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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Brunts Academy
The Brunts Academy, a large secondary school in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, is a member of the Greenwood Academies Trust. The school specialises in the performing arts. It has previously been a grammar school and a secondary technical school and traces its foundation to a bequest by Samuel Brunt in 1709.

The Brunts School became The Brunts Academy with effect from 1 January 2012.

The Brunts Academy became a part of the Greenwood Academies Trust and left the Evolve Trust, effective 1 December 2022.

History

The Brunts Academy can trace its history back to an elementary school that was founded in 1687 and had endowments equal to £100 per year. In 1709, Samuel Brunt left a bequest in order that local children could learn an honest trade. The bequest and the school resulted in 40 boys and girls learning reading, writing and arithmetic by 1831 with the girls particularly studying needlework. It was not until 60 years later that the school and the bequest were combined. In recognition of his significance in the school's founding, Brunt was referenced in the school's former 'school song', composed in 1944 by former music teachers H S Rosen and A D Sanders.

In 1830 Brunts Charity owned buildings and land in East Bridgford, Nottingham's marketplace and at Claypole in Lincolnshire. It was the richest of all the charitable foundations in Mansfield in 1832 when it was paying out £4 a year (equivalent to £469 in 2023) to 220 different claimants.

By 1891, Samuel Brunt's bequest was worth £3,800 ({{Inflation|UK|3800|1891|fmt=eq|cursign=£}) and a new school was established and named Brunts Technical School. School buildings were erected for it at Woodhouse Road, Mansfield, and the new Technical School had its official opening on 29 September 1894. In 1976, Brunts Grammar School was closed and a new comprehensive school opened on the site, using the grammar school's buildings. The school had left the site by 1999, transferring to a new home on a greenfield site nearby at The Park.

The Samuel Brunts Statue was formerly on the front of the old Black Boy Hotel in Nottingham Market Place. When the hotel was pulled down, a Mansfield coal merchant rescued the statue and gave it to the school. It now sits in the Memorial Garden. Above the door to Brunts Chambers, at the corner of Clumber Street and Leeming Street, there is another statue of Brunt.

The School Song. The former grammar school had its own school song, composed by a music teacher.

Old Samuel Brunts was a yeoman staunch
In the days of good Queen Anne.
He’d a heart as big as his periwig
And he loved his fellow man.
As he strolled one day down Toothill Lane
With his red-heeled shoes and his gold-topped cane
He took a pinch of choice rappee
"And I know what I’ll do with my lands", said he.

Organisation

The school's intake is taken from a number of schools known as the 'family of schools'. The list includes King Edward School, Sutton Road School, St Peter's (C of E) School, High Oakham School and Newgate Primary School.

The school uniform includes distinctive green blazers for both boys and girls. The school colours are green, gold, white, purple, grey and black and the school emblem is a rearing griffin within a shield with the academy's motto, Latin: Nil mortalibus ardui est, meaning "nothing is impossible for humankind" emblazoned upon it.

Academic standards

In 2002, there were nearly 1,500 pupils in the school, of whom fewer than 1,300 were at age 16 or below. The school achieved 57% A-C passes with only 5% achieving no passes at all. This was 5% better than the county and 10% above the national average.

Overall the school is characterised by a high proportion of white pupils compared with the national average and nearly all students have English as their first language. Attainment was "broadly average" at the visit of Her Majesty's Inspectorate in 2009 (before academy status); the school was assessed as "satisfactory" with higher marks for its pastoral care. A subsequent Ofsted two-day audit in 2013 returned "good" findings across all areas inspected.

