Audenshaw School
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Audenshaw School is an 11–16 all-boys secondary school in
Audenshaw Audenshaw is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester. Historically part of Lancashire, in 2011 it had a population of 11,419. The name derives from Aldwin, a Saxon personal name, and the Old English suffix ''shagh' ...
, Greater Manchester, England. Originally, the school was known as Audenshaw Grammar School when established, and it opened to boys on 29th July 1932 with an enrolment of 300 boys. By January 2025, 1,136 boys attended the school.


History


Audenshaw Grammar School for Boys

On 29 July 1932, Audenshaw Grammar School for Boys was opened, providing facilities for 300 pupils. "The school officially opened on Saturday July 23rd at 3.00 pm when the contractors handed the keys to County Alderman J. T. Travis Clegg DL JP. The school remained open until 7:00 pm for inspection by the general public. On 13 September 1932, seventy-six boys walked through the gates of a brand new Grammar School on Hazel Street Audenshaw." The first Head Master was John Lord, who was in charge until 1953. He was followed by Ronald Porter, who had joined the school from
Stretford Grammar School Stretford Grammar School is a grammar school in Stretford, in the Trafford borough of Greater Manchester, England, located on a 15-acre plot. Admissions The school includes a sixth form and years 7 to 11. Almost two-thirds of pupils are from mi ...
. Kenneth Exley became Headmaster in 1961, having previously been Headmaster at the Creighton School for Boys in Carlisle.


World War II

A number of old boys and a master were killed during active service during World War II. Their names are remembered on the Roll of Honour in the main hall, which carries the inscription "Remember with Pride and Gratitude": * E T Alwood RN * W Bradley RA (a master) * L Carr MN * H W Cooper RAF * T Cusack MN * E Davy RAC * A B Fawcett RAF * E J Hartley RAF * J L Harvey MN * J Heyworth RAF * W Hooper RAF * K Howard RAF * J Key RAF * D J Kilner RAF * A E Leach RAF * C C Procter RAF * D Ryan RAF * F T M Sidebotham RAF * P S Thomas RAF * J D Thornton RAF


Post–World War II

The Queen Mother visited the school in 1959 to present colours to the Manchester Regiment. In 1981, Graham Locke OBE succeeded Exley as Head Master. Locke was Head Master until his sudden death in 1994; the school's sports hall is named in his memory. Locke was later appointed to the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
for his role for services to education. Alan Crompton was Head Master from 1994 to 2005, whereupon he retired. Crompton had previously worked at
Copley High School Copley High School is a public high school in Copley Township, just west of Akron, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Copley–Fairlawn City School District and competes athletically in the American Division of the Suburban L ...
in
Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...
. When Crompton retired he was succeeded by Stephen Turner, who joined the school having been Head at Golborne High School in
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
– he retired in 2012. In 2017 former headteacher Janette Saw left her role. The current head master is Peter Taylor who has been in charge since 2018. On 30th April 2025, it was announced that Peter Taylor would leave his role at the end of the 2024/25 academic year. A new headteacher is yet to be announced and will be selected by the start of the 2025/26 academic year. In the mid-1960s, pupils of Audenshaw Grammar School formed a branch of the Peak Forest Canal Restoration Society. Founding members W. Lear, N. Markham, and W. Morgan began their efforts in the summer of 1965 with the objective of cleaning, restoring and reopening the then derelict
Ashton Canal The Ashton Canal is a canal in Greater Manchester, England, linking Manchester with Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside. Route The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18  locks, ...
. Successful in their ambitious aim, the canal was eventually reopened on 13 May 1974 by Denis Howel, then Member of Parliament for Birmingham Small Heath and the Minister for Sport.. Audenshaw Grammar School lost its sixth form in the late 1970s due to ‘reorganisation’ within the LEA. However, an adjoining
sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...
was opened in 1997, the same year the school was granted
foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the school governor, governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in Community school (England and Wales), community schools. Foundation schools ...
status but this time it was co-educational rather than single-sex, gaining fairly mixed results. The school became a fully comprehensive school in the late 1970s. In 1989, Audenshaw became one of the first Grant Maintained (GM) schools in England under the leadership of Locke and the then Chair of Governors T. Hall. The school had faced the threat of a merger and then closure. The LEA attempted to sell the school land but a High Court ruling overturned this action. The school opted out of LEA control in 1988; parents voted for the maintenance – 86% of those eligible voted; 91% of them voting in favour of the school receiving grant maintenance. This followed the Parents Action Group campaign. Since then the school has grown and has become one of the most popular schools in Tameside. Mr T Hall was awarded the MBE for services to Education and he remains the Chair of Governors. In 1999, Audenshaw School won the inaugural – and only – schools' series of
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's daytime quiz show ''
Fifteen to One ''Fifteen to One'' is a British general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4. It originally ran from 11 January 1988 to 19 December 2003 and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's original run ...
''. In 2007, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary with a visit by the Princess Royal who officially opened the Sixth Form extension.


Audenshaw School (Academy status)

Audenshaw School converted to academy status in September 2010. The sixth form was announced to close in 2018. It has now been changed into the school’s maths department.


Noted alumni

;Sporting * Eric Evans (1921–1991): captained England's rugby team * Danny Hall (b. 1983): Professional footballer who has played for Gretna,
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
and
Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...
among others. * John O'Driscoll (b. 1953): Ireland international and British Lions rugby player of the 1970s and 1980s * Stephen Parry: (b. 1986)
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
cricketer. *
Zach Clough Zach Paul John Clough (born 8 March 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or striker for Adelaide United. Clough started his career at Bolton Wanderers, having played for them since the age of eight. H ...
(b. 1995): Professional footballer currently playing for
Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...
. Who has previously played for
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
,
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
and
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
among others. * Dean Schofield (b. 1979): plays professional rugby for
Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...
and England Saxons (England A) * James Tunnicliffe (b. 1989): Professional footballer currently playing for
Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
. * Gene Ormsby (b. 1992): Former professional rugby player ;Other *Robert Shakespeare (b 1982): Designer of Olympic weightlifting 50p. * Mark Hunter (b. 1957): MP for Cheadle since 2005 *
Mick Hucknall Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year caree ...
(b. 1960): lead singer of the band
Simply Red Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...
* Sir Alexander Markham: Professor of Medicine at the University of Leeds, Director of the Molecular Medicine Institute at St James's University Hospital *
Col Needham Colin Needham (born 26 January 1967) is an English computer scientist who founded the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). He was its chief executive officer from its creation in 1990 until 2025, when he stepped down and instead took a role as its ex ...
(b. 1967): Founder and CEO of
IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
* Sir Ralph Riley (1924–1999):
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
and
geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

*


External links


Audenshaw School Website
{{authority control Boys' schools in Greater Manchester Academies in Tameside Educational institutions established in 1932 1932 establishments in England Secondary schools in Tameside Audenshaw