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==History== ==History==
Bentham Grammar School was founded as a charity in 1726 in the village of Bentham by William Collingwood, a gentleman of York. His will provided for two masters, an Upper Master and a Lower Master, both ‘educated according to the rule of Oxford and Cambridge’.<ref name="BGS">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=5 |edition=1}}</ref> It educated, first the boys of the local villages and later, in the twentieth century, also fee-paying boarders from a wider area. Girls were educated in small numbers until the 1930s when the school became fully co-educational. Bentham Grammar School was founded as a charity in 1726 in the village of Bentham by William Collingwood, a gentleman of York. His will provided for two masters, an Upper Master and a Lower Master, both "educated according to the rule of Oxford and Cambridge".<ref name="BGS">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=5 |edition=1}}</ref> It educated first the boys of the local villages and later, in the twentieth century, also fee-paying boarders from a wider area. Girls were educated in small numbers until the 1930s when the school became fully co-educational.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}


The first school was situated on School Hill in High Bentham, but after the ] (] c. 75), the building was required for state elementary education and the school moved to a site at Moon's Acre in 1878. The ] of 1838 and 1844 required children working in the local textile mills to have some half-day education, and that provision was catered for, as was the developing Victorian curriculum.<ref name="BGS2">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=15 |edition=1}}</ref> The first school was situated on School Hill in High Bentham, but after the ], the building was required for state elementary education and the school moved to a site at Moon's Acre in 1878. The ] of 1838 and 1844 required children working in the local textile mills to have some half-day education, and that provision was catered for, as was the developing Victorian curriculum.<ref name="BGS2">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=15 |edition=1}}</ref>


Even so by the early twentieth century the school still only numbered 40–50 pupils.<ref name="BGS3">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=25 |edition=1}}</ref> The first two headmasters of the 20th century both came from Nottingham.<ref name="BGS4">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=27 |edition=1}}</ref> John Llewellyn (1893–1907) had taught ], the future tobacco magnate, and ], instrumental in the early years of ]. His successor, ] VC, DSO, MC was the most decorated non-combatant of the First World War. Even so, by the early twentieth century the school still only numbered 40–50 pupils.<ref name="BGS3">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=25 |edition=1}}</ref> The first two headmasters of the 20th century both came from ].<ref name="BGS4">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=27 |edition=1}}</ref> John Llewellyn (1893–1907) had taught ], the future tobacco magnate, and ], instrumental in the early years of ]. His successor, ] VC, DSO, MC was the most decorated non-combatant of the First World War.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}


In the inter-war years the school continued to educate children up to the statutory school-leaving age, but many who were looking to advance into tertiary education would transfer to either ] or ].<ref name="BGS5">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=58 |edition=1}}</ref> Under headmaster George Percy Gill (1920–1937) students from the continent were welcomed as teaching assistants.<ref name="BGS6">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |pages=47–52 |edition=1}}</ref> In 1945 the then headmaster, Mr Ronald Purdy,<ref name="BGS7">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |pages=56–61 |edition=1}}</ref> decided to remove the majority of the school to found a new school at Eshton, near ], leaving a reduced school for its governors to re-establish. In the inter-war years, the school continued to educate children up to the statutory school-leaving age, but many who were looking to advance into tertiary education would transfer to either ] or ].<ref name="BGS5">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=58 |edition=1}}</ref> Under headmaster George Percy Gill (1920–1937) students from mainland Europe were welcomed as teaching assistants.<ref name="BGS6">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |pages=47–52 |edition=1}}</ref> In 1945, the then headmaster, Ronald Purdy,<ref name="BGS7">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |pages=56–61 |edition=1}}</ref> decided to remove the majority of the school to a newly-founded school at Eshton, near ], leaving a reduced school for its governors to re-establish.


