Guildford County School (GCS) is a co-educational day school on Farnham Road (
A31),
Guildford,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, 200 metres from Guildford town centre. It has around 1050 students enrolled, including the Sixth Form. It is run by its headmaster Steve Smith.
The school first opened as an all girls Grammar School in 1905. In September 2004, the school was granted
Specialist Music College
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
status, designated by the
Department for Education and Skills.
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme.
Early years and education
Julian ...
and
Howard Goodall are patrons of the school. The school was then granted academy status in 2013.
History
Grammar school
The school opened the gates in 1905 at its first premises on Nightingale Road and then moved in 1906 to its current site at Farnham Road. A Block is the oldest building and more buildings were added during the following sixty-nine years.
Comprehensive
In 1977, the girls' grammar school became a mixed 11-18 comprehensive school. Between 1977 and 1979, a second teaching block was built together with another gymnasium (the 'New Gym').
The school became grant-maintained in September 1990 and three years later a three-storey building named "Cobbett Block" after the former Chairman of Governors was opened by the then MP David Howell alongside the Headmaster David Smith. The school became a Foundation School in 2000 and an Academy School in 2013.
Notable former pupils
*
Gina Radford, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England (2015 to 2019)
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Secondary schools in Surrey
Academies in Surrey
Schools in Guildford
Specialist music colleges in England