Penistone Grammar School

Short description: Community school in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England

Penistone Grammar School

North side view with the main entrance

Address
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Huddersfield Road

Penistone

South Yorkshire

S36 7BX

England

Coordinates|  [ ⚑ ] : 53°31′58″N 1°38′10″W﻿ / ﻿53.5327°N 1.6361°W﻿ / 53.5327; -1.6361
Information
Type| Community school
Motto| "Never Stop Flying"
Established| 1392; 631 years ago (1392)
Founder| Thomas Clarel
Local authority| Barnsley
Department for Education URN| 106653 Tables
Ofsted| Reports
Headteacher| Paul Crook
Gender| Co-educational
Age| 11 to 18
Enrolment| 1,828
Capacity| 1,826
Sixth form students| 224
Colour(s)| Green, Light Blue, Cyan, Orange, Purple; Black and Red
Website| www.penistone-gs.uk

Penistone Grammar School (PGS[1]) is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England.[2]

Founded in 1392, it is the 45th oldest extant school in England with its most notable alumnus being Nicholas Saunderson, the probable inventor of Bayes theorem, in the 18th century.[3] The school has undergone many expansions, requiring the erection of several buildings, and now houses over 1,700 pupils from age 11 to 18.[4] PGS' Ofsted overall rating is grade 2 ('Good'), following an inspection in November 2017.[5]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Present day
* 3 Academic results
* 3.1 Secondary
* 3.2 Sixth Form
* 4 Penistone Grammar School Foundation
* 5 Houses
* 6 List of headmasters
* 7 Notable Old Penistonians
* 8 References
* 9 External links

## History

The school was founded as the Free Grammar School of Penistone ('Penistone' often spelt 'Peniston') in 1392, when it is recorded that a gift of land was made by Thomas Clarel, Lord of the Manor at Penistone, to John Del Rodes "and others". The land was situated in the town centre on a site opposite St. John the Baptist Church and across the road from the old Cloth Hall (built much later).[6]

> Penistone Grammar School's foundation deed: Thomas Clarel, Dominus (that is Lord) de Peniston in 1392, granted to John del Rodes and others a piece of land in the Kirk-flatt, sicut se extendit et jacet inter quinque lapides per manus predicti Thomas Clarel pro metis positos, with license to grave turf on the Moors of Penistone.[6]

In 1443 the Free Grammar School of Penistone received further bequests and in 1547, after the dissolution of the chantries, the school continued as the free school for the children of Penistone. Following further endowments, the school was rebuilt in 1714. In 1893, the school withdrew from its town centre site to a position about half a mile north-west of the town centre, at Weirfield House.[7] The school remains on this site.

Penistone Grammar School at Kirk Flatt, from Dransfield's History of Penistone. Datestone: 1714.

Fulford Hall; opened 28 Oct 1911, demolished 2014

The school was originally an all-boys grammar school with a boarding provision. Girls were admitted for the first time in 1907 (though mixed-sex classes were not until 1911). Fulford was the last headmaster to see boarders, with PGS becoming a day school in 1921.[7]

On 28 October 1911, under the tenure of Mr Fulford, the Fulford building opened (though not called that at the time), at a cost of £8,000 (plus £780 for furnishings and equipment).[8] Several other buildings were erected, and in 1974, PGS purchased the former Penistone Union Workhouse, later named 'Netherfields', which became the school's sixth form.[9]

It became fully comprehensive in 1969, with partial selection (for more distant pupils) from 1957. The comprehensive school initially retained its grammar school name and traditions such as the house system and speech night. These traditions were gradually scaled back. In 2011, the school restored its traditional house system and uniform, and entirely demolished all buildings but Weirfield and the adjacent Stables, which was converted into flats. A new building opened that same year.[citation needed]

The school motto was traditionally "Disce Aut Discede" ("Learn or leave"), with the school colours traditionally being red and black. It used the coat of arms of the founding family, the Clarels, which shows six martlets, as its logo. In 2003 the school changed its motto to "Learning and Achieving Together". It rebranded again in 2010 with the motto "Never Stop Flying", a reference to martlets having no legs so always being in flight, changing the logo and school ties to show a single stylised martlet in flight.[citation needed]

## Present day

A £35 million 'state-of-the-art' school building opened on 2 May 2011, with a complete demolition of the old buildings, except for Fulford, the Stables, and Weirfield. Fulford, erected in 1909, was ultimately demolished in early 2014 after much protest from past students and locals.

