Tadcaster Grammar School founded in 1557, 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 A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and

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 ...

located near

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England, educating children aged 11–18 years old, and has an on-site

. The school is located in the hamlet of Toulston just outside the brewery town of

. The school's catchment includes

and its surrounding villages, while traditionally taking pupils from the

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

area, including villages such as

Appleton Roebuck Appleton Roebuck is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. The village is about south-west of York. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Holme Green and Nun Appleton, and covers an area of around . The parish ...

Copmanthorpe Copmanthorpe () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of York in the English county of North Yorkshire, south-west of York, west of Bishopthorpe and close to Acaster Malbis, Askham Bryan and Askham Richard. Accord ...

Bishopthorpe Bishopthorpe is a village and civil parish three miles south of York in the City of York Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Bishopthorpe is ...

and

Bilbrough Bilbrough () is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, south-west of York, and just outside the York city boundary. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 319 increasing to 348 at the 2011 census. ...

History

The school was founded in 1557 by

Owen Oglethorpe Owen Oglethorpe ( – 31 December 1559) was an English academic and Bishop of Carlisle, 1557–1559. Childhood and Education Oglethorpe was born in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England (where he later founded a school), the third son of George Ogl ...

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The Episcop ...

, as a boys' school in

. It merged with Dawson's Girls' School in 1906 In 1955, as a

bilateral school In England, a partially selective school is one of a few dozen state-funded secondary schools that select a proportion of their intake by ability or aptitude, permitted as a continuation of arrangements that existed prior to 1997. Though treate ...

it first admitted comprehensive students around Tadcaster, while continuing to select academic students from more distant parts of its catchment. It was one of the first comprehensive schools in the country. By 1956, the school had become too big for its Tadcaster premises and started to expand into the current location when

West Riding County Council West Riding County Council (WRCC) was the county council of the administrative county of the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1 April 1889 to 31 March 1974. The council met at County Hall in Wakefield. The county council had jurisdiction over the ...

acquired Toulston Lodge just outside the town. Initially, rooms in the Lodge were converted to classrooms and laboratories. It remained a two site school until 1959/60 when it moved wholly to purpose-built new buildings at Toulston.

John Smith's Brewery John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s. The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth ...

absorbed the Tadcaster site. As of 2024, Toulston Lodge retains its original fireplaces and skylight with wooden elephant surround. It is claimed the house belonged to

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

. Since 2000, new school buildings added include a science block,

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

and an extension to the design technology block. In addition, a new sixth-form block was constructed which also houses

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

classrooms, and there is a new entrance area with three business classrooms. Overall it includes three business rooms, one law room, three computer rooms, two science classrooms and three religious education rooms. In 2020, the religious education classrooms were converted to life skills classrooms, as the former rooms were moved to be closer to other humanities. During the summer of 2006 a new entrance was built with automatic doors, a new disabled ramp was built for access to the science block and a new path was built along the school car park to the pottery shed. Also, during summer 2009, a new disabled ramp was built for access into the English temporary buildings. New wooden fencing was added in and around the school car park. Another addition to the school was a wooden sculpture at the entrance. This was erected in memory of the fallen Old Tree, formerly a school landmark since the change of site in 1960. The school became a specialist

Business and Enterprise College Business and Enterprise Colleges (BECs) were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in England. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields. Schools that successfully applied to the Specialist Sch ...

in 2003 and received High Performing Specialist School Status in 2007, with the school achieving some of the best

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

and

A-Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

results in the county of

. In May 2012 the school received an

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 ...

rating of 'Good' overall, with 'Outstanding' behaviour and safety of pupils. The school has retained its name but is now a

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 ...

. Originally under the grammar school system, pupils who failed their

11-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

exam would have attended Wetherby Secondary Modern School. Since

is now in the district of Selby and

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

is in the

City of Leeds Leeds, also known as the City of Leeds, is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Gar ...

, it is a difficult and

bureaucratic Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

process to educate pupils on the opposite side of the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

line to where they live. The school is most commonly organised through horizontal year group forms, dictated by the five houses. The houses include the established houses of Oglethorpe and Dawson, named after the two merging schools' founders, Fairfax, after the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

commander-in-chief and alumnus

Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

and Calcaria, the Roman name for

, and Toulston, whose name was selected by pupils. Another house, Wharfe, previously existed but was removed at the end of the 2019/2020 academic year; it was introduced at the same time as Toulston and was also named by students. Previously a community school administered by

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the ...

, in May 2018 Tadcaster Grammar School converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by The STAR Multi Academy Trust. Since 2019, the

headteacher A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

has been Andrew Parkinson.