In 1948 under its new post-war headmaster John Webb (father of Jean Webb, otherwise known as the human rights lawyer ]<ref name="reunion">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Ex-pupils enjoy school reunion |url=https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/ex-pupils-enjoy-school-reunion-654408 |work=Lancaster Guardian |location=Lancaster |date=20 September 2017 |access-date=25 May 2020 }}</ref>) the school moved again, this time to the Norman Shaw rectory building in Low Bentham. After 1946 pupil numbers steadily grew – including local children passing the 11-plus <ref name="BGS8">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=84 |edition=1}}</ref> examination from either Yorkshire or Lancashire - until the school was admitting between 300<ref name="BGS9">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=94 |edition=1}}</ref> and 400<ref name="fy1">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |pages=11–12 |edition=1}}</ref> boys and girls. In 1948 under its new post-war headmaster, John Webb (father of Jean Webb, otherwise known as the human rights lawyer ]<ref name="reunion">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Ex-pupils enjoy school reunion |url=https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/ex-pupils-enjoy-school-reunion-654408 |work=Lancaster Guardian |location=Lancaster |date=20 September 2017 |access-date=25 May 2020 }}</ref>), the school moved again, this time to the Norman Shaw rectory building in Low Bentham. After 1946 pupil numbers steadily grew – including local children passing the ]<ref name="BGS8">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=84 |edition=1}}</ref> examination from either ] or ] - until the school was admitting between 300<ref name="BGS9">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=94 |edition=1}}</ref> and 400<ref name="fy1">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |pages=11–12 |edition=1}}</ref> boys and girls.
An important aspect of the school was its independence, one of the most striking examples of which was the self-help model <ref name="BGS10">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=80 |edition=1}}</ref> which the Webbs and their staff adopted partly out of necessity and partly as policy. ’Self-help’ meant that the pupils and staff were involved in the construction and maintenance of new buildings and facilities. This attracted wide attention and, in 1956, the BBC made a film of the school that depicted its work and life.<ref name="BGS11">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=96 |edition=1}}</ref> An important aspect of the school was its independence, one of the most striking examples of which was the self-help model <ref name="BGS10">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=80 |edition=1}}</ref> which the Webbs and their staff adopted partly out of necessity and partly as policy. ’Self-help’ meant that the pupils and staff were involved in the construction and maintenance of new buildings and facilities. This attracted wide attention and, in 1956, the BBC made a film of the school that depicted its work and life.<ref name="BGS11">{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=RE |last2=Wilson |first2=JR |last3=Warbrick |first3=JS |title=The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School |page=96 |edition=1}}</ref>


The school provided a full range of academic and practical education, catering for pupils of a wide range of age and ability from nursery to ] and, by the 1980s, often from differing backgrounds, including a number with disabilities.<ref name="fy2">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=26 |edition=1}}</ref> It attracted students from all parts of the world.<ref name="fy4">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=32 |edition=1}}</ref> The school continued to educate between 200 and 300<ref name="fy3">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=30 |edition=1}}</ref> pupils into the 1990s. The school provided a full range of academic and practical education, catering for pupils of a wide range of age and ability from nursery to ] and, by the 1980s, often from differing backgrounds, including a number with disabilities.<ref name="fy2">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=26 |edition=1}}</ref> It attracted students from all parts of the world.<ref name="fy4">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=32 |edition=1}}</ref> The school continued to educate between 200 and 300<ref name="fy3">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=30 |edition=1}}</ref> pupils into the 1990s.


There was extensive work beyond the classroom in areas such as sport and outward-bound activities (including a full ] Scheme<ref name="fy5">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=123 |edition=1}}</ref>), drama, music<ref name="fy6">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=42 |edition=1}}</ref> and public speaking.<ref name="fy7">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=65 |edition=1}}</ref> There was extensive work beyond the classroom in areas such as sport and outward-bound activities (including a full ] Scheme<ref name="fy5">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=123 |edition=1}}</ref>), drama, music<ref name="fy6">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=42 |edition=1}}</ref> and public speaking.<ref name="fy7">{{cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=William |title=Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 |date=2019 |publisher=Bentham Grammar School Association |page=65 |edition=1}}</ref>

Latest revision as of 17:13, 12 June 2024

School in North Yorkshire, England

The school building in 2009

Bentham Grammar School was an independent school in Bentham, North Yorkshire, England. The school was founded in 1726 but closed in 2002 due to dwindling pupil numbers.

History

Bentham Grammar School was founded as a charity in 1726 in the village of Bentham by William Collingwood, a gentleman of York. His will provided for two masters, an Upper Master and a Lower Master, both "educated according to the rule of Oxford and Cambridge". It educated first the boys of the local villages and later, in the twentieth century, also fee-paying boarders from a wider area. Girls were educated in small numbers until the 1930s when the school became fully co-educational.

