Sandbach School
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1677, Sandbach School has been located on Crewe Road in Sandbach
, Cheshire for almost 150 years.
It is an all-boys school offering admission from the age of 11. In years 10 and 11 a range of GCSE's and Vocational subjects are offered. The school has its own Sixth Form and so offers AS-Levels, A-Levels, BTEC
's and YASS Open University
modules. Sandbach School now holds Specialist Arts College
status and has recently built a new arts building, called the Lonsdale Centre, which has a fully sprung indoor performance stage and outdoor performance area. The school is the largest provider of Adult Education
in the area.
The school was founded in 1677. The school has occupied this site near to the centre of Sandbach since 1851. The site's original buildings were designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and have been added to substantially in subsequent years.
The school operated as a charitable boarding and day school until 1955, when its unique status was established. It then became the grammar school for boys in South Cheshire. The school began to take pupils of all abilities in 1979.
Old boys fought in both world wars a roll of Honour
can be found in the school chapel and the school pavilion is dedicated to the old boys who died during the Great War.
LEA
and the Learning and Skills Council
. The School is a charity, registered with the charity commission, run by the Sandbach School Property Trust (registered charity number 1124293- 1). The main block of the school has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building.
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.
under the under section 162A of the Education Act 2002 (revised by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005).
As of the 2008 at report the school is considered to be outstanding. The report states:
In 2008 there were 191 pupils between 14–16 and the results were even better with 68% gaining five A* to C GCSEs including Maths and English and an A level point average of 794.2. When taking five A* to C GCSEs in all subjects into an account 76% was achieved. 21% of pupils achieved Five A* to C GCSEs including at least one modern foreign language.
In 2009 the school received two Good Schools Guide awards for best results for a boys independent school in England in
and reached the 5th round of the Daily Mail Cup
whilst the 1st XI Hockey squad reached the final of the Cheshire Cup but were beaten by Birkenhead School
2-0.
In the 2007–2008 season the 1st XI hockey squad reached the final of the Cheshire Cup again facing Birkenhead School but Sandbach lost 3–2.
The school rugby 1st XV team in the 2009/10 season became the first Cheshire School to complete the double after winning the 2010 Daily Mail Vase (14-3 vs Norwich School) playing at Twickenham and the Cheshire Cup (28-25 vs Lymm HS).
The Orienteering Club are 2008 winners of the Cheshire and Merseyside Schools League.
challenge, as well as competitions such as F1 In Schools
and the Shell Eco-Challenge. The School now has an established Chinese club where the language
of Mandarin
Chinese, there is a beginners class, and intermediate. The beginners is run in conjunction with Sandbach High School, it involves 15 year 8 pupils and is part of a greater mood of cooperation between the schools. The school also has fielded teams in the First Lego League robotics competition, placing second in 2006, and has a succseful wargaming team who are currentley the fourth placed team in northern Europe.
There is also a Combined Cadet Force
(CCF) Contingent based at the school, which offers the vocational qualification of BTEC First Diploma in Public Service, which is worth 4 GCSEs in conjunction with the school. The contingent is run by Lt Col R.J. Ayres who is a former teacher at the school.
The School now has a successful Debating team, with two members of the team getting through to the regional final of MACE during the first time in the competition in 2007.
Sandbach School Adult Education Department is the largest provider of Adult Education courses in South Cheshire, each September offering up to 100 courses which take place over three nights Tuesday to Thursday. It has a reputation for quality and the manager has appeared on Radio 4 defending the rights of senior citizens to keep their discounted courses.
There is also a swimming team, amongst various other sports teams including badminton, athletics, football, rugby, hockey and golf.
Festival 2006. Their performance of Oedipus
was given a 4 star rating in the magazine Three Weeks. They also performed Shakespeare's A Midsummers Nights Dream. The school was awarded specialist arts college status in 2006.
The School's Theatrical Director is John Lonsdale, with Music covered by renowned trombonist John Barber (Principal Trombonist with Fodens Brass Band).
Sandbach School also has an international reputation for Drama and Music, recently touring to Hong Kong, New Zealand and Brazil.
The success of Sandbach School Theatre has led to the founding of a separate Theatre Group. The group, named after the school motto (Ut Severis Seges) has developed a reputation for superb theatre, under the leadership of John Lonsdale. Recent productions of 'Kafkas Dick', 'Nevilles Island' and 'The Permanent Way' have all been extremely successful in Sandbach and the local area. The success of Ut Severis Seges Theatre Company led to it touring to the Edinburgh Fringe
alongside the school theatre group in 2006, with a production of 'Amadeus'.
