King James's School, Almondbury Explained

King James's School
Coordinates:53.6294°N -1.7423°W
Established:
(royal charter, 1608)
Type:Academy
Head Label:Principal
Head:Ian Rimmer
Address:Saint Helen's Gate
City:Almondbury
County:West Yorkshire
Country:England
Postcode:HD4 6SG
Local Authority:Kirklees
Ofsted:yes
Dfeno:382/4000
Urn:138706
Gender:Coeducational
Lower Age:11
Upper Age:16

King James's School is a coeducational secondary school located in Almondbury in the English county of West Yorkshire.[1]

History

King James's Grammar School[2] was founded as chantry school in 1547 and received its name and a royal charter in 1608 thanks to the efforts of three men who travelled on horseback to London to get a royal charter from the king. They rode from Farnley Tyas, the nearby village, having been sent to London to get the charter by the local wealthy men from Almondbury who wanted a local school for their offspring to visit. Extensions were made to the school by William Swinden Barber between 1880 and 1883, in 1938/9 and 1963,[3] and in 2022.[4]

The grammar school era ended in 1976 when it became a comprehensive school: King James's School. The school was designated a specialist Science College in 2004. In September 2012 the school converted to academy status. The current principal is Ian Rimmer.

The school today

King James's School is a comprehensive secondary school with a catchment area that includes Almondbury, Dalton, Grange Moor, Kirkheaton and Lepton.[5] The school offers GCSEs, BTECs and Cambridge Nationals as programmes of study for pupils.[6]

The school made headlines in 2017 after the issuing of its new rule book which contained 40 new rules. These rules claim students were not allowed to smile, look out of the window or use words such as 'dunno' when the school were approached for a comment on their new rules; they declined to comment. Various news sites titled the school 'Britain's strictest school.'[7]

In Easter of 2022, a new building on site was completed after numerous delays in order to accommodate the new students who were previously situated at a different site following the closure of Almondbury Community School.[8]

Publications

The school is the subject of two histories: A History of King James's Grammar School in Almondbury (author: Gerald Hinchliffe) and King James's School in Almondbury: An Illustrated History (editors: Roger Dowling and John Hargreaves).

A book Morning Assembly[9] (editor: Roger Dowling; text: Harry Taylor/Andrew Taylor) gives a detailed account of the life of former headmaster Harry Taylor together with a compilation in facsimile form of some 100 prayers collected by Harry Taylor for use each day at morning assembly.

A book No Beating about the Bush[10] (editor: Roger Dowling) gives a diary-style account of the final teaching year of Head of Latin and deputy Headmaster David Bush.

Notable former pupils

King James's Grammar School

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: King James School. www.kingjames.org.uk.
  2. Web site: King James's School home page . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100523165052/http://kingjames.kc4l.digitalbrain.com/kc4l/schools/kingjames/ . 23 May 2010 .
  3. Book: Dowling . Roger . King James's School in Almondbury: An illustrated history 1608-2008 . 2008 . The Old Almondburians' Society . 9780955731402.
  4. Rimmer . Ian . From the Study . The Almondburian . July 2022 . 6-7 . 7 March 2023.
  5. Web site: King James School. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215140215/http://www.kingjames.org.uk/index.phtml?d=521088. 2015-02-15.
  6. Web site: Course Information 2. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215135715/http://www.kingjames.org.uk/index.phtml?d=549927. 2015-02-15.
  7. Web site: 11 September 2017 . 'Britain's strictest school' bans looking out the window... and smirking .
  8. Web site: Earnshaw . Tony . 2021-11-13 . Delayed school extension leaves pupils split between sites for months . 2022-03-08 . YorkshireLive . en.
  9. Book: Taylor . Harry . Morning Assembly . 2012 . The Old Almondburians' Society . 9780955731419.
  10. Book: Bush . David A. . No Beating about the Bush . 2020 . The OldAlmondburians' Society . 9780955731426.
  11. Web site: George Beharrell - Graces Guide. www.gracesguide.co.uk.
  12. Web site: Bio - Faculty History Project. www.lib.umich.edu.
  13. News: Alex Danchev obituary. Elizabeth. Cowling. The Guardian . 11 September 2016. www.theguardian.com.