Penistone Grammar School (PGS) is a large co-educational secondary school with a sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England.
Founded in 1392, it is amongst the oldest extant schools in England, with alumni including Nicholas Saunderson, the probable inventor of Bayes' theorem, in the 18th century.Stephen M. Stigler (1983), "Who Discovered Bayes' Theorem?" The American Statistician 37(4):290–296. At various times in its history it has been single-sex and mixed, free and fee-paying, selective and comprehensive, boarding and day. It has undergone several moves and extensions, and today houses around 1922 pupils from age 11 to 18.Penistone Grammar School "Current Staff and Student Numbers FOI Request 2019", 14 October 2019 PGS' Ofsted overall rating is grade 2 ('Good'), following an inspection in February 2023.
History
The school was founded as the Free Grammar School of Penistone (then often spelt 'Peniston') in 1392, when it is recorded that a gift of land was made by Thomas Clarel, Lord of the manor at Penistone, to John Del Rodes "and others". The land, Kirk Flatt, was situated in the town centre on a site opposite St. John the Baptist Church (a site later rebuilt as the Sheffield Union Bank, which later became an HSBC branch, and is today the Vault restaurant).Penistone Grammar School's foundation deed: Thomas Clarel, Dominus (that is Lord) de Peniston in 1392, granted to John del Rodes and others a piece of land in the Kirk-flatt, sicut se extendit et jacet inter quinque lapides per manus predicti Thomas Clarel pro metis positos, with license to grave turf on the Moors of Penistone.Thomas Clarel was born 28 Edward III 1355, and died by drowning in the River Don, on 1 May 1442. His will was dated 20 November 1441, and he was buried in the friary church, Tickhill, near the family's hall. The school was originally an all-boys grammar school, accepting both boarders and day pupils.
In 1443 the Free Grammar School of Penistone received further bequests and in 1547, after the dissolution of the chantries, the school continued as the free school for the children of Penistone. Following further endowments, the school was rebuilt in 1714.
PGS played a role in creating association football. In 1836, headmaster Samuel Sunderland brought a football game to PGS from the University of Cambridge. At that time, most schools has their own ball games but when students at Cambridge wanted to play together they had to agree on one style, which later was published as the Cambridge rules. His PGS student John Charles Shaw took this game to the first two FA clubs, Sheffield F.C. in 1857 and Hallam F.C. in 1860, which first wrote their own Sheffield rules then merged them with Cambridge's to create the modern laws of the game in 1863. Another student, John Marsh, founded Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in 1867.
In 1886, the Charities Commission restructured the school, replacing the majority of its trustees with local government representation.
In 1893, the school withdrew from its town centre site to a position about half a mile north-west of the town centre, at Weirfield House. The school remains on this site.
Girls were admitted for the first time in 1907 (though mixed-sex classes were not until 1911). Fulford was the last headmaster to see boarders, with PGS becoming a day school in 1921.
On 28 October 1911, under the tenure of Mr Fulford, the Fulford building opened (though not called that at the time), at a cost of £8,000 (plus £780 for furnishings and equipment). Several other buildings were erected, and in 1974, PGS purchased the former Penistone Union Workhouse, later named 'Netherfields', which became the school's sixth form.
It became fully comprehensive in 1969, with partial selection (for more distant pupils) from 1957. The school has retained its grammar school name and traditions such as the house system and speech night.
In 2011 the school entirely demolished all buildings (except Weirfield and its Stables, which were converted into flats) and replaced them with a new modern building.
The school uses a badge based on the coat of arms of the founding family, the Clarels, which shows six martlets, from which the school colors red and black are derived. The school's traditional motto is "Disce Aut Discede" ("Learn or leave") but since 2010 it has used "Never Stop Flying", a reference to martlets having no feet so always being in flight.
Present day A £35-million school building opened on 2 May 2011, with a complete demolition of the old buildings, except for Fulford, the Stables, and Weirfield. Fulford, erected in 1909, was demolished in 2014 after protest from past students and locals.
In 2017, Penistone Grammar School introduced a controversial, zero tolerance style behaviour management scheme, under which pupils are reprimanded (known as 'getting a line') for even minor issues such as forgetting a pen or leaving a shirt untucked.
After internal remodelling in 2018, work started on a £4.3 million two-storey extension in 2019, providing an additional 250 places at the school. The building was opened to students in September 2020, and is linked to the main school by a walkway through the science department. The block is home to the modern foreign languages department and several science classrooms.
As of 2022, Penistone Grammar School is the only secondary school in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley not to have academy status, remaining under the control of the Local Authority.
The sixth form at Penistone currently has 300 students in attendance. Penistone Grammar School is the only school in the Local Education Authority of Barnsley to have a sixth form alongside its secondary provision.
The school maintains a 30-acre site in the west of Penistone, including extensive playing fields, used mostly for association football, rugby, cricket, and athletics. Facilities include a gym, dance studio, 3G football pitches and tennis courts. It has a theatre and music studios. It has a Combined Cadet Force.
Secondary results Penistone Grammar School's secondary results are the best of any school in the Barnsley local authority, achieving an above average Progress 8 score of 0.46. In 2023, 83% of pupils passed English and maths, with 66% of pupils achieved a grade 5 (strong pass) or higher.
