Ripon Grammar School
Ripon Grammar School is a co-educational, boarding and day, selective grammar school in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the best-performing schools in the North of England; in 2011, 91% of pupils gained the equivalent of 5 or more GCSEs at grade C or above, including English and Maths; the figure has been over 84% consistently since at least 2006.[1] The school was graded "Outstanding" in its 2012 Ofsted report and is listed in the top 50 schools in the United Kingdom.[2][3]
| Ripon Grammar School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
Clotherholme Road , , HG4 2DG England | |
| Coordinates | 54.139°N 1.5395°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Grammar school Day and boarding school |
| Motto | Giorne ymb lare y diowatdomas (Old English: Eager to learn and seek after righteousness) |
| Established | 1555 |
| Local authority | North Yorkshire |
| Department for Education URN | 121694 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Chairman of Governors | Dr. Elizabeth Jarvis |
| Headmaster | Jonathan Webb |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 920 |
| Houses | DeGrey Hutton Porteus School |
| Colour(s) | Navy, Blue & Yellow |
| Former pupils | Old Riponians |
| Website | http://www.ripongrammar.co.uk |
Admission
It is a selective school, one of the very few in the North of England (Penrith, Cumbria has the most northern grammar schools).
History
The school was founded in Saxon times, but it was re-founded in 1555 during the reign of Queen Mary. Originally a boys' school, the school merged with Ripon Girls' School to become coeducational in 1962. Although most pupils are day pupils from the surrounding area and Ripon itself, there are boys' and girls' boarding houses.
Motto
The school motto is the Old English phrase Giorne ymb lare ymb diowatdomas ("Eager to learn and seek after righteousness").[4][5]
Parents' ballot
Ripon was the first and only school catchment area in England in which parents voted to keep a selective school in March 2000 by 1,493 to 747.[6][7][8] Even the head of the neighbouring secondary modern school, Ripon College, Paul Lowery was in favour of keeping the selection system as it was, which contributed to the proposal's defeat.[9] The campaign against the school was co-ordinated by Debbie Atkins, who like other local parents chose to send her children to school in Harrogate.[10][11]
To force a ballot, petitions had to be successfully raised. These were allowed from December 1998, and Ripon was the only one out of 39 resulting in a ballot. The cost of administration of these petitions and the one ballot was £437,000. The huge cost of administration came from education officials having to write individually to registered parents at feeder primary schools. In the year of the ballot – 1999/2000 – £216,283 was spent on the petition procedure's administration. The vote was allowed by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
Headmasters
- pre 1348 Richard Chamberlain,
- pre 1371 – post 1380 Master Thomas,
- pre 1545 – post 1477 Henry Singleton,
- 1545 – 1553 Edmund Brown,
- 1571 John Nettleton,
- 1608 Christopher Lyndall,
- 1622 John Ashmore,
- 1623–1650 Richard Palmes,
- 1650–1661 Roger Holmes,
- 1661–1676 Charles Oxley,
- 1676–1681 George Loup,
- 1681–1685 Ralph Cottingham,
- 1685–1704 Thomas Thomson,
- 1704–1721 Thomas Lloyd,
- 1721–1730 John Barber,
- 1731–1737 Thomas Stevens,
- 1737 William Scott,
- 1738 James Topham,
- 1738–1771 George Hyde,
- 1772–1798 Solomon Robinson,
- 1798–1809 Isaac Cook,
- 1809–1811 William Ewbank,
- 1812–1851 William Plues,
- 1851–1872 J F MacMichael,
- 1872–1879 F A Hooper,
- 1879–1890 A B Haslam,
- 1890–1895 W Yorke Fausset,
- 1895–1919 C C S Bland,
- 1935–1957 W J Strachan,
- 1957–1974 Robert Atkinson,
- 1974–1991 Brian Stanley,
- 1992–2004 Alan Jones,
- 2004–2017 Martin Pearman,
- 2017–Present Jonathan Webb
Former teachers
- Thomas Ashworth, Headteacher of Ermysted's Grammar School in Skipton from 1998–2008 (Head of Maths from 1983–8)
Old Riponians
Former pupils are known as Old Riponians. Notable old Riponians include:
- William Hague, former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of The Guardian from summer 2015[13]
- Richard Hammond, television presenter – Top Gear/Total Wipeout/Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
- David Curry, former Member of Parliament for Skipton & Ripon (head boy in 1962)
- Bruce Oldfield, fashion designer
- Matthew Hutton (Archbishop of Canterbury)
- Prof David George Kendall, statistician, Professor of Mathematical Statistics from 1962–85 at the University of Cambridge
- Peter Squires, British Lion & England Rugby Union International/Yorkshire County Cricketer
- Prof Peter Toyne, CBE, 1st Vice-Chancellor from 1992–2000 of Liverpool John Moores University, and Rector from 1986–92 of Liverpool Polytechnic
- Paul Hullah, writer
- Jack Laugher, British Olympic Diver (Gold Medallist at Rio 2016) & Travian expert
- Peter Marshall CMG, Ambassador to Algeria from 1995–6
- The Venerable Maurice Edwards OBE, Chaplain-in-Chief of the RAF from 1940–4
- Francis Pigou, Dean of Bristol from 1891 to 1916
- Beilby Porteus, Georgian Bishop of Chester and London
- Rt Rev William Stubbs the Victorian Bishop of Oxford from 1889–1901, and Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford) from 1866–84
References
- "Ripon Grammar School". BBC News. 15 January 2009.
- enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk, Ofsted Communications Team. (5 November 2010). "Find an inspection report". www.ofsted.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- http://rankings.ft.com/secondary-schools/secondary-schools-2012?sortcol=23261&sortdir=asc&search=&fields=23031%7C23081%7C23101%7C23111%7C23221%7C23261%7C23271%5B%5D
- www.edwardrobertson.co.uk, Edward Robertson -. "Welcome to Ripon Grammar School's website". www.ripongrammar.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- Ripon Grammar School Archived 30 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine Ofsted report
- "Grammar schools reject changes". BBC. 14 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 July 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
- Smithers, Rebecca (4 March 2000). "Grammar school vote splits community". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- "The great grammar divide". The Guardian. 7 December 1999. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- Wainwright, Martin (3 May 2005). "Partners in climb". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- "Home". website.lineone.net. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- "Education: The end of the grammar school?". independent.co.uk. 22 October 1998. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- Ripon Grammar School 1555–2005, Celebrating 450 years by Elizabeth Sparey
- Stephen Castle and Ravi Somaiya "Guardian Names Katharine Viner as New Editor" Archived 5 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine New York Times, 20 March 2015