing science related topics, such as on genetics and engineering, in Caf‚é Scientifique which is nationally recognised as the longest running Café Sci programme in the UK^[3]. Students' scientific knowledge can also be enhanced as the school houses a rooftop greenhouse and a 'Biology Garden'.

They also benefit from frequent residential visits both at home and abroad, including: the GCSE French exchange trip to Lycée Saint Paul in Lille; History trips to France and Belgium regarding the First World War Battlefields, and have Art residential visits to Wales.

Notable former pupils

• Air Vice-Marshal Steven Chisnall CB, Station Commander of RAF Halton 1998–99
• Kenneth Entwistle, Professor of Metallurgy and Materials Science at UMIST 1962–90
• William Hall, Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Manchester 1959–86 and pioneer of the British nuclear power industry^[4]
• Stephen Hesford, MP
• Paul Honeyford, biographer and linguist
• Keith Hopwood, guitarist with Herman's Hermits
• Judy Loe, actress & mother of Kate Beckinsale
• Ray Lowry, cartoonist, illustrator and satirist^[5]
• Sir Patrick Russell, high court judge and Lord Justice
• Dominic John Brookes, British Taekwondo Champion
• Adam Brown, presenter at Capital FM Manchester
• Dr. John Holder, Head of Department of Chemistry (1991 - 98) and Dean of Science (1994 - 95) University of Central Lancashire.
• Matthew Kelly, TV personality and host of Stars in their Eyes.
• Paul Stenning, biographer and ghostwriter
• Thomas Brady, professional rugby union player for Leicester Tigers, formerly with Sale Sharks
• Patrick Larley, Composer and Keyboard Player

References