Deacon's Grammar School
History
The school opened in 1721 as Mr. Deacon's Charity School in Cowgate. In his will, Thomas Deacon, a successful wool merchant, provided for the creation of a school for 20 poor boys. In the 1830s, Deacon's School merged with The Island School for Girls, which had been established by a Mrs Island in her will.
Grammar school
New accommodation for the school was built on Queen's Gardens in Dogsthorpe, opened in 1960 as Deacon's Grammar School. It was a voluntary aided school with about 450 boys in the 1960s.
A team of four boys appeared on Top of the Form against Kings Norton Grammar School for Girls, broadcast on Sunday 22 October 1967 on the new BBC Radio 2, which was recorded on Tuesday 19 September 1967. In the team were Michael Conning aged 12 of 15 Marholm Road, journalist Richard Littlejohn aged 13 of 32 Ledbury Road, Martin Bradshaw aged 15 of 54 Caverstede Road, Walton, and the captain Martin Chambers of 28 Grimshaw Road. It was recorded in the school hall with John Ellison; Tim Gudgin was at Kings Norton.
Comprehensive
It became a voluntary controlled co-educational comprehensive school in 1976. It became a grant maintained school in the 1990s and applied to become a Technology College, becoming a specialist school in 1994. The building remained in Dogsthorpe for 47 years until the Academy was built on the same site. Administration moved from Cambridgeshire to Peterborough in 1998.
The Deacon's School Trust (now known as Thomas Deacon Foundation), created by Thomas Deacon's will, partially funds the Academy with Perkins Engines. The school merged with John Mansfield School on Western Avenue and the Hereward Community College (a former secondary modern school on Reeves Way in Eastfield) to form a £46m Academy. Plans were approved on 11 August 2004, and it was originally due to open in 2006 and cost £34m. Construction began in July 2005.
Notable former pupils
- Deacon's Grammar School
- John Challens CBE, Director of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) from 1976 to 1978, designed the electrical circuits for Britain's first nuclear bomb test
- Ron Jacobs, rugby player, later President of the Rugby Football Union (RFU)
- Richard Littlejohn, columnist with the Daily Mail
- Don Lusher OBE, jazz trombonist
- Leonard Rosoman OBE, artist
- Prof Roy Severn CBE FREng, Professor of Civil Engineering from 1968 to 1995 at the University of Bristol, President from 1991 to 1992 of the Institution of Civil Engineers
- Lloyd Watson, blues guitarist
- Mark Wildman, snooker player, made the first televised century break in November 1960.
- Deacon's School
- Ajaz Akhtar (1968–), cricketer
- Adrian Durham, radio presenter
- Matthew Etherington, footballer
- MJ Hibbett, singer-songwriter
References
- ^ "Joe Heppel's Search for the soul of Deacon's School". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
- ^ Peterborough Evening Telegraph Wednesday 20 September 1967
- ^ Peterborough Standard Friday 22 September 1967, page 11
- ^ BBC Genome October 1967
- ^ "Deacon's School 1722–2007". Peterborough Council. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
- ^ "Thomas Deacon Academy".
- ^ "Geograph:: Hereward Community College, Peterborough © Julian Dowse".
- ^ "Geograph:: Reeves Way, Eastfield, Peterborough © Julian Dowse cc-by-sa/2.0".
- ^ "OBITUARY: City man who helped develop A-bomb dies". The Evening Telegraph. Peterborough. 17 April 2002. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ "Toffs at the top - Press Gazette". Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ Michael McNay (29 February 2012). "Leonard Rosoman obituary | Art and design | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ The Young Ones; the youngest players ever to wear a Peterborough United shirt Archived 21 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, peterboroughtoday.co.uk
- ^ Peterborough is the star of new album from MJ Hibbert, peterboroughtoday.co.uk