Sutton Grammar School for Boys is a selective, single-sex grammar school for pupils aged 11-18 inclusive. Located in Surrey, south-east England, the School comprises grounds in both Sutton and neighbouring Cheam Village.

History

Early life

The School opened in 1899 with an intake of only 19 boys. It has always been an all boys school, selective in nature, and began life charging fees of £2 10s per term. The School has undergone several name changes; it used to be known as Sutton County Grammar School, and later Sutton Manor School (owing to its proximity with the old Sutton Manor).

The first Headmaster of the School was Mr E H Hensley, who studied at Cambridge University, where he became a Wrangler by taking a first class degree in Mathematics.

The first Deputy Headmaster (or Second Master) was Mr J W Horn, who read Classics at Cambridge University. Mr Horn's love of the Classics is to this day reflected in the School badge: the owl, emblematic of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Athena is also referred to in the School Song.

Modern

The current Headmaster is Mr G D Ironside, who studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University. The current Deputy Headmistress is Mrs I Sutherland, formerly of Croham Hurst School.

The School operates a prefect system with a Head Boy, two Deputy Head Boys, Senior Prefects and prefects appointed annually. The current Head Boy is Luka Pillai, and the Deputy Head Boys are Ed Bell and Joe Riches.

Headmasters and second masters

Date	Headmaster
1899-1925	E H Hensley
1925-56	J A Cockshutt
1956-76	F A Walch
1976-84	A P W Collins
1985-90	N P O Green
1990-present	G D Ironside

Date	Second master
1899-1934	J W Horn
1934-50	H Morris
1950-66	A M Lorimer
1966-77	G Scott
1977-89	R G Disley
1987-89	G D Ironside (2nd)*
1989-90	G D Ironside (1st)*
1990-2007	G G Gibson
2007-present	I Sutherland

*Note: 2 Deputies, 1987-90

Academics

The school placed within the top 3% of secondary schools in England in The Times school league tables 2007.

The School was ranked as the best school in the country for physics in the Good Schools Guide 2005.

Oxbridge admits numerous pupils including some to study medicine, dentistry and veterinary sciences.

The school admits pupils from the ages of 11 to 18, or years 7 to 13 (upper sixth) in the English academic system. The school is selective, requiring pupils to pass an eleven plus examination in order to gain admittance. There are approximately 120 pupils in each year for the main school (Years 7 to 11) and slightly less for the Sixth Form, varying year-on-year.

Entry requirements for the sixth form are a minimum of 4 'A' grades and 2 'B' grades at GCSE. Pupils are further required to meet specialist grade requirements in relation to the subjects they wish to study in the Sixth Form. Pupils who wish to join from other schools are also required to achieve higher grades and pass an admissions interview.

School grounds

The School was founded in 1899 on a site between Throwley Way and the High Street in the area now occupied by a tower block behind the Wilkinson store.

Since 1928, the School has been located in central Sutton, directly opposite Manor Park. There has recently been extensive building work carried out to expand the main site.

Main site

The main site consists of the following:

• Main building: Oldest School building, until recently featuring original Victorian panelled windows. Includes the School hall, multiple science laboratories, English and mathematics classrooms, two secondary IT suites and a recently reconstructed drama studio.
• Library: Large building containing fiction, non-fiction and reference books. Overseen by a full-time adult librarian. Contains several computers for academic use.
• Dining hall: Recently completed in 2006 to replace the old canteen.
• Sports hall: Opened in July 2005 by Sir Bobby Robson CBE, who helped fund part of the hall and whose grandson attended the School. Also contains modern foreign language classrooms occupying the first floor.
• Swimming pool: Outdoor, heated pool, accessible via the main building.
• Humanities building: Built in 1997, containing a large IT classroom, history, geography and religious education rooms, as well as one of the School's two art studios.
• Music and design technology building: Contains a music classroom, soundproof music practice rooms and two DT rooms (containing an IT suite, practical workshop with heavy machinery, and design suite).

Walch Memorial Playing Fields

Located off Northey Avenue, Cheam Village, these extensive off-site grounds consist of the following:

• Pavilion: Overlooking the playing fields, this building contains the School bar and an events room on the top floor (predominantly used for Old Suttonians' events, leavers' events and Sports Day) and sports changing rooms and a small shop on the bottom floor.
• Sports fields: Contains football and rugby pitches, cricket fields, long/triple jump sandpits and a cross-country course.

Sport

The School currently offers the following sports:

Athletics Badminton Ballroom dancing Basketball Cricket Cross-country

Football Gymnastics Rowing Rugby Swimming Table tennis

Sports take place at either the on-site sports hall, studio or swimming pool, or at the Walch Memorial Playing Fields at Northey Avenue, Cheam Village. When playing sports at the latter location, pupils are transported a short distance in the School bus or minibus.

The current School basketball team, the self-titled 'Sutton Spartans', is coached by Colin Leonard and is vying for the National Schools Title as well as competing in the Surrey Men's basketball League.

Houses

Upon entry to the School, pupils are allocated to one of four forms, each form being associated with one of four houses. Classes are split according to house affiliation until the Upper School, after which pupils from separate houses may work alongside one another.

