Calday Grange Grammar School
Calday Grange Grammar School, initialised as CGGS and commonly known as Calday, is a non-denominational, selective boys' grammar school situated on Caldy Hill in West Kirby on the Wirral peninsula, England. Founded in 1636, the school admits boys aged 11 to 18 and, since 1985, girls for the sixth form only. The school hosts the Wirral Able Children Centre,[2] and has been awarded Sportsmark Gold and Investors in People status. It was previously a specialist technology and modern foreign languages (MFL) college under the former high performing specialist schools (HPSS) programme.
By September 2019, a total of 1,492 boys were enrolled at the school, with 398 enrolled at the co–educational sixth form. The last inspection in which a rating was conferred by government agency Ofsted occurred in September 2019 and rated the school as "good".[3] The most recent inspection in December 2024 did not rate the school but reiterated the previous rating.[4]
School History
Early history
Founded in 1636, Calday Grange Grammar School is Wirral's oldest surviving grammar school. It was established as a free grammar school on the present site in Grange (historically known as Calday Grange, giving its name to the school) by local landowner William Glegg. From when it started with 12 pupils, the school has grown into an establishment of over 1500 students – which includes over 400 male and female students in the Sixth Form.[5]
Trust status
Calday Grange Grammar School became a trust school on 1 January 2009, transferring ownership of the school land and buildings to a Charitable Trust called "The Calday Grange Trust". The Calday Grange Trust was a partnership between Calday Grange Grammar School, the University of Liverpool, Unilever Research and Development and Maestro Services Ltd. Calday Grange Grammar School was the first Wirral School to convert to Trust Status.[6]
In September 2011, the school informed parents that "The School has received notification from Companies House that the Calday Grange Trust Company has been dissolved. This has been notified to the Governing Body who contacted Wirral Local Authority and indicated their wish to revert to the Foundation Schools Instrument of Government".[7]
Academy status
In July 2011, the process for converting to an academy school was begun, and the school converted to academy status with effect from 1 January 2013.[8]
M53 motorway coach crash
On the morning of 29 September 2023, a school bus, carrying students of both Calday and West Kirby Grammar School, overturned on the M53 between junctions 4 and 5, near Hooton. The bus driver, Stephen Shrimpton, and 15 year-old Jessica Baker were killed.[9]
Overview
Location
Main campus
The main school campus is located within a residential area at the top of Caldy Hill, close to the Dee Estuary on the Wirral peninsula. Students travel primarily from the Wirral, Cheshire and North Wales areas.[10] The site is occupied by sports cages, fields and ten school buildings:
- Art Building (A) – Art
- Business Centre (B) – Business Studies, Economics and Law (sixth form only)
- C Block (C) – Reception, Assembly Hall, Dining, Sports Hall
- Peter Dodd Building (D) – Design and Technology and Computing
- Glasspool Building (G) – English and Mathematics
- Eric Hawkins Building (H) – Modern Foreign Languages
- Michael Twist Centre for Music and Performing Arts (T) – Music and Drama
- Walker Building (W) – Sciences, History, Geography and Religious Studies
- Nigel Briers Building (W) – study areas
- Pavillion and Swimming Pool – Physical Education and Swimming
Formerly: E Block (E) – geography, history and English. Replaced by Twist Centre due to presence of asbestos.
Each building has a letter code consisting of the first letter of its name (except the Briers Building, which is considered part of the Walker Building). These letters are used to designate room names, for example: the second room (2) on the ground floor (1) of the Hawkins Building (H) would be H12.
Sports campus
Glasspool Field, the school's main sports facility, is located a mile southeast of the main school, on Telegraph Road. It comprises three rugby union pitches, cricket field, athletics facilities and artificial turf used for hockey and tennis. Glasspool Field was formerly known as Paton Field, renamed in line with the removal of Paton House from the house system.
Academic attainment
In 2019 the school was inspected and judged 'Good' repeating the judgement of Ofsted from inspections in 2016[11] and 2010.[12][13]
In 2015 96% of the year group achieved 5 GCSE passes at grades A* to C with 96.2% gaining at 5 A* to C grades including English and Maths. Four students achieved 10 or more A* grades.[14]
In 2015 Calday School received its best A level results since 2010 with a pass rate of 99.2% at A*-E grades.[15][better source needed]
Extracurricular
The school is ranked 7th for state school sporting achievement. The top state schools were revealed in the November 2019 edition of School Sport magazine and it places the school in the top 1% of schools in the country for sporting outcomes. The school maintains a Combined Cadet Force. The combined Cadet force has been at Calday since 1916,[16] when a unit of the Officers' Training Corps was first formed.
Volunteering opportunities include supporting the Refilwe Community Project in South Africa which the school has been involved in for over 9 years. Students have also been involved with various independent entrepreneurial pursuits.[17]
School houses
The school has three houses named after past benefactors and headmasters. Members of each house are identified by different coloured stripes on the school tie from years 7 to 11.
