William Hulme's Grammar School

William Hulme's Grammar School is an Academy (an independent school pre- September 2007) in Whalley Range, Manchester, England.

History

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WHGS was founded on 26 January 1887^[1] as a grammar school. It ceased to be a direct grant school when the Labour government abolished the scheme, and was therefore forced to become private. William Hulme, founder of the William Hulme Charity, lived 1631–1691 in Hulme Hall, Stockport. Following the tragically premature death of his beloved son, he left provision for the foundation of exhibitions for four students to study for Bachelor of Arts degrees at Brasenose College, Oxford. The income for this charity was originally £64, which came from rents and dues on his many outlying properties. Over the years, this sum has so grown that it has been necessary on several occasions to change the scope of his bequest by Act of Parliament. In 1881, the Trustees of his charity were empowered to build schools in Manchester, Oldham and Bury - they were known as the William Hulme Grammar Schools. The Manchester school, originally the Hulme Grammar School, changed its name to William Hulme's Grammar School in 1931.

Headmasters

Joseph Hall PhD (1887–1913)

W.A. Parker Mason MA (1913–1921)

A man about whom almost nothing is known; however, a paper he wrote, entitled "The Beginnings of the Cistercian Order", which won the Royal Historical Society's Alexander Prize in 1905, is available to read online.^[2]

Trevor Dennis, M.A. (Clare College, Cambridge) (1921–1947)

The school had by no means recovered from the upheaval of the World War I when Dennis arrived. His main task as to follow a policy of expansion; in 1926 the Science Block and Gymnasium were built and the New Hall was extended. This continued up to the construction of the Art and Manual building in 1939. He had a passion for sports and the arts, adding 5 acres (20,000 m2) to the grounds for lacrosse. Perhaps his most important job was to maintain stability in the War years.

After graduating in Mathematics and Engineering at Clare College, Cambridge, Mr. Dennis took up office in January 1921. He was known to be a very versatile man: In music, he sang in the annual School Easter Sacred Concert and played the flute and trombone. He had written two mathematics textbooks before coming to Hulme. At Cambridge, he represented his college in cricket, rugby, hockey and athletic and coached the School cricket 1st XI. He was an expert carpenter, carving the ceremonial Headmaster's chair and house shields on the stage table.

Mr. Dennis was noted for his commitment to making the School a success, spending much of his holidays and 6 and a half days per week working, whether levelling the grounds or sorting lost property. He was also well known for his slightly capricious character. He was known to interrupt ill-sung hymns, protesting that he could see but one boy with his mouth open, and he was yawning, before branding his congregation "wet cod fish".

1934 saw the death of Governor Archdeacon Aspinall, depicted in the New Hall's largest portrait. The following year, Sir Edward Donner died. A Governor from 1903–1926, he bequeathed to the School £500.

After joking that he would have to be carried out of the School before he left it, his words literally came true following ill-health. He died in 1950.

James Gurth Bird M.B.E. MA (St Catharine's College, Cambridge) (1947–1974)

Widely accepted as the Headmaster who made the school what it was at its prime. A man would who be seen at every games practice and music rehearsal, Bird was a Classics Scholar popular with all staff. He was also a deeply religious man, and would hence insist on the school orchestra playing hymns in assemblies.

P.A. Filleul MA Oxford (1974–1987)

A rather more quiet man than his predecessor but one with whom the staff all saw eye to eye. He would often be found in his study with pipe and sherry. One criticism is that his shyness made public speaking, including assemblies, rather awkward.

Peter D. Briggs MA (1987–1997)

Briggs was an excellent PR man; his genial smile and intellect made him popular. He came under criticism for not planning for the unavoidable win of the Labour Party in 1997 which meant the end of the assisted places scheme. Instead, he hired many new teachers and spent money at a time that, in hindsight, should perhaps have been one of consolidation. He left to be a Headmaster in Indonesia at an arguably crucial time.

Morris Loveland MA (Acting)

The Second Master of the school, he was acting Headmaster twice.