A second tour of the Edinburgh Fringe took place in 2008, with a new production of 'Oh! What A Lovely War
' this gained a 5* review, Along with Oh! What A Lovely War Sandbach School Big Band
also performed, gaining two separate 4 star reviews. The whole venture cost over £20,000 and the venue was Great Hall of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.
The Sandbach School Big Band, formed in 2003, has quickly developed a fine reputation for musical quality and excellence. Based in Sandbach, Cheshire, the band has undertaken tours to Boston USA and Berlin along with members of the Drama department of the school. They have performed at the finals of the National Jazz Festival ‘Music for Youth’, at Birmingham Conservatoire and during the summer performed for a week at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival picking up two four star awards. In recent years the group has worked with many of the country’s leading musicians including Georgie Fame
, Derek Watkins
(Trumpet with James Last Orchestra
, The Beatles
, Robbie Williams
, Kylie Minogue
) , Simon Willescroft (Saxophonist with Duran Duran
) Gordon Campbell
(Lead trombone with the BBC Big Band), Elliot Henshaw (Drummer with Tony Christie) In addition they have been finalists at the National Festival of Music for youth (2007) and given a performance to some two thousand people at the 2007 Primary Proms Concert at Chester Cathedral. In June 2009 the boys performed a sell out concert with the Bluejuice Band in a ‘James Bond Spectacular’ again sharing the stage with some of the country’s finest musicians. The band is directed by the School’s Head of Music, John Barber.
, it has been granted from September 2007 to September 2010.
In October 2007 the senior rugby squad toured Italy.
, Hong Kong where some of the students performed in October 2006. The Schools collaborated at the Edinburgh Fringe
with the event taking place at Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
. There was a 50 strong group from Fukien meeting over 100 Sandbach pupils and staff. Some former Sandbach pupils have visited Fukien and taught there during their gap year. Also a former Sandbach School teacher has left to teach at Fukien
in New Hampshire
. Regular football tours go out to Dover to play them and other schools in the area. In October 2004 a band tour accompanied the footballers. In October 2007 a football and music tour again travelled to New Hampshire.
James Collins - Professional Footballer
Sandbach
Sandbach is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock....
, Cheshire for almost 150 years.
It is an all-boys school offering admission from the age of 11. In years 10 and 11 a range of GCSE's and Vocational subjects are offered. The school has its own Sixth Form and so offers AS-Levels, A-Levels, BTEC
Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs"....
's and YASS Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
modules. Sandbach School now holds Specialist Arts College
Arts College
Arts Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, the performing, visual and/or media arts...
status and has recently built a new arts building, called the Lonsdale Centre, which has a fully sprung indoor performance stage and outdoor performance area. The school is the largest provider of Adult Education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
in the area.
History
The school operated as a charitable boarding and day school until 1955, when its unique status was established. It then became the grammar school for boys in South Cheshire. The school began to take pupils of all abilities in 1979.
Old boys fought in both world wars a roll of Honour
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
can be found in the school chapel and the school pavilion is dedicated to the old boys who died during the Great War.
Legal position of the school
Sandbach School is in a unique legal position in the United Kingdom as it is an Independent School, which admits boys and is comprehensive, but is funded solely by CheshireCheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
LEA
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
and the Learning and Skills Council
Learning and Skills Council
The Learning and Skills Council was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families in England...
. The School is a charity, registered with the charity commission, run by the Sandbach School Property Trust (registered charity number 1124293- 1). The main block of the school has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building.
Ofsted
On 23 September 2008 the school was inspected by John Coleman HMIOfsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
under the under section 162A of the Education Act 2002 (revised by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005).
As of the 2008 at report the school is considered to be outstanding. The report states:
Sandbach School provides an outstanding overall quality of education. Students
make outstanding academic progress. This is due to the impact of leadership and
governance which ensures there is an outstanding quality of teaching and the rich
range of opportunities provided for students through the outstanding curriculum.
Examinations
In 2007 56% of pupils gained five A* to C GCSEs including maths and English.In 2008 there were 191 pupils between 14–16 and the results were even better with 68% gaining five A* to C GCSEs including Maths and English and an A level point average of 794.2. When taking five A* to C GCSEs in all subjects into an account 76% was achieved. 21% of pupils achieved Five A* to C GCSEs including at least one modern foreign language.
Awards
In 2007 the school received two Good Schools Guide awards for best results for a boys independent school in England in- A level Expressive Arts and Performance Studies.
- BTEC First Certificate in Environmental management.
