Adams' Grammar School

**Adams' Grammar School**
Headmaster	Mr J.M. Richardson
School type	Grammar, Boarding
Religious affiliation	None (traditionally Church of England)
Founded	1656
Location	Newport, Shropshire
Local Education Authority	Telford and Wrekin
Age range	11-16 (boys) and 16-18 (mixed)
Enrollment	800
Campus	Town campus with rural sports grounds
School colour(s)	Maroon; Navy blue
House colour(s)	Clive - Red; Darwin - Blue; Talbot - Black; Webb - Green
Major sports	Rugby, cricket

Adams' Grammar School is a state grammar school in Newport, Shropshire. Its name is sometimes abbreviated to AGS.

Background

Adams' is a selective state school, which admits both boarding and day pupils, and is a specialist technology college. The school, including the sixth form, has approximately 800 pupils (750 boys, 50 girls). The school educates only boys in Years 7 to 11 (ages 11 to 16), while the Sixth Form (ages 16 to 18) is mixed. The Haberdashers are still important in the running of the school: they provide some of the school's funding and have representatives in its governing body.

School life

The school is divided into four houses for competitive and pastoral purposes. These are named after notable Salopians:

Clive House is named after Clive of India. Its colour is red, and it is represented by an elephant.

Darwin House takes its name from Charles Darwin. Its unofficial coat-of-arms has been depicted variously a lion and Darwin's head, and its colour is royal blue.

Talbot House is named for Charles Talbot. It is represented by black and white, and its coat of arms, though it has varied, generally includes a dog (although not always a Talbot Hound). The Talbot House motto is 'forte et fidele', translating to 'strength and faithfulness'.

Webb House, the youngest of the houses, comes from Captain Matthew Webb. It is given an emerald green.

Highlights of the school year include the Smedley and House Chess Cups: the inter-house rugby and Chess competitions respectively. The school also has a number of clubs and societies. These include Army, Royal Navy and RAF CCF sections, maths and further maths clubs, Christian Union and the William Adams Arts and Debating Society.

The current Headmaster since 1993 is JM Richardson and the deputy headmasters are Michael Barratt and Mark Warren-Smith.

History

Adams' was founded in 1656 by William Adams, a wealthy citizen of the City of London and a Haberdasher who was born in the town. It was opened on March 25 1657.

The School under the Headmastership of Reverend Samuel Lea MA turned down the services of Dr. Johnson, later to be the pre-eminent scholar of the 18th Century, who wrote one of the first English Dictionaries.

Charles Dickens (1812- 1870) stayed at The Bear Hotel, now called Beaumaris House that forms part of the school's Boarding House. Chetwynd House was formerly the home of Elizabeth Parker, the recluse on whom Dickens modelled Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (1861).

A notable former Headmaster is Alec Peterson who created the International Baccalaureate, headed the Education Studies Department at Oxford University and also ran Military Intelligence in South East Asia following World War two.

Notable alumni

Former pupils are known as "Old Novaportans" (initiated as "ON").

Simon Bates (born 1947) – Radio disc jockey
Barrington J. Bayley (born 1937) – Science Fiction author
Tom Brown (1662-1704) – Satirist
Jeremy Corbyn (born 1949) – Labour Party MP
William Cureton (1808-1864) – Orientalist
Thomas Hollis (1720-1774) – Harvard Benefactor and Political Propagandist
General Sir George Colt Langley KCB (1810-1896)
Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (1851-1940) – First person to transmit a radio signal, invented the spark plug and wireless, he also invented the loud speaker, the vacuum tube (valve) and the variable tuner.
Thomas Parker (1666-1732) – First Earl of Macclesfield (of the second creation) and Lord Chancellor from 1714 to 1725.
Thomas Percy (1729-1811) – Bishop of Dromore, Poet, Editor of Tatler and Spectator, author of the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
Matthew Smith (spy) Matthew Smith (provocateur)]] – 17th-century spy, intriguer and writer.
Professor Maurice Stacey (1907-1994) – Worked alongside Sir Norman Haworth to artificially synthesize Vitamin C.

External links

Adams' Grammar School website
Adams' Grammar School's most recent OFSTED report
AGS Voice - the school magazine

References

Taylor D, Taylor R (2002) Mr. Adams' Free Grammar School. Philimore: London. (ISBN 1860772218)

Note, Taylor D is a former headmaster of AGS.

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