Haberdashers' Adams

Haberdashers' Adams is a grammar school for boys aged 11–18 and girls aged 16–18, located in Newport, Shropshire, offering day and boarding education.[1] Current (2021) boarding fees are £12,144 per year and £13,644 per year for overseas students[2] It was founded in 1656 by William Adams, a wealthy member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers (one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of London). In January 2018 the school changed its name to Haberdashers’ Adams, replacing the previous name, Adams' Grammar School (AGS). Adams regularly places in the top 50 schools throughout the United Kingdom and the top 20 state schools based on GCSE and A Level results, and is rated by Ofsted as a Grade 1 outstanding school.

Haberdashers' Adams
The Free Grammar School
of William Adams at Newport, Co. Salop
Coat of arms of the Haberdashers' Company
Address
High Street

Newport
,
Shropshire
,
TF10 7BD

UK
Coordinates52.7697°N 2.381°W / 52.7697; -2.381
Information
TypeGrammar school
Boarding school
Academy
MottoServe and Obey
Established1656 (1656)
FounderAlderman William Adams
Department for Education URN137446 Tables
OfstedReports
Chairman of GovernorsAnthony Cann
HeadmasterMr G Hickey
Deputy HeadmastersMr D Biggins
Dr P Pack
GenderBoys (11–16)
Co-educational (16–18)
Age11 to 18
Enrolment846
Colour(s)     
PublicationThe Novaportan;
The Eighth-hour
Former pupilsOld Novaportans
School hymnsJerusalem
Websitewww.adamsgs.uk

History
Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, granted permission to Alderman Adams for the school's foundation

Adams was founded in 1656 by Alderman William Adams,[3] a wealthy City of London merchant and haberdasher, who was born in Newport and whose younger brother Sir Thomas Adams became Lord Mayor of London. Adams had no children and never married, so therefore decided to leave a bequest for the foundation of the school, which was first opened on 25 March 1656, during the politically unstable and volatile period of the English Interregnum. Having received permission from Oliver Cromwell to found the school, Adams sought to further ensure the school's continued existence by appointing the Master and Wardens of the Haberdashers' Company as governors in perpetuity.[4] As one of the few schools founded during the Interregnum period, the school's articles of foundation were reconfirmed by Act of Parliament in 1660, upon the Restoration of the Monarchy; a copy of which is held in the school archives.

Adams endowed the school with a large agricultural 900-acre (3.6 km2) estate at Knighton in Staffordshire,[5] providing income for future generations; as a result of this Knighton was exempt from all land taxes until 1990. The school was endowed with 1,400 books soon after its foundation, which at the time represented one of the largest school libraries in England. A typical Oxford or Cambridge college then only had about 1,000 books. Only seven of these 1,400 books are still in the school's ownership, with the rest having been sold at various times when the school has suffered financial hardship.

In the 18th century, the young Dr Samuel Johnson, who was later to be a pre-eminent scholar, applied unsuccessfully for the headmastership, which went to the Revd Samuel Lea.

The Knighton estate was eventually sold off in several portions over the course of the twentieth century, and the proceeds of the final sale were used by the Haberdashers' Company to purchase Longford Hall as a boarding house for the school.

Adams developed slowly, and did not expand beyond its original building, now known as Big School, until the turn of the last century when Main School (also known as the S-Block) was built in the 1920s. Over the course of the next 90 years Adams' expanded rapidly, acquiring a number of buildings on Lower Bar in Newport for use as boarding houses; this in turn greatly expanded the school's town centre site. In the 1960s a new science block, connected to Main School was built, whilst a senior boarding master's house was created on land adjacent to Big School. During this period the school also acquired a new gymnasium, which was subsequently converted into a theatre in the mid-2000s.

In 1950 the school became a voluntary aided school[6] then after a brief spell as a grant-maintained school in the 1980s, Adams again faced threat of closure or conversion to co-educational comprehensive status in the early 1990s; this was avoided by a successful campaign, organised by parents and governors, against the wishes of Shropshire County Council. In the late 1990s and 2000s Adams again began to flourish after having been awarded voluntary-aided status; throughout its history the Haberdashers' Company has been key in supporting the school and providing financially for many of the more ambitious construction projects. The 1990s saw the construction of the Wood and Taylor Centres for the study of Design Technology and Maths, whilst with the coming of the 2000s the school began to raise funds for he construction of a new state-of-the-art Sports Hall and Fitness Suite. Perhaps the most important development in the school's recent history came in 1993 when girls were admitted to the sixth form for the first time, thus ending Adams' long tradition of educating boys only.

In 2002 a history of the school by former headmaster David Taylor and his wife, Ruth, was published.

Longford Hall
The oldest known sketch of Big School by Francis Perry (d.1765)

The late 2000s saw the school celebrate its 350th anniversary (in 2006), completion of a new science block and conversion of the former gymnasium into a performing arts centre (this, in turn, was converted into a Sixth Form Centre, which opened in 2013). The music department was condemned in 2006; The Coach House, on Salters Lane, which backs onto the school grounds, was acquired by the Haberdashers' Company and converted into a new music department, which opened in 2013 alongside the new Sixth Form Centre.