In 2009 the school received two Good Schools Guide awards for best results for a boys independent school in England in
- A level Business Studies & Economics.
- BTEC First Certificate in Environmental management.
Sports
Sandbach has enjoyed a good 2006–2007 season for sports. The 1st XV Rugby squad became Cheshire county champions beating Lymm High SchoolLymm High School
Lymm High School is an English comprehensive school, located in Lymm, Warrington, Cheshire, of which the grammar school part had a history stretching back to the late 16th century...
and reached the 5th round of the Daily Mail Cup
Daily Mail Cup
The Daily Mail RBS Cup is the annual English schools' rugby union cup competition. The semi-finals are now held at Broadstreet Rugby Club. The final is held at Twickenham Stadium. Competitions are held at the U18 and U15 age group levels...
whilst the 1st XI Hockey squad reached the final of the Cheshire Cup but were beaten by Birkenhead School
Birkenhead School
Birkenhead School is an independent, selective, co-educational school located on the Wirral Peninsula in the northwest of England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.-Overview:The school is subdivided into...
2-0.
In the 2007–2008 season the 1st XI hockey squad reached the final of the Cheshire Cup again facing Birkenhead School but Sandbach lost 3–2.
The school rugby 1st XV team in the 2009/10 season became the first Cheshire School to complete the double after winning the 2010 Daily Mail Vase (14-3 vs Norwich School) playing at Twickenham and the Cheshire Cup (28-25 vs Lymm HS).
The Orienteering Club are 2008 winners of the Cheshire and Merseyside Schools League.
Extra curricular
The school has a range of extra curricular activities, including a growing club and many sports clubs. The school has entered teams into the FIRST Lego LeagueFIRST Lego League
The FIRST® LEGO® League is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students ....
challenge, as well as competitions such as F1 In Schools
F1 In Schools
F1 in Schools is an international competition for school children , in which groups of 3 - 6 children have to design and manufacture a miniature "car" out of balsa wood using CAD/CAM design tools. The cars are powered by CO2 cartridges and are attached to a track by a thin wire...
and the Shell Eco-Challenge. The School now has an established Chinese club where the language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
of Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
Chinese, there is a beginners class, and intermediate. The beginners is run in conjunction with Sandbach High School, it involves 15 year 8 pupils and is part of a greater mood of cooperation between the schools. The school also has fielded teams in the First Lego League robotics competition, placing second in 2006, and has a succseful wargaming team who are currentley the fourth placed team in northern Europe.
There is also a Combined Cadet Force
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
(CCF) Contingent based at the school, which offers the vocational qualification of BTEC First Diploma in Public Service, which is worth 4 GCSEs in conjunction with the school. The contingent is run by Lt Col R.J. Ayres who is a former teacher at the school.
The School now has a successful Debating team, with two members of the team getting through to the regional final of MACE during the first time in the competition in 2007.
Sandbach School Adult Education Department is the largest provider of Adult Education courses in South Cheshire, each September offering up to 100 courses which take place over three nights Tuesday to Thursday. It has a reputation for quality and the manager has appeared on Radio 4 defending the rights of senior citizens to keep their discounted courses.
There is also a swimming team, amongst various other sports teams including badminton, athletics, football, rugby, hockey and golf.
Drama and Performing Arts
Sandbach School has a proud drama heritage, performing two shows in the Edinburgh FringeEdinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
Festival 2006. Their performance of Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
was given a 4 star rating in the magazine Three Weeks. They also performed Shakespeare's A Midsummers Nights Dream. The school was awarded specialist arts college status in 2006.
The School's Theatrical Director is John Lonsdale, with Music covered by renowned trombonist John Barber (Principal Trombonist with Fodens Brass Band).
Sandbach School also has an international reputation for Drama and Music, recently touring to Hong Kong, New Zealand and Brazil.
The success of Sandbach School Theatre has led to the founding of a separate Theatre Group. The group, named after the school motto (Ut Severis Seges) has developed a reputation for superb theatre, under the leadership of John Lonsdale. Recent productions of 'Kafkas Dick', 'Nevilles Island' and 'The Permanent Way' have all been extremely successful in Sandbach and the local area. The success of Ut Severis Seges Theatre Company led to it touring to the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
alongside the school theatre group in 2006, with a production of 'Amadeus'.
A second tour of the Edinburgh Fringe took place in 2008, with a new production of 'Oh! What A Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963,...
' this gained a 5* review, Along with Oh! What A Lovely War Sandbach School Big Band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
also performed, gaining two separate 4 star reviews. The whole venture cost over £20,000 and the venue was Great Hall of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.
The Sandbach School Big Band, formed in 2003, has quickly developed a fine reputation for musical quality and excellence. Based in Sandbach, Cheshire, the band has undertaken tours to Boston USA and Berlin along with members of the Drama department of the school. They have performed at the finals of the National Jazz Festival ‘Music for Youth’, at Birmingham Conservatoire and during the summer performed for a week at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival picking up two four star awards. In recent years the group has worked with many of the country’s leading musicians including Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
, Derek Watkins
Derek Watkins (trumpeter)
Derek Watkins is a British trumpeter and session musician renowned for playing the trumpet and flugelhorn...
(Trumpet with James Last Orchestra
James Last Orchestra
The James Last Orchestra is a German big-band orchestra with strings. The orchestra was established in 1964 as a studio orchestra, led by jazz musician Hans Last...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
) , Simon Willescroft (Saxophonist with Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
) Gordon Campbell
Gordon Campbell
Gordon Muir Campbell, is a Canadian diplomat and politician, who is currently serving as Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He previously served as the 34th Premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011...
(Lead trombone with the BBC Big Band), Elliot Henshaw (Drummer with Tony Christie) In addition they have been finalists at the National Festival of Music for youth (2007) and given a performance to some two thousand people at the 2007 Primary Proms Concert at Chester Cathedral. In June 2009 the boys performed a sell out concert with the Bluejuice Band in a ‘James Bond Spectacular’ again sharing the stage with some of the country’s finest musicians. The band is directed by the School’s Head of Music, John Barber.
Film
During the Summer of 2007 the school was host to the British Youth Film Academy's production of the Film The School That Roared. This offered students from the School a chance to work with Film professionals, and even to star in a feature film.International Links
The school is linked to schools across the world. Sandbach School gained the International Schools Award from the British CouncilBritish Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
, it has been granted from September 2007 to September 2010.
In October 2007 the senior rugby squad toured Italy.
Leibniz Oberschule
In Europe the school band has toured in Germany in October 2005, and it has formed a partnership with Leibniz Oberschule in Berlin. The tour comprised a number of concerts including an international cooking celebration and a Traditional German beer brewery. The tour also incorporated cultural diversions including visits to historical and political sites. Since then, there has been an exchange visit to Berlin and regular contact via e-mail and video confrencing in order to aid pupils of Sandbach School in their German studies.Fukien Secondary School
The school also has a long term partnership with Fukien Secondary School in KowloonKowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
, Hong Kong where some of the students performed in October 2006. The Schools collaborated at the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
with the event taking place at Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was established in the 17th century. While the RCPE is based in Edinburgh, it is by no means just a Scottish professional body - more than half of its 7,700 Fellows, Members, Associates and Affiliates live and practice medicine outside Scotland, in 86...
. There was a 50 strong group from Fukien meeting over 100 Sandbach pupils and staff. Some former Sandbach pupils have visited Fukien and taught there during their gap year. Also a former Sandbach School teacher has left to teach at Fukien
Dover High School
The School's American connection comes in the form of Dover High SchoolDover High School (New Hampshire)
Dover Senior High School serves the city of Dover and the towns of Barrington and Nottingham, New Hampshire.In 2005, DHS became a New Hampshire School of Excellence....
in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. Regular football tours go out to Dover to play them and other schools in the area. In October 2004 a band tour accompanied the footballers. In October 2007 a football and music tour again travelled to New Hampshire.
The National Youth Drama School, New Zealand
The School has a link with The National Youth Drama School, New Zealand.Hugh McRoberts High School, Vancouver Canada
The School has a Canadian link with Hugh McRoberts High School, Vancouver CanadaNotable former pupils
- Dr Raymond Astbury, MA (Liverpool), PhD who is expert on Roman satire
- Baron Slynn of Hadley President of the Court of Appeal of the Solomon Islands and former Judge at the European Court of Justice
- John WaiteJohn WaiteJohn Charles Waite is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, reaching #1 in the...
, broadcaster for BBC Radio 4 - Nigel StonierNigel StonierNigel Stonier is a UK based rock, roots and pop producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.-Biography:He was born in Cheshire, but first relocated to London when, at the age of seventeen he secured a publishing deal with Southern music, and recorded his first demos produced by Dave Cousins of...
, Internationally acclaimed record producer/musician
- James Gaskell – Sale Sharks and England Saxons Rugby player
- Tim Brownbill, former British Ambassador to Nicaragua
- Tom Holmes – Sale Sharks Rugby Player
- Will Cliff – Sale Sharks Rugby Player
James Collins - Professional Footballer