After taking over from Glynis Gower, headteacher of 5 years, in 2007, Joanne Higgins stood down in November 2017 with Paul Crook taking her place as headteacher. He was formerly a teacher of PE and a deputy head.

The sixth form at Penistone currently has 300 students in attendance.[4] Penistone Grammar School is the only school in the Local Education Authority of Barnsley to have a sixth form alongside its secondary provision.

In 2017, Penistone Grammar School's then headteacher, Jo Higgins, introduced a controversial, zero tolerance style 'Values Driven Expectations' behaviour management scheme, under which a pupil could be reprimanded for forgetting a pen or leaving their shirt untucked.[10]

After internal remodelling in 2018, work started on a £4.3 million two-storey extension in 2019, providing an additional 250 places at the school. The building was opened to students in September 2020, and is linked to the main school by a walkway through the science department.[11] The block is home to the modern foreign languages department and several science classrooms.

As of 2022, Penistone Grammar School is the only secondary school in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley to not have academy status, remaining under the control of the Local Authority.

The school maintains expansive playing fields, with a martlet-covered bridge over Huddersfield Road connecting the building and fields.

## Academic results

### Secondary

PGS' secondary results are the best of any school in the Barnsley local authority. In 2022, over 90% of pupils passed English and maths, with the same figure for the sciences. 76% of pupils achieved a grade 5 (strong pass) or higher in English and maths,[12] whilst 42% of students got two 7 (A) grades in science.[13]

### Sixth Form

The sixth form has been within the top 10% of providers nationally for over five consecutive years. The majority (55%) of grades secured are A* or A, and in 2022, the average result was an A-, with over half of students progressing to elite Russell Group universities.[14]

## Penistone Grammar School Foundation

The Penistone Grammar School Foundation is a charity (number 529458) established in January 1957, but registered in 1965.[15] It owns much of the school's old site and its current estate, and generates income for the school.

## Houses

The school operates a traditional house system.

Houses at PGS  House  | Named after

|

Fulford  | JW Fulford, Headmaster 1893-1921.
Weirfield  | Weirfield House, a building of the school's from 1893 until c.2011.
Bowman  | EF Bowman, Headmaster 1928-58.
Netherfield  | Netherfield Union Workhouse, former home to the sixth form.
Saunderson  | Nicholas Saunderson, Old Penistonian and blind mathematician.

## List of headmasters

List of headmasters at Penistone Grammar School since 1392[6][16] Years  | Name  | Education  | Notes

