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Cheadle Hulme School

This article is about the independent school. There is also the state-funded Cheadle Hulme High School nearby.

Cheadle Hulme School (CHS) is an Independent day school in Cheadle Hulme, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester in the North-West of England. It is for both boys and girls aged 4–18 years old. It was formed as The Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks' Orphan Schools in 1855, and from an original pupil body of six pupils has grown to over 1,400. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, which represents the country's leading independent schools.

The school's motto is In Loco Parentis (in the place of a parent).

History

In the mid 1850s, life expectancy for those working in the inner-cities was extremely poor, and many were worried about what would happen to their children should they die. After a series of meetings, they decided to establish a school where their children could be sent should their father die.

Initially, it was intended to set up a single school in London for the orphans of warehousemen and clerks from across the country, and indeed upon the first meeting the London delegation had already begun to set up a school in London, now known as the Royal Russell School in Croydon. However, there was a strong feeling that mothers of orphans (an orphan being defined as a child who had lost his or her father) would not want to send their child away to London, and so the idea of establishing a school in the North was created.

When the school was first established, it had no building or teachers, and the pupils were sent to a school in Shaw Hall, Flixton. However, six years later they moved to Park Place, Ardwick, in the centre of Manchester. By this time it had already been decided that a new school should be built and the foundation stone of the main building was laid in 1867. The School moved to its present site two years later.

Since the beginning, the school had been a boarding school, originally for the orphans (known as "foundationers") which it was set up for. As time progressed, it started to accept paying boarders and also paying day pupils. Over the years, as the factories that had originally supplied its pupils dwindled, and state education increased, "foundationers" also decreased.

During the World War I, the school hospital was used by the Red Cross for treating injured soldiers. During World War II, students from Manchester High School for Girls and Fairfield High School were evacuated to the school. 60 Old Waconians lost their lives in World War I, and 46 in World War II.

In the 1950s and 1960s it was a major direct grant Grammar School, but it became Independent in 1976 when the Labour government abolished the Direct Grant Scheme. By the 1990s, the vast majority of pupils were paying day students. The school reluctantly closed the boarding school in 1993, and also reformed the foundation scheme, finally ending the link with the factories and requiring all current pupils to become subscribers.

Junior School

Built in 1970, the main Junior School building houses ten classrooms. An Infant Department was opened in 1998 by the then Headmistress Miss H. Kahn and expanded further in September 2002 to accommodate an extra class at Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. There are two classes to each year group in the Junior Department and students progress to the next year group automatically, though an exam is required to progress to the Senior Department. There are a wide range of clubs ranging from Food Club to Tennis. Sport is played once a week, and the Year 5 and 6 students take part in either weekly or fortnightly matches in Football, Rugby, Netball, Hockey, Swimming, Cricket, Tennis and Athletics. Music lessons are held once a week. The current Headmistress is Mrs. P. Aspinwall. There are talent contests in the Summer Term. The Junior School has many facilities available to it including a library, swimming pool, field, astro-turf pitch and tennis and netball courts.

Extra-curricular activities

Cheadle Hulme School students enjoy and excel at a wide range of extracurricular activities, ranging from sport to music, dance to drama.

Sport

CHS pupils are involved in a range of sporting activities. There are major teams in football, rugby union, netball and field hockey who all toured South Africa during the 2005 Summer Holidays. The school also currently has a number of players in the school who play for England squads in rugby and hockey.

The 1st XI cricket team enjoyed a six-game tour to Goa at Easter 2007.

In addition to the Team sport all pupils play at least an hour of sport each week as part of their timetable. The sports available include badminton, tennis and yoga, in addition to options like football, cricket and rugby.

Music

The school offers a wide range of musical opportunities to students, including a choir and various bands (concert, wind, swing, big band). The school has a record of ambitious music making, which was initiated by Geoffrey Keating, who was Director of Music during the 1960s. Keating went on to become Director of Music at Millfield School in Somerset, but left behind a thriving choral tradition. To this was added, during the 1970s, some equally ambitious orchestral activity, and the school orchestra has tackled works such as symphonies by Beethoven and Dvořák, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and the Cello Concerto by Elgar. The department is currently headed up by Mr. Philip Dewhurst.

Drama

CHS has a large Drama department which produces a number of annual plays involving wide areas of the school. In recent years the school has produced Billy Liar, Midsummer Night's Dream, Blue Remembered Hills, West Side Story and productions of Henry V and South Pacific were staged in early 2007.

Politics

Regular mock elections and referendums are held, giving sixth-form students a chance to lead a campaign, followed by a school-wide vote. The school Think Tank club has played host to guest speakers such as shadow Chancellor George Osborne and United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Member of the European Parliament (MEP) John Whittaker.

The school also plays host to annual Question Time events. In the most recent, local candidates answered questions from voters in advance of the 2005 General Election.

Model United Nations

Model United Nations is a popular student activity. The school has developed a fine reputation as a leading MUN school, with students having won numerous awards for the standard of their debate and research skills at conferences across the United Kingdom and in Europe. As well as attending many large international conferences, the school also plays host to Model United Nations Cheadle Hulme (MUNCH). MUNCH is a popular MUN conference attended by schools from across the United Kingdom and, increasingly, from around the world. MUNCH6 (2006) was the largest conference yet, with over 500 delegates and students involved in the organisation and debate.

Trips

Cheadle Hulme School students have the opportunity to take part in a number of educational trips to enhance their understanding of the subjects that they are studying.

Politics and History students have enjoyed a number of trips in recent years, including:

Washington D.C., where they have taken part in activities such as tours of the Pentagon and Congress, meetings with US interest groups such as Common Cause, and visits to the Smithsonian Institution.
Westminster and Whitehall, where students have met with politicians such as shadow Chancellor George Osborne, Old Waconian Alf, Lord Dubs, local MP Mark Hunter and journalists from the Reuters news agency.
Brussels, including visits to the European Commission and European Parliament.
Moscow and St. Petersburg .
The Battlefields.
Eyam.
The Gambia. A geography trip to the Gambia to study ecosystems and visit the Gambia High School, a school linked to CHS. Social action aspects are also included in the trip with mosquito nets, books and pens etc. given to the young people of the linked school along with time spent with children of local refugee schools.

And for Lower School - Years 7-9

Day trips to Chester, Manchester Jewish Museum and many other places.
Brittany trip for Year 8s.
Ski trip to the Swiss Alps.

Also, the school has a partnership with Columbus Fellowship and goes on many residential holidays with them.

Other Activities

Those interested in history can attend the Diggers society, where they can hear lectures from University professors and historians.

Other extracurricular activities include the business startup scheme Young Enterprise, a philosophical society, Chess Club, German club, Film Club, Gourmet Club, and participation in a local Mock Trial competