Lymm High School

Infobox UK school
name = Lymm High School


size = 90px
latitude =
longitude =
dms =
motto = "Olim Meminisse Juvabit"
("One Day, It will be a Joy to Remember")

motto_pl =
established = 1514
approx = yes
closed =
c_approx =
type = Voluntary aided Comprehensive
religion =
president =
head_label =
head = Angela Walsh
r_head_label =
r_head = "Unknown"
chair_label = Chairman of Governors
chair = Geoff Hawley
founder =
founder_pl =
specialist = Language College, Sports College
street = Oughtrington Lane
city = Warrington
county = Cheshire
country = England flagicon|England
postcode = WA13 0RB
phone = [phone]
fax = [phone]
LEA = Warrington Borough Council
ofsted =
staff =
enrollment = c.2000 students
gender = Coeducational
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 18
houses = Arley, Tatton, Walton, Moreton and Dunham
colours = Green, White and Navy Blue
publication =
free_label_1 = Former Pupils
free_1 = Old Lymmians
free_label_2 =
free_2 =
free_label_3 =
free_3 =
website = http://www.lymmhigh.co.uk/
website_name =

Lymm High School (properly Lymm High School (Voluntary Controlled)) is an English State School, located in Lymm, Warrington, Cheshire, and with a history stretching back to the late 16th century. The school holds dual specialist Language College and Sports College status [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_providers/full/(urn)/111448] .

History

There is no clear date for the foundation of the school, but the earliest known reference to its existence dates from a Church Document in 1514, mentioning the 'Master of Lymm School'. What is clear, is that it was a well established single sex school in its Damside site when it was reconstituted as 'Lymm Grammar School' and granted a royal charter in 1601. It remained in this location for several hundred years, occupying some of the buildings which now make up St Mary's Church, until it was forced to sell its land in 1881 after a series of financial difficulties. The land was split into 11 lots, with 5 of them being purchased by G C Dewhurst, who was a member of the board of governors. In February 1882 he informed the board that he would give a different site near Higher Lane for a school and school house and would also pay for a road to be made to the site - Grammar School Road. An appeal was launched to raise the necessary funds for the construction of the buildings and a committee formed to co-ordinate the collection. Despite problems with the construction firm, the new buildings opened on the 12th July 1885.

In 1900, a motion was made before the governors council to enable co-education. This was introduced in June 1902, with the first students starting in the September.

The School remained unchanged on its Grammar School Lane site until, in 1945, Headteacher J. R. Canney, advised Cheshire County Council to purchase Oughtrington Hall to be used as an annexe. Thus, from 1945 the hall was used by junior forms until 1957, when the whole school was transferred to the site, with the buildings in Grammar School Road becoming the site of the newly formed Lymm Secondary Modern School. The two institutions remained separate until their amalgamation under the Comprehensive system in the early 1980's. In 1994 the Grammar School Road buildings were sold and demolished to make way for housing.

The 1990s were characterised by a rapid development programme, with much of the surrounding farmland being bought for playingfields, and many of the existing playing fields being built on. This programme reached its zenith in 2002, with the opening of the new Sixth Form Building.

Location

The school is located on Oughtrington Lane, towards the eastern side of Lymm village, adjacent to the village Cricket Club in the grounds of Oughtrington Hall, which houses the school library. In addition to the old hall and stables, there are 5 newer buildings (Blocks A, E, D, L, and S) which house the majority of the classrooms and specialist facilities. The Sixth Form Block (Block S) contains a large central room known as the hexagon, where the sixth form students gather in their study periods, break and lunch, but can double up as a formal gathering area when required, for both school and non-school purposes.

Entry

Entry is non-selective, and available to all those residing in the catchment area. This currently covers all southern east parts of Warrington including Lymm, Thelwall, High Legh and Statham, as well as parts of Grappenhall, Dunham Town, and areas of Stockton Heath. In recent years, this area has been dramatically reduced in size in response to the growing number of pupils, leading to an increase in the catchment area for nearby Bridgewater High School.

Houses

All students are members of a hall as well as of the school, 2-3 forms per yeargroup from year 7-13 go into each hall. The halls system was established in September 2002, with the original four houses (named after key local families) being supplemented by a further five new ones (named after local stately homes). The original houses were Domville, Ridgeway, Warbuton and Watkin; the new halls are Arley, Dunham, Moreton, Tatton and Walton. Each hall has an associated colour.

A 'school colours' tie is awarded to pupils demonstrate achievement, whether in studies or sport. The tie is silver, with a strip of colour across the middle in the colour of the pupil's hall. The 'hall colours' tie is also awarded to pupils who have shown achievement for their hall. The tie is the same colour as the pupil's hall and has a silver strip across it.

Sport

Lymm has a proud sporting history, primarily in rowing and rugby union, but with marked success in football, tennis, and hockey. In rugby, the school has won the Daily Mail Vase a number of times along with the Under 15's Daily Mail Cup in 2007. In rowing, the school regularly wins head of the river at a number of different regattas.

In addition, the school is a local 'sports hub' with on-site leisure facilities available for use by the general public. It is continually expanding the number of sports it offers - the last notable addition was sabre fencing in 2003.

Old Students Association

Old students of the school are known as 'Old Lymmians', with the 'Lymm Old Students Association' acting as their co-ordinating body. As of 2005, its primary tasks are communicating school related news through its thriving local and international membership, organising local events (Such as its regular rambling trips), raising money for the school, orchestrating reunions, and providing networking events.

The Old Students Association tie is composed of alternate inch wide diagonal stripes of dark green, dark blue, and white. The Old Students Association blazer is dark green, edged with an inch wide border of white cotton.

Famous Old Lymmians

Notable Alumni of the School Include:
*Neil Fairbrother - Cricketer
*D. J. Finney, Professor of Statistics, University of Edinburgh
*Ruth Lea, Conservative public policy researcher
*David Strettle - England Rugby Player
*Terry Waite - Author

References

External links

* [http://www.lymmhigh.co.uk Lymm High School] - Official website.
* [http://www.lymm.net/oldstudents Old Students Association webpage]
* [http://www.lymmhs.co.uk Lymm High Virtual Learning Environment website]
* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_providers/full/(urn)/111448/ OFSTED Report]