Batley Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Batley Grammar School is a co-educational school located at Carlinghow Hill in Upper Batley
, West Yorkshire
, England
. The school was founded in 1612 by the Rev. William Lee. An annual founder's day service is held in his memory at Batley Parish Church, as he requested in his will, although it is not held on the date originally specified.
The school (then affectionately known as "BGS") selected boys on their performance in the 11-plus exams, regardless of family background. Following the controversial comprehensivisation of secondary education, the school became independent and entry became restricted to boys whose parents could afford its fees. It was originally a boys' school but introduced girls into the sixth form in 1988 and became co-educational in 1996. More recently, the school has returned to the maintained sector and was one of the first Free Schools to open in the country.
Batley Grammar School is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
.
A Junior and Infants school, named Priestley House (after Joseph Priestley
, an old Batelian, see below) is set in the grounds and is also part of the Free School.
Batley
Batley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies southeast of Bradford, southwest of Leeds and north of Dewsbury, near the M62 motorway. It has a population of 49,448 . Other nearby towns include Morley to the northeast, Ossett to the southeast...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The school was founded in 1612 by the Rev. William Lee. An annual founder's day service is held in his memory at Batley Parish Church, as he requested in his will, although it is not held on the date originally specified.
The school (then affectionately known as "BGS") selected boys on their performance in the 11-plus exams, regardless of family background. Following the controversial comprehensivisation of secondary education, the school became independent and entry became restricted to boys whose parents could afford its fees. It was originally a boys' school but introduced girls into the sixth form in 1988 and became co-educational in 1996. More recently, the school has returned to the maintained sector and was one of the first Free Schools to open in the country.
Batley Grammar School is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is an association of the headmasters or headmistressess of 243 leading day and boarding independent schools in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and the Republic of Ireland...
.
A Junior and Infants school, named Priestley House (after Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
, an old Batelian, see below) is set in the grounds and is also part of the Free School.
Notable Old Batelians
Former pupils of the school are referred to as Old Batelians.- Theodore Cooke TaylorTheodore Cooke TaylorTheodore Cooke Taylor was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He was best known for pioneering profit-sharing in his business activities and for leading a movement against the opium trade...
(1850-1952), Businessman, Liberal politician, Profit-sharing pioneer - Benjamin InghamBenjamin InghamBenjamin Ingham , was born and raised in the Yorkshire and Humber region of England. He earned his B.A. degree from Oxford, and was ordained at age 23. Methodist connections from Oxford led to a colonial mission in America where he developed a keen interest in the Moravian church from fellow...
(1712–1772), MethodistMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
and Moravian evangelist and preacher - William Margetson Heald (1767–1837), writer and churchman
- Joseph PriestleyJoseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
(1733–1804), theologianTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, natural philosopherNatural philosophyNatural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
, and discoverer of oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition... - Thomas Wormald (1802–1873), surgeon
- Sir Titus SaltTitus SaltSir Titus Salt, 1st Baronet , born in Morley, near Leeds, was a manufacturer, politician and philanthropist in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. His father Daniel Salt was a businessman and was sent Titus to Batley Grammar School...
(1803–1876), textileTextileA textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
manufacturer and politician - Sir Mark OldroydMark OldroydSir Mark Oldroyd was a British woollen manufacturer and Liberal Party politician from West Yorkshire.He was born the youngest of three sons and two daughters of Mark Oldroyd and his wife Rachel. He was educated initially at a small school in Dewsbury, followed by a spell at Batley Grammar School...
(1843–1927), woolWoolWool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
len manufacturer, politician and philanthropist - Sir Owen Willans RichardsonOwen Willans RichardsonSir Owen Willans Richardson, FRS was a British physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1928 for his work on thermionic emission, which led to Richardson's Law.-Biography:...
(1879–1959), Professor of PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, 1906–1914, Wheatstone Professor of Physics, King's College LondonKing's College LondonKing's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, 1914–1924, and Yarrow Research Professor, Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, 1924–1959, Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
(1928) - Sir Herbert HoldsworthHerbert HoldsworthSir Herbert Holdsworth was a British Liberal Party politician and businessman.-Early life and business:Holdsworth was born in Liversedge in Yorkshire. He was educated at Batley Grammar School. In June 1914 he married Beatrice Lee of Bradford and they had one daughter. In business, Holdsworth was a...
, 1890–1949, LiberalLiberal Party (UK)The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
and later Liberal NationalNational Liberal Party (UK, 1931)The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
MP - Samuel SugdenSamuel SugdenSamuel Sugden, FRS was an eminent chemist in the first half of the 20th century. He was born in Leeds on 21 February 1892 and educated at Batley Grammar School and the Royal College of Science. After war time service with the BEF he was a Research Chemist the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich following which...
(1892–1950), Professor of Physical ChemistryPhysical chemistryPhysical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
, Birkbeck College, LondonBirkbeck, University of LondonBirkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
, 1932–1937, and Professor of ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, 1937–1950 - Horace WallerHorace WallerHorace Waller VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for "gallantry in the face of the enemy" awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
(died 1917), World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
winner - Cecil Grayson (1920–1998), Serena Professor of ItalianSerena Professor of ItalianThe Serena Professorship of Italian is the senior professorship in the study of the Italian language at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and University of Manchester...
, University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, 1958–1988 - Godfrey LienhardtGodfrey LienhardtRonald Godfrey Lienhardt was a British anthropologist.-Life and field work:Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, of mixed Swiss and Yorkshire parentage, he went up to Cambridge University in 1939, where he read English under F. R. Leavis until he was called up and became a transport officer,...
(1921–1993), anthropologistAnthropologyAnthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German... - Andrew MilnerAndrew MilnerAndrew Milner , Australian cultural theorist and literary critic, is Professor of Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies at Monash University....
, Professor of Cultural Studies, Monash UniversityMonash UniversityMonash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL.... - Richard PearsonRichard Pearson (cricketer)Richard Michael Pearson is a former English cricketer who represented England in two Youth Test matches in 1991, and went on to play first class county cricket in England between 1992 and 1997 for Northamptonshire, Essex and Surrey...
, former English county cricketer - Richard Reed, co-founder of innocent DrinksInnocent DrinksInnocent Drinks is a UK-based company founded in 1999 whose primary business is producing smoothies and flavoured spring water, sold in supermarkets, coffee shops and various other outlets nationally as well as in Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland...
- Richard DawsonRichard Dawson (cricketer)Richard Kevin James Dawson is an English first-class cricketer, who plays primarily as an off-spinner....
, former English county cricketer - Ismail Dawood, former English county cricketer
- Lukas WoollerLukas WoollerLukas Wooller is the keyboard player and occasional backing vocalist of British indie rock band, Maxïmo Park, based in North-East England.-Biography:...
, keyboardist with the band Maxïmo Park - David PeaceDavid PeaceDavid Peace is an English author. Known for his novels GB84, The Damned Utd, and Red Riding Quartet, Peace was named one of the Best of Young British Novelists by Granta in their 2003 list...
, Author - Tim FountainTim FountainTim Fountain is a British writer.-Life:An only child, Tim Fountain was brought up in a pub in the village of West Ardsley, West Yorkshire, where he lived with his parents and two goats, one of which had only three legs...
, Writer - David StiffDavid StiffDavid Stiff is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler. He went to school at Silcoates School, Wakefield but later moved to Batley Grammar School....
, professional cricketer