Earls Colne Grammar School was 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 ...

Earls Colne Earls Colne is a village in Essex, England named after the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, on which it stands, and the Earls of Oxford who held the manor of Earls Colne from before 1086 to 1703. History Manor of Earls Colne In the time of ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England that was founded in 1520 and closed in 1975.

History

Foundation

Earls Colne Grammar School was founded in 1520 when Christopher Swallow, vicar of Messing endowed land in trust to the

Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. De Vere family, His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half cen ...

, the income from which was to support a schoolmaster to teach Latin to thirty boys. In 1673 the last

sold the school estates to members of the Cressener family, who thereby became patrons of the school. Under a succession of clergymen-headmasters the school had achieved a high reputation by the mid 18th century, but the majority of pupils were the fee paying sons of local minor gentry. As a result the patron decided to change the school from curriculum from a classical based one to one giving an elementary education in reading, writing and accounts which, he maintained, would be more useful to the local boys for whose benefit the school had been endowed. This situation remained until the school was closed in 1837 after an investigation by the

Charity Commission The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...

revealed evidence of mis-management. It re-opened in 1843 under a new scheme by which the estates were transferred to eleven trustees drawn from the local clergy and gentry. It was still called a Free Grammar School but fees of 6d a week were charged and the thirty pupils were given a clerks education up to the age of 14 only. In 1868 the Taunton Commission, investigating endowed grammar schools, was in turn critical of the 1843 scheme. A site for a permanent building was bought in 1876 and plans to amalgamate several local educational charities and establish a central Colne Valley School in Halstead were defeated by local opposition. In 1883 the school was temporarily closed to allow funds to accumulate. A new scheme was drawn up to provide a grammar school education on modern and scientific lines and building began in 1892.

New buildings

In 1904 a master's house, boarding house, laboratories and other buildings had been added, towards the cost of which Reuben Hunt contributed more than £6,000. When Halstead Grammar School was converted to a girls' school its boys were transferred to Earls Colne bringing the numbers up to 90. By 1926 there were 135 boys on the roll but the numbers dropped alarmingly during the depression. A new policy adopted in 1935 whereby the school was to adopt an agricultural bias arrested the decline.

Voluntary control

By the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Histori ...

the school chose

Voluntary controlled A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy th ...

status and the County development plan envisaged it as a school for 150 boys aged 11 to 18 with places for 30 boarders.

Closure

In fact numbers continued to grow as facilities and curriculum were extended and reached 230 by 1958. However the school was closed in July 1975 through the re-organisation of County schools on comprehensive lines, being merged with various other local schools into The Ramsey School (now

The Ramsey Academy The Ramsey Academy is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status, located in Halstead, Essex, England. History In 1975 three local schools, including Earls Colne Grammar School, Halstead ...

) in Halstead.

Notable Schoolmasters

* Thomas Shepard (1627–35) * Ralph Josselin 1650-1658 * Dave Wallis 1970-1975

Notable Former Pupils

* Reuben Hunt * Martyn King b.1937, professional footballer

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

from 1956-1968. Scorer of most league goals for the club. Total aggregate 130. * Sir Ronald Long, President of the

Law Society of England and Wales The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

from 1963-4 * Dr Franklyn Perring PhD OBE, b.1927 d.2003, botanist, conservationist and author who was first Director of the

Biological Records Centre The Biological Records Centre (BRC) established in 1964, is a national focus in the United Kingdom, UK for terrestrial and fresh water species recording. The term "biological records centre" is also used in the context of local centres, now frequ ...

and President of the

Botanical Society of the British Isles The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) is a scientific society for the study of flora, plant distribution and taxonomy relating to Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The society was founded as the Botani ...

from 1993-199

* Prof Richard Smith, Professor of Historical Geography and Demography at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

since 2003 * Roy Ullyett OBE, b.1914 d.2001, sports Cartoonist with the

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

and a founder member of the British Cartoonists' Associationbr>

References

* Merson, A.D, A History of Earls Colne Grammar School

External links

British History Online - Victoria County History

Old Colonians Association
{{authority control Defunct schools in Essex Defunct grammar schools in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1975 Educational institutions established in the 1520s 1520 establishments in England 1975 disestablishments in England Earls Colne