|
|
|

c.1392–1433  | Rev. John Del Rodes  |  | Custos of Saint John's Chapel
c.1433–1450  | Rev. John Smyth  |  | Chaplain
1450–1472  | Rev. William Wordsworth  |  | Chantry Priest at St Mary's
1472–1477  | Rev. William Walker  |  | Chantry Priest at St Mary's
1477–1534  | Rev. William Addy Snr  |  | Chantry Priest at St Mary's
1534–1556  | Rev. William Addy Jnr  |  | Chantry Priest at St Mary's
1556–1613  | John Hyde, MA (Cantab)  | St John's College, Cambridge  |
1613–1630  | Richard Hey  |  | Died 28 May 1630
1630–1644  | John Coatehill  |  | Died 8 May 1644
1644–1666  | Rev. George Didsbury, BA  | Clare College, Cambridge | Died 24 April 1666
1666–1668  | Rev. John Revel, BA  | Christ's College, Cambridge  | Resigned
1668–1702  | Nathan Staniforth, MA (Cantab)  | Christ's College, Cambridge  | Died 24 November 1702
1702–1726  | John Ramsden  |  | Died 12 March 1726
1726–1751  | Rev. Jonathan Perkin  | Christ's College, Cambridge  | Died 3 May 1751
1751–1776  | Rev. Francis Haigh, BA  | Christ's College, Cambridge  | Died 15 November 1776
1776–1786  | Rev. Joseph Horsfall  |  | Resigned
1786–1836  | Jonathan Wood  |  | Died 22 April 1836
1836–1855  | Rev. Samuel Sunderland, BA  |  | Vicar of Penistone. Died 18 July 1855
1855–1867  | Rev. John Wesley Aldom, MA (Dubl)  | Trinity College, Dublin  | Resigned
1867  | Rev. Alfred Steane, BA  |  | Resigned after three months[7]
1867  | George Curtis Price, BA  |  | Appointed but declined
1867–1868  | Walter Mooney Hatch, BA  | New College, Oxford | Resigned after a few months
1868–1884  | Theophilus Jackson  |  | Resigned
1884–1885  | Othman Blakey  |  | Resigned
1885–1888  | Harry Hardy  |  | Resigned and became assistant 1888
1888–1892  | Lionel Ernest Adams, BA  |  | Resigned
1893–1921  | Joseph Woodward Fulford, MA (Dubl)  | Trinity College, Dublin  |
1921–1928  | Guy Wilfred Morris, MA (Oxon)  | St John's College, Oxford  | Resigned, became Master at Colfe's Grammar School.[17]
1928–1958  | Eric Fisher Bowman, CBE, MA (Oxon)  |  |
1958–1976  | Wilfrid Burgess Simms, MA (Oxon)  | Merton College, Oxford[18] |
1976–1997  | Martin Antony (Tony) Bould, BA  |  |
1997–1999  | Andrew ('Andy') White, BSc, MEd  |  |
1999–2002  | Pamela Caunt  |  |
2002–2007  | Glynis Gower, BSc, MSc  |  |
2007–2017  | Joanne Higgins, BA  |  |
2017–  | Paul Crook, BEd |  |

## Notable Old Penistonians

Old Penistonian Nicholas Saunderson, Mathematician

* Prof Nicholas Saunderson (1682–1739) – Mathematician and Lucasian Professor at Cambridge University 1711–1739[19]
* Alec Glassey (1887–1970) – Liberal MP for East Dorset 1929–1931
* Geoffrey Allan Crossley, CMG (1920–2009) – Diplomat and British Ambassador to Colombia and the Holy Sea
* Noel Moore (1928–2008) – Civil Servant who oversaw the decimalisation project
* Neil Robinson (1929–2009) – CoE Priest; Archdeacon of Suffolk 1987–1994
* Prof Alan Mercer (1931–2014) – Professor of Operational Research, founding member of Lancaster University's Department of Management Science[20]
* Heather Armitage (1933–) – British gold medal sprinter[21]
* Roland Boyes (1937–2006) – Labour MP for Houghton and Washington (1992–1997); MEP for Durham 1979–1984; Photographer
* Prof David Hey (1938–2016) – Historian[22]
* Anne Campbell (1940–) – Labour MP for Cambridge, 1992–2005
* John Haigh (1941–2021) – Lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Sussex[23][24]
* Prof Jean Bacon (1942–) – Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cambridge[25]
* Paul Copley (1944–) – Actor and voice-over artist
* Katherine Brunt (1985–) – England Women's Cricketer[26]
* Marc Roberts (1990–) – Professional Footballer[27]
* John Stones (1994–) – England Footballer[28]

