Manchester Grammar School
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Manchester_Grammar_School_buildings_in_winter.jpg
The main buildings in winter
The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is an independent boys school (ages 11-18) in Manchester, England. In the post-war period, it was a direct-grant grammar school which was not fee-paying, but it became an independent school in 1976 after the Labour government - in the person of Education Secretary Shirley Williams - removed funding from direct-grant grammar schools.
The school was founded by Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter, in 1515 to promote learning. The school's founding premise was that any boy, showing sufficient academic ability, and regardless of his background, be allowed to attend it. Entry to the school is determined by performance in a two-part entrance exam.
"Founders' Day", which takes place in November every year to celebrate both the continuing life of the school and the life of its founder, is the oldest tradition in Manchester. It is held in Manchester Cathedral.
The campus was, until the 1930s, in Manchester city centre, near the cathedral and next door to the Chetham's School of Music. In the early 1930s, the school moved out of the city centre to accommodate a growing student body. The budget was so tight at this time that, in order to finance the new buildings, the topsoil on the building site was sold; as a result of which the grounds lie below the surrounding land as though the school were surrounded by a moat.
When the Assisted Places Scheme was rescinded in the late 1990s, MGS was the first school to react with a seminal "Bursary Appeal", whose patron is HRH The Prince of Wales. To date (2004), the Appeal has accumulated a value of over £10m and finances bursaries, given to boys whose parents are unable to afford the school fees. Scholarships, however, are not awarded.
MGS has a long tradition of academic excellence and is among the most celebrated schools in England. Its alumni ("Old Mancunians") include author Alan Garner, journalist Jim White, cricketers Michael Atherton and John Crawley, mathematician Sir Michael Francis Atiyah, actors Ben Kingsley and Robert Powell, double Academy Award winner Robert Bolt and dodgy ex-DRO Stephen Whittaker among many others. It is widely known that Kingsley does not remember MGS fondly. However, he gave a drama workshop at the school in 2000.
The school motto is sapere aude (dare to be wise).
MGS has two sister schools, Withington School for girls and Manchester High School for girls. MGS often collaborates with both schools particularly in artistic events, a collaboration encouraged by the absence of competition between the schools in the independent school market, and proximity.
External link
- MGS Website (http://www.mgs.org)