Cranbrook School, Kent

Cranbrook Grammar School (formerly Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School) is a co-educational state funded boarding and day grammar school[1] in the market town of Cranbrook, Kent, England.

Cranbrook Grammar school
Cranbrook School
Address
Waterloo Road

Cranbrook
,
Kent
,
TN17 3JD

England
Coordinates51.0968°N 0.5382°E / 51.0968; 0.5382
Information
TypeGrammar School;
Academy
Motto“Respect - Aspire - Achieve”
Department for Education URN137739 Tables
OfstedReports
HeadteacherMr Will Chuter
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 18
Colour(s)Maroon, Gold

Selection is made of pupils at age 11 and 13 although plans are being made to only accept pupils from the age of 11 in the future.[2]

History

The school was founded after the death of the John Blubery, a yeoman of the King's Armoury. In his will he decreed that if the child of his daughter be a girl, then his mansion house be turned into a free school for the poor children of Cranbrook. Queen Elizabeth I granted the school charter in 1574, which is now housed in the library.

Recent history

In 2003 alumnus Piers Sellers, a NASA astronaut, took a copy of the school charter into space with him. A photo is exhibited in the school cafeteria. In 2005 Sellers opened the school's observatory, which is named after him. This observatory houses the 22.5-inch Alan Young telescope operated by the Cranbrook and District Science and Astronomy Society (CADSAS). In May 2010 Sellers took into outer space aboard the Space Shuttle an original watercolour portrait of Cranbrook School painted by Brenda Barratt. The painting was later returned to Cranbrook School with the official NASA verification that it has travelled into space.[3] In 2018, a new day house specifically for the 120 students in Years 7 and 8 was named after Piers Sellers.

In December 2019, current headteacher John Weeds announced he is leaving at the end of the academic year.

Campus

Barham House

Barham House is the school's main office. It contains the reception room, the offices of both the headmaster and the deputy head, and meeting rooms. The school medical centre is also in Barham House, but has its own reception and entrance. The building was originally the local vicarage.

The Library

Central to the school, there is a large library which is one of the oldest parts of the school. It was once the school hall, but it was converted to the library after the number of pupils became to big to fit in the hall. School assemblies are currently held in the local church, St Dunstan's, or the Queen's Hall Theatre. The library also plays host to the original royal charter provided to the school by Queen Elizabeth I in 1588.

Queen’s Hall Theatre

The school is home to the local theatre, the Queen’s Hall. It is used for a number of both internal (performed and organised by students) and external productions, as well as some school assemblies. Many external productions are performed by Cranbrook Operatic and Dramatic Society (CODS). The school has their own technical team who help with most internal productions.

Houses

Since September 2019, the school has five day houses and six boarding houses. Formerly the day houses Allan, Horsley and Webster were split along gendered lines with the total number of houses (both day and boarding arriving at: seven for boys and five for girls. The reasons for the recent merger were not provided but rumours circulated among the student body that it was due to the increasing visibility of transgender students. Each house works in conjunction with the main school to provide pastoral care and academic support.

Boys' boarding houses
  • Cornwallis
  • Crowden
  • Rammell
  • School Lodge (only for Year Nine boys)

Girls' boarding houses
  • Blubery
  • Scott

Day houses
  • Allan House, formerly split:
    • Allan Boys
    • Allan Girls
  • Horsley House, formerly split:
    • Horsley Boys
    • Horsley Girls
  • Webster House, formerly split:
    • Webster Boys
    • Webster Girls
  • Lynx
  • Sellers (Junior School)

Notable Old Cranbrookians

See also

References
  1. "Overview". Cranbrook School. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  2. "Headmaster's Welcome". Cranbrook School. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  3. BBC News report, 25 January 2010
  4. "From Cranbrook to the Crescent City and beyond". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  5. Michael Croucher
  6. "Ruaridh McConnochie". England Rugby.

News items
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