Central Technology and Sports College
| Established | 1920 |
|---|---|
| Closed | 2010 |
| Type | Foundation school |
| Location |
Rushcliffe Road Manthorpe Estate, Grantham Lincolnshire NG31 8ED England Coordinates: 52°55′24″N 0°38′35″W / 52.92335°N 0.64297°W |
| Local authority | Lincolnshire |
| DfE number | ???/5426 |
| DfE URN | 120722 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 695 |
| Gender |
Boys (1920-1978) Mixed (1978-2010) |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Fate | Became part of the Priory Ruskin Academy |
Central Technology & Sports College was a secondary school located in the north of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England. It became The Priory Ruskin Academy in 2010.
History
The Central School has its origins in the Central and Day Continuation School built behind the Town Hall in 1920. In the late 1920s, the school caught fire and burnt down, from a fire started in the boiler room.
There later followed two single sex secondary modern schools, the Boys' Central School on Sandon Road and the Girls' Central School on Castlegate, situated in the town centre. The Boys' Central School was built in 1928. For two years previously the school was at Middlemore House in Castlegate.
The Girls' Central School became Walton Girls High School in 1966 on Kitty Briggs Lane, next to the newly built bypass, off the A607. Walton Girls is now an 11-18 school, with boys in the sixth form. The former site of the Boys' Central School is now the Little Gonerby Church of England Infant School,[1] which moved to the site in January 1986, from its site in Albion Street it had been at since 1863. The site on Sandon Road closed on 18 March 1978.
When a boys' school, it was not a secondary modern school because admittance to the school was only through achieving a reasonable score in the eleven-plus exam. This was also true for the Girls' Central School, which was not a secondary modern school. By this selective procedure, it was like a technical school, although not described in name as a technical school.
From April 1976 until April 1978, a new school was built on the Manthorpe estate next to Grantham and District Hospital, on land formerly owned by the foundation governors of the boys' grammar school. The site opened in April 1978, admitting boys only. The new building had cost £850,000 (£4.36 million current value).When the new site opened again in September 1978, it admitted girls (in the first year) as a coeducational school. Only by 1982 was the school fully co-educational.
When the site moved to Manthorpe, it was then described as Grantham's only comprehensive school. For its entire life, the school was never described as a secondary modern school; however after the move to Manthorpe when the selective procedure was ended for the school, in effect it became a secondary modern school.
In the 1990s it had around 550 pupils.
It was situated directly north of the Grantham and District Hospital off Sandcliffe Road, between the A607 and the East Coast Main Line, which borders on to the western edge of the school's playing fields. The River Witham is around 330 yards (300 m) to the east.
In 2010 the school merged The Grantham Church High School to form The Priory Ruskin Academy. A new building is being built on the Manthorpe site ready for completion in 2014.
Head teachers
- Sam Thorp 1920 - 1940s
- Martin Bailey
- E.W. Jacobs
- Aubrey Easter
- Robert Booth 1971-1988
- Michael Gaul 1988 -2001
- Robert McDonough - 2005
- Dr.Keith Atkinson 2005 - 2008
- Betty Hasler
Academic performance
For many years, the school received GCSE results slightly under the England average. It received the best results for co-educational schools in Grantham, notably as good or better than most comprehensive schools in Lincoln. However, co-educational schools of its type in nearby Bourne and Sleaford did slightly better. Similar to the Central School, these schools have also become academies, with a change of the school name, and joining with other lower-performing schools to form a multi-site (each being autonomous) school.
Notable former pupils
Boys' Central School
- Eric Chappell, TV writer of Rising Damp
- Vince Eager (Roy Taylor), 1950s singer
- Tim Hamey, jockey, winner of the 1932 Grand National on Forbra (50/1)[2]
- Cyril Hatton, footballer for QPR (scored 64 league goals)
- Neil Money, played for Hertfordshire County Cricket Club
- Richard Nauyokas, from Bad Lads Army
- David Snell, harpist, conductor, and composer[3][4]