Calday Grange Grammar School

Infobox UK school
name = Calday Grange Grammar School


size =
latitude = 53.3675
longitude = -3.163
dms =
motto = "Nisi Dominus Frustra"
motto_pl =
established = 1636
approx =
closed =
c_approx =
type = Foundation Grammar
religion =
president =
head_label =
head = Andrew Hall
r_head_label =
r_head =
chair_label =
chair =
founder = William Glegg
founder_pl =
specialist = Technology, Language
specialist_pl =
street =
city = West Kirby
county = Wirral, Merseyside
country = England flagicon|England
postcode = CH48 8GG
LEA = Wirral Borough Council
ofsted = 105112
staff =
enrollment = 1500
gender = Boys
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 18
houses = Bennettcolor box|blue
Gleggcolor box|red
Hollowellcolor box|green

colours = Navy Blue, White, Maroon
publication =
free_label_1 =
free_1 =
free_label_2 =
free_2 =
free_label_3 =
free_3 =
website = http://www.calday.wirral.sch.uk/
website_name = www.calday.wirral.sch.uk

Calday Grange Grammar School (abbreviated to CGGS; also known as Calday, Calday Grange) is a non-denominational selective grammar school, founded in 1636, which is situated on Caldy Hill above the town of West Kirby on the Wirral. The school has links with West Kirby Grammar School for Girls. The school admits boys from the ages of 11 through to 18, and (since 1985) girls for the sixth form only. Calday Grammar School is a Foundation School, Technology College, Language College, hosts the Able Student Centre for the area, and has been awarded Sportsmark Gold and Investors in People status.cite web |url=http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/portal/site/Internet/menuitem.7c7b38b14d870c7bb1890a01637046a0/?event=getReport&urn=105112&inspectionNumber=287128&providerCategoryID=8192&fileName=\school\105\s5_105112_20061128.xml |title=Inspection Report: Calday Grange Grammar School, 6–-7 November 2006 |accessdate=2008-02-10 ]

Geography

The school is situated in a residential area of Wirral close to the Dee Estuary. According to the School's website, pupils come primarily from the Wirral, Deeside and Cheshire areas.cite web |url=http://wwww.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=4460 |title=Calday Grange Grammar School: Information: About the school |accessdate=2008-02-10 ] The main site at the top of Caldy Hill is occupied by the school buildings. Calday has playing fields including 3 functional rugby pitches, a cricket square, and an artificial hockey field (sand based). The school is surrounded by suburban housing development and the woods of Thurstaston and Caldy.

Activity

Academic

In the most recent Ofsted inspection report, 2006, the school scored "outstanding" for its performance.Ibid.] In 2002 ten students were offered University places at Oxford and Cambridge, breaking all previous school records.cite web |url=http://archive.wirralglobe.co.uk/2002/1/16/6711.html |title=New Record |accessdate=2008-02-10 ]

2008 Results

2008 A-level and GCSE results are the best in the school's history. 62% of A-level grades were at grades A or B and 54% of GCSE grades were at A* or A grade.Fact|date=September 2008

Extracurricular

The school is active in sports with pupils competing in local, regional,cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/junior-sport/2007/11/27/schools-cross-country-battle-royale-as-st-anselm-s-take-on-calday-grammar-100252-20165057/ |title=Schools cross-country: Battle royale as St Anselm's take on Calday Grammar |accessdate=2008-02-10] and national competitions.cite web |url=http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/competitions.asp?section=000100010008&competition=00010006000300010001&id=226 |title=England Hockey: National Schools Championship for Boys, 2003-2004 |accessdate=2008-02-10]

There are also a variety of societies and clubs. Drama groups put on school plays, pupils participate in quiz teams, and the school maintains a Combined Cadet Force which won the January 2008 RAF SCOTNINE Area Ground Training Competition.cite web |url=http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupNewsItem.asp?GroupID=3637&NewsID=28872 |title=RAF section win SCOTNINE Area Ground Training Competition |accessdate=2008-02-10]

Pupils have also been involved with various independent entrepreneurial pursuits.cite web |url=http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2007/12/03/calday-grange-students-to-open-own-art-gallery-64375-20194424/ |title=Calday Grange: students to open own art gallery |accessdate=2008-02-10]

