Sandbach School is an 11–18 boys free school in

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East borough of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Cheshire, Wheelock. At the 2021 United Kingd ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, north-west England. It was established in 1677 by local philanthropists, including Richard Lea, who donated the land for the school, and Francis Welles, who helped to fund the schoolhouse. It was located at Egerton Lodge, Middlewich Road, before moving into a new set of buildings designed by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

in 1851. Boys are organised into four school houses – Craig, Lea, Ward and Welles, across Years 7–11. In June 2023, 1,509 boys attended the school, with the lower school an entirely boys provision, whilst the sixth form is co–educational. Two-thirds of boys attending the school are from the Sandbach and

Haslington Haslington is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies about north-east of the much larger railway town of Crewe and approximately ...

area, with the remaining third coming from the

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

area. The school is the largest provider of

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

in the area. It became a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in 1945, and a state-funded independent

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 ...

in 1955. It became a state-funded independent school accepting boys of all abilities in 1979, and became one of the country's first free schools in 2011. The current headteacher is Sarah Burns, who assumed the role in 2008.

History

Establishment

A school existed in

as early as 1578, when the York visitation returns referred to a

schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...

in the town. In 1606, the parish register also mentioned a schoolmaster in the town. It was not until 1677, however, when the grammar school was properly founded by Richard Lea, after he gave a piece of land for the schoolhouse. Francis Welles and others paid for the construction of the schoolhouse. In 1718, a deed was drawn up that demonstrated how the school should be managed and gave instructions for the appointment of governors and a master. 20 poor boys of Sandbach were to be educated at the new school, and the second master was likely to have also been the parish curate. By 1816, the school had 60 pupils and was located at Egerton Lodge, Middlewich Road. In 1848, a private act of Parliament, the ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. ''11'' ), was passed that set out how the school should be better managed. An annual salary of £140 was set for the schoolmaster, and of £60 to the second master. From 1849, the school's buildings were replaced by buildings designed in the early English style by

. It entered these new buildings in 1851. By 1890, the school had a laboratory, gymnasium and swimming bath. In 1909, the school acquired eligibility for the Board of Education grants, but in 1945 the government decided that the school should no longer have direct access to these grants. The governors chose independence rather than becoming a local education authority (LEA) school.

Boys day grammar school

The school operated as an independent school until 1955, when it entered into a unique agreement with

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities: Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

that it would maintain its independence and charitable status but operate as the boys' day grammar school in south-east Cheshire. In 1957, to help to alleviate the shortage of grammar school places in south-east Cheshire, the governors agreed with the local education authority to provide 60 places for boys based on residence, not ability. In 1976, these were increased in 180. In the same year, Sandbach School was first listed as a Grade II Listed building. 1979 saw the school enter into a new agreement with the LEA that it would have an all-ability intake of boys from a defined area of south-east Cheshire. In September 2011, Sandbach School became one of the first 24 free schools to open in the country.

School structure

Enrolment

At the last Ofsted inspection, in 2008, the school had 1167 students. In 2011, it was reported the school had 1220 students and was likely to rise to its capacity of 1265 by 2012/13 as a result of "organic growth due to rising demographics". The main primary school feeders to Sandbach School are Sandbach Primary, Wheelock Primary, Haslington Primary, The Dingle Primary, St John's Primary, Elworth Hall Primary, Elworth C of E Primary and Offley Road Primary. There are six other secondary schools and sixth forms in a five-mile radius: Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College, Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School,

Alsager School Alsager School (formerly known as Alsager Comprehensive School) is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school and sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status, located in Alsager in the English county of Cheshire. Locatio ...

, Sir William Stanier School, Middlewich High School and Congleton High School. In Year 10 and Year 11, a range of GCSEs and vocational subjects are offered, and in Sixth Form, the school offers AS-Levels, A-Levels and BTECs. Sandbach School's published admission number (PAN) is 240 pupils per year, a figure which is given to all schools in England in order to determine whether any age group within a school is full or not. Sandbach School commits to admitting up to 24 boys into Year 7 at the school who display aptitude in either Music or Sport. Evidence of this aptitude will be required to be provided via an assessment event, to which all boys who have applied for a place under Priority 2 (Aptitude) will be invited. Boys with brothers, step-brothers or half-brothers living together as part of one household who are already attending Sandbach School and are expected to continue at the school the following school year, or boys with sisters, stepsisters or half-sisters already attending Sandbach High School & Sixth Form College and who expected to continue at Sandbach High School & Sixth Form College the following school year are given the fourth priority for allocation of places at Sandbach School in line with the schools admission policy. Boys whose applications are unsuccessful for a place at Sandbach School will have their name placed on a waiting list for no more than one term after the start of the academic year, regardless of whether their parents decide to appeal the decision of not offering a place at the school to their school. After the one term waiting list agreement, boys named are removed from the waiting list, and parents who wish to remain on the waiting list must reconfirm their interest in writing to the Headteacher.

