Wirral Grammar School for Boys

Infobox UK school
name = Wirral Grammar School for Boys


size =
latitude = 53.348
longitude = -3.013
dms =
motto = "Sapientia Ianua Vitae"
(Wisdom is the Gateway to Life)
motto_pl =
established = 1931
approx =
closed =
c_approx =
type = Foundation Grammar
religion =
president =
head_label =
head = David R. Hazeldine
r_head_label =
r_head =
chair_label = Chair of Governors
chair = Brian Edmondson
founder =
founder_pl =
specialist = Business and Enterprise
specialist_pl =
street = Cross Lane
city = Bebington, Wirral
county = Merseyside
country = England flagicon|England
postcode = CH63 3AQ
LEA = Wirral Borough Council
ofsted = 105113
staff =
enrollment = 1000
gender = Boys
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 17
houses = Barbercolor box|white, Doddscolor box|red, Hodgsoncolor box|green, Levercolor box|yellow
colours = Black and blue color box|blackcolor box|blue
publication = Nuntius
free_label_1 =
free_1 =
free_label_2 =
free_2 =
free_label_3 =
free_3 =
website = http://www.wirralgrammarboys.com/
website_name = www.wirralgrammarboys.com

Wirral Grammar School for Boys was founded in 1931, situated on Cross Lane, Bebington, on the Wirral. It is a foundation school, located within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson was the school's first Head Boy, and attended the Sixth Form there. Today it is one of the few remaining state grammar schools in England, and remains one of the highest achieving schools in the area, according to the Times on-line survey and the 2007 Department for Education School Perormance Tables for 2007.

Houses

The school has five houses, which are:

* Barber - indicated by a white stripe in the school tie, named after Mr John Barber
* Dodds - indicated by a red stripe in the school tie, named after Mr Alistair Dodd
* Hodgson - indicated by a green stripe in the school tie, named after Sir Hodgson
* Lever - indicated by a yellow stripe in the school tie, named after Lord Leverhulme
* Wilson - recently added with admission of extra pupils, named in memory of Harold Wilson

Achievements & Events

Academically the school has received high standards, although it had been suggested that these could be further improved [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/pdf/?inspectionNumber=187295&providerCategoryID=32&fileName=%5C%5Cschool%5C%5C105%5C%5Cs10_105113_20000915.pdf 2006 Inspection Report, conducted by Ms Susan Wareing] ] . In 2005 GCE A-level results were in the top 90% nationwide, and in 2007 99.4% of pupils sitting the GCSE gained at least five A*-C grades, including Maths and English. The 0.6% that failed to achieve the 5 A*-C grades was in fact only one pupil.

The school has been commended for its sporting commitment blah] , with particular efforts in Rugby union, solidifying a strong tradition of the sport at the school. The PE department holds tours of the sport, including to Australia and the United States The most notable achiever in recent years is the rugby player Matt Cairns of Saracens & England. Other sporting success has come on the hockey field, most recently the First Eleven became only the second WGSB side to win the Wirral Cup, usually a stonewall victory for rival school Calday Grange Grammar School.

The school's Music Society, under the direction of Mr Geoff Hinde, has produced a number of plays and musicals jointly with the neighbouring girls' school. Recent productions have seen "Guys and Dolls", "Into the Woods", "Les Misérables, and "Lord of the Flies" enacted on stage. "Oliver!" was 2006's production; in 2007 it was "Fame The Musical" and in 2008 it was "Little Shop of Horrors". The production for 2009 has been announced as "High School Musical". It was also announced in June 2008 that Mr Geoff Hinde will be receiving an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to Education and to the Performing Arts in Merseyside. In 2001, the then Head of English, David Yates wrote and directed his own play "The Triumphant Return" which was very school-centric and was internally acclaimed. The Society also hosts tours for the Concert Band and the Full Choir, most recently performing in locations including the Black Forest in Germany, Canada, Italy, Spain and Austria, and in France in 2009. The choir, concert band and orchestra, in addition to several smaller musical groups perform three concerts a year, as well as a Carol Service in the nearby St. Andrew's Church at Christmas.

Subjects

At the moment, the school curriculum employs many different subjects. The most recent alteration to the school's subjects was the introduction of Spanish - as was the case with German (which is now not done in years 7 and 8) , Spanish is compulsory in Years 8 and 9. Also in Year 8, the three Sciences - Chemistry, Biology and Physics - are separated out (having been taught as a combined science course in Year 7). Other subjects include: English, Mathematics, French, History, Geography, Technology, Art, Music, Information Technology, Religious Studies, P.E. and Games (which involves rugby union, hockey, badminton, cricket, basketball cross-country running and athletics, as well as a number of other sports).

