Penistone Grammar School

53°31′58″N 1°38′10″W / 53.5327°N 1.6361°W / 53.5327; -1.6361InformationTypeCommunity school
Comprehensive schoolMottoesDisce aut discede
(traditional, Learn or Leave)
"Never Stop Flying" (current)Established1392; 632 years ago (1392)FounderThomas ClarelLocal authorityBarnsleyDepartment for Education URN106653 TablesOfstedReportsHeadteacherPaul CrookGenderCo-educationalAge11 to 18Enrolment1,828Capacity1,826Sixth form students224Colour(s)Red and Black. (Houses: Green – Netherfield, Light Blue – Saunderson, Cyan – Weirfield, Orange – Fulford, Purple – Bowman)Websitewww.penistone-gs.uk

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

Founded in 1392, it is amongst the oldest extant schools in England, with alumni including Nicholas Saunderson, the probable inventor of Bayes theorem, in the 18th century.^[3] At various times in its history it has been single-sex and mixed, free and fee-paying, selective and comprehensive, boarding and day. It has undergone several moves and extensions, and today houses around 1,700 pupils from age 11 to 18.^[4] PGS' Ofsted overall rating is grade 2 ('Good'), following an inspection in February 2023.^[5]

History

The school was founded as the Free Grammar School of Penistone (then 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, Kirk Flatt, was situated in the town centre on a site opposite St. John the Baptist Church (a site later rebuilt as the Sheffield Union Bank, which later became an HSBC branch, and is today the Vault restaurant).^[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]

Thomas Clarel was born 28 Edward III 1355, and died by drowning in the River Don, 1 May 1442. His will was dated 20 November 1441, and he was buried in the friary church, Tickhill, near the family's hall.^[7] The school was originally an all-boys grammar school, accepting both boarders and day pupils.

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.

PGS played a key role in creating Association Football. In 1836, headmaster Samuel Sunderland brought a football game to PGS from the University of Cambridge. At that time, most schools has their own ball games but when students at Cambridge wanted to play together they had to agree on one style, which later were published as the Cambridge rules. His PGS student John Charles Shaw took them and founded the first two FA clubs, Sheffield F.C. in 1857 and Hallam F.C. in 1860. Another student, John Marsh, founded Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in 1867.^[8]

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.^[9] The school remains on this site.

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.^[9]

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).^[10] 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.^[11]

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 uses a badge based on the coat of arms of the founding family, the Clarels, which shows six martlets, from which the school colors red and black are derived. (From 2010–2024 it briefly used a revisionist logo with part-circles in house colors and a single stylised martlet.) The school's traditional motto is "Disce Aut Discede" ("Learn or leave"). In 2003, the school briefly changed motto to "Learning and Achieving Together", before revising this in again 2010 to "Never Stop Flying", a reference to martlets having no feet so always being in flight.^{[citation needed]}

Present day

A £35-million 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 demolished in 2014 after protest from past students and locals.

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 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.^[12]

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.^[13] 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 not to have academy status, remaining under the control of the Local Authority.

The school maintains 20 acres of playing fields, used mostly for football, rugby, cricket and athletics. Facilities include a gym, dance studio, 3G football pitches and tennis courts. It has a theatre and music studios. It has a Combined Cadet Force.

Secondary results

Penistone Grammar School's secondary results are the best of any school in the Barnsley local authority, achieving an above average Progress 8 score of 0.46.^[14] In 2023, 83% of pupils passed English and maths, with 66% of pupils achieved a grade 5 (strong pass) or higher.^[15]

Sixth Form results

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-.^[16]

Penistone Grammar School Foundation

The Penistone Grammar School Foundation is a charity (number 529458) established in January 1957, but registered in 1965.^[17] It owns much of the school's old Kirk Flatt site and its current estate, which generates income for the school.

Houses

The school maintains a house system, with each being named after locally significant people and its former buildings.^[18]

Current houses at PGS

House	Colour	Named after
Bowman	Purple	Eric Fisher Bowman – Headmaster 1928–1958
Fulford	Orange	Joseph Woodward Fulford – Headmaster 1893–1921
Netherfield	Green	Netherfield Union Workhouse – Former home to the sixth form college
Saunderson	Light blue	Nicholas Saunderson – Mathematician and former student (1682–1739)
Weirfield	Cyan	Weirfield House – Former schoolhouse and staff area from 1893 until c. 2011

Former houses at PGS

House	Colour	Named after
Armitage	Yellow	Armitage family – Local gentry
Bosville	Blue	Bosville family of Gunthwaite – Local land owners
Clarel	Red	Thomas Clarel – Founder
Dransfield	Green	John Ness Dransfield – Local historian and author of A History of the Parish of Penistone (1906)

List of headmasters

List of headmasters at Penistone Grammar School since 1392^[6][19]

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. Buried in the same grave as Nathan Staniforth at Penistone Church.
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		Brought football from Cambridge to PGS, from which it went to Sheffield to form the first FA football clubs.[20] 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[9]
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.[21]
1928–1958	Eric Fisher Bowman, CBE, MA (Oxon)
1958–1976	Wilfrid Burgess Simms, MA (Oxon)	Merton College, Oxford[22]
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

• Prof Nicholas Saunderson (1682–1739) – Mathematician and Lucasian Professor at Cambridge University 1711–1739^[23]
• Ebenezer Elliott (1781–1849) – Poet^[24]
• Alec Glassey (1887–1970) – Liberal MP for East Dorset 1929–1931
• Eileen Colwell (1904–2002) – Pioneer children's librarian^[25]
• Geoffrey Allan Crossley, CMG (1920–2009) – Diplomat and British Ambassador to Colombia and the Holy Sea
• Sir Leonard Crossland (1914–1999) – Ford UK chairman^[26]
• 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^[27]
• Heather Armitage (1933–) – British gold medal sprinter^[28]
• Roland Boyes (1937–2006) – Labour MP for Houghton and Washington (1992–1997); MEP for Durham 1979–1984; Photographer
• Prof David Hey (1938–2016) – Historian^[29]
• Max Walters (1920-2005) – Botanist.^[30]
• Anne Campbell (1940–) – Labour MP for Cambridge, 1992–2005
• Prof Jean Bacon (1942–) – Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cambridge^[31]
• Paul Copley (1944–) – Actor^[32]
• Katherine Brunt (1985–) – England Women's Cricketer^[33]
• Marc Roberts (1990–) – Professional Footballer^[34]
• John Charles Shaw (1830-1918) - captain of the first FA football club ^[35]
• John Marsh (1843-1880) - founder of Sheffield Wednesday F.C ^[36]
• John Stones (1994–) – England Footballer^[37]

• 
  Nicholas Saunderson, mathematician
• 
  John Stones, footballer
• 
  Statue of Ebenezer Elliott, poet
• 
  Heather Armitage, Olympian
• 
  Alec Glassey, former Member of Parliament

References

External links

• PGS Archive
• History of PGS
• PGS performance at BBC News
• pgsonline
• OFSTED report^{[permanent dead link]}
• [7] Archived 5 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine