Vyners School
Encyclopedia
Vyners School is a secondary comprehensive school
and specialist mathematics & computing college
in Ickenham
within the London Borough of Hillingdon
.
The current Head teacher
is Susan Gould, who took over on 1 September 2007.
on 12 January 1960, later becoming a comprehensive
. Delays in building work meant the first intake of pupils were taught at St Mary's Grammar School in Northwood Hills
from 9 September 1959. The project received help from John Miles (the headmaster of Abbotsfield School at the time), and one of the houses is now named after him.
The school is named after Sir Robert Vyner, a former Lord Mayor of London
who lived at the nearby Swakeleys House
for a time.
, all with meaning to the school's history. They are: Cheshire, Fry, Gell, Huxley, John Miles and Windsor. Of these, Cheshire and Gell were added to the original four, after 1983 when the school expanded.
The school came up with the motto 'Abide in me', taken from the Gospel of John
Ch. 13, verse 7, and which is displayed below the school crest. The school has the theme of "service", which mainly comes from the founders and is reflected in the people chosen for the house names (the school did not start with six forms of entry upon opening - throughout the 60's and into the 70's, it had a four form entry).
, athletics, rugby union
, and other sports.
The first 'performance' was at the annual House Music Festival in March 1988 and has gone from strength to strength. Large and small ensembles from the VSB have played more than 325 gigs since 1988 and raised in excess of £50,000 for a variety of charities, as well as entertaining audiences both local and further afield including successful tours of France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
Roy Castle
joined the band for a one-off concert in 1991 to raise money for the Chiltern and Hillingdon Cheshire Homes charity.
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
and specialist mathematics & computing college
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
in Ickenham
Ickenham
Ickenham is a suburban area centred on an old village in Greater London, part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain have been discovered during archaeological surveys, and the...
within the London Borough of Hillingdon
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...
.
The current Head teacher
Head teacher
A head teacher or school principal is the most senior teacher, leader and manager of a school....
is Susan Gould, who took over on 1 September 2007.
History
Vyners School opened as a grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
on 12 January 1960, later becoming a comprehensive
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
. Delays in building work meant the first intake of pupils were taught at St Mary's Grammar School in Northwood Hills
Northwood Hills
Northwood Hills is a suburban town within the London Borough of Hillingdon in west London.The nearest places are Hatch End, Northwood, Pinner, Ruislip, South Oxhey, Eastbury and Eastcote....
from 9 September 1959. The project received help from John Miles (the headmaster of Abbotsfield School at the time), and one of the houses is now named after him.
The school is named after Sir Robert Vyner, a former Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
who lived at the nearby Swakeleys House
Swakeleys House
Swakeleys House is a Grade I listed 17th-century Jacobean mansion in Ickenham, London Borough of Hillingdon, built in 1638 for the future Lord Mayor of London, Sir Edmund Wright. Originally the home of the lords of the manor of Swakeleys, writer Samuel Pepys later visited the house twice...
for a time.
Traditions
The school has six housesHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
, all with meaning to the school's history. They are: Cheshire, Fry, Gell, Huxley, John Miles and Windsor. Of these, Cheshire and Gell were added to the original four, after 1983 when the school expanded.
The school came up with the motto 'Abide in me', taken from the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
Ch. 13, verse 7, and which is displayed below the school crest. The school has the theme of "service", which mainly comes from the founders and is reflected in the people chosen for the house names (the school did not start with six forms of entry upon opening - throughout the 60's and into the 70's, it had a four form entry).
Sport
Sporting successes in the past have included successive English Schools Senior Netball Championships - 1970 and 1971; a British Athletics International, Mark Naylor, who held the British National Record in the high jump and competed in the Moscow and Los Angeles Olympic Games, a British Youth Shot Putt champion [1970], trained by 'Pete' Ferguson, who also taught Latin and English Literature, and married an Art teacher; as well as numerous Borough and County Championships, team and individual, plus Borough and County representatives at football, netballNetball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, athletics, rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, and other sports.
Vyners Swing Band
The Vyners Swing Band was set up in 1988 by history teacher Perry Parsons MBE to give some students at Vyners School the opportunity to enjoy and perform jazz while increasing their self-confidence. The plan was to bring together about ten musicians with a varied competence in music to play some Jazz, Dixieland or Glenn Miller style arrangements and very quickly the band increased in size to around twenty five players.The first 'performance' was at the annual House Music Festival in March 1988 and has gone from strength to strength. Large and small ensembles from the VSB have played more than 325 gigs since 1988 and raised in excess of £50,000 for a variety of charities, as well as entertaining audiences both local and further afield including successful tours of France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
Roy Castle
Roy Castle
Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
joined the band for a one-off concert in 1991 to raise money for the Chiltern and Hillingdon Cheshire Homes charity.