Also in Year 8, pupils are setted for Mathematics, in six sets. In Year 9, class sizes are made smaller for the Sciences and pupils are set for French. GCSE classes for English and Sciences also employ sets.

The school teaches both French and Spanish. The latter subject was introduced in September 2004, replacing the long-taught German. Earlier in the school's history, Latin, some Greek, Russian and Spanish were taught for some time. At the beginning of the school's life, French was taught along with Latin. Pupils were later given a choice between French and German. Greek was also given to pupils who showed strength of languages. The previous headmaster, Anthony Cooper, at one point served as a Latin Master at the school, as well as English Master and Careers Master.

The subjects available for GCSE and/or A-Level include Business Studies, Economics, Electronics, Geology, Law, Media Studies, Politics, Sociology (AS only), Psychology and General Studies, which also includes a GCSE in Latin, GCSE Astronomy, AS Critical Thinking and GCSE Philosophy and Ethics.

Historically, the subjects offered at the school were:

*Classics, including Latin, Greek and Ancient History
*Modern Studies, including English Literature, French or Geography, Filth or History
*Science, including Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry

Development Plans

Earlier this year, The Wirral LEA secured a £3.1 million grant in order to replace the mobile classrooms and replace them with a full-brick building hosting the Mathematics department, Business Studies facilities, some History/Geography rooms, an extra Modern Foreign Languages room and another 2 Science laboratories, as well as a new Music Centre and several ICT suites. In addition, there will be an exterior Science area, along with a greenhouse, as well as refurbishment to the main building, including two Sixth Form History and Politics classrooms. Building for this plan is making steady progress, and is expected to be used from Easter 2008, despite its official opening in September 2008.

Recently, the announcement was made that the school was to become a Business and Enterprise College, improving ICT facilities and the Business Studies department. This will be marked with improved ICT facilities, both for students and for the community, including summer classes for ICT, Photography and Business basics, as well as several ICT suites and Business Studies classrooms in the new building. Before early January 2008 a school radio station will be set up. The station is in talks among pupils and staff members at the present

At the beginning of the 2008 school year, the form system was changed. Instead of the previous system, whereby pupils were given one of four school houses, then split into 5 forms; 4 house forms and one mixed form, the school decided that all the forms should be of a mixed house and that the form names should correspond with their form tutors initials. (Eg. Mr. John Smith who took a year 7 form would be "7JS".) This system started with the new 2008 year 7's and the year 9's of 2007-2008 were then mixed. A school survey showed that over 85% of pupils disagreed with the system changes.

Headmasters

1931-1954: Mr James M. Moir

1955-1972: Mr Bernard H. T. Taylor- died while appointed to the school during school hours, now has a memorial bench in the remnants of the Inner Quad.

1972-1986: Mr Peter A. Fishwick

1986-1995: Mr Bernard J. Treacy

1996-2006: Mr Anthony M. Cooper

2006-present: Mr David R Hazeldine

Notable Alumni

*Harold Wilson - Labour Prime Minister 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 (only attended the sixth form)
*Paul Usher - Actor
*Ted Robbins - Comedian and actor
*Kenneth Halliwell - Writer and also mentor, lover and the eventual murderer of playwright Joe Orton
*Alex Cox - Film director
*Steve Jones - Professor of genetics at Galton laboratory of University College London.
*John Ebbrell - former Football player for Everton F.C. as a midfielder.
*Patrick Nagle - Design - British Broadcasting Corporation.
*Andy Bonner - Granada Reports journalist

See also

*Wirral Grammar School for Girls
*Calday Grange Grammar School
*West Kirby Grammar School

External links

* [http://www.wirralgrammarboys.com/ Wirral Grammar School for Boys - official website]
* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/index.cfm?fuseaction=summary&id=105113 OFSTED Report]
* [http://www.dfes.gov.uk/cgi-bin/performancetables/dfe1x1_05.pl?School=3445401&Mode=Z&Type= DFES Statistics]
* [http://www.ratemyteachers.co.uk/schools/england/wirral/wirral_grammar_school_for_boys Rate My Teacher]
* [http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=CH63+3AQ&ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&z=16&ll=53.348617,-3.013022&spn=0.005085,0.026608&iwloc=A Google Map of the school]
* [http://www.livewire.web.com LiveWire - official online school magazine]

References

*The History of Wirral Grammar School for Boys 1931 - 1991, Murphy, Pete (1991)