Leicester Grammar School

Founding

The school was founded in 1981 as an independent, selective, co-educational day school in an attempt to recapture the standards and traditions of the city’s former grammar schools. Located in four late-Victorian buildings in Leicester City Centre, the school was established close to Leicester Cathedral and was founded with an Anglican Christian ethos. The first headmaster was John Higginbotham and under his stewardship the school grew from just 96 to 560 pupils within 10 years.

Development

Over its short history, the school began to achieve a national reputation as one of the country’s leading academic institutions. In 1993, its headmaster was elected to the Headmasters’ Conference and the school has remained in its first division since then. In the same year, the school was acknowledged as the country’s top co-educational school.

Relocation

In February 2007 construction began on a new school campus, located on a green field site near Great Glen. The new development allowed for school growth, restricted by its former location within the city centre. Leicester Grammar Senior School now shares the new site with its sister school Leicester Grammar Junior School, each with its own main school buildings and sharing the refectory and sports facilities. Previously, the school had no playing fields of its own and had transport pupils to various sporting facilities by bus; the new school has 75 acres (300,000 m²) of playing fields. The new site opened in September 2008.

Entrance assessment

In common with many other independent schools, Leicester Grammar School requires prospective pupils to undertake a series of entrance examinations before they are accepted into the school. The main entrance examination takes place at the start of the term in January. Papers are taken in verbal reasoning, English and mathematics. Entry to the sixth form is by interview, offers of a place being conditional upon the GCSE grades gained.

Location

As of 2008 Leicester Grammar School moved to London Road, Great Glen, a much larger site. There is one main teaching building, which includes a refectory, assembly hall (St. Nicholas), drama studio, music recital room and five wings housing all classrooms.

Education

Leicester Grammar provides education for approximately 810 (2012-2013) pupils aged between 10 and 18, including GCSEs and A-Levels. Some of the rarer subjects offered by the school include Ancient Greek and Latin (Latin is compulsory for years 6, 7 and 8).

Sports

As Leicester Grammar School was situated in the centre of Leicester, pupils were transported by bus to various sporting activities in and around Leicester, but since the 2008 relocation most sports are now played on site. Leicester Grammar School benefits from being surrounded by 75 acres of playing fields with two all-weather hockey pitches [one sand-based and one water-based], 5 rugby pitches, a dedicated cricket pitch, 8 floodlit hard tennis courts/netball courts along with a standalone pavilion with integral catering and changing facilities. The indoor sports complex offers multi-use courts for badminton, basketball and netball. Indoor cricket nets and table tennis are also available in the main hall along with a well-equipped fitness suite featuring the Technogym Wellness system, a gym/dance studio and a 25-metre, 6 lane, heated swimming pool.

The school has a reputation for excellence in sport and physical education and the sporting ethos is to provide pupils with worthwhile and educative experiences in as many activities as possible, in the hope that they will pursue their interests through participation outside school and into later life. The opportunity for academic study in sport and physical education is offered at GCSE and advanced level, with both courses producing consistently good results. Sporting tours are undertaken to Europe and the Southern Hemisphere.

Over fifty teams represent the school in the major sports of Netball, Rugby Football, Hockey, Cricket, Athletics and Tennis. A diverse range of team and individual activities form part of the extra-curricular programme. A large number of students represent Leicestershire and regularly achieve regional and international representation in a variety of sports. School teams from all age groups are winners of county and regional level competitions.

Students of outstanding sporting ability graduate to centres of excellence and academies of sport, both locally and nationally. The school has close relationships with Leicester Tigers, Leicester Ladies’ Hockey and Leicester Men's Hockey teams, with current and past pupils representing these clubs at all levels.

Houses

A vertical house system compliments the tutorial system. Houses meet regularly to take part in competitions and events, which provide a broad range of opportunities for healthy competition and development of team spirit. There are four houses – Dukes, Judges, Masters and Vice-Chancellors. Each house has approximately a quarter of the school population and it is traditional that siblings are always allocated to the same house.

Inter house competitions are run throughout the academic year and culminate in the award of the Midland Bank Cup, for overall winners, at Speech Day.

Uniform

Leicester Grammar School pupils are obliged to wear a basic school uniform. Leicester Grammar School also issues an obligatory uniform for sports and physical education lessons.

Boys

Girls

House jumpers

Pupils in years below the sixth form are expected to wear a house jumper- a V-necked jumper with a line of colour (of their respective house) running around the neckline, apart from Masters which has yellow instead of dark blue on the jumper (because dark blue wouldn't show up).

Performance

Leicester Grammar School consistently produces outstanding examination results. Students take 10 GCSEs and normally in the sixth form study 4 AS subjects, reducing the 3 A2s in their final year. In a typical year 95% of students progress into higher education. There is also a high success rate in pupils accepted into Oxbridge.

Local ties

The school is closely linked with Leicester Grammar Junior School, for which the Leicester Grammar School Trust was given responsibility in 1992 by the Sisters of Charity of St. Paul, based in Selly Park, Birmingham

Leicester Grammar School has retained its link to Leicester Cathedral despite a significant presence of pupils from other faiths in the school. Choir rehearsals, School Foundation Day and Christmas services were held in the cathedral, as well as most daily school assemblies; however since the relocation these are held in the St Nicholas Hall.

Notable Old Leicestrians

Former pupils of Leicester Grammar School are known as Old Leicestrians.