Redruth Grammar School in

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan a ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, was a boys school between 1907 and 1976.

History

The school was opened on 5 October 1907 by General Sir

Redvers Buller General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...

. It was originally built to accommodate 150 pupils and to serve the

Camborne Camborne ( kw, Kammbronn) is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth, Cornwall, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove ...

area, extending from

Gwithian Gwithian ( kw, Godhyan) is a coastal village in west Cornwall, England. It is three miles (5 km) north-east of Hayle and four miles (6.5 km) east of St Ives, Cornwall across St Ives Bay. Gwithian is in the civil parish of Gwinear-Gwit ...

in the west to St. Agnes in the east and south to villages such as

St Day St Day ( kw, Sen Day) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated between the village of Chacewater and the town of Redruth. The electoral ward St Day and Lanner had a population at the 2011 census of 4,473 ...

and Troon. (Girls from this same area attended

Camborne Grammar School Camborne Grammar School in Camborne, Cornwall, was a girls' grammar school between 1908 and 1976. Origins In 1877 Redbrooke College for young ladies was founded at Redbrooke House on Camborne Hill. There were about 20 boarders and also day girls ...

). On 23 May 1921, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales visited the school, and was presented to all the children and ex-servicemen of the neighbourhood. The school had a tuck shop run by "old Buck". In 1973 the new art block was opened by the

Secretary of State for Education and Science The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

Merger

In 1976, the school merged with the nearby Tolgus Secondary School to create

Redruth School Redruth School is a secondary school in Redruth, Cornwall, England, for pupils aged 11 to 16. It was formed in 1976 by the merger of Redruth Grammar School and Tolgus Secondary School. The sports fields of the school are also used as a venue ...

, and served as the "West Park" section of the school until 2002, when a new building was constructed nearer the Tolgus site.

Subsequent use of site

The buildings remained disused until 2006 when the site of the old Redruth Grammar School was handed over to the Cornwall Arts Centre Trust. The buildings have now been completely renovated and extended, and are now used as an arts hub for creative businesses.

Notable former pupils

* Peter Bayley (1944-2018), scholar of French literature. *

Ronald Bottrall (Francis James) Ronald Bottrall (2 September 1906, Camborne, Cornwall – 25 June 1989) was a Cornish poet. He was praised highly by F.R. Leavis, Anthony Burgess and Martin Seymour-Smith, and deprecated by Ian Hamilton and Martin Amis. Bottral ...

, poet *

Rory McGrath Patrick Rory McGrath (born 17 March 1956) is a British comedian, television personality, and writer. He came to prominence in the comedy show '' Who Dares Wins'' and was a regular panellist on the game show '' They Think It's All Over'' for ma ...

, comedian * Peter Rickard, Fellow, Emmanuel College, Cambridge * D. M. Thomas, Cornish poet, translator, novelist, editor, biographer and playwright

Headmasters

* T. Shopland (1907-1931) * F. W. Weatherill (1931-1964) * A. S. Worrall (1964-1967) * Arthur Parkes (1967-1976)

References

{{authority control Defunct schools in Cornwall Defunct grammar schools in England Educational institutions established in 1907 Educational institutions disestablished in 1976 1907 establishments in England 1976 disestablishments in England Redruth