Calday Grange Grammar School

Geography

The school stands in a residential area of Wirral close to the Dee Estuary. Pupils come primarily from Wirral, Deeside and Cheshire areas. The main site at the top of Caldy Hill is occupied by the school buildings, sports cages and field, with a larger field located over Grammar School Lane. A mile southeast of the main school buildings, along Column Road/Telegraph Road, Calday has the Glasspool Playing Fields including 3 rugby pitches, a cricket square and a sand-based artificial hockey field. The school is surrounded by good-quality suburban housing development and the protected heathlands and woods of Grange, Caldy and Thurstaston.

School History and Status

Founded in 1636, Calday Grange Grammar School is Wirral’s oldest surviving grammar school. It was established as a free grammar school on the present site by local landowner William Glegg. From when it started with 12 pupils, the school has grown and transformed into a dynamic establishment of over 1300 students – which includes over 400 male and female students in the Sixth Form.

Calday Grange Grammar School became a trust school on 1 January 2009, transferring ownership of the school land and buildings to a Charitable Trust called "The Calday Grange Trust". The Calday Grange Trust is a partnership between Calday Grange Grammar School, The University of Liverpool, Unilever Research and Development and Maestro Services Ltd. Calday Grange Grammar School was the first Wirral School to convert to Trust Status.

In September 2011, the school informed parents that "The School has received notification from Companies House that the Calday Grange Trust Company has been dissolved. This has been notified to the Governing Body who contacted Wirral Local Authority and indicated their wish to revert to the Foundation Schools Instrument of Government".

In July 2011, the process for converting to an Academy school was begun, and the school converted to academy status with effect from 1 January 2013. It was confirmed there would be no change to the title of the school.

Performance

The last OFSTED inspection was in 2010, Upon completion they reported that the school scored an overall effectiveness of Grade 2 – "Good", with a number of outstanding features.

The overall effectiveness of the sixth Form remained unchanged at Grade 2. The outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils remained at Grade 1 – "Outstanding", and the quality of teaching and effectiveness of leadership scored a Grade 2 – "Good" and the effectiveness of the governing body got given a Grade 3 – "Satisfactory".

In 2015 96% of the year group achieved 5 GCSE passes at grades A* to C with 96.2% gaining at 5 A* to C grades including English and Maths.^] Four students achieved the highest possible level of 10 or more A* grades

^In 2015 Calday School received the best A level results since 2010 with a pass rate of 99.2% at A*-E grades. With a big increase in A*-A grades at 34.5%, as well as 64% in students gaining A*-B. All students who had applied for university were successfully placed (the majority gaining their first choice), with an increasing number of students successfully embarking on degree level apprenticeships.

The Calday Association of Parents and Staff (CAPS)

The school has a very active group of parents involved in charity and fund-raising initiatives for the school and 2015 parents and staff set up (CAPS) the Calday Association of Parents and Staff (CAPS) is for Calday Schools parents, teachers and local community groups to raise money and to support the school.

All parents of Calday students are automatically members of CAPS, as are all of the teaching and support staff.

Their aim is promoting the school, creating positive links through enjoyable events and activities, and obviously, to raise funds to support and develop the school.

CAPS provides an opportunity for everyone to work together towards a common goal. All parents, teachers and school staff can be involved even if they only have a small amount of time available.

Introduction

Calday have many extracurricular activities to offer. These activities complement the school's academic curriculum and to enhance the student's educational experience.

Sport

Calday Grange Grammar School has a proud history and tradition of sporting provision and Sport plays a big part in the Calday experience with many active sporting teams and students competing in local, regional,^[20] national^[21] and international events^[22]. The school's Hockey teams made it to the North England Hockey finals with the U16’S making it through to the National finals in at the national hockey stadium in London

Combined Cadet Force

The school maintains a Combined Cadet Force. The combined Cadet force has been at Calday since 1916, when a unit of the Officers’ Training Corps was first formed. It plays a big part in the Calday experience and teaches the students leadership skills, respect, personal discipline and technical knowledge.

There are three sections to the CCF:

Army

Royal Navy

Royal Air Force

2016 was the centenary of the CCF at Calday Grange Grammar School.

Duke of Edinburgh award

Calday offers the Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh award, helping the students to develop independence and employaility skills

To complete the award you must complete 4 sections:

Arts, Music and Drama

The school put on many drama performances through the year including the most recent one “Great Britain”. The school's Dramatic society are currently practicing for their performance of The Jungle Book.

Other

There are also many other clubs and activities that students can get involved in, helping them develop talents and skills including the very active sixth-form-led Amnesty International group. There are also many volunteering opportunities in the school shop and to help support The “Refilwe” Community Project in South Africa which the school has been involved in for over 9 years. Students have also been involved with various independent entrepreneurial pursuits.

Houses

The school has three Houses named after past benefactors and headmasters. Members of each house are identified by different coloured stripes on the school tie from years 7 to 11.

There was a fourth house, named after Sir Alfred Paton, with yellow as its colour. It was taken out the house system in the 1990s.