Poltair School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

secondary school located on the site of the former St Austell Grammar School in

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell was ...

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 ...

, England.

Admissions

It has

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

al links with schools in Dithmarchen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, notably the Gymnasium Heide-Ost. It has also had links with Collège des Quatre Vents in

Lanmeur Lanmeur (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. A hamlet in the commune called Kerouac () has been established as the source of the name of the American writer Jack Kerouac. A street in Lanmeur has be ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

, France.

History

Grammar school

It was founded in 1907.

Comprehensive

It became comprehensive in 1971, at the same time that it lost its sixth form. St Austell Sixth Form College was built at the same time next to the Mid-Cornwall College of Further Education on Palace Road. These merged in 1993 to form St Austell College, opposite the school. In 2007, Poltair School held its centenary, which included guided tours of the school, a service at St John's Methodist Church, and celebrations at St Austell's

Eden Project The Eden Project ( kw, Edenva) is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, UK. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay clay pit, pit, located from the town of St Blazey and from the larger town of St Austell.Ordnanc ...

Academy

In September 2019 Poltair School converted to academy status and is now sponsored by the Cornwall Education & Learning Trust.

Buildings

The school has recently undergone a £5 million redevelopment programme, which included a new main hall, dining hall, radio studio, and dance/drama facilities, amongst other additions. The school launched a full student radio station, Inferno Radio, in 2004. This is no longer running.

Academic performance

The school's GCSE pass rate increased 16% in the 2 years up until July 2007. However its GCSE pass rate is well below the England average, and the second lowest in Cornwall (above Redruth School).

Notable former pupils

Steve Double Stephen Daniel Double (born 19 December 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Austell and Newquay since 2015. He has been serving as a junior Lord Commissioner of the Treasury since ...

, Conservative MP since 2015 for St Austell and Newquay * Steve Baker, Conservative MP since 2010 for Wycombe

St Austell County Grammar School

* Robert Duncan, actor *

Felicity Goodey Felicity Margaret Sue Goodey (born 1949) is a former BBC journalist and presenter. She was a leading figure in the redevelopment of Salford Quays, including The Lowry and MediaCityUK. Early life Goodey attended St Austell Grammar School then r ...

CBE DL, former presenter on Radio 4 and ''

BBC North West Tonight ''BBC North West Tonight'' is the BBC's regional television news programme covering North West England and the Isle of Man. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 1.30pm (as ''North West Today''), 6.30pm and 10.30pm, with shorte ...

'' * Sir

Laurence Martin Sir Laurence Woodward Martin (30 July 1928 – 24 April 2022) was a British academic who was the vice-chancellor of Newcastle University from 1978 to 1990. Life and career Martin was born on 30 July 1928 in Cornwall. Educated at St Austell Gram ...

, Vice-Chancellor from 1978 to 1990 of

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...

, and gave the BBC's

Reith Lecture The Reith Lectures is a series of annual BBC radio lectures given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on Radio 4 and the World Service. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic con ...

in 1981. *

John Nettles John Vivian Drummond Nettles, OBE, (born 11 October 1943) is an English actor and author. He is best known for his starring roles as detectives in the crime drama television series '' Bergerac'' (1981–1991) in the title role, and ''Midsomer Mu ...

, actor *

A. L. Rowse Alfred Leslie Rowse (4 December 1903 – 3 October 1997) was a British historian and writer, best known for his work on Elizabethan England and books relating to Cornwall. Born in Cornwall and raised in modest circumstances, he was encourag ...

, academic and author. *

Robin Skynner Robin Skynner (16 August 1922 in Cornwall–24 September 2000 in Islington, London) was a psychiatric pioneer and innovator in treating mental illness. As a young man during World War II, Skynner was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who flew the ...

, psychiatrist, known for 1983 book ''

Families and How to Survive Them ''Families and How to Survive Them'' is a bestselling self-help book co-authored by the psychiatrist and psychotherapist Robin Skynner and the comedian John Cleese. It was first published in 1983, and is illustrated throughout by the cartoonis ...

'' *

L. H. C. Tippett Leonard Henry Caleb Tippett (8 May 1902 – 9 November 1985), known professionally as L. H. C. Tippett, was an English statistician. Tippett was born in London but spent most of his early life in Cornwall and attended St Austell County Gramma ...

, statistician *

David Tremlett David Tremlett (born 13 February 1945 in St Austell, Cornwall) is an English/Swiss sculptor, installation artist and photographer. He lives and works in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England. He is married to Laure Genillard who runs an art space in ...

, artist *

Fred Trethewey Frederick Martyn Trethewey (born 24 January 1949) was the Archdeacon of Dudley until his retirement in September 2013. Trethewey was educated at St Austell Grammar School and Bedford College, London. He was ordained in 1978 '' Crockford's Cleric ...

, former

Archdeacon of Dudley The Archdeacon of Dudley is one of two archdeacons in the Anglican Diocese of Worcester, England (the other being the Archdeacon of Worcester). History The archdeaconry of Dudley was created by Order in Council on 11 February 1921 from the Worcest ...

Edward Rowe (actor) Edward Rowe is a Cornish actor, known for the lead role as a struggling fisherman in the BAFTA-winning film Bait and for the ''Kernow King'' character. Early life Rowe is from Roche in Cornwall where he started his standup routine and YouTube ...

, Cornish comedian and theatre actor (AKA:Kernow King)

References

Sources

* ''The Times'' Monday 30 October 1972, page 12

External links

EduBase
{{authority control Secondary schools in Cornwall Academies in Cornwall Educational institutions established in 1907 St Austell 1907 establishments in England