Ashby School

Ashby Grammar School, the original boys' school, was founded in 1567 by Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon.[1] The girls' grammar school opened in 1901. They merged in 1972 and became comprehensive. Ashby School became an Academy on 1 October 2012.

Ashby School is based on two main sites (A, C and S blocks; and B block), based on adjacent roads. The school has spent considerable funds on the construction of a new science block, new rooms in the design department, and more recently, a new block built to accommodate music, art and media studies. In 2007, a modern block was built for English. Construction of the new sixth form centre has recently been completed, there is now a social area, a canteen area and an area for relaxing and talking to friends which is referred to as the "airport lounge". The state-of-the-art centre includes wireless computer facilities and a Sixth-Form dining area.

The school has four houses: Bullen (yellow), Ferrers (blue), Hastings (green) and Loudoun (purple).[2] Each house chooses a charity for the year for which it raises money.

The school adheres to the Ofsted national school grading system and received inadequate (ranking 4/4) as an overall score for all areas assessed.[3] The highest rating areas were the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and sixth-form provision where a score of good (ranking 2/4) was attained. Safeguarding of students was ranked as inadequate due to fire procedures being not tight enough and registers not being completed accurately, for example students being marked as educated off-site when they are actually on-site. The split site also played a role.

'Da Vinci' is the school's current gifted and talented system. The 'Tip Tops' is a group of primary pupils in years 5 and 6 from local primary schools in the Ashby area. They attend after-school sessions in which they are tutored in advanced mathematics, literacy, film studies, science, art, and philosophy by gifted and talented students from Ashby School. The Ashby School's gifted and talented programme was rated three stars by the National Association for Gifted Children in 2010.[4] In November 2011 a Russian cosmonaut involved in the planning of the manned mission to Mars visited the school and gave a lecture to the 'G&T'.

In 2016 Ashby School created controversy when it proposed to auction the medals, including a Victoria Cross, won by Lt Col. Philip Bent that was donated to the school "to inspire future pupils".[5] The VC is loaned to the Royal Leicestershire Regimental Museum (now part of Newarke Houses Museum). The proceeds from the sale were to be put "towards the building of... (a) proposed new pavilion", in order to "receive revenue from lettings".[6] In May 2016 the school was unable to prove ownership of the medals.[7] In 2018, a pavilion is set to be built following a successful funding bid to the Healthy Schools initiative.

Former pupils are known as Old Ashbeians.

• Andrew Betts (former Charlotte Hornets and Bologna Basketballer)
• Henry Dartnall, popular musician
• Dorian West (former England Hooker)
• The Young Knives
• Nathan Buck (Leicestershire County and England U19 Cricket Player)
• Tom Hopper (actor, best known for playing Sir Percival in Merlin (TV Series))
• Jane Plant, geochemist, scientist, and author
• Henry Woodworth. Local dosser and star of award winning short film Bailey

• Official site
• Leics CC page