Sir John Deane's College

Infobox school | name = Sir John Deane's College


imagesize = 150px
caption = The College Logo
type = Mixed Sixth Form College
principal = Mr Andrew Jones
enrollment =
location = Monarch Drive
Northwich
Cheshire
information = 01606 46011
website = http://www.sjd.ac.uk/

Sir John Deane's College is a sixth form college in Northwich, Cheshire, UK. It was formerly Sir John Deane's Grammar School, which was founded in 1557.

History

SirIn the 16th century, the title indicated a presbyter with a university degree, rather than a knight. In today's language, he would be the Rev'd John Deane, MA.] John Deane was born in Shurlach, between Davenham and the Rudheath district of Northwich, but rose to become Rector of Great St Bartholomew in Smithfield, London,In 1893, Old Wittonians placed a brass in Sir John's memory in his former parish church. See Cite web|url=http://www.raheresgarden.com/daniells-37-51.html|title=St Bartholomew-the-Great [from: London City Churches] |accessdate=2007-09-15|publisher=anon [Charles Scribner's Sons] |year=n.d. [1912] |author=A.E.Daniell|work=Rahere's Garden: The History & Personalities of St Bartholomew-the-Great] and Prebendary of Lincoln. He worked under both Protestant and Roman Catholic régimes during the English Reformation. He established a grammar school for poor boys in Witton on Michaelmas 1557, "in the name of Jesus". It was to be maintained by feoffees (a kind of charity), who were given land in Chester and the Wirral.cite book | title=A Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools in England and Wales| url=http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=GwsJRFnvUIAC&pg=PA129&dq=%22Sir+John+Deane%22+-Winthrop&as_brr=0| last=Carlisle| first=Nicholas | date=1818| pages=129-136| publisher=Baldwin, Cradock and Joy| location=London The bold text in the quotation represents small capitals in the original.] , the result of Sir John's astuteness during the dissolution of the monasteries. As well as prescribing rules for the Feofees, Schoolmaster and schoolboys, the foundation statues record his interest in an old Cheshire custom whereby schoolboys "a weeke before Christynmas and Easter, barre and keep forth of the Schoole the schoolmaster, in such sort is other schollers doe in greete schooles."cite journal | title=Old Cheshire Christmas Customs| journal=Cheshire Magazine| year=n.d.| url=http://www.cheshiremagazine.com/Archives/xmascustoms.html] Sir John required his Grammar School to enforce the custom and allow the boys to play with boys and arrows, "to the end that the Schollars ("sic") have not any evil opinion of the Schoolmaster." It was generally known as "Witton Grammar School", or "Witton Free Grammar School", in the early centuries. It had a close relationship with St Helen's Witton, and its early buildings were on the same site. The School had a reputation as hotbed of Puritanism in the early 17th century,cite journal | author=Margaret Crum| title=Review| journal=The Review of English Studies| year=1971| volume=NS 22| issue=85| url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0034-6551(197102)2%3A22%3A85%3C81%3ASJB1AR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-B| pages=81–83, p.81.] and this is still perhaps its greatest contribution to public life. [See the section Old Wittonians, above.] However, it fell into decline and became the smallest of the . During the early 19th century, the feoffees and the headmaster began legal action in a dispute over the headmaster's salary,An early stage of proceedings is described in cite journal | author=George Moody (ed.)| title=Law Reports: Attorney-General v. Barker| journal=English Journal of Education| year=1844| volume=II| url=http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=hLIEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA218&dq=%22Witton+Grammar+School%22#PPA218,M1| pages=81–83] and eventually wider mismanagement. The case went to the Court of Chancery and took decades to resolve, sapping much of the school's strength.

In the early 20th century, three financial decisions radically changed the character of the school, by then generally referred to as "Sir John Deane's Grammar School" or "Northwich Grammar School". Firstly, it received a generous 350th anniversary benefaction from Sir John Brunner, allowing the governors to construct new buildings on its current riverside site. Secondly, the feoffees made poor investment decisions, culminating in the sale of property in Chester, that later became a high-value shopping district.These properties were noted for their value even in 1818 (see Carlisle, op.cit.).] Thirdly, they decided that in view of the school's long-term financial weakness, the original mandate was best fulfilled by entering the state system. The school came under the auspices of Cheshire County Council as the boys' grammar school for the Northwich area. For some time it continued to have boarders in Riversdale (an old house), which also functioned at times as the headmaster's house.cite book | title=A History of Sir John Deane's Grammar School, Northwich, 1557-1908; with a chapter on later developments since 1908 | url=http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=59AKAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Witton+Grammar+School%22&pgis=1 |last=Cox| first=Marjorie| coauthors=L.A.Hopkins (supplementary chapter)| publisher=Manchester University Press| location=Manchester| id=ISBN 0719012821] . This phase ended in 1977, when RoSLA and the County Council's policy of comprehensive education saw Northwich move from selective, single-sex 11-18 schools to comprehensive mixed 11-16 schools with a single sixth form college.

Echoes of the College's history remain today. Sir John Deane is commemorated in an annual Founder's Day service at St Helen's, usually in October. A large portrait of Sir John Brunner hangs in the College Hall. There are also subtler signs, such as the fine original buildings, the presence of a flourishing boat club in a state school, and the distinctive college arms.

