The Skegness Grammar School

The Skegness Grammar School

Motto	Murus Aeneus Conscientia Sana (A sound conscience is a wall of brass)
Established	1483; 1933 at current site
Type	Selective Day and Boarding Grammar
Religion	Secular and non-denominational
Headteacher	Mr David Ward
Founder	William de Waynflete
Specialisms	Sport, Maths and Computing and Science
Location	Vernon Road Skegness Lincolnshire PE25 2QS England
Local authority	Lincolnshire
DfE URN	120696
Ofsted	Reports
Students	760 (366 Boys, 394 Girls)
Gender	Mixed
Ages	11–19 (in certain cases)
Houses	Lumley Magdalen Newton Tennyson
Colours	Bottle Green and Gold
Website	skegnessgrammar.lincs.sch.uk

Coordinates: 53°08′56″N 0°20′02″E / 53.1490°N 0.3340°E / 53.1490; 0.3340

The Skegness Grammar School is a selective grammar school, a sixth form centre and a specialist school with two disciplines, firstly as a sport college and since 2006 also a mathematics and computing college, located in Skegness Lincolnshire for children aged between eleven and eighteen. Selection to the school roll is by Lincolnshire's eleven plus examination or, in the case of boarders by entry test or personal interview.

The current school roll consists of 760 pupils including the sixth forms whilst the sixth form consists of 204 pupils. Unusually for a state grammar school it is able to offer a local boarding facility for around seventy state boarding children who do not live locally, or whose parents are required to work away from Lincolnshire or abroad.

Originally founded over five hundred years ago by a notable Lord High Chancellor of England, Skegness Grammar School was the very first British secondary school to be awarded Grant Maintained status by the government in 1988. The school has been classed as a High Performing Specialist School, due to the progress the students have made over the five years of compulsory education in years seven to eleven. Formal evaluation of the recent Sixth Form results has shown that they have established and maintained excellent teaching standards that have led to equally high levels of progress.

The school's name is frequently shortened by pupils, teachers and local residents to 'TSGS'.

History

Magdalen School

In 1483 William Waynflete, also called William of Wainfleet, later the Bishop of Winchester, Provost of Eton College and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain founded Magdalen College School in his home town of Wainfleet to act as a satellite feeder school for Magdalen College at Oxford University that he had also founded.^[1]

In 1933 Magdalen College School closed and was incorporated into its newer and larger buildings at Skegness where it became Skegness Grammar School.^[1]

There is also a school named after Waynflete (Waynflete School} at Portland, Maine, USA.

Boarding at the school

Since 1991 the school has been able to offer state boarders accommodation in the school's Wainfleet Hall boarding facility on Low Road, Wainfleet. The house can accommodate up to seventy boarders. The Skegness Grammar's boarding facility is run on behalf of the school by the husband and wife team of Mr and Mrs V Camp.

A 'buddy' system is used at Wainfleet Hall to make new boarders feel at home and pre-school open days are arranged.

School houses

The school is organised into four houses all named after historically prominent people or famous Lincolnshire men:

Lumley - named after Lord Lumley, the ninth Earl of Scarbrough a major local landowner who was responsible for developing Skegness as a major Victorian holiday resort.

Magdalen - named after the Magdalen College School in Wainfleet founded by William of Waynflete, one time Bishop of Winchester and founder of the college by the same name at Oxford University.

Newton - named after Lincolnshire's most famous son Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) who was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist and theologian.

Tennyson - named after locally born Alfred Lord Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) who was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and one of the most popular classical English poets of all time.

Grant Maintained

The Education Reform Act of 1988 introduced the concept of Grant-maintained schools which shifted the school funding away from the local education authority to direct grant support by central government. Skegness Grammar was the first school in the UK to both apply for and be awarded grant maintained status.

The grant maintained system was dis-established by the new Labour government in 1998 and schools were offered the choice of returning to local education authority funding or opting for foundation status.

Specialist College status

In 2004 The Skegness Grammar was awarded specialist school status as a Sports College. The new sports facilities provided include a multi use astroturf all weather pitch, sports hall, four tennis courts and eight mini courts, cricket nets, sports pavilion and climbing wall, but the climbing wall is not accessible to the schools students. As a Sports College the available facilities are up to date and second to none. The college was awarded the Sportsmark in 2006 and 2007 as well as becoming a Coach Centre of Excellence.^{[clarification needed]} Skegness is now the hub school for the Lincolnshire Coastal Sports Partnership with a membership of 8 Secondary and 32 Primary and Special Schools.

Two years later in 2006 a second speciality was added to the school when it was granted specialist status as a Mathematics and Computing College. Technology is used to underpin teaching and learning across the curriculum and the school has added three recently modernised and refurbished ICT suites. Recently a new Conference Centre with video conferencing facilities for pupils has been added.

The school today

Sixth Form Centre

The latest addition to the school, a sixth form centre, has been recently opened on the site to house students in years twelve and thirteen with separate study and common room facilities.

Two anniversaries

In 2008 Skegness Grammar School celebrated the school's seventy fifth anniversary of the move from Wainfleet to Skegness and the 525th anniversary of its original founding.

Results

In the 2006 school league table results for secondary schools in the county of Lincolnshire, the school came 5th out of 35 for attainment at A level/AS level. The school also ranked 7th in the whole of the East Midlands region.

Ofsted

Following the Ofsted inspection in 2000 the school was awarded the Ofsted gold standard. Following the inspection in 2004, the school received a first class award.

Ofsted specifically commented:

"TSGS is renowned across the county and beyond for its academic success and for the development of well rounded, inspired and motivated individuals. This was widely commented on in our last Ofsted report. An emphasis on high academic standards and strong discipline but with a wide range of sporting and other activities. It receives able pupils who are keen to do well and the school is particularly successful in creating an orderly and productive environment where standards of behaviour are excellent and relationships very good." (Ofsted 2004)

In the most recent 2008 Ofsted report Skegness Grammar received a Grade 1 assessment for the school's performance and Grade 2 for both the boarding facility and the sixth form.

School badge

The school badge is the Coat of Arms of the Earldom of Scarbrough. It depicts an Escutcheon Argent bearing Fess Gules with three Hunting Hawks, the crest depicts a Cormorant astride a crown. Its meaning is:

• The escutcheon is the shield and the colour argent or white represents "Peace and sincerity".
• The fess is the broad cross band and its colour of gules or red stands for "Military fortitude and strength".
• The three hunting hawks stands for "One who fears not to signal his approach in peace or war".
• The cormorant astride the crown depicts a "Swift striking warrior and conqueror of foreign kingdoms".

Notable former pupils

See also: Category:People educated at The Skegness Grammar School

• Jack Cotton, professional footballer with Lincoln City F.C.^{[citation needed]}
• Noël Greig, playwright.^[2]
• Adam Millson, professional footballer with Boston United^{[citation needed]}
• Neil Wallis, deputy editor of the News of the World, former editor of the Sunday People.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Magdalen College School, Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, UK, BBC.
2. ^ "Noël Greig obituary", The Guardian, 23 September 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2011

External links

• The Skegness Grammar School Website
• BBC - The Skegness Grammar School exam results
• BBC - Grammar schools dominate the league tables
• TSGS's latest Ofsted report (May 2008)