Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (BRGS) is a selective co-educational academy grammar school in Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The school is named after the two main towns either side of Waterfoot, Bacup and Rawtenstall.
Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School | |
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Address | |
Glen Road Waterfoot, Rossendale , , BB4 7BJ | |
Coordinates | 53.6934°N 2.2482°W |
Information | |
Type | Academy grammar |
Motto | Fide et Labore (through faith and labour) |
Established | 1703 1913 (modern)[1] | (as Newchurch Grammar School)
Local authority | Lancashire County Council |
Department for Education URN | 119809 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports |
Chair | D. S. King[2] |
Headmaster | Alan B. Porteous[1][2] |
Gender | Mixed |
Age | 11 to 18 |
Enrolment | 1300 |
Website | http://www.brgs.org.uk/ |
History
The school was founded in the 18th century as Newchurch Grammar School, opening in 1703[1] on land bequeathed by John Kershaw. The foundation stones for the current site were laid by the Mayors of Bacup and Rawtenstall on 1 July 1911. The school opened in 1913.
The current headmaster is Alan Porteous, who replaced the former headmaster, Marc Morris, in 2012. Morris joined the school in April 2005, to replace the retiring Martyn Morris (no relation), and moved to Hong Kong in July 2011, where he took the position of headteacher at Sha Tin College. Martyn Morris had retired after seventeen years in charge in December 2004.
Admissions
The school is attended by approximately 1,300 students, split between the lower school (Years 7 to 11), which has 180 pupils per year (in six form groups of thirty pupils each), and the sixth form (Years 12 and 13) with approximately 200 pupils per year in several tutor groups.
Its status as a selective entry state school for years seven to eleven (aged 11 to 16) means that the school is vastly oversubscribed, with many children competing for each place by taking an entrance examination while in their final year of primary school. The admission process not only accounts for results of the examination but proximity to the school. Entry to the sixth form does not require an examination, but is conditional on the student having gained at least two grade 5 and two grade 6 GCSEs, and at least grade 4 in Maths and English Language.
Academic performance
The school ranks highly in British School league tables. In September 2013 it was rated as a 5 star school by Trinity Mirror.[3] The majority of students continue on to further education, and the school has a long history of sending students to the Russell Group and Oxbridge Universities.[4]
In 2015, BRGS was academically ranked in the top 10 in the country for English Baccalaureate performance.[5]
Notable former pupils
- Tommy Bell, Rugby Union player, Sale Sharks, London Wasps and England national under-18 rugby union team
- Kristan Bromley, skeleton racer[6]
- Natalie Casey, actress[7]
- Agyness Deyn, model and actress
- Ben Hanley, racing driver
- Miles Higson, actor
- Betty Jackson, fashion designer, who designed the Autograph collection at Marks & Spencer
- Sophie Lancaster, murder victim
- Phil Lester, BBC Radio 1 presenter and YouTube personality, Co-author of the New York Times Best-seller The Amazing Book is Not on Fire
- Jessica Leyden, rower
- Sam Minihan, footballer
- Carlo Nash, footballer
- Rt Revd Jack Nicholls, Bishop of Sheffield from 1997 to 2008 and Bishop of Lancaster from 1990-7
- Winston Place (1914–2002), cricketer
- Sir Paul Stephenson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner 2008–11
- Ernest Tomlinson, light music composer
Former teachers
- Trevor Park (1927–95), former MP for South East Derbyshire
- Paul Patrick (1950–2008), LGBT rights activist
References
- "Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School: About Us". Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School. 2018. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- "Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School: Full Accounts Year Ended 31 August 2017". Companies House. Companies House. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- "Trinity Mirror data team creates 'most comprehensive guide ever' to secondary schools in England and Wales". Press Gazette. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- Evans, Natalie (29 September 2013). "Secondary schools league table: Find out where yours ranks". mirror. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- Abbit, Beth (9 February 2015). "Rossendale grammar school ranked among best in country". rossendale. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ""Dr Ice" is honoured by Valley". Lancashire Telegraph. 13 June 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- Humphreys, Jemma (2 February 2008). "Interview: Natalie Casey". Chorley Citizen. Retrieved 19 January 2016.