Brian Purvis MA (1997–2000)

Mr Purvis was a favourite with the staff. However, the management of the last decade meant that money was extremely short. He was forced to make many redundancies under the instructions of the governors; this was traumatic for such a popular man and he succumbed to depression. Following an incident in which pornographic materials were discovered in his study,^[3] he resigned after admitting to his actions in front of a school assembly. Purvis was responsible for acquiring and moving the Preparatory School onto the main site (into the Old Building) in order to sell existing premises.

Morris Loveland (Acting) 2000

Stephen R. Patriarca BA (2000–2008)

This was a man who had a job harder than any of his predecessors. He came at a time when numbers where falling drastically, money was very short, and a popular Headmaster had just been forced to leave. This made him initially unpopular in the eyes of some of the more senior staff, pupils and parents; He changed the House system from its 6-house structure to the present 4-houses. He replaced the red griffin with a golden lion. Under his leadership, the astroturf and hard-play area were built at the loss of the swimming pool. His legacy, though, was for the school's transition to a City Academy, the success of this is still to be seen.

Peter Mullholand MA (Wadham College, Oxford) (2008-)

Buildings

Old Building

The north face of the Old Building looking towards the front of the School

The original part of the school was designed by A H Davies-Colley in 1886–1887 as a large, high (up to four storeys) building of red brick and yellow terracotta. There is a hall of c.1910 in the same style. Both buildings are strictly symmetrical. The building lies on top of a large tunnel network. In the original building, there is a ground floor hall surrounded by balconies on many levels. The main staircase is opposed by large stained glass windows. The basement level was refurbished on one side in 2007 in order to allow lessons to be held in two small classrooms. The tunnels, archives and CCF stores still remain, though. At the front of the school in the basement are the staff changing rooms, medical centre and store cupboard (in which the timpani, though seldom used, are kept).

The stage of the main hall lies opposite the hall entrance, above which are a number of magnificent oil paintings of previous headmasters, some near to 6' in length. A portrait of Mr Patriarca was commissioned in 2008. Around the oak-panelled walls of the hall are boards bearing the names of old boys who have been awarded Scholarships or Exhibitions to Oxford or Cambridge, long serving teachers and all past headmasters. Above these are numerous house flags and shields. On the west wall is the stage staff balcony. The stage staff are appointed each year to operate and maintain lighting and sound for the school. Beneath the balcony is the organ. There is also a fairly new grand piano which is frequently used for public concerts and recitals. Beneath the main hall was originally the changing rooms but is now the music department which is equipped with an older grand piano in the rehearsal studio, along with several upright pianos and a number of computers and keyboards.

Science Block

Leaving the old building from the back, one enters the north quad. Opposite is the science block, which was built in 1927. It houses approximately 10 physics, chemistry and biology laboratories and also classrooms for mathematics and business studies, along with the studies of the heads of those subjects. There are darkroom facilities within the physics department. It has been extended twice. The first extension, in the 1940s, added 4 labs at the north end of the building. Its purpose, according to the Headmaster at the time, was to "prosecute study and further the development of truth; if that can't be done, what else is there?" The second extension was in January 1985. The gap at the back between the then-Donner library and the 'old' biology laboratory was filled to give a new biology lab and a multi-purpose large lab. The latter of these was refurbished in 2002 as the Dr Barnes Laboratory, in memory of Dr John Barnes, head of chemistry, who died suddenly whilst teaching in 2000.

View of the Science Block in front of the Main Building. Astroturf in foreground and Donner Block (in construction) on left. Taken from original 1st XI cricket square

Donner Block

On the other side of the north quad is the Donner block, named after Sir Edward Donner, a benefactor of the school. It was built as an extension to the technology building in the mid 20th century. In 2007 it was completely gutted and is currently being rebuilt. Building work is expected to finish in summer 2008, at which point the building will house a refectory-type area along with new classrooms which will house Mathematics, History, Geography, Religious Studies and Business Studies.

South Quad

On the other side of the Donner Block is the south quad. This is surrounded by the dining hall, the Donner Library and the Zochonis Centre. This is the most recent building, and is home to Modern Foreign Languages, ICT and English.

