Beverley Grammar School

Establishment The school was probably established , as part of the foundation of Beverley Minster, and claims to be the oldest grammar school in England. Masters of singing and grammar were employed at Beverley more or less continuously during the Middle Ages. The school disappeared at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1552, the burgesses of Beverley petitioned the Crown for land worth £60 for the maintenance of the Minster and also for the establishment of a new grammar school, as the town then had a population of about 5,000, but no school. It is unclear exactly when a new school was founded, but a schoolmaster is referred to in the town’s accounts for 1562, and in 1575 the town paid his whole salary. Early records suggest that the medieval building of the school, which was in the southwest corner of the Minster grounds, was demolished in 1602 before being replaced on the same site by a stone building in 1609. The 1609 building eventually fell into disrepair, and in 1816 the school was moved to a site adjacent to the Headmaster’s house on Keldgate. Following a local government reorganization, there was a temporary closure of the school in 1886, but makeshift accommodation was found in Grayburn Lane, allowing the school to re-open in 1889. Relocation One of its former locations was in the southwest corner of Beverley Minster’s churchyard. The stone building was in use 1609–1816, but a school building had been on the site since medieval times. In 1816/1817, the school moved away from the churchyard to a site next to the Schoolmaster’s house in 54 Keldgate now a Grade II listed building. Owing to lack of funds, it was closed in 1878, but a new school was founded in 1890 at the site of the Old Fire Station in Albert Terrace which also operated as a grammar school. It moved to Queensgate in 1902. The foundation stone of the main building that is currently part of the main school was laid in January 1936 by Col. Philip Saltmarshe. The building was opened by November 1936. ==Academic performance==

In the school's Joint Sixth form 98% achieved a pass with 52% achieving A*/A/B grades in A levels in 2013. A quarter of all results were A or A*. The average point score per pupil is 812 points in 2013. As of November 2023, Beverley Grammar School was rated as "average" for academic performance against other schools in England, with a Process 8 score of 0.14. A pupil is considered to have entered for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) if they entered for qualifications in English, Maths, Sciences, a language related subject, and either history or geography. For Beverley Grammar School, 21% of boys entered the EBacc, below the local authority average of 36% and the England average of 39%. The percentage of boys who, upon leaving the school, stayed in education or entered employment stood at 98%, above the local authority average of 95% and the England average of 94%. The school performed well in regards to the number of boys who achieved a Grade 5 or above in English & Maths in GCSE examinations, with 61% of boys at the school achieving Grade 5 or above. This is above both the local authority and England average of 43% and 45% respectively. The schools Attainment 8 and EBacc average point score were above both the local authority and England average in 2023. ==Overview==

School site The school premises are located at the junction of Queensgate and Sloe Lane in Beverley. The expressive arts block was completed in October 1999, Houses Since 1933 (at the latest according to the Burden School Sports Trophy) Beverley Grammar School had a 4 house system comprising Conington, Fisher, Minster and School. Form groups were streamed to academic performance and designated N, S, W and X. In the late 1980s the form groups started being named after the four houses. In the 1990s the governors decided to increase the numbers in the school and move from a 4 Form system to a 5 form system. Burden House was then formed to fill the fifth house. The houses can be associated by their colours listed below. • Burden – Gold :Burden House was named after Henry Burden who was the Headmaster of the school between 1912 and 1935. He was largely seen as creating the modern school. • Connington – Light Blue :John Conington (10 August 1825 – 23 October 1869) who was an English Classical Scholar. • Fisher – Dark Blue :Fisher House was named after the Catholic martyr John Fisher who was born in Beverley in 1469. He became a Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University. • Minster – Red :Minster House was named after Beverley Minster and commemorates the founding of the school in 700 AD by St John of Beverley in Beverley Minster. • School – Green and Yellow (though House Ties are only Green) :This was named after the original school which started inside the Minster and then was moved to a building in the Minster grounds. It later moved to a site in a larger building down Keldgate and later Albert Terrace. In the 1903 it moved to this present site on Queensgate and was located in the building that is now the Art Block. The Main school building was erected in the 1930s and has been modernised and added to over the years. ==Notable pupils==

;Before 1900: • John Alcock (1430–1500), Lord Chancellor of England • Matthew Appleyard (c. 1660–1700), Tory member of parliament • Sir Hugh Cholmeley, 1st Baronet (1600–1657), soldier in the English Civil War • John Conington (1825–1869), English classical scholar • William Howe De Lancey (1778–1815), the Duke of Wellington's Chief of Staff at the Battle of Waterloo • Saint John Fisher (c. 1469–1535), Roman Catholic bishop • Thomas Percy (1560–1605), Gunpowder plotter • Smithson Tennant (1761–1815), chemist • Michael Warton (died 1688), Royalist soldier and landowner ;After 1900 • Kyle Edmund (born 1995), tennis player • Michael Frenneaux (born 1957), cardiologist • Neil Mallender (born 1961), England cricketer and international umpire • Jim Ratcliffe (born 1952), chairman and CEO, Ineos, UK's richest man according to Sunday Times Rich List 2018 • Paul Robinson (born 1979), football goalkeeper • John Andrew (1931–2014), Anglican clergyman in New York City • Ken Annakin (1914–2009), film director • Tony Topham (1929–2004), academic and writer ==See also==