Calderstones School is an English

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

located opposite Calderstones Park on Harthill Road in the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

suburb of Allerton. The school was founded in 1921 as Quarry Bank High School for Boys and its first intake of 225 pupils was on 11 January 1922. The first headmaster of the school was R. F. Bailey (an old Etonian), who formed the school on the principles of public school houses. Subsequently, the first year boys' house was named Bailey. The current headteacher is Lee Ratcliffe. The school has several notable former pupils, including music producer

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...

, the architect Sir James Stirling, Count William-Alexander of Monpezat, a member of the Danish Royal family, and founding

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

member

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

. Lennon's band with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

, before settling on the name The Beatles, were earlier formed under the name The Quarrymen, inspired by a line from the Quarry Bank school song. Lennon, at age 16, had formed that group with several friends from the school.

History

In September 1967, Quarry Bank High School for Boys merged with neighbouring Calder High School for Girls (a girls' grammar school, also on Harthill Road) and nearby Morrison Boys' Secondary Modern, and adopted the name Quarry Bank Comprehensive School. The same year saw the abolition of the school's house system, whereby the pupils were divided between Mersey, Esmeduna, Wavertree, Sefton, Allerton, Childwall, Aigburth and Woolton houses. In 1985, the school merged with Aigburth Vale High School, Aigburth, which led to the school operating at four sites with 1,800 pupils; it was also then that it adopted its current name. Aigburth Vale was previously a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

with around 600 girls. In 1989, the school divested itself of its Aigburth and Morrison facilities, retaining only the original Calder House and Quarry Bank estates. A new building to replace the Morrison wing was built within the existing school site. The former Morrison site is now home to a

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

superstore on Mather Avenue in Allerton. The site of Aigburth Vale High School was redeveloped as flats.

Refurbishment

In 2001, the school underwent a major refurbishment as part of a

Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...

scheme. The entire site was overhauled, with the old Calder Wing largely demolished, leaving only Calder House which now houses the

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

. A new Arts Wing was built to house the English, MFL, Arts and Music departments. The former Quarry Wing was divided into two separate buildings. One is Quarry House which houses the ICT and History departments, and the main office for the school. The main classroom core of the Quarry Wing is now known as the Science Wing and houses a large number of science labs. The school was awarded 'Specialist Science Status' in 2001, which allows it to provide first class science facilities for its pupils.

Notable former pupils

Quarry Bank High School for Boys

* John Ashton, academic in public health, Regional Director of Public Health for North-West England *Rt. Rev.

Jonathan Bailey Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor known for his dramatic, comedic, and musical roles on List of Jonathan Bailey performances, stage and screen. List of awards and nominations received by Jonathan Bailey, His accola ...

, Bishop of Derby from 1995 to 2005 *

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...

, film writer, director and producer (''

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker in his directorial debut. Based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart'', the film's plot concerns a mystical puzzle box that summons the ...

'', '' Candyman''), books (''

Weaveworld ''Weaveworld'' is a 1987 dark fantasy novel by English writer Clive Barker. It is about a magical world, known as the Fugue, which has been hidden inside a carpet to safeguard it from both inquisitive humans and hostile supernatural foes. Two h ...

'', ''

The Hellbound Heart ''The Hellbound Heart'' is a horror novella by Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of its ''Night Visions (book series), Night Visions'' anthology series. The story features a hedonist criminal ac ...

''), comic books ('' Razorline'') and video games ('' Clive Barker's Undying'', ''

Clive Barker's Jericho ''Clive Barker's Jericho'' is a horror first-person shooter video game developed by MercurySteam and Alchemic Productions and published by Codemasters. It is produced by Clive Barker. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation ...

'') * Brian Barwick, chief executive of

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

from 2005 to 2008 *

David Basnett David Basnett, Baron Basnett (9 February 1924 – 25 January 1989) was a British trade union leader. Born in Liverpool, Basnett studied at Quarry Bank High School before becoming a bank clerk. He served as a pilot with the Royal Air Force du ...

, trade union leader * Michael Batty, Bartlett Professor of Planning at University College London *

Stephen Bayley Stephen Paul Bayley (born 13 October 1951) is a Welsh writer and critic, known particularly for his commentary on architecture and design. He was founding CEO of the Design Museum in London in 1989, and has been a regular architecture, art and ...

, architecture writer and chief executive of the

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

from 1986 to 1989 *Edmund (Ted) Bellamy, professor of Physics at

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

, London from 1960 to 1984 *

Doug Bradley Douglas William Bradley (born 7 September 1954) is an English actor best known for his role as the Cenobite leader Pinhead in the ''Hellraiser'' film series. Early life Douglas William Bradley was born in Liverpool on 7 September 1954. He ...

, actor, who played the 'Pinhead' character in ''

'' * Peter Cheeseman, theatre director, pioneer of theatre-in-the-round and documentary drama * Steve Coppell, footballer and football manager *

Les Dennis Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor and comedian. He presented '' Family Fortunes'' from 1987 to 2002. Early life Dennis was born as Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liv ...

, comedian and TV personality * Alan Deyermond, professor of Spanish at Queen Mary and Westfield College, London from 1969 to 1997 * Peter Goldsmith (Lord Goldsmith of Allerton), who was appointed as the Labour government's

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

in 2001 *

, rock musician, singer/songwriter, author and peace activist, and one of the founding members of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

(Lennon named his first band

The Quarrymen The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...

, after the school's original name) *

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, archdeacon of North-West Europe from 1982 to 1993 *

Derek Nimmo Derek Robert Nimmo (19 September 1930 – 24 February 1999) was an English character actor, producer and author. He is best remembered for his comedic upper class "silly ass" and clerical roles, including Revd Mervyn Noote in the BBC1 sitcom ...

, actor * Joe Royle, footballer and football manager * Labour cabinet ministers Peter Shore and Bill Rodgers, who adopted the name "Quarry Bank" as part of his baronial title * Leo Skeete, footballer in the 1970s and 1980s *Sir James Stirling, architect

Calder High School for Girls

* Margaret Ursula Jones, archaeologist * Judith Kelly, artistic director of London's

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

and Master of

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

from 2025 * Diana Walford, haematologist and Principal of

Mansfield College, Oxford Mansfield College, Oxford is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The college was founded in Birmingham in 1838 as a college for Nonconformist students. It moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield Coll ...

from 2002 to 2011

Aigburth Vale High School for Girls

* Kate Ellis, crime fiction author *

Bel Mooney Beryl Ann "Bel" Mooney (born 8 October 1946) is an English journalist and broadcaster. She currently writes a column for the ''Daily Mail'', having previously written – mainly as a columnist – for other publications including the ''Daily Mirro ...

(briefly), journalist * Elisabeth Sladen, actress (''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'')

Quarry Bank Comprehensive School

* Susan Bickley, mezzo-soprano and opera singer *

(Sixth Form), songwriter * Andy Merrifield, urban theorist * John Power, former member of the band

the La's The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike ...

and founding member of

Cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

Calderstones Community Comprehensive School

*Marcus Holden, international rugby player, Cyprus Rugby National Team * Geoff Rowley, skateboarder, co-owner of Flip Skateboards *"Zombina" and "Doc Horror", musicians in Zombina and the Skeletones

References

External links

* {{authority control Secondary schools in Liverpool Educational institutions established in 1921 1921 establishments in England Community schools in Liverpool