Old Penistonian John Stones, Footballer

## References

1. ↑ "Penistone Grammar School – PGS History". Penistone Pictorial. http://www.penpictorial.co.uk/history3.htm.
2. ↑ "Welcome from the Principal". Penistone Grammar School. https://www.penistone-gs.uk/. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
3. ↑ Stephen M. Stigler (1983), "Who Discovered Bayes' Theorem?" The American Statistician 37(4):290–296.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Penistone Grammar School "Current Staff and Student Numbers FOI Request 2019", 14 October 2019
5. ↑ "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". 21 February 2022. http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Dransfield, John N (1906). A History of the Parish of Penistone. James H. Wood (The Don Press). https://archive.org/details/historyofparisho00dran.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Addy, John. "Penistone Grammar School in the Nineteenth Century". Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 40: 116. https://archive.org/details/YAJ0401962/page/116/mode/2up?view=theater.
8. ↑ "Penistone Almanack". 1914. https://penistonearchive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Penistone-Almanack-1914-OCR-125dpi.pdf.
9. ↑ "The Workhouse in Penistone, Yorkshire, W. Riding". https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Penistone/.
10. ↑ "Pupils 'terrified' of new Penistone school behaviour rules". BBC News. 4 October 2017. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-41496276.
11. ↑ "School extension underway". Barnsley Chronicle. 15 February 2019. https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/school-extension-underway.
12. ↑ "Secondary - Penistone Grammar School - Find school and college performance data in England - GOV.UK" (in en). https://www.find-school-performance-data.service.gov.uk/school/106653/penistone-grammar-school/secondary.
13. ↑ "Performance 2022_Page_5.jpg | Performance" (in en). https://www.penistone-gs.uk/performance?pgid=l0i49qn3-c074c23c-d3fd-4044-a3d1-fb0227475801.
14. ↑ "Performance 2022_Page_6.jpg | Performance" (in en). https://www.penistone-gs.uk/performance?pgid=l0i49qn3-72c8f4d7-2d14-4c7a-acf6-a13fd657611d.
15. ↑ "PENISTONE GRAMMAR SCHOOL FOUNDATION – Charity 529458". https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/529458/governing-document.
16. ↑ Bould, Martin Antony, ed (1992). Six hundred glorious years 1392–1992.
17. ↑ BEARDWOOD, H (1910). "The History of Colfe's Grammar School". http://colfesarchive.daisy.websds.net/Filename.ashx?systemFileName=ColfBk000003.pdf&origFilename=ColfBk000003.pdf.
18. ↑ "Obituary: Eric Simms" (in en). 2009-03-23. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/eric-simms-obituary.
19. ↑ David Hey (2002). A History of Penistone and District. Wharncliffe books. p. 50. ISBN 1-903425-21-2.
20. ↑ [1] J J O'Connor and E F Robertson, Stefan Banach, MacTutor History of Mathematics (University of St Andrews, Scotland, April 2015)
21. ↑ "Heather Armitage – Penistone Grammar School's Olympic Medallist". http://www.pgs-archive.co.uk/heather-armitage.html.
22. ↑ Dyer, Christopher (25 February 2016). "David Hey obituary". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/25/david-hey-obituary.
23. ↑ Ford, Anna. "Obituary: John Haigh". https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/55065.
24. ↑ Dunwoody, Martin (2021-03-24). "John Haigh obituary" (in en). http://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/24/john-haigh-obituary.
25. ↑ [2] Jean Bacon, an oral history conducted in 2001 by Janet Abbate, IEEE History Center, Hoboken, NJ, USA.
26. ↑ "England lady cricketer gives tips". Yorkshire Live. 23 March 2010. http://www.examiner.co.uk/sport/cricket/england-lady-cricketer-gives-tips-5002997.
27. ↑ "Roberts: 'I've done it the long way round' – Barnsley News from the Barnsley Chronicle". Barnsley Chronicle. 29 May 2015. https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/roberts-ive-done-it-the-long-way-round.
28. ↑ Thomson, Doug (13 May 2014). "Why John Stones' elevation to England's stand-by squad brings pride to Penistone". Huddersfield Examiner. https://www.examiner.co.uk/sport/football/news/john-stones-elevation-englands-stand-by-7112495.

## External links

* PGS Archive
* History of PGS
* PGS performance at BBC News
* pgsonline
* OFSTED report[yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
* [3]

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