Libraries

The Donner Library moved to the previous VIth form common room in 2007. This is its third location - it has previously occupied what is now the Mathematics department and the Donner block first floor. The old Junior Library was housed in the basement of the old building underneath room 7, in what is now the CCF stores

Sports facilities

Behind the academic buildings, and backing onto Princess Road are the sports facilities. There is a sports hall with full cricket nets, gymnasium and changing rooms as well as a more modern pavilion/changing room suite. A full-size AstroTurf pitch with adjacent netball courts was built in 2002–2003. In winter the playing fields are used for hockey, rugby and soccer pitches, and in summer for rounders and cricket pitches with high quality wickets. Badminton, basketball and tennis are also played. Throughout the year there are regular inter-school and inter-House matches in all the main sports. The Corps also has an indoor rifle range on the campus.

Harris House, Hardraw

The school, through the J.G. Bird Trust, owns an ex-school and attached headmaster's house in the village of Hardraw, near Hawes, Wensleydale.^[4] School parties of up to 30 students and staff frequent this listed building known as 'Harris House' to take part in outdoor pursuits. It was built in 1875 and comprises the school teacher's house, junior and infant classrooms and the former kitchen. It closed in the 1960s and was bought by WHGS, which at the time owned several centres similar to but smaller than this. It was then converted for WHGS use. The centre was known as 'Hulme House' until 1993, when W.C. Harris, an Old Hulmeian, left £50,000 in his will for the renovation of the property. The house was hence renamed after its principal benefactor. The accommodation holds 34 people with 3 dormitories for 8 and 3 other rooms which sleep 2, 3 and 4 people; groups regularly use the centre for outdoor pursuits, field courses, Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions and training.

School life

Charities

The School supports two charities, St. Ann's Hospice and Henshaw's Society for Blind People. A number of fund-raising activities are held throughout the School year, including bag-packing at local supermarkets and providing refreshments at various School activities.

The House system

The House system had operated for more than 100 years until recent changes were made. The original houses were Whitworth, Gaskell, Byrom, Fraser, Heywood and Dalton. These have now been replaced by Hulme, Jones, Bonnick and Roberts, all named after benefactors of the School. The House Masters are all senior staff. Heads of House and House Prefects are elected annually. House artifacts, namely shields, banners and portraits, can be seen at the school in the New Hall.

Origins of Houses

The Houses in the old system were named after influential Mancunians:

• Byrom - John Byrom, Poet
• Dalton - John Dalton, Physicist
• Fraser - James Fraser, reforming Anglican Bishop of Manchester
• Gaskell - Elizabeth Gaskell, Author
• Heywood - Oliver Heywood (Banker and philanthropist)
• Whitworth- Sir Joseph Whitworth, Engineer

New-system houses are named after influential Hulmeians/benefactors:

• Bonnick - WHGS Teacher, 1950s-1990s
• Hulme - William Hulme, founder
• Jones - Unknown
• Roberts - William Roberts, benefactor

Heads of Houses

• Bonnick: A.J. Rodgers
• Hulme: R.A. Hathaway
• Jones: D.A. Myers
• Roberts: L. Sharp

Combined Cadet Force

Towards the end of their third year (Year 9), the majority of pupils pupils join the voluntary CCF (the "Corps"). Uniform is issued and cadets accompany the Contingent on a Field Day in June and, if they wish, Summer Camp, where they take part in a wide variety of activities. They train once a week at School, following syllabuses which lead to promotion and qualifications.

Cadets join either the Army (Duke of Lancaster's Regiment) or the RAF Section, both of which are officered by teachers, whereafter a minimum of five terms' service is expected. They may then choose to continue as NCOs in the Sixth Form, during which time they undergo more advanced training and assist in instructing the younger cadets. The Corps meets weekly and takes part in a Field Day each term. In addition to Summer Camps, there are two camps at Easter, one on an RAF Station, the other adventurous training in North Wales. Membership offers many advantages, not least of which is the opportunity to apply for a wide range of residential courses offered by the services; especially popular are leadership, gliding, first aid, engineering and signals.