In June 2008, the new Funding Agreement was signed, which provided that monies would be provided to Telford & Wrekin Council to build a new school on the Abraham Darby site under the Building Schools for the Future scheme. The Governors were heavily involved in the approval of the plans and selection of the builders and architects.

Following the passing of the Academies Act in 2010, the directors of the Adams' Federation, in conjunction with the Haberdashers’ Company, agreed to apply to the Department for Education for Adams’ Grammar School to be converted into a “new style” Academy and to amend the Federation so that the two schools became combined into the ownership of the Haberdashers' Adams Federation Trust.

In 2011 Adams became an Academy in the Federation with another Haberdashers' school Haberdashers' Abraham Darby Academy. As of 2018 the school changed its name from Adams' Grammar School to Haberdashers' Adams. This was said to be done in order to reflect the school's historic links with the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers.[7]

During the First World War, 362 Old Novaportans (former pupils) served in the Armed Forces of whom 45 died and 77 survived wounded. After the War a memorial fund was set up to assist the sons of the deceased, and an appeal raised £1,000. A tablet listing those who died was unveiled in the Main School building in 1921. In 1948, the Old Boys' Club erected another tablet alongside this to those who died in the Second World War. Both memorials are now displayed in the School Library.[8]

Admissions and performance

Adams is a selective state school which admits both boarding and day pupils, with ever-increasing numbers of foreign students, especially from Hong Kong.[9]

The school, including the sixth form, has approximately 900 pupils, all of whom wear a common uniform, with the exception of sixth formers (both Upper and Lower) who wear a navy blue, as opposed to maroon blazer. It is however, of essentially the same design, with the exception of the addition of gold blazer buttons in the place of plastic maroon ones.

Academic performance

Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School regularly places in the top 50 schools throughout the United Kingdom and the top 20 state schools nationally based on GCSE and A-level results. The school has developed a reputation for consistently having a high number of sixth formers gain access into the Russell Group and Golden Triangle universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. A high proportion of pupils also go on to study highly competitive subjects including Maths, Law, Dentistry, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

Adams was rated by Ofsted as a Grade 1 outstanding school during 2013[10] and the school has also been scored as average with a Progress 8 score of −0.02 by the Department for Education.[11]

School life
Big School and its front lawn as seen from the High Street, Newport

The current headmaster is Mr Gary Hickey, who was previously deputy head of the school.[12]

House system

Adams operates an extra-curricular house system and is the basis of inter-house sports competitions, traditionally a source of pride for pupils of their respective houses (all named after Shropshire-born notables):

Throughout the academic year there are many house events, revolving around the Arts, sports or academic subjects. These include the House Music Competition, Dixon Cup (drama), Smedley Cup (rugby), House 7s, House Netball and Public Speaking (now incorporated into Dixon Cup). Intra-house Geography, History, poetry and Languages competitions also take place. The newest house event is House E-Sports, a gaming competition.

Boarding houses and student leadership
Adams' GS Longford Hall site viewed from the 1st XV rugby pitch

The school owns a number of dedicated boarding houses, which play a significant role in school life being the residence of AGS' 150 or so junior and senior boarders. The present junior hall (Longford Hall) is located by the school's playing fields about a mile away. In 2017 the Haberdashers' enabled the school to purchase and re-furbish Beaumaris Court, a former care home, to become the school's new senior boarding house Beaumaris Hall. This new facility replaced the three senior boys' boarding houses which were situated in large Georgian townhouses facing the High Street.

Longford Hall was built in 1785 for Colonel Ralph Leeke, political agent to the British East India Company; the building was designed by Joseph Bonomi, who was an associate of Robert and James Adam.

AGS' Georgian-era senior boarding houses near Big School on Lower Bar (in use until September 2017)

The hall is located on top of a low rise and overlooks farmland towards the Lilleshall Monument. As with many such buildings, the first 100 feet in front of the hall comprises manicured grass, bordered by a ha-ha to prevent animals from entering; today the ha-ha is best known amongst pupils for forming a part of the school's annual house cross-country course. There are a small series of formal gardens, including a "Quad". Behind the hall is a selection of buildings around a central square including a dovecote, once part of the estate's home farm. These buildings were renovated and sensitively converted for residential use between 2001 and 2004, with the circular dovecote being a sought-after dwelling.

Upon entry into the school in year 7, boarders are assigned to dormitories; upon moving to Beaumaris Court boys are often assigned to double or, in some cases, single rooms.

In every Upper VI year there is a dedicated Boarding Captain (in addition to the four House Captains, two School Captains and a varying number of Deputy School Captains); collectively the school's captains are traditionally referred to as the front bench as they often sit in a line facing the rest of the student body at full school assemblies.

