Pate's Grammar School

Pate's Grammar School is a grammar school with academy status in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. It caters for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school was founded with a fund bestowed to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, by Richard Pate in 1574. The school became co-educational in 1986, when Pate's Grammar School for Girls merged with Cheltenham Grammar School.

Pate's Grammar School
Address
Princess Elizabeth Way

, ,
GL51 0HG

England
Coordinates51.907°N 2.117°W / 51.907; -2.117
Information
TypeGrammar school;
Academy
MottoLatin: Patebit tum quod Latuit
English: That which is hidden shall be revealed
Established1574 (1574)
FounderRichard Pate
Department for Education URN136353 Tables
OfstedReports
Head teacherJames Richardson
Staff87 teaching, 35 support
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 18
Enrolment995
Houses  Beaufort
  Gloucester
  Richmond
  York
  Pembroke
Colour(s)Black, grey, white, red
             
PublicationPate's Progress
The Grammar School Gazette
AlumniOld Patesians
Websitewww.patesgs.org

Pate's has been awarded 'State Secondary School of the Year' twice by The Sunday Times in their Good Schools Guide in 2012 and 2020.[1][2] In 2013, the school was given an Outstanding judgement by Ofsted.

Academic achievements

At GCSE level in 2004, 100% of pupils entered earned five A* to C grades,[3] and the school came twelfth in the BBC table of performance in A-/AS-Level.[4] Again in 2005, 100% of pupils earned five A* to C grades at GCSE,[5] and in 2006, 100% of pupils passed in at least seven subjects with grades A* to C.[6] In 2008, more A* grades were achieved collectively than any other grade put together at GCSE level.

The physics department was recognised as the best in the country in a survey published by The Observer in May 2006.[7]

In 2012 Pate's achieved the fourth best state secondary school results in the United Kingdom. It was also awarded with 'State Secondary School of the Year'.[8] In 2019 the school was ranked as one of the top secondary state schools in the UK with 95.6% of grades at A*-B at A-level and 87.5% of grades at 9-7 at GCSE.[9]

Sporting achievements

The senior rugby team was coached by ex-England scrum-half Peter Kingston until his retirement in 2009.[10] In 2007 Pate's senior rugby teams completed a season unbeaten for the first time in 21 years.[11]

The Old Patesians club has grounds and a clubhouse in Leckhampton, which was built when their previous premises were demolished to make way for Cheltenham's tallest building, Eagle Tower.

Community

The school competes in the Young Enterprise competition held amongst schools nationwide. The school was also named as one of the four winners of the annual BBC School's Question Time competition in 2009.[12] During the 1970s the school were winners of the BBC radio show Top of the Form.

Pate's is also involved with charity work and has a Charity Committee appointed each year; in 2007–2008, over £16,000 was raised. The school is situated in a deprived area of Cheltenham and under the headmaster Richard Kemp deprived students were encouraged to apply.

The current headmaster is James Richardson, who took over from Russel Ellicot in September 2023.[13]

Developments

The boys' school was established in 1586. The Gothic premises in the High Street were demolished in 1967 to make way for a concrete supermarket, at a time when many other historic buildings, which would now be listed and protected, were also lost. The school playing field existed quite remote from the school in Hesters Way, and a replacement school was built there, after the boundaries had been altered to make way for the Princess Elizabeth Way and Coronation Square council developments. The majority of pupils lived in more affluent areas on the opposite side of the town and needed to commute by public transport. The building opened in 1965 and was designed by the architects Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, and featured innovative use of concrete and brick construction, a copper-clad dome over the library and a moat, but its striking appearance was not universally popular, frequently drawing comparisons with a prison. By the 1980s the concrete had developed significant structural problems.[14] Following the merger with the girls grammar school in 1986, the school became multi-site for a time, utilising the former Monkscroft school buildings on a nearby site, predominantly for lower school pupils. The combination of the issues with running a split-site school, and the decaying condition of both buildings led to their replacement from 1994 with new buildings. [15] During this period the school somehow lost its nomenclature with Richard Pate, and his name instead became associated with the girls' school at Pittville.

The school raised funds in order to complete new fitness facilities. The £50,000 fitness suite was opened by Geoff Hurst in April 2010.

In summer 2012, Pate's Grammar completed the construction of a new refectory, costing £1.75 million. This also involved upgrading the school canteen to a cashless catering system operated by sQuid. It was opened by the Duke of Gloucester on 5 October 2012. The new sixth form block was built and completed in summer 2019.[16]

In 2013, a new school block was opened named 'The George and Eve Tatam Block', after alumni who also sponsor higher level study at the Corpus Christi College of both Oxford and Cambridge.[17]

In spring 2019, a new sixth form block opened following a grant received in 2017. The three-storey building comprises study spaces and IT facilities on the lower two floors, whilst the upper floor houses the senior library. The building links directly to the George and Eve Tatum Block next to which it is constructed.[18]

Notable former pupils

Pate's Grammar School

Music

Sport

Engineers

Academia

Politics

Film & TV

Authors

Other

Pate's Grammar School for Girls

See also

References

  1. "Pate's is the Sunday Times' Secondary School of the Year". Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  2. Thomas, Zoe. "State Secondary School of the Year: Pate's Grammar School, Cheltenham". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. Top GCSE results 2005 Archived 2005-09-13 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News Online, 13 January 2005
  4. Top A-Level results 2005 Archived 2005-09-13 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News Online, 13 January 2005
  5. School profile Archived 22 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News Online, 19 January 2006
  6. "Pate's Grammar School Cheltenham". www.Pates.Gloucs.sch.uk. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  7. Excellence of physics department recognised Archived 22 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Observer, 21 May 2006
  8. "The Times & The Sunday Times". TheTimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  9. "Ofsted, Exam Results and Performance Data". Pate's Grammar School Website. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  10. "Kingston, Peter". Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  11. "Pate's Grammar School Rugby Union 1st XV 2006/07". Schools Rugby. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  12. 2009 student producers announced Archived 2009-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, BBC, 2 April 2009
  13. "AISC HKCEC December 2020". Asia-Pacific International Schools Conference. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  14. "Our Town Newsletter of Cheltenham Civic Society" (PDF). Cheltenham Civic Society. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  15. "The History of Hesters Way Part 1 Schools". Chris Green. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  16. "Professor Robert Winston Opens New Sixth Form Block at Pate's Grammar School". Carter & Co. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  17. "Naming and 'In Memorandum'". Pate's Grammar School. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  18. "New 6th Form Block". Pate's Grammar School. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  19. "Scrutiny part of the job for Leeds striker Matt Smith". Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.'}
  20. Robson, David (25 September 2008). "Town vs Gown: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire". London: The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  21. Ashmore, Jonathan (10 June 2012). "Anne Warner obituary". Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
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