Thomas Adams School is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school boarding school and sixth form in Wem, Shropshire, England. The school takes pupils from ages 11–18 and currently has just over 1,400 on roll. The school has the Schools for Health Award and in 2002 obtained Media Arts College status.

History

The school was founded in 1650 by Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet, Sir Thomas Adams, the Lord Mayor of London in 1645, who was described by the diarist Samuel Pepys as a "comely old alderman". He was a Sheriff of London, Master of the Company of Drapers and an Member of Parliament, MP. He was a staunch royalist, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his royalist sympathies but was later sent by Parliament to the Hague in 1660 to wait upon Charles II of England, King Charles II who was about to be Restoration (England), restored to the throne. He also paid for the Bible to translated into Persian language, Persian. Adams Grammar School merged with Wem Secondary Modern School in 1976 to form Adams School, later named Thomas Adams School. In March 2020 the school joined The Priory School, Shrewsbury, The Priory Trust. The Priory Trust was renamed to the 3-18 Trust. The school is rated (in 2014 and 2017) by Ofsted to be good. The school has a strong connection with the Drapers Company, an ancient London guild who nominate two governors to sit on the school's governing body. The Drapers Company is well known for its educational connections and charitable contributions, it helps support a number of schools and universities which have historical links with the company.

Notable staff

*Samuel Garbet, topographer and local historian of Wem, was second master at Wem Grammar School 1712-42, retiring after declining the school headship.

Notable alumni

Although there is no active alumni association, over 1,400 ex-pupils of Adams Grammar School, Wem Modern School, Adams School and Thomas Adams School are members of the Facebook group ''Adams School Wem Nostalgia Group''.Link to Adams School Wem Nostalgia Group on Facebook
/ref> Notable past-pupils of the Thomas Adams School include:

Wem Grammar School

*Peter Jones (actor) *Sandy Lyle, golfer *Henry Maddocks (politician), Sir Henry Maddocks, lawyer/politician *Sir Charles Warren, General Sir Charles Warren *John Bickerton Williams, Sir John Bickerton Williams, lawyer, nonconformist historian

Thomas Adams School

*Greg Davies, comedian *Paul Jones (footballer, born 1967), Paul Jones, footballer *Neil Thomas (gymnast)

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in Shropshire Educational institutions established in the 1650s 1650 establishments in England Boarding schools in Shropshire Academies in Shropshire Wem