Gillingham School
Over the years the school further prospered, and in 1916 girls were admitted for the first time. It was in 1926 that the school came under the control of the Dorset County Council who agreed to pay the staff salaries and provide grants for most education needs. In 1940 a County "Modern School" for the less academically able was built in a field next to the Grammar School and in 1959 the two schools combined into a Comprehensive School. Over the years and particularly in recent times the buildings were modernised and eventually all were replaced. The present school now has a roll of over 1600 pupils and a high reputation for achievement.
Gillingham School is divided up into 10 form tutors, each with a name which relates to the school in one way or another. They are; Baxter, Clarendon, Davenant, Fletcher, George-Butler, Hurley, Matthews, Lyndon, Seager, and Wagner. As a comprehensive school, Year 7 - 11 have these tutors, each with roughly 32 pupils in. The Gillingham School Sixth Form are sorted into tutors, however the names are different from the school. The names are the initials of the form tutor teacher themselves.
The Gillingham School sixth form attracts students from a large surrounding region and the school was rated 'good' in the latest Ofsted report.
Notable alumni
- Yvonne Fletcher – Metropolitan Police officer murdered in a 1984 diplomatic incident
- Neil Lyndon – writer and journalist.
- Adam Tomkins – Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament
- Josh Sims – football player, currently playing for Southampton
- Lloyd Isgrove – football player, currently playing for Barnsley
- Jonathan Brearley - CEO of GB energy regulator Ofgem
- Kai Whiston - electronic music producer and artist. [1]
Racism
In 2022 it was revealed that the school had neglected over 30 reports of racism from a family that included a teacher and three students who later contacted the Member of Parliament for North Dorset Simon Hoare after the matter was subject to a BBC article. In response to this, the school told the family it adopted a "zero tolerance" approach to bullying but it failed to provide a copy of its policy when asked to see it by the family.
See also
References
- ^ Gillingham Grammar School, Dorset - An Historical Account" by A F H V Wagner, MA
- ^ "Origins of the School". www.gillingham-dorset.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
- ^ "Latest Ofsted Report" (PDF). Gillingham School. 6 September 2017.
- ^ "Tomkins, Adam, (born 28 June 1969), Member (C) Glasgow, Scottish Parliament, since 2016; John Millar Professor of Public Law, University of Glasgow, since 2003." WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 24 Mar. 2018