King James's School, Almondbury

King James's School
Established	1547 (royal charter 1608)
Type	Academy
Principal	Mr Ian Rimmer
Location	Saint Helen's Gate Almondbury West Yorkshire HD4 6SG England Coordinates: 53°37′46″N 1°44′32″W / 53.629397°N 1.742277°W / 53.629397; -1.742277
Local authority	Kirklees
DfE number	382/4000
DfE URN	138706 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11–16
Website	School website

King James's School is a coeducational secondary school located in Almondbury in the English county of West Yorkshire.^[1]

History

The school library 'The Big' (left) and headmaster's study (right)

King James's Grammar School^[2] was founded as chantry school in 1547 and received its name and a royal charter in 1608 thanks to the efforts of three men who travelled on horseback to London to get a royal charter from the king. They rode from Farnley Tyas, the nearby village, having been sent to London to get the charter by the local wealthy men from Almondbury who wanted a local school for their offspring to visit. Extensions were made to the school by William Swinden Barber between 1880 and 1883.^[3]

The grammar school era ended in 1976 when it became a comprehensive school: King James's School. The school was designated a specialist Science College in 2004. In September 2012 the school converted to academy status. The current principal is Ian Rimmer.

The school today

King James's School is a comprehensive secondary school with a catchment area that includes Almondbury, Dalton, Grange Moor, Kirkheaton and Lepton.^[4] The school offers GCSEs, BTECs and Cambridge Nationals as programmes of study for pupils.^[5]

Publications

The school is the subject of two histories: A History of King James's Grammar School in Almondbury (author: Gerald Hinchliffe) and King James's School in Almondbury: An Illustrated History (editors: Roger Dowling and John Hargreaves).

A book Morning Assembly (editor: Roger Dowling; text: Andrew Taylor) gives a detailed account of the life of former headmaster Harry Taylor together with a compilation in facsimile form of some 100 prayers collected by Harry Taylor for use each day at morning assembly.

Notable former pupils

King James's Grammar School

Cover of Report Book from King James's Grammar School Almondbury (student's name redacted)

King James's Grammar School custom colour-coded exercise book c.1972. Chemistry was dark blue, physics (shown here) cream, and so on.

Felix Aylmer, actor
Sir John George Beharrel, former managing director of the Dunlop Rubber Company and a director of Imperial Airways
David Brown, Managing Director David Brown & Sons and owner of Aston Martin Ltd.
Peter Carter QC, Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee from 2003-05
Maj-Gen Henry Evans CB, Director of Army Education from 1969–72
Prof Ian Graham Gass, Professor of Earth Sciences at the Open University from 1969–82
Philip Goldsmith, President of the Royal Meteorological Society from 1982-5
Michael Hardcastle prolific author of Children's literature
Sir Harold Percival Himsworth, former Honorary Physician to the Queen
Derek Ibbotson, athlete
Michael Jackson, writer and beer connoisseur
Gorden Kaye, actor (star of the BBC Television programme 'Allo 'Allo!)
Prof Henry Laycock, Professor of Philosophy at Queen's University, Canada
Herbert Morley CBE, Director General and Manager of Steel, Peech and Tozer from 1965-8
David Morphet, author
Ryan Sidebottom, England cricketer
Prof Keith Vickerman, Regius Professor of Zoology from 1984-98 at the University of Glasgow
Prof James Pounder Whitney, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge from 1919–39
Robert Stephenson, Metropolitan Police Detective
Professor Alan Prout, sociologist, University of Leeds

References

A History of King James's Grammar School in Almondbury Author: Gerald Hinchliffe Publisher: The Advertiser Press Limited
An Illustrated History of King James's School in Almondbury Editors: Roger Dowling Publisher: The Old Almondburians' Society

External links

Schools in Kirklees

Primary schools	Almondbury Community School Batley Grammar School Crowlees Junior & Infant School Netherhall Learning Campus Royds Hall School

Middle schools	Scissett Middle School

Secondary schools	All Saints RC College Almondbury Community School Batley Girls' High School Batley Grammar School BBG Academy Castle Hall Academy Colne Valley High School Creative & Media Studio School Holmfirth High School Honley High School King James's School Manor Croft Academy The Mirfield Free Grammar Moor End Academy Netherhall Learning Campus North Huddersfield Trust School Royds Hall School St John Fisher RC Academy Salendine Nook High School Shelley College Spen Valley High School Thornhill Community Academy Upper Batley High School Westborough High School Whitcliffe Mount School

Grammar schools	Heckmondwike Grammar School

Independent schools	Huddersfield Grammar School Markazi Masjid

FE & sixth form colleges	Greenhead College Huddersfield New College Kirklees College

Defunct schools	Birkdale High School

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, January 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.