The College today

Sir John Deane's College re-established itself as a voluntary controlled sixth form college in September 1978. It is a single site campus, parallel to the River Weaver; the college is around half a mile away from Northwich town centre, in the borough of Vale Royal. The college provides various qualifications. The college’s main aim is to provide advanced level courses for full-time students aged from between 16 to 18. In 1998, the college introduced its part-time adult courses. This initiative has seen high interest in recent years with over 1,600 adults taking part in courses during the 2002/2003 academic year.

In the last Ofsted inspection, the Inspectors gave the college’s quality of provision outstanding in 83.33% of the six curriculum areas inspected and good in the remaining percentages. The inspectors also noted that the colleges overall retention and pass rates are very high and are significantly above the national averages for other sixth form colleges.

Admissions policy

The college has Partner High schools, namely: Rudheath Community High School, Middlewich High School, Weaverham High School, Hartford High School and County High School Leftwich. These schools do not have their own sixth forms. Students applying from these schools usually receive conditional offers based on their GCSE results. Details of entry requirements will be discussed with Partner High school students when senior staff from the College visit their schools in the Autumn Term of their Year 11.

The college allows applications from students attending other schools in Cheshire and beyond, and each year over three hundred such applications are accepted. Before 2006, the college dealt with applications in the order in which they were received. The college reserves the right to close its lists when numbers reach a certain limit, and that after that time, applications will only be accepted provisionally until final numbers are known in September. This practice is reviewed annually. All students will be advised in the course of their application interview on entry requirements, but as a general guide, should obtain six or more GCSE subjects at grade C and above.

The College would normally expect students to achieve Grade Bs in each of the subjects to be study at A Level, or in a related subject. [cite web | title = Information about Admissions | work = Sir John Deane's College website | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sir_John_Deane%27s_College&action=edit&section=1 | accessdate=2007-02-19] .

Old Wittonians and former schoolmasters

Old boys of the Grammar School are referred to as 'Old Wittonians',cite journal | title=Is there an Old Wittonian Society?| journal=Northwich Guardian| date=7 May 2003| url=http://archive.thisischeshire.co.uk/2003/5/7/173195.html] , also the name of the school magazine [See extracts linked above.] , and this is used for old members of the College. Notable men linked associated with the school (Old Wittonians unless noted) include:
*Sir John Berkenhead, Cavalier journalist, poet and politician
*Sir George Cory, 19th/20th century chemist and historian, taught at the school sometime between 1884 and 1886.
*John Greenway MP, 20th/21st century Conservative politician
*Eaton Hodgkinson, a 19th century engineer, had a brief and unhappy time at the schoolOxford Dictionary of National Biography, "loc.cit."]
*Philip Holland, 20th century Conservative politician
*Phil Leeson, 20th century development economist and Communist activistcite journal | author=Pat Devine| title=Phil Leeson: Development economist passionate about communicating ideas| journal=The Guardian| year=2006-05-13| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1215444,00.html]
*Nathan Paget, 17th century physician and Puritan activist
*Thomas Pierson, 17th century conformist Puritan presbyter
*John Sharps, 20th century Gaskell scholarcite journal | author=Alan Shelston| title=John Geoffrey Sharps| journal=The Guardian| year=2006-01-31| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/otherlives/story/0,,1698416,00.html]
*Richard Steele, 17th century Presbyterian minister and Puritan writer, buried at Great St Bartholomew's)
*Stuart Thompson, 21st century engineer on the Three Gorges Damcite journal | author=Peter Kingston| title=Dam and Blast| journal=The Guardian| year=2006-06-20| url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,1801006,00.html]
*Robert Westall, 20th century children's author and longstanding Head of Art at the school, wrote a short story entitled "Sir John Deane's in 2010". In 2007, the manuscript was displayed at the Salt Museum, a few minutes' walk from the College.
*Percy Young, 20th century writer and musicologistcite journal | author=Nigel Fortune| title=Percy M Young| journal=The Guardian| year=2003-05-21| url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/obituary/0,12723,1221491,00.html]

ee also

*Northwich
*Education in the United Kingdom

External links

* [http://www.sjd.ac.uk/ Sir John Deane's Official Website]
* [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/manreports/1844.htm: Ofsted Report 2003]
* [http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/CHESHIRE/2004-11/1101050457 Extracts from the "Old Wittonian ", 1904-07]
* [http://www.carlscam.com/northwich/johndeane.htm Photos of the 1907 building, including the war memorial]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/garrybrookes/id37.htm Photos of the campus, with memories of the school in the 1970s]
* [http://archive.knutsfordguardian.co.uk/2002/11/21/184388.html "Northwich Guardian" series on the school in the 1940s]

References and Bibliography

*cite book | title=Witton: Tales of a Grammar School| url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Witton%20Grammar%20School%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=ws| last=Read| first=John William| date=1864| publisher=Stevenson| location=London
*cite book | title=The Records of St. Bartholomew's Priory and of the Church and Parish of St Bartholomew the Great| url=http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=MQchAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Witton+Grammar+School%22&dq=%22Witton+Grammar+School%22&pgis=1| last=Webb| first=Edward Alfred | date=1921| pages=300-303| publisher=Oxford University Press| location=Oxford
*cite book | title=Witton Grammar School, The original statutes of the founder, A.D. 1558, and the schemes and rules of the Endowed Schools Commission for its future management, 1874 and 1895.| last=Weston, ed| first=John| date=1885 (1st ed.), 1899 (2nd ed.)| publisher=Governors of Witton Grammar School| location=Northwich