Sixth Form results The sixth form has been within the top 10% of providers nationally for over five consecutive years. The majority (55%) of grades secured are A* or A, and in 2022, the average result was an A-.
Penistone Grammar School Foundation The Penistone Grammar School Foundation is a charity (number 529458) established in January 1957, but registered in 1965. It owns much of the school's old Kirk Flatt site and its current estate, which generates income for the school.
Houses The school maintains a house system, with each being named after locally significant people and its former buildings.
+Current houses at PGSHouseColourNamed afterArmitageYellowHeather Armitage – British Olympic sprinterBowmanPurpleEric Fisher Bowman – Headmaster 1928–1958ColwellGreenEileen Colwell – Children's library pioneerFulfordOrangeJoseph Woodward Fulford – Headmaster 1893–1921SaundersonLight blueNicholas Saunderson – Mathematician and former student (1682–1739)WeirfieldCyanWeirfield House – Former schoolhouse and staff area from 1893 until
+Former houses at PGSHouseColourNamed afterArmitageYellowArmitage family – Local gentryBosvilleBlueBosville family of Gunthwaite – Local land ownersClarelRedThomas Clarel – FounderDransfieldGreenJohn Ness Dransfield – Local historian and author of A History of the Parish of Penistone (1906)NetherfieldGreenNetherfield Union Workhouse – Former home to the sixth form college
List of headmasters +List of headmasters at Penistone Grammar School since 1392YearsNameNotesc.1392–1433John Del RodesCustos of Saint John's Chapelc.1433–1450John SmythChaplain1450–1472William WordsworthChantry Priest at St Mary's1472–1477William WalkerChantry Priest at St Mary's1477–1534William Addy SnrChantry Priest at St Mary's1534–1556William Addy JnrChantry Priest at St Mary's1556–1613John Hyde1613–1630Richard HeyDied 28 May 16301630–1644John CoatehillDied 8 May 16441644–1666George DidsburyDied 24 April 16661666–1668John RevelResigned1668–1702Nathan StaniforthDied 24 November 17021702–1726John RamsdenDied 12 March 1726. Buried in the same grave as Nathan Staniforth at Penistone Church.1726–1751Jonathan PerkinDied 3 May 17511751–1776Francis HaighDied 15 November 17761776–1786Joseph HorsfallResigned1786–1836Jonathan WoodWrote a biography of Nicholas Saunderson. Died 22 April 18361836–1855Samuel SunderlandBrought football from Cambridge to PGS. Vicar of Penistone. Died 18 July 1855.1855–1867John Wesley AldomResigned1867Alfred SteaneResigned after three months1867George Curtis PriceAppointed but declined1867–1868Walter Mooney HatchResigned after a few months1868–1884Theophilus JacksonResigned1884–1885Othman BlakeyResigned1885–1888Harry HardyResigned and became assistant 18881888–1892Lionel Ernest AdamsResigned1893–1921Joseph Woodward Fulford1921–1928Guy Wilfred MorrisResigned, became Master at Colfe's Grammar School.1928–1958Eric Fisher Bowman1958–1976Wilfrid Burgess Simms1976–1997Martin Antony (Tony) BouldRetired 1997. Died 6 October 20141997–1999Andrew ('Andy') White1999–2002Pamela Caunt2002–2007Glynis GowerRetired 2007–2017Joanne HigginsResigned, became CEO of Dudley Academies Trust2017–Paul Crook
Notable Old Penistonians
Nicholas Saunderson (1682–1739) – mathematician and Lucasian Professor at Cambridge University 1711–1739 Ebenezer Elliott (1781–1849) – poet John Charles Shaw (1830–1918) – captain of the first football club John Marsh (1843–1880) – founder of Sheffield Wednesday F.C Alec Glassey (1887–1970) – Liberal MP for East Dorset 1929–1931 Eileen Colwell (1904–2002) – pioneer children's librarian Sir Leonard Crossland (1914–1999) – Ford UK chairman Max Walters (1920–2005) – botanist Geoffrey Allan Crossley (1920–2009) – diplomat and British Ambassador to Colombia and the Holy See Noel Moore (1928–2008) – civil servant who oversaw the decimalisation project Neil Robinson (1929–2009) – Archdeacon of Suffolk 1987–1994 Alan Mercer (1931–2014) – Professor of Operational Research J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson, Stefan Banach, MacTutor History of Mathematics (University of St Andrews, Scotland, April 2015) Heather Armitage (1933–) – British gold medal sprinter Roland Boyes (1937–2006) – Labour MP for Houghton and Washington (1992–1997); MEP for Durham 1979–1984 David Hey (1938–2016) – historian Anne Campbell (1940–) – Labour MP for Cambridge, 1992–2005; Chair of the Fabian Society Jean Bacon (1942–) – Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cambridge Jean Bacon, an oral history conducted in 2001 by Janet Abbate, IEEE History Center, Hoboken, NJ, USA. Paul Copley (1944–) – actor"Paul Copley – The Official Website – about", Paul Copley – The Official Website. Retrieved 29 April 2019. Marie Tidball (1984–) – Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge (2024–) Katherine Brunt (1985–) – England Women's Cricketer Marc Roberts (1990–) – professional footballer John Stones (1994–) – England footballer
See also List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom
References
External links PGS Archive History of PGS PGS performance at BBC News pgsonline OFSTED report