– Bennett; named after Thomas Bennett, benefactor of the school in 1676.
– Glegg; named after William Glegg, founder of the school in 1636.
– Hollowell; named after Rev. William Hollowell, former headmaster 1891–1920.
There was a fourth house, Paton, named after Sir Alfred Paton. It was taken out of the house system in the 1990s for simplicity in form-group allocation.
Notable former students
- Andrew Baddeley - Athlete in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.[18]
- Philip May – banker, and husband of Theresa May[19]
- Sam Quek, British Field Hockey player, winning Olympic Gold in 2016.
- Dick Uren – England international rugby union player.[20]
- Dr. David Wynn-Williams (1946–2002) – British astro-biologist, head of the Antarctic astrobiology project, British Antarctic Survey.[21]
- James Hype DJ and music producer, known for his UK top ten singles More than friends and Ferrari.
- Daniel Craig, Actor most famous for James Bond
- Andy McCluskey, Lead singer with OMD and music producer.
Headteachers
| Years | Calday Grange Grammar School |
|---|---|
| 1886–1891 | Charles T. Blanshard |
| 1891–1920 | Rev W. Hollowell |
| 1920–1945 | Reginald Thomas Booth Glasspool |
| 1945–1953 | R. Eldred. Witt |
| 1953–1964 | Prof Eric Hawkins |
| 1965–1978 | Rev Kenneth Saxon Watkinson Walker |
| 1978–1979 | Peter Dodd (Acting) |
| 1979–1986 | Peter Dodd[22] |
| 1986–April 2001 | Nigel Briers |
| April–July 2001 | Brian Magor (Acting) |
| September 2001–September 2002 | Nigel Briers |
| 2002–Suspended Oct 2009 | Andrew John Hall - Suspended for a period of time during his role as headteacher |
| October 2009–May 2010 | Mike Skelly (Acting)[23] |
| October 2010–May 2011 | Andrew John Hall reinstated as headmaster. |
| April 2010–April 2012 | Gareth Williams, executive director during suspension[24] |
| April 2012–December 2019 | Mark Rodaway |
| January 2020–April 2020 | Mike Twist (Acting) |
| April 2020– | Stephen Antony Gray |
References
- ^ "DoE School census: Calday Grange Grammar School". DoE. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council: Promoting Potential: The Wider Education Community: Wirral Able Children Centre" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
- ^ "Inspection of a good school: Calday Grange Grammar School". Ofsted. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ "Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Calday Grange Grammar School". Ofsted. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "History". Calday Grange Grammar School.
- ^ McCann, Sue (28 January 2009). "Calday Grange Grammar becomes Wirral's first Trust school". Wirral News. Liverpool: Trinity Mirror.
- ^ "Newsletter 9th September 2011" (PDF). Parents' newsletter. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
- ^ "Newsletter 2nd November 2012" (PDF). Parents' newsletter. 2 November 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Hadfield, Charlotte (29 September 2023). "School confirms their pupils involved in M53 crash". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "Calday Grange Grammar School: Information: About the school". Retrieved 10 February 2008.
- ^ "Calday Grange Grammar School". Ofsted. 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ "Inspection Report: Calday Grange Grammar School, 17–18 November 2010". Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- ^ "West Kirby Calday Grange school loses outstanding Ofsted status". Liverpool Daily Post. Liverpool. 7 December 2010.
- ^ "GCSEs". Archived from the original on 28 September 2015.
- ^ "A -levels".
- ^ "CCF".
- ^ Murphy, Liam (3 December 2007). "Calday Grange: students to open own art gallery". Liverpool Daily Post.
- ^ Pearce, James (17 July 2008). "Golden greats are Baddeley's inspiration". Liverpool Echo.
- ^ "Philip May: the Prime Minister's closest political adviser". New Statesman. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "Dick Uren". The Daily Telegraph. UK. 30 June 2010.
- ^ Ellis-Evans, Cynan (15 April 2002). "David Wynn-Williams: Applying the lessons of Antarctica to the study of the stars". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Peter Dodd had been deputy headmaster since 1971, he became acting headmaster when Rev Walker retired and was not appointed permanent headmaster until 1979 (The Caldeian, December 1979)
- ^ Mr Skelly took over after Mr. Hall's suspension in October 2009 before returning to his former school (Westcliffe High School), as Deputy Headmaster, at the end of May 2010 "Parents Newsletter". 26 February 2010.
- ^ Troubleshooter Appointed "Troubleshooter appointed at Wirral′s Calday Grange Grammar School amid headteacher suspension row". Liverpool Daily Post. Liverpool. 19 April 2010.
Sources
- Protheroe, M. J. (1976). A History of Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby, 1636–1976. West Kirby: The Parents' Association.