Music

A concert band/orchestra exists and plays in several concerts each year along with the choir and jazz band.

Note on the organ

The organ was installed in 1982 under the guidance of PJ Callaghan, Head of History. It has Great and Swell manuals and a pedal board of 2.5 octaves. By 2008 the organ had ceased to be used more regularly than in a few hymn practises and the Christmas service each year and has fallen into slight disrepair, with a few keys on the swell manual requiring work.

School productions

The concert band provides music for the annual school production. In 2007, for example, the band played the original score for 'West Side Story'- an extremely difficult musical. 3 pianists, 3 percussionists, 6 woodwind and 4 brass players combined. 2008 saw the performance of 'My Fair Lady'.

Other concerts

The Black Dyke Mills Band have strong links with the school through Master i/c Music, P. Goodwin, and therefore give a few concerts each year in the New Hall. January 17, 2008 saw a concert in which, amongst others, overtures to Rossini's 'William Tell' and Verdi's 'The Force of Destiny' were played alongside the 1812 overture.

In November 2007, Serhei Salov, internationally famed Ukrainian pianist, performed a piano recital. A packed hall heard him play a selection of Etudes by Chopin and his own arrangement of Der Fledermus. In the afternoon before the concert, Mr Salov gave master classes for skilled student pianists.

Cafe Wien visits the school frequently for light afternoon music, cake and coffee.

The School Song

The School Song is the William Hulme's Grammar School Song, though this has not been sung at the School for at least forty years, and has somewhat fallen out of favour due to the views expressed. It has undergone something of a revival recently. If the song is taken not literally as praise to William Hulme himself, but to the institution of 'Hulme', then it holds rather more value. The institution of Hulme is accepted as the whole ethos of the school, as started by its founder; the values of trusting, rounded, wholesome students and teachers; students who excel is sport and music to the same extent as in Mathematics and English. The Hulme Song was recorded by the Nottingham University Choir in c. 1997. It is in the key of D major (although it undergoes several modulations) and is in '12/8' time. The words are as follows:^[5]

Verse 1

'Reft of his son and his line stay'd forever,

Gen'rous in sorrow our founder then prov'd;

Freely his all he entrusted that never

Men should be held from the learning they lov'd.

Small tho' the seed, God hath granted increasing;

Manifold now are the heirs to his name.

See down the ages the line never ceasing,

Firm in affection upholding his fame.

Chorus

Sing we in chorus in praise of our founder,

In pious remembrance we honour his name;

Proudly unfurl and on high raise his banner,

Shout to the world that our trust is in Hulme

Hulme! Hulme!

Shout that our trust is in Hulme.

Verse 2

Ours be to follow his noble ambition,

Hand to the future unspotted our shield.

Single of purpose to keep Hulme's tradition,

"Trust, but beware to nought evil we yield."

When down life's pathway Time's shadow comes stealing,

And youth's early glamour before it departs,

Burn still within us old memories kindling,

The firse of Hulme's faith now a-glow in our hearts.

Chorus

Sing we in chorus in praise of our founder,

In pious remembrance we honour his name;

Proudly unfurl and on high raise his banner,

Shout to the world that our trust is in Hulme

Hulme! Hulme!

Shout that our trust is in Hulme.

• Words by C. James
• Music be Clive Carey

	WHGS song verse and chorus of WHGS Song on organ, played and recorded 03/02/08
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

.

Heads of Departments

• Art: Mr G.L. Bennett
• Business Studies: Mr P.R. Hewston
• Classics: Mr M.H. Gracey (previously deputy of Heywood house)
• Design: Mr N.P. Dunn (previously head of Byrom house)
• English: Mr J.R. Wise (previously deputy of Fraser house)
• Geography: Mr G.H. Jones
• Geology: Mr H.N. Veevers (head of VIth form) (previously head of Gaskell house)
• History: Mrs A. Sexton
• ICT: Mr C. McLachlan
• Mathematics: Mr L. Sharp (previously head of Heywood house)
• Modern Foreign Languages- Mrs H. Sackfield (Previously deputy of Fraser house)
• Religious Studies: Mr B.S. Swales
• Science: Mr J.H. Thomson
• Biology: Mrs L White (Jones House Deputy)
• Chemistry: Mr M.I. Oldfield (Jones House Deputy)
• Physics: Mr J.H. Thomson
• Drama: Mrs R. Hathaway (Head of Hulme House)
• P.E: Mr A J Richardson