House System

There are currently four Houses at Sandbach School, which students are grouped into. A student's House can be determined by the colour of the crest on their tie. All houses at Sandbach School compete to win points each year, which determines who will win the House Cup. For a short period of time in the early 1980s, the school had six Houses. These were: Hall (Ward was renamed Hall during this period), Welles, Lea, Craig, Scott and Kent. The House system at Sandbach School suffered somewhat of a crisis during the 1930s, when the school decided to stop admitting boarders to the school, meaning the already diminishing school house became defunct. To compensate for the loss of the school house, the school was divided into four houses of "equal strength". Craig House is named after Ernest Craig began who had a long association with Sandbach School, first as a pupil and latterly as a very involved Old Boy who would become the president of the Old Sandbachians’ Association. Whilst serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Crewe, Craig maintained a strong connection with the school, acting as a Governor and had become involved in the administration of house events and associated awards. Lea house is named after Richard Lea, a local business man who donated a plot of land to educators on Middlewich Road to develop his vision for young boys from poorer backgrounds to have access to education. In 1718, Dr. Charles Ward of Bradwall left a sum of £200 in his Will upon his death, which was stipulated to be used to pay for the board and education of three boys in particular “until they were fit for one of the universities.” These boys became known locally as ‘Ward’s Scholars’ and all went on to study at universities once they had left Sandbach School. To commemorate Ward's gesture and donation to the school, Ward House is named in his honour. Francis Welles, one of the men appointed by Richard Lea to set up the school invested money into the establishment of some of the school’s limited facilities at the time. At this time, children’s education often had to be paid for by donations of local people, Welles left a sum of money in his Will to be split between the school itself, as well as to be given to the local poor. In recognition of his contributions to Sandbach School, a scholarship was established in his name for students who engaged in sports, as well as being honoured by having the school's Welles House named after him.

House colours

Other aspects of provision

Sandbach School Adult Education Department is the largest provider of adult education courses in South Cheshire, offering up to 100 courses on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The school has a wide range of extra-curricular activities including international mentors, reading club, war games club, languages club, many musical ensembles, drama/theatre, Duke of Edinburgh, rock climbing and many sports clubs. There is also a

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

(CCF) contingent based at the school, which offers the vocational qualification of BTEC First Diploma in Public Service, which is worth four GCSEs in conjunction with the school. The contingent is run by Lt Col R.J. Ayres, a former teacher at the school. The school has a number of sports teams, including in

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

, cross country, and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

. The school has had success playing football in the Cheshire Schools FA competitions. In 2017–2018, the school won the U14 Hefin Roberts Cup and the U18 Don Ormes Cup for Schools. Historical results include winning the U18 Don Ormes Cup in 2011–2012, the U13 Redrow Cheshire Cup in 2015–2016, and the U15 Emberton Cup in 2011–2012. In 2017, Sandbach School's U13 cricket team won the U13 Hill Hopkins Trophy of the Cheshire Schools Cricket Association, beating Birkenhead School. In 2015, the school won the U12 Campey Cup, beating King's School, Macclesfield. In 2011, the school won the U14 Lord's Taverners' Cricketer Cup, beating

King's School, Chester The King's School, Chester, is a co-educational private day school for pupils aged 4 to 18. It is one of the seven 'King's Schools' established (or re-endowed and renamed) by King Henry VIII in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monaster ...

. Sandbach School has an international reputation for drama and music, touring to Hong Kong, New Zealand and Brazil, and performing shows in the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

Festival. The school was awarded specialist arts college status in 2006. The school's theatrical director is John Lonsdale (awarded an MBE in the 2014 Queen's New Years Honours list); music is led by John Barber (principal trombonist with Foden's Band). The school's theatrical success led to the founding of a separate theatre group, the Ut Severis Seges Theatre Company (named after the school motto). In Edinburgh, the school's 2004 performances of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' and '' The Madness of King George III'' both garnered 4-star reviews within the fringe press. Following this, in 2006 the performance of the original play ''

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

'', written by former pupil and future teacher Andrew Cargill, was also given a 4-star rating in the magazine ''Three Weeks''. The school also performed

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''. Ut Severis Seges also toured to the

alongside the school theatre group in 2006, with a production of '' Amadeus''. A third tour of the Edinburgh Fringe took place in 2008, costing £20,000, with a new production of ''

Oh! What A Lovely War ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' is a 1969 British epic comedy historical musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth Mo ...