The Sixth Form at The Brunts Academy has achieved a 100% pass rate for the third year in a row since 2020

Notable former pupils

  • Rebecca Adlington, double Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer.
  • George Bond, professor of biology (1906–1988)
  • Arthur Bown (1921–1994), conductor
  • Samuel Harrison Clarke (1903–94), fire research
  • Nicholas Crafts (1949–2023), professor of economics and economic history
  • Burley Higgins (1913–1940), pilot
  • Eric Jakeman (1939– ), professor of statistics
  • Nigel Francis Lightfoot, (1945– ), microbiologist
  • James McCunn (1894–1967), vet
  • Jim McGrath, TV commentator
  • Adrian Metcalfe (1942– ) UK athlete, silver medal winner Tokyo Olympics 1964
  • Norman Millott (1912–1990), biologist
  • Graham Moore (1947– ), chief constable
  • Robert Henry Priestley (1946– ), biologist and publisher
  • Bernard Tomlinson (1920–2017), pathologist
  • Charles Wass (1911–89), mines safety expert
  • John Whetton, UK athlete, European 1,500-metre champion Athens 1969
  • Tom Scott, educator and YouTube personality.
  • Calvin Robinson, Anglican deacon, political commentator, journalist, policy advisor and campaigner

Awards

In 2003 Brunts was awarded the Artsmark Gold Award and in 2006 the Healthy Schools Gold Standard and the Full International School Award.

Old Logo used before 1 December 2022. The logo has since changed to the new logo as a part of the Greenwood Academies Trust handover.

References

  1. ^ Nottinghamshire in the Eighteenth Century, Jonathan David Chambers, p308, 1966, ISBN 0-7146-1285-5, accessed 18 August 2008
  2. ^ Thomas Hood; John Harris (1813). The Beauties of England and Wales, Or, Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive, of Each County. Thomas Maiden. p. 1.
  3. ^ [1] The Brunts Academy. Retrieved 3 December 2023
  4. ^ Brunts Charity homepage Retrieved 25 January 2020
  5. ^ 2009 Inspection report, accessed 17 May 2010
  6. ^ "Greenwood Academies Trust".
  7. ^ Ofsted Communications Team (25 July 2022). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  8. ^ History, gazetteer, and directory of Nottinghamshire: and the town and county of the town of Nottingham, William White, 1832
  9. ^ [2] ourmansfieldandarea.org (The Brunts Academy Museum) Retrieved 4 May 2020
  10. ^ www.duodesign.co.uk. "The Brunts Academy Our History". The Brunts Academy. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  11. ^ Annals of Mansfield from 1086 to 1999 ourmansfieldandarea.org (Mansfield District Council Museum) Retrieved 11 April 2019
  12. ^ [3] Mansfield District Council local plan, written statement, November 1998. Retrieved 11 April 2019
  13. ^ School portal, accessed 19 August 2008 Archived 16 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Department for Children, Schools and Families, accessed 19 August 2008
  15. ^ Ofsted praise for Brunts. Chad, 22 May 2013, p.28. Accessed 21 February 2022
  16. ^ www.duodesign.co.uk. "The Brunts Academy Exam results". The Brunts Academy. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Open top bus parade to salute double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington". chad.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  18. ^ Who's Who 2008, accessed 18 August 2008
  19. ^ "Arthur Bown (1921–1994) Founder of the Boots Orchestra". The Boots Orchestra. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  20. ^ "The Boots Orchestra". The Boots Orchestra. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  21. ^ 'CLARKE, Samuel Harrison', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  22. ^ 'CRAFTS, Prof. Nicholas Francis Robert', Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  23. ^ "Sergeant Pilot William Burley Higgins". Whitwell Local History Group. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
  24. ^ 'JAKEMAN, Prof. Eric', Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  25. ^ 'LIGHTFOOT, Nigel Francis', Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  26. ^ Obituary, The Times Thursday, 6 April 1967; pg. 16
  27. ^ 'McCUNN, Major James', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  28. ^ Presenters, Channel 4 Television, accessed 20 August 2008
  29. ^ Whetton, John (27 August 2008). "What a magical boost for Mansfield". Chad. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
  30. ^ 'MILLOTT, Prof. Norman', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  31. ^ 'MOORE, Graham', Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  32. ^ 'PRIESTLEY, Dr Robert Henry', Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  33. ^ 'TOMLINSON, Sir Bernard (Evans)’, Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  34. ^ WASS, Dr Charles Alfred Alan', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 20 Aug 2008
  35. ^ "Tom Scott's Website". Tom Scott. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Alt URL
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