ClitheroeRoyal Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school in the town of Clitheroe in Lancashire, England, formerly an all-boys school. It was founded in 1554 as "The Free Grammar School of King Philip and Queen Mary" "for the education, instruction and learning of boys and young men in grammar; to be and to continue for ever." After forty two years of sharing the school buildings with the boys, the newly built Girls Grammar School opened in 1957, and merged with the Boys' Grammar School in 1985. CRGS celebrated its 450th anniversary in July 2004, an event marked by the planting of a tree by Prince Andrew. The same time, Mr Stuart Holt retired as headteacher, having started in 1991. He announced his retirement in October 2003. He was succeeded by Mrs Judith Child, who was headteacher until 2018, when she announced her retirement. In September 2018, she was replaced by Mr James Keulemans; a former international rugby player. After becoming a Grant Maintained School in September 1991, Clitheroe Royal Grammar School became a Foundation School with a Foundation under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Most recently, on 1 January 2011, the school converted to Academy School Status under the Academies Act 2010. Clitheroe Royal Grammar School continues to thrive on two sites, with the Sixth Form Centre occupying the historic buildings on York Street, and the Main School at the former Girls' Grammar School buildings on Chatburn Road.
Intake
The Main School intake each year is 150 children, who have each reached the required standard in the school's entrance examination, with places being offered preferentially to candidates living within the school's defined 'Catchment Area'. Pupils are then divided into five forms, named after the initials of the form tutor, and each assigned a house. This means the pupil population at Main School is about 720. This will eventually reach 750 total pupils in 2020 Sixth Form entry is based on GCSE performance and takes in around 330 students per year. The matriculation requirements are five grade Bs at GCSE, with at least a Grade C in English Language and Mathematics, while some subjects also require specific grades in related GCSE subjects.
Sixth form
The school was originally based at St Mary's churchyard, and was moved to the York Street site in 1814, in rooms that are now used to teach Art and Foreign Languages. The school was extended in 1878, and again in 1914, to include what is now the Library. In 2009, the site was extended further to create more classrooms and a conference room. The sixth form centre has a wider selection of courses and is one of the largest sixth forms in the United Kingdom.
Commemoration Day
Every year the school holds a commemoration day to remember the founding of the school, on St. John the Baptist's Day in the local parish church of Mary Magdalene. From the Statutes, dated 1622: Or, modernised:
After failing in the bid to become a Technology College, a language college committee was set up at CRGS in the autumn term of 2005, seeking to get specialist Language College status for the school. The bid was successful, and the school now receives extra funding for expansions and developments into further language areas. As a result of the new status, taster courses in Mandarin, Urdu and Russian were being held, which were intended to be extended to the local community. This is no longer the case. The building programme has been completed, and contains four classrooms and two store rooms. In 2008, the school was awarded the Foundation International School Award in 2008 and the Full Award in 2009, recognising the outstanding work with partner schools in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The school still runs annual exchange trips to the partner schools in both Germany and France, as well as several foreign visits for music and sport, including the annual Isle of Man visit for Year 7 pupils. The school no longer holds such a status, with the classification now being abandoned as of 2010.
School newspaper
The school newspaper, the Royal Blazer, was printed three times a year until 2006. The paper was distributed within school free of charge, and was put up for sale in the local area. Pupils were encouraged to contribute articles on subjects important to them and the local community. There is set to be a new version of the paper published sometime before the end of the academic year.