Until entry to the Sixth Form, each pupil wears a chevron under the School badge on his blazer denoting house affiliation. Pupils' laboratory aprons are also styled in the colour of their house, as are their sports top (Brown House wear Yellow, not Brown)

	House	House master
	Green House	Gillian Essien
	Blue House	Jamie Costello
	Brown House	Simon Shergold
	Red House	Sam Karlsson

House Shield

The House Shield is based on house points, awarded for academic and sporting achievement. The House Shield was most recently won by Brown House in the academic year 2007/08. As part of the House Shield competition, the following events are held each year:

House Art House Athletics (Sports Day) House Badminton House Basketball House Cricket House Cross Country

House Drama House Football House Gymnastics House Music House Swimming (Swimming Gala)

Combined Cadet Force

The school has one of the most highly respected training programmes of all cadet forces in the country. It was raised in early 1915 and officially recognised by the War Office in June 1915. Over the years, boys from the School’s CCF have both served and fought for their country in successive campaigns and wars.

In recent years, the Cadet Force has introduced more external activities. The CCF has expanded with new members and the recent involvement of Nonsuch High School for Girls in the Army section in the late 1990's(sponsored by the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry) and now, as of 2007, in the RAF section which previously maintained all male membership.

The officer team of the CCF is headed by Squadron Leader Hobbs, an ex-Head Cadet and ex-Head Boy. The CCF is under the leadership of this officer team and an annually appointed Cadet Corporal Major (Army Section), currently Lawrence Gosset and Cadet Warrant Officer (RAF Section), currently Lawrence "Larry" Jones, from the ranks of the sixth form cadets. Ex-cadets are able to stay in contact with each other via the Old Suttonians Cadet Association (OSCA), which is affiliated to the Old Suttonians Association (OSA). The head of the RAF section has long been Giles Peter Benedict Marshall, a current teacher at the school.

The Old Suttonians Association

The Old Suttonians Association (OSA) is the membership group for Old Boys of the School. The OSA was originally founded as the Old Suttonians Football Club in 1906, and soon after as the Old Suttonians Association in 1909. 2006, therefore, saw the one-hundredth anniversary of the Old Suttonians Football Club, whilst the OSA itself is set to celebrate its centenary in 2009. Both were formed by a master of the School, Mr S A Birks.

Today, there are seven clubs affiliated to the Association:

• The Cowdray Club
• The Old Suttonians Basketball Club
• The Old Suttonians Cadet Association
• The Old Suttonians Cricket Club
• The Old Suttonians Football Club
• The Old Suttonians Rugby Football Club
• The Old Suttonians Scuba Club

In its lifetime, the OSA has had a very diverse range of affiliated activities attached to it. A literary and debating society, a cycling and rambling club, chess and bridge clubs, and a very strong swimming club were all in evidence at some point during the period 1909-1970.

The OSA runs an annual reunion dinner in September of each year and, on a more intermittent basis, reunions for the various year groups, most recently for those at the School under the Headmastership of Mr Hensley or Mr Cockshutt.

Notable staff

• Giles Peter Benedict Marshall - Conservative Party spokesman and Chairman of the Tory Reform Group

Notable alumni

Politics

• Robin Gorham - former British Deputy High Commissioner, Lusaka and former Head of Protocol Department and Assistant Marshal of Diplomatic Corps, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• David Malcolm McBain LVO - former Ambassador to Madagascar
• Brian Paddick - Liberal Democrat candidate in the London Mayoral election, 2008 and former Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police
• Peter Alfred Penfold CMG OBE - former British High Commissioner, Sierra Leone and former Governor of the British Virgin Islands

Media

• Richard James Ayre - former Deputy Chief Executive, BBC News
• Professor David Bellamy OBE - famous botanist, broadcaster, author and environmental campaigner
• Roger Parry - media tycoon

Arts

• Christopher Bigsby - novelist and BBC Radio broadcaster
• Richard Craze - author and publisher
• James Farrar - writer and poet
• Tom Hewitt - lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Clocks
• Anthony Nicholls - author and historian
• Donald Winch - author on classical economics

Sport

• Peter Downes - ''Great Britain American footballer
• Peter Fear - former Wimbledon FC and England U21 footballer
• David Fletcher - former Surrey CCC cricketer

Miscellaneous

• Eric Radley-Smith - surgeon (carried out some of the first lobotomy and hypophysectomy procedures) and former President of Brentford FC
• Dr Lancelot Lionel Ware OBE - co-founder of MENSA

Further reading

• Heater, Derek Keeping Faith: A History of Sutton Grammar School. Ian Allan Printing Ltd.
• Jones, Arthur Edward (1975). A Small School in the Great War: The Story of Sutton County School and Its Old Boys in World War I. ISBN 0950293318.

External links

• Official School website
• School Weather Station - Built by Jonathan Sowman, Matthew Brejza & Ben Oxley in 2007/2008.
• Old Suttonians Cadet Association website
• School sports website
• Ofsted Report 2005

References