Wallington County Grammar School

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Wallington County Grammar School
Image:Wcgscrest.JPG
Contact Information	Phone: 020 8647 2235 Fax: 020 8254 7921
Established	1927
Type	Grammar
Head Teacher	Dr J.M. Haworth
Location	Croydon Road Wallington, Surrey United Kingdom
Enrollment	Approx. 880 students
Ages	11 to 18
Website	wcgs.org.uk

Wallington County Grammar School is a state funded grammar school located in the London Borough of Sutton. As of May 2006, it had approximately 880 pupils. Places at the school are usually oversubscribed, and entrance is via competitive exam.

1 General Information
2 House System
3 History
4 Headmasters
5 Extracurricular activities
6 Sporting achievements
7 Pupils and Staff of Note

[edit] General Information

Wallington County Grammar School (W.C.G.S.) is a boys' grammar school (with girls admitted in 6th form) located in Wallington, Surrey. Old boys (and girls) of the school are referred to as "Old Walcountians".

The current headmaster is Dr JM Haworth, his PhD earned in theology.

Despite the fact that it is entirely state funded, the school is similar to many independent schools in terms of its internal structure. In particular, WCGS employs a prefect system to keep order among younger boys. Prefects are of two ranks: junior and senior, demarcated by responsibility level. The Captain of School and Vice-Captain of School are both senior prefects and take responsibility for various scheduling and ceremonial duties. One of the senior prefects is appointed "Keeper of the Records" who is responsible for the maintenance of the school's inter-house trophies and flags, which are displayed in the school's Hall. The current Captain of School is Jack Brady, the Vice-Captain is Jaimie Henry, and the Keeper of the Records is Kenneth Parr. Like many independent schools, WCGS maintains an active house system.

Boys wear a school uniform which consists of a navy blazer bearing the school's crest, white button shirt, black or charcoal trousers, black shoes and school tie. Members of the sixth form are permitted to wear plain shirts of any colour. The school crest is a single shield with yellow and blue squares, the school tie has a black base with yellow and blue stripes. Depending on the boy's accumulated honours, the tie he is eligible to wear varies. Examples include the '100 tie' and the 'arts tie.' The 100 tie is awarded after the 100th time a pupil represents the school at sports, while the 'arts tie' is awarded if a pupil performs well in a school play or for sustained contribution to the school's musical societies. "House ties" are also awarded, in the respective colours of the house, by the housemasters for achievement in house competitions. A recently introduced sixth form tie is also available to members of the senior school. Prefects wear various badges of office on their left blazer lapel.

[edit] House System

Pupils are separated into Houses, that compete against each other in sports and other activities. The houses each have a unique name, with some local historical association, and assigned colours:

Ruskin: Yellow and black (named after John Ruskin, the poet)

Woodcote: Green and black (a part of Wallington noted in Roman area records)

Radcliffe: Navy and sky blue (named after John Radcliffe, the 17th Century physician, and sometime area resident)

Mandeville: Maroon and white (named after Sir Geoffrey de Mandeville, sometime area resident and mentioned in the Doomsday book))

Bridges: Blue and White (Origin of the house name is debatable, it may be from the medieval settlement in the area - Bridges. Alternatively it could be named after sometime area resident, Canon Alexander Henry Bridges, Rector of Beddington)

Carew: Blue and red. (a reference to a family of nobility resident in the area in Tudor times, the Carews)

The House system is run by House masters, teachers who direct the Houses, and House prefects, senior boys responsible for day-to-day House activities.

[edit] History

It was founded in 1927, with the original site located a mile or more away from the current one. The first headmaster was one Mr. W. T. Hutchins, whose portrait now hangs in the school hall. During the Second World War, the school was struck by a V-2 rocket. All the windows were blown out and the roof of the school hall collapsed. But, the school continued to function, with prefects, teachers and students working to rebuild the ruined structure, and it was "business as usual" before the war ended. 54 old boys from the school were killed in action during the course of the war, and they are commemorated by a memorial in the school hall.

The school has been expanded beyond the original structure over the years, with the "New Block" (now called the "English Block") completed in 1959, which provided laboratories and additional classrooms. It now houses all English and Drama classes, as well as the Dining Hall and the Head of Science, History and English office.

The Sixth Form block, located near the school playing fields, was completed in 1973, and now contains History, Economics and Physical Education classrooms; as well as the school library, Sixth Form Common Room and Head of Sixth Form and Sports offices.

In 1997, an old boy of the school, Christopher Woodhead who was then HM Chief Inspector of Schools, opened a new Science block. This newest addition to the site contains science classrooms, laboratories and various science department administration offices. The second part of the building's development was completed in 2000.

The school was awarded "science college" status in 2005 for its excellence in science, including ICT. This meant extra funding for the school, which helped to further improve the standard of the school's science department.

The school is also planning a new Sports Hall, in place of the current one, to be built in the next three years. The development will cost £1.34 million, of which £785 000 will be funded by the local LEA and the remainder is to be funded by the school. Planning permission has been given and building plans have been created, and the school's annual charity fundraising efforts have been centred around the project.

[edit] Headmasters

Mr W.T. Hutchins - 1927 - 1959

Mr Hitchin - 1959 - 1975

Mr R.S. Harrison - 1975 - 1990 (murdered shortly after retirement)

Dr J.M. Haworth - 1990 - Present

[edit] Extracurricular activities

Debating, Public Speaking, Chess, Karate, Christian Union, Islamic Society, Art, Drama, Music, Trips Abroad, Cricket, Field hockey, Athletics and Rugby. As part of the school's drive to create more societies, newer clubs have been founded, such as the Puzzle Club, International Movies Club and Sugar Craft Club. A Warhammer club was also set up in the school in 2003.

On 17 March, 2006, a Charity Bands Concert was held at the school to raise money for Madidima Primary School in South Africa. Seven bands formed by the school pupils performed to an audience in the school hall, but there was no competition between them. In total, £545 was raised by ticket and refreshment sales.

Another fundraising concert, known as the Battle of the Bands, was held on 20 October, 2006 in order to help fund the school's upcoming new sports hall. On this occasion, the event was competitive, and the winner was to be decided by a panel of judges. The competition was to be divided into two rounds, with three of the total eight bands being chosen to participate in the second round and play a further song. Due to extensive technical difficulties, however, only the first round could be held, and the winners were announced earlier than planned. The winners, Dazed, also gave an acoustic performance after the concert in memory of Jimmy Li, a pupil of the school who had died in a car crash in January 2006. In total, more than £1000 was raised.

[edit] Sporting achievements

In 1999, the 1st XV Rugby team won the final of the Daily Mail U18 Vase in a match played at Twickenham Stadium. The match against Lymm High School ended 16-9 in Wallington's favour.