Slough Grammar School

Slough Grammar School

Motto	Ad Astra "To the stars"
Established	January 1912
Type	Grammar foundation school
Religion	Secular
Principal	Mrs Mercedes Hernández Estrada
Specialisms	Languages and Science
Location	Lascelles Road Slough Berkshire SL3 7PR England
Local authority	Slough Education Authority
DfE URN	110104
Ofsted	Reports
Students	1,221
Gender	Co-educational
Ages	11–18
Website	www.sloughgrammar.berks.sch.uk

Coordinates: 51°30′14″N 0°34′37″W / 51.504°N 0.577°W / 51.504; -0.577

Not to be confused with Eton College.

"Slough Secondary School", "Slough Grammar School for boys", "Slough High School" all redirect here

"Upton Grammar School" redirects here. For the school in Merseyside see Upton Hall School FCJ.

Slough Grammar School is a fully selective Foundation school in Lascelles Road, Slough (originally Buckinghamshire but now Berkshire).

The school is a Language College, a Science College, a Leading Edge School, an ICT-Focus School, a Training School, an International School under the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) and a participant in the Primary Language Initiative. From September 2004 it has offered some International Baccalaureate courses alongside its conventional secondary and sixth form courses.^[1] The school's motto, Ad Astra, has been used since its inception.

Mrs Mercedes Hernández Estrada took over as Principal at the start of the academic year 2010-2011

The school will celebrate its centenary during January 2012. An Old Paludians Association "Centenary Reunion" for all former pupils of all predecessor schools will occur at the school on Saturday 17 March 2012 from 11:00-17:00.

Slough Secondary School (1912 – 1936)

Slough Secondary School was the name of the first major selective secondary school in Slough (originally Buckinghamshire but now Berkshire). It was founded in 1912 just to the west of William Street, in the town centre. By 1936, the School had outgrown its premises and was split into Slough Grammar School for boys (1936–1982) in Lascelles Road and Slough High School for girls (1936–1982) in Twinches Lane, although the girls stayed on in the William Street buildings until 1939 when their new buildings were ready.

The original Slough Secondary School buildings in William Street were re-used during the Second World War and afterwards as temporary school accommodation. They were redeveloped in the 1960s as the tower blocks of Slough College, which became the Slough Campus of Thames Valley University. The area is being redeveloped again, under the Heart of Slough project.

Headmasters

1. Mr W. Francis Smith, BA (1912 – 1925)
2. Mr Ben Llewellyn (Acting) (1923 – 1925)
3. Mr Edward Rudland Clarke, MC, MA (Cantab), FRGS (1925 – 1936) and continued with Slough Grammar School for Boys until 1952

Slough Grammar School for Boys (1936 – 1982)

Slough Grammar School for Boys was a boys selective grammar school in Slough, It was created when the predecessor school, Slough Secondary School, split into separate Boys and Girls schools in 1936. It moved into purpose-built premises at Lascelles Road, which are still used by the current school.

Headmasters

1. Mr Edward Rudland Clarke, MC, MA (Cantab), FRGS (1936–1952) having started with Slough Secondary School in 1925
2. Mr Tom Anderson (Acting) (-1952)
3. Dr Wilfrid Robert Victor Long, BA, PhD (1952–1966)
4. Mr Gerald H Painter, MSc, FInstP (1966–1982) and continued with Upton Grammar School until 1988

Slough High School (1936 – 1982)

Slough High School was a girls selective secondary school in Slough, Buckinghamshire, now Berkshire. It was formed in 1936 from the split of Slough Secondary School (1912–1936) into Slough Grammar School for boys (1936–1982) and Slough High School for girls.

For the first three years of its existence, it occupied the former Slough Secondary School buildings in William Street, but, in 1939, it moved to new buildings in Twinches Lane, Cippenham.

In 1982, when the Twinches Lane site was sold for redevelopment, Slough Grammar School and Slough High School merged to form Upton Grammar School (1982 – 1993), which became today's Slough Grammar School.

Headmistresses

1. Miss J M Crawford, MA (1936 – 1962)
2. Miss Gwyneth R J Owen (1962 – 1978)
3. Miss Pamela A Reakes, BA (1978 – 1982)

Upton Grammar School (1982 – 1993)

Upton Grammar School in Lascelles Road, Slough, was formed in 1982 by the re-merger of Slough Grammar School for boys (1936 – 1982) and Slough High School for girls (1936 – 1982), when the High School's Twinches Lane site was sold for redevelopment. The combined school was renamed Upton Grammar School to underline the merger of two equals. Slough Grammar and Slough High had both been formed in 1936 from the split of Slough Secondary School (1912–1936).

Head teachers

1. Mr Gerald H Painter, MSc, FInstP (1982 – 1988) having started as Headmaster of Slough Grammar School for Boys in 1966
2. Mrs Margaret A Lenton, BA, FRSA (1988 – 1993) and continued with Slough Grammar School until 2010

Slough Grammar School (1993 –)

In 1993, Upton Grammar School was renamed back to Slough Grammar School, while retaining its co-educational status, the previous school of this name having been single-sex status.

Principals

1. Mrs Margaret A Lenton, BA, FRSA (1993 – 2010) having started with Upton Grammar School in 1988
2. Mrs Mercedes Hernández Estrada, MA (2010 – ) Current Principal

Reputation

Slough Grammar is known as a multicultural school that has achieved a remarkably happy coexistence of students from diverse ethnic backgrounds.^[2] The school is committed to its international school status, and to the understanding of other cultures as well as other languages. The 2008 OFSTED inspection report describes Slough Grammar as "outstanding" and the 2011 OFSTED interim assessment confirms that the standards are unchanged,^[3] The IB courses offered put it into a different category for 6th form league tables. The IB results were strong in 2006 and this has had a slight knock on effect in reducing the overall grade spread at A level.

Old Paludians

The term "Paludian" for former students of the school(s) is derived from the Latin word palus, meaning a marsh or slough. The term was first coined by the Headmaster, W. Francis Smith, in 1915, when the Old Paludians Association was formed, and has been in use ever since. "Old Paludians" is sometimes informally contracted to "Old Pals".

Former students

• Steve Bell
• Jon Benjamin
• Dr Jeremy Black ^[4]
• William Bradshaw, Baron Bradshaw
• Susan Cooper
• Philip Hinchcliffe
• Jeanne Hoban
• Philip Hubble
• Gary Numan
• Alison Weir

See also Category:Old Paludians

References

1. ^ "Slough Grammar School website - International Baccalaureate". http://www.sloughgrammar.berks.sch.uk/ibethos. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
2. ^ Good School Guide, Ofsted, 2006 
3. ^ "Ofsted Inspection Report". OFSTED. 2011. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/136420. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 
4. ^ "Jeremy Black (obituary)". The Independent Newspaper. 25 May 2004. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jeremy-black-755505.html. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 

External links

• Slough Grammar School
• Old Paludians Association