Houses

School houses, into which the pupils of Tadcaster Grammar School are divided, are: * Oglethorpe House – after

, and founder of the school in 1557. Green * Dawson House – after Dawson's Girls' School, with which Tadcaster Grammar School was merged. Yellow * Fairfax House – after

commander-in-chief and alumnus

. Blue * Calcaria House – after the Roman name for

. Red * Toulston House – after school building Toulston Lodge, former residence of

. Orange

Former pupils

Alumni of Tadcaster Grammar School are referred to as 'Old Tadites'. Some notable 'Tadites' include: *

Ruby Barker Ruby Barker (born 23 December 1996) is a British actress. She is best known for playing Marina in the Netflix period drama ''Bridgerton'' (2020–2022). She was awarded Best Actress at the British Urban Film Festival for her starring role in the ...

– actress *

Ed Bicknell Ed Bicknell is a British music manager and drummer, best known for managing rock band Dire Straits, as well as Mark Knopfler, Gerry Rafferty, Bryan Ferry, Scott Walker and The Blue Nile. Career Ed Bicknell (born 1948, Yorkshire) was Chairman ...

– musician *

Paul Blomfield Paul Christopher Blomfield (born 25 August 1953) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Central from 2010 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Uni ...

– politician * David Brown – footballer *

Aidan Butterworth Aidan Butterworth (born 7 November 1961) is an English former professional footballer who played for Leeds United and Doncaster Rovers. Earlier in his career, he played for England's U15 and U18 teams. In later life, he was associated with Tor ...

– footballer * Lewis Cook – international footballer *

Jon Craig Jon Craig is the Chief Political Correspondent of Sky News, the 24-hour television news service operated by Sky (UK and Ireland), Sky Television, part of British Sky Broadcasting. He has occupied this position since July 2006.Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron – English Civil War commander-in-chief * Mark Ford – footballer *

Glamour of the Kill Glamour of the Kill (sometimes abbreviated as GOTK) were an English metalcore band from York. They had a Kerrang! video of the week with the track "Feeling Alive". History "Glamour of the Kill" were formed in January 2007. They take their na ...

– heavy rock band *

Grammatics Grammatics were a British alternative rock band from Leeds, England, predominantly influenced by British bands of the 1990s such as Blur, Pulp, and Suede. The band also quotes the following musical influences: Cursive, My Bloody Valentine, Ni ...

– alternative rock band * Ross Greenwood – footballer *

Charles Hague Charles Hague (4 May 1769 – 18 June 1821) was an English violinist and composer, who became professor of music at Cambridge University. Life Hague was born at Tadcaster, Yorkshire, and was taught music and the violin by his elder brother, Will ...

, violinist and composer *

Matthew Kilgallon Matthew Shaun Kilgallon (born 8 January 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Kilgallon began his career at Leeds United, where he came through the youth set up before becoming a fixture in their first ...

– footballer * Alison Lloyd – fashion designer and founder of

Ally Capellino Ally Capellino is an independent British designer brand that was established in 1980 by Alison Lloyd and Jonathan Platt. Originally launching as an accessories company (the name is roughly translated from the Italian for 'little hat'), and later ...

* Thomas Potter – industrialist and politician * Humphrey Smith – brewer *John and Samuel Smith – founders of

and

Samuel Smith Old Brewery Samuel Smith Old Brewery, commonly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery and pub operator based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, established in 1758. It claims to be Yorkshire's oldest brewery. It is known fo ...

Thomas Staniforth Thomas Staniforth (1735–1803) was an English slave-trader, merchant and politician. He was originally from Sheffield, but spent most of his life in Liverpool. Staniforth was the son of Samuel Staniforth Esq. and Alethea Macro of Darnall Ha ...

– footballer *

Adelle Stripe Adelle Stripe (born 1976) is an English writer and journalist. Work Stripe's writing is rooted in the non-fiction novel form and explores working-class culture, untold histories of Northern England, popular music, and small-town life. ''Bl ...

– writer * Charlie Taylor – footballer *

Rory Watson Rory Watson (born 5 February 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Scunthorpe United on loan from club York City. Watson played youth football with Leeds United and Hull City, signing a professional contract w ...

– footballer *

Mark Westaby Mark Westaby (born 17 April 1965) is a British strongman competitor, notable for being a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man. Biography Julian Mark Westaby was born in 1965 in Healaugh, near Tadcaster. He attended Tadcaster Gramma ...

– strongman

References

External links

Official school website
* {{authority control Educational institutions established in the 1550s 1557 establishments in England Secondary schools in North Yorkshire Academies in North Yorkshire Tadcaster