According to the school's website, Calday Grammar School maintains exchange links with schools in Russiacite web |url=http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=8191 |title=Calday Grange: Extracurricular Activities: Russian Links |accessdate=2008-02-10] and China.cite web |url=http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=7515 |title=Calday Grange: Extracurricular Activities: China Exchange |accessdate=2008-02-10]

Buildings

The buildings/blocks are named after past headmasters or the subject taught there. The current buildings are:

*The Art building (A) [Including Michael Cross Drama Studio] - Art, General Studies and Drama
*The Business Centre (B) - Business Studies, Economics, Law, Philosophy and General Studies
*The Canteen Extension (C) - Music, General Studies, Canteen seating, Exhibition space
*The Dodd building (D) - Technology, ICT and General Studies
*The E Block (E) - English, General Studies, Careers, Counselling, Wirral Able Child Centre
*The Glasspool building (G) - English, Mathematics, Psychology and General Studies
*The Hawkins building (H) - Modern Foreign Languages, Latin and General Sudies
*The Walker building (W) - Sciences, Geography, History, RE and General Studies
*The Nigel Briers Building (W) - Study Area, English, History, Government and Politics and General studies

Each building has a letter code consisting of the first letter of its name, with the exception of the Briers building, which, for this purpose, is considered an extension of the Walker building. These letters are used to designate room names, for example, the second room (2) on the first floor (1) of the Hawkins building (H) is known as H12.

Houses

The school has three Houses named after past benefactors and headmasters. Members of each house are identified by different coloured stripes on the school tie, or in the case of the 6th form, the colour of their lapel pin or 6th form tie.
*Bennett - Named after Thomas Bennett, House colour blue
*Glegg - Named after William Glegg, House colour red
*Hollowell - Named after Rev. William Hollowell, House colour greenUp until 1994 there was a fourth house, named after Sir Alfred Paton, with gold as its colour. Although Paton House is no more, Sir Alfred's memory is preserved in the naming of Paton Fields, bequeathed by him to the school in 1928.

Famous alumni

* Most Rev. William Bennett Bond (1815-1906), Archbishop of Montreal
* John Bowe - actor, notably as Duggie Ferguson in "Coronation Street" between 1999 and 2002 and as Colonel Feyador in the James Bond film "The Living Daylights", (1987).
* Steve Bower - Setanta presenter and commentator
* Daniel Craig - actor, notably James Bond in "Casino Royale", (2006) and 'XXXX' in "Layer Cake", (2004). His Calday attendance was brief; having joined the Sixth Form to do his A-levels, he quit in 1984 after two weeks, aged 16, when he moved to London to pursue acting.
* Will Foster - Member of pop band The Tears
* Cyril Edward Gourley - Victoria Cross recipient
* Raymond Towers Holmes (1914-2005), Battle of Britain RAF pilot, famous for stopping a German bomber from attacking Buckingham Palace by crashing his Hurricane fighter into it during WWII
* Paul Humphreys - of the group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
* Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy - "Woodbine Willy"; First World War poet - taught at Calday 1905-1907.
* Craig Lindfield - football player at Liverpool F.C.
* Andy McCluskey - of the group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
* David Raven - football player at Carlisle United
* Bill Steer - guitarist in the band Napalm Death from 1987-1989, more well known as a member of grind-pioneers Carcass
* Ray Stubbs - TV presenter on BBC and contestant on the 2007 series of "Comic Relief Does Fame Academy".
* Sir David Weatherall - Oxford physician and editor of the "Oxford Textbook of Medicine"
* Dr. David Wynn-Williams (1946-2002) - leading British astro-biologist, head of the Antarctic astrobiology project at the British Antarctic Survey. [ [http://education.guardian.co.uk/obituary/story/0,,750125,00.html "The Guardian" Obituary] ]
* John Troup (1977-1984), reporter for The Sun, who along with colleague Guy Patrick, broke the story which alleged legendary former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar was a match-fixer.
* Andy Baddeley, British Athlete who took part in the 2008 Olympics. [ [http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/racing/2008/07/17/golden-greats-are-baddeley-s-inspiration-100252-21357021] ]

Headmasters

Further reading

* Protheroe, M. J. (1976) "A History of Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby, 1636-1976", West Kirby: The Parents' Association.

References

External links

* [http://www.calday.wirral.sch.uk/ Official website]
* [http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&t=k&ll=53.368047,-3.161606&spn=0.001527,0.003616&t=k Google Maps view of the school]