The first school was situated on School Hill in High Bentham, but after the Elementary Education Act 1870, the building was required for state elementary education and the school moved to a site at Moon's Acre in 1878. The Factory Acts of 1838 and 1844 required children working in the local textile mills to have some half-day education, and that provision was catered for, as was the developing Victorian curriculum.

Even so, by the early twentieth century the school still only numbered 40–50 pupils. The first two headmasters of the 20th century both came from Nottingham. John Llewellyn (1893–1907) had taught John Player, the future tobacco magnate, and Jesse Boot, instrumental in the early years of Boots the Chemist. His successor, Theodore Bayley Hardy VC, DSO, MC was the most decorated non-combatant of the First World War.

In the inter-war years, the school continued to educate children up to the statutory school-leaving age, but many who were looking to advance into tertiary education would transfer to either Giggleswick School or Lancaster Royal Grammar School. Under headmaster George Percy Gill (1920–1937) students from mainland Europe were welcomed as teaching assistants. In 1945, the then headmaster, Ronald Purdy, decided to remove the majority of the school to a newly-founded school at Eshton, near Gargrave, leaving a reduced school for its governors to re-establish.

In 1948 under its new post-war headmaster, John Webb (father of Jean Webb, otherwise known as the human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce), the school moved again, this time to the Norman Shaw rectory building in Low Bentham. After 1946 pupil numbers steadily grew – including local children passing the 11-plus examination from either Yorkshire or Lancashire - until the school was admitting between 300 and 400 boys and girls.

An important aspect of the school was its independence, one of the most striking examples of which was the self-help model which the Webbs and their staff adopted partly out of necessity and partly as policy. ’Self-help’ meant that the pupils and staff were involved in the construction and maintenance of new buildings and facilities. This attracted wide attention and, in 1956, the BBC made a film of the school that depicted its work and life.

The school provided a full range of academic and practical education, catering for pupils of a wide range of age and ability from nursery to Oxbridge and, by the 1980s, often from differing backgrounds, including a number with disabilities. It attracted students from all parts of the world. The school continued to educate between 200 and 300 pupils into the 1990s.

There was extensive work beyond the classroom in areas such as sport and outward-bound activities (including a full Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme), drama, music and public speaking.

Closure

The School closed in August 2002 due to falling pupil numbers.

After its closure, the site was taken over by Sedbergh School as its junior department, which was later transferred to Sedbergh itself in 2008. The building is now owned by the Witherslack Group as Cedar House School, a school for children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties such as communication difficulties and complex learning difficulties.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ David Johnson. "Bentham Grammar School". aboutbentham.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  2. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 5.
  3. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 15.
  4. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 25.
  5. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 27.
  6. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 58.
  7. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. pp. 47–52.
  8. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. pp. 56–61.
  9. ^ "Ex-pupils enjoy school reunion". Lancaster Guardian. Lancaster. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  10. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 84.
  11. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 94.
  12. Stockdale, William (2019). Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School Association. pp. 11–12.
  13. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 80.
  14. Huddleston, RE; Wilson, JR; Warbrick, JS (1976). The History of Bentham Grammar School 1726–1976 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School. p. 96.
  15. Stockdale, William (2019). Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School Association. p. 26.
  16. Stockdale, William (2019). Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School Association. p. 32.
  17. Stockdale, William (2019). Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School Association. p. 30.
  18. Stockdale, William (2019). Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School Association. p. 123.
  19. Stockdale, William (2019). Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School Association. p. 42.
  20. Stockdale, William (2019). Bentham Grammar School The Final Years 1976–2002 (1 ed.). Bentham Grammar School Association. p. 65.
  21. "Remembering school days in Bentham". Lancaster Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  22. "Former grammar school site for sale". Craven Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  23. "Education group to take over school site". Craven Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  24. "Hon. Atupele Muluzi". 4th East Africa Oil & Gas Summit & Exhibition. 2016. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  25. Seed, Linda (December 2017). "Reunion Of Bentham Grammar School Pupils" (PDF). The Betham News. p. 15. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  26. "Serial killer who was a pupil at Bentham Grammar School is still in prison". Lancaster Guardian. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2021.

External links

54°07′03″N 2°32′38″W / 54.1174°N 2.5440°W / 54.1174; -2.5440

Schools in North Yorkshire
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Secondary schools
Grammar schools
Independent schools
Special schools
FE & sixth form colleges
Defunct schools
including schools in Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough and York.
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