Purbrook Park School


Purbrook Park School is a comprehensive co-educational secondary school situated in Purbrook, north of Portsmouth, Hampshire. The school has an enrollment number of 840 pupils, aged 11 through to 16. It became a trust school in April 2009. Ofsted judged the school to be a "Good School" in May 2015.

History

The main building has existed on the site since 1769. The original building was built for Peter Taylor MP by the Palladian architect Sir Robert Taylor, who was also the architect of the first Bank of England. The estate was bought by John Deverell in 1839 and remained within the Deverell family until 1919, when the estate was sold off at auction because the cost to run it was too great. The house and its 4 acres worth of grounds were sold at auction to Maurice Hill. The house remained empty until 1924 before County Authorities bought the house and its grounds for £11,000.
The house was converted into a grammar school in September 1924 and was known as Purbrook Park County High School. A new hall and gynamsium were created in 1928 and 1935, respectively. Further outbuildings were made throughout the twentieth century to accompany specialist subjects.
In about 1960, the school’s name was changed from Purbrook Park County High School to Purbrook Park County Grammar School.
The school reached its largest enrolment in the 1970s with over 1000 pupils, until the Sixth Form was disbanded as part of the conversion from a grammar school to a comprehensive. This conversion began in 1974 with the first intake of comprehensive pupils into what is now known as Year 7. The school’s name was then changed from Purbrook Park County Grammar School to simply Purbrook Park School. The Sixth Form finally ended a few years later, and the number of pupils gradually fell to below 900 to its current level.
In 2016, a new Discovery Wing was added at the front of the school, with new classrooms, a new Discovery Centre, and a new restaurant and cafe.
Since 1 April 2009, the school has been a trust school.

Notable students