Sports

The first XI cricket pitch

Weekly fixtures are played against other local schools and also more prestigious clubs; for example, the cricket 1st XI have an annual fixture vs. the MCC. Matches in all sports against schools such as Manchester Grammar/High School are always eagerly anticipated, hard-fought affairs with a healthy dose of rivalry.

The Hulme Prayer

Though now rarely used, the school prayer is as follows:

O Lord, the resurrection and the life of them that believe, to be praised, as well as those that live as in those that are departed: we give thee thanks for William Hulme, of whose bounty this school was founded and endowed, for William Roberts, Edward Donner and others our benefactors, past and present, by whose beneficence we are here maintained for the further attaining of Godliness and learning: beseeching thee to grant that we, well using to thy glory these Thy gifts, may rise again to eternal life with those that are departed in the faith of Christ: through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Future

On 5 February 2006 it was announced that the school was to join the state sector, abolishing all tuition fees and selection. It applied for and gained City Academy status, which will make it more independent than most state schools by allowing for the selection of up to 10% of students based on aptitude in foreign languages. Parents were assured that the changes would not come at the cost of the quality of the education received by students.^[6]

It is the first member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference of 245 top independent schools to opt in to the state sector, which it joined in September 2007.

In March 2007, it was announced to parents that the plans to become an Academy had been finalised and that the United Learning Trust had signed the contract.^{[citation needed]} Plans for extensive building work were revealed, backed by a 10 million pound investment. Building work, which involves a complete renovation and extension of the Donner Block, and the demolition of the Art and Design building, is currently under way.

Notable alumni

• Andrew Bennett - former Labour MP
• Kim Booth, politician
• Peter Butterworth, actor
• Leslie Haden-Guest, 1st Baron Haden-Guest, Doctor and Labour M.P.
• James Hickman, swimmer
• Andy Hinchcliffe, footballer
• Derek Leckenby (1943–1994), lead guitarist of Herman's Hermits
• John Lee, Baron Lee of Trafford, Liberal Democrat Politician
• Ivan Lewis, M.P. for Bury South and Minister in the Department for Education and Skills.^[7]
• Sir Michael Lord, deputy speaker of the House of Commons and Conservative M.P.
• Sir Robert Mark, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
• Colin Touchin, conductor, composer and music educator
• Ashley Ward, footballer^[8]
• Thomas William Warnes, Gastroentorologist

The Old Hulmeians' Association

The School's former pupils society is the Old Hulmeians' Association (OHA), which was founded on 8 January 1913. A parallel Old Hulmeians in London Association ran from a similar time until the late 1990s, when it merged with the main OHA. Three Head Masters have held the office of President of the OHA, namely Rev. W.A. Parker-Mason, Trevor Dennis and James Bird. The current President is Prof. Ian Munro. The OHA owns, in part, the Old Hulmeians Memorial Ground playing field in Whalley Range. The ground is shared with Whalley Range Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club and is frequently used for school cricket fixtures. Sections exist within the OHA for Lacrosse, Golf and Cross-Country, and intermittently Cricket, Rugby and even a Masonic Lodge in the past. The OHA hold an annual dinner and produces an annual newsletter.

The United Learning Trust

The ULT are the sponsors of the new Academy. However, the changes they have implemented have caused great controversy. For example, the ULT logo and motto must now be on all school publications. The Headmaster is also officially now called the Principal. Additional changes include tighter controls on activities.

References

Additional reading

• K.P. Thompson, The History of William Hulme's Grammar School, 1887–1980

External links

• School Website
• Old Hulmeians' Website

Coordinates: 53°26′46″N 2°14′53″W / 53.446°N 2.248°W / 53.446; -2.248