Combined Cadet Force

The school's CCF is available to year 8 students and above, a result of which the school sends many officer candidate students to Sandhurst, Royal Air Force College Cranwell and the Britannia Royal Naval College. The CCF also plays a role in Newport civic life, parading every year on Remembrance Sunday. The CCF recruits each January from the Second Form and with cadets passing out in May of the same year.

The Corps has its own building where its stores are housed and NCO meetings and some lessons take place. The Corps frequently holds Overnight Exercises where battle drills and fieldcraft are practised; these are held either at Longford Hall, Nesscliffe Training Area or ROF Swynnerton. Until 2017, when the Sixth Form went on study leave, the CCF prepared for the Annual House CCF Competition, known as The Thompstone Trophy, after Lt-Col Brian Thompstone; this entailed a Drill Competition, Shooting, Command Tasks, Memory Games, Forces-related Quizzes, Section Attacks, CQB and an OBS course. The Corps is inspected every two years (the Biennial Inspection) by a senior Army or RAF officer.

Both the Army and RAF sections of the CCF hold Summer Camps every year, visiting working military bases such as RAF Cranwell and MOD Barry Buddon. Cadets can also attend Adventure Training Camps held annually at Llanbedr and Windermere, Easter Camps at RAF Akrotiri, Summer Camps at Ramstein Air Base and Leadership Courses at RAF Cranwell, Nesscliffe Training Area or at Frimley Park. Additionally, cadets also have the opportunity of attending special events such as the 65th D-Day Landing Commemorations and the Cadet 150 Celebrations.[15]

Sport

Adams has traditionally been a rugby school, and as such requires all boys play rugby through Years Seven and Eight during the Autumn and Spring terms. Upon entry into Year Nine, pupils are presented with the option of continuing to play rugby, or switching to hockey. Cricket and athletics are the main sports disciplines undertaken during the shorter Summer term. In Year 11 and the Sixth Form, boys are often presented with the opportunity to take part in any sport of their choice, provided they can receive permission for such an activity. With the exception of those activities not provided by the school, all sporting events, and training therefore takes place at the school's Longford Hall playing fields; for this reason, few visiting sports teams ever see the Main School site. Adams operates a system of games afternoons, a system by which each individual year group is assigned a specific day of the week to attend afternoon physical activity sessions at Longford (for this purpose the VI Form is combined with Year 11).

In the early 21st century, football was reintroduced to the school after an absence of almost 100 years.

As with many private and grammar schools, Adams organises biennial summer tours abroad for its senior rugby, hockey and girls netball teams. Recent tours have included rugby tours to South Africa, South America, Australia and Singapore, and a hockey and netball tour to Barbados.

Lyceum No. 1 in Bydgoszcz is one of Adams' European partner schools

Adams' currently runs student exchange programs with the following schools in France, Germany and Poland:

School City
Oberschule zum Dom Lübeck
Collège Roqua [16] Aubenas
I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Cypriana Kamila Norwida Bydgoszcz

AGS also corresponds with Ringwood Secondary College in Melbourne, Australia.

Old Novaportans
Coat of arms long-used by AGS and latterly adopted by the Old Novaportan Club (date unknown)

The School supports the Old Novaportans' Club which organises many reunions, dinners and sporting events throughout the year to which its members are invited. Upon leaving the school, all students are encouraged to join and stay in contact with its alma mater.

Former pupils are known as "Old Novaportans" (initialised as "ON").

Academia and clergy

Arts

Commerce

Politics

Military

Sports

Former staff

See also

References
  1. "www.adamsgs.org.uk". Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  2. https://www.adamsgs.uk/boarding/fees
  3. www.british-history.ac.uk
  4. "www.haberdashers.co.uk". Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  5. www.haberdashersarms.com
  6. "Haberdashers Company". Haberdashers.co.uk. 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  7. "Haberdashers' Adams". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  8. Francis, Peter (2013). Shropshire War Memorials, Sites of Remembrance. YouCaxton Publications. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-909644-11-3.
  9. www.telford.gov.uk
  10. Ofsted Report
  11. "Adams' Grammar School – GOV.UK". www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  12. "www.adamsgs.org.uk". Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  13. "Newport Haberdashers' Adams School to drop Clive House name". BBC. BBC. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  14. Daily News of Open Water Swimming (25 December 2013). "Landmarks, Monuments, Memorials Of Open Water Swimmers".
  15. AGSNewsletter Archived 21 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  16. www.ac-grenoble.fr
  17. www.independent.co.uk
  18. Professor William Holmes at www.ohio.edu
  19. "Blue Peter's Radzi goes back to school in Newport". Shropshire Star. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  20. https://www.ft.com/content/b82185de-23cb-11e5-bd83-71cb60e8f08c
  21. "Jeremy Corbyn congratulated by former Shropshire school". Central – ITV News. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  22. Jones, Ted (2000). "The Story of Lord and Lady Ashburnham Part II". The Officers' Quarters. 16 (1 & 2): 23–26.
  23. "Kitchener Lords it at Sixways". BBC News. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  24. "Dan Redfern | England Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  25. www.bbc.co.uk
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