'', which gained a 5-star review, and 4-star performances by the school's Big Band. The Sandbach School Big Band was formed in 2003. It has toured to Boston, USA and Berlin, and also performed at the finals of the National Jazz Festival 'Music for Youth', at Birmingham Conservatoire, and was a finalist at the 2007 National Festival of Music for Youth. In recent years the group has worked with many of the country's leading musicians including

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...

. The Big Band have been winners of the Cheshire East Schools' Music Competition for the past 3 years (2010 to 2012). In 2007 the school hosted the British Youth Film Academy's production of the film ''The School That Roared'', allowing school students a chance to work with film professionals and star in a feature film.

International links

The school is linked to schools across the world. Sandbach School gained the International Schools Award from the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

, it has been granted from September 2007 to September 2010. In October 2007 the senior rugby squad toured Italy. The school band toured in Germany in October 2005, and formed a partnership with Leibniz Oberschule in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Since 2005, an exchange visit to Berlin and regular contact via e-mail and video conferencing has helped Sandbach pupils in their German studies. The school also has a long-term partnership with Fukien Secondary School in

Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

where some pupils performed in October 2006 and again - with a performance of "The King of Denmark" - in 2013. The schools collaborated at the

in an event at the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...

, where a 50-strong group from Fukien met over 100 Sandbach pupils and staff. Former Sandbach pupils have visited Fukien and taught there during their gap year, and a former Sandbach School teacher has also taught at Fukien. Sandbach School has toured to Dover High School in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, sending football tours to

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

to play them and other schools in the area. In October 2004 and October 2007, joint football and music tours were arranged. Additionally, school has links with the National Youth Drama School in New Zealand, and Hugh McRoberts High School, in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Performance

Attainment

Notable former pupils

* Alfred Barratt, barrister and philosopher * Will Cliff,

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 ...

rugby player * Iain Coldham, professor of organic chemistry at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

Vero Charles Driffield Vero Charles Driffield (7 May 1848 – 14 November 1915) was an English chemical substance, chemical engineer who also became involved in photographic research. Driffield was educated at Liverpool Collegiate Institution, Liverpool Collegiate an ...

, chemical engineer * Sir David Eastwood, vice-chancellor of the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

* Paul Franklin,

visual effects supervisor In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the pr ...

* James Gaskell,

Wasps RFC Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in ...

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 ...

rugby player *

Wilton Hack Wilton Hack (21 May 1843 – 27 February 1923) was an Australian artist, traveller, pastor, lecturer and utopist with interests in Theosophy and Eastern cultures. Early life He was born in Echunga, South Australia the son of Stephen Hack and El ...

, Australian artist, pastor, traveller, utopist, and

theosophist Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

* Sol Heras, TV actor * Tom Holmes, Nottingham RFC rugby player * Lee Imiolek, Yorkshire Carnegie rugby player *

Duncan McCargo Duncan McCargo is President's Chair in Global Affairs at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where is also a professor of English (by courtesy). McCargo retains an affiliation with the School of Politics and International Studies at th ...

, professor of political science at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

* Nick Powell, professional footballer * Lee Oakes, TV actor *

Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley (17 February 1930 – 7 April 2009) was a British judge and Advocate General of the European Court of Justice. He particularly specialised in European law. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Early life S ...

, Second Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 2000–2002 *

Nigel Stonier Nigel Stonier (born 10 December 1956) is an English rock, Folk music, roots and pop record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Biography He was born in Cheshire, but first relocated to London when, at the age of 17 he secured a pub ...

, record producer and songwriter * William Tempest, fashion designer *

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English rock singer and musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single "Missing You (John Waite song), Missing You", which reached No. 1 on th ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

broadcaster * Paul Ware, former professional footballer * Peter Warren, archaeologist and emeritus professor at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

* David Wrench (rugby union) player for Harlequins FC and England *

Ewan Ashman Ewan Philip Fraser Ashman (born 3 April 2000) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a Hooker (rugby union), hooker for United Rugby Championship club Edinburgh Rugby. Professional career Club Born in Toronto, Ontario, Ashman st ...

, rugby union player for Sale Sharks and Scotland

External links

Sandbach School
– Official website of Sandbach School
Sandbach School Ofsted Report, 2023
– Latest inspection from

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

, carried out in 2023

References

{{authority control Ancient grammar schools of Cheshire 1677 establishments in England Boys' schools in Cheshire Free schools in England Educational institutions established in the 1670s Secondary schools in the Borough of Cheshire East Schools in Sandbach Listed buildings in Sandbach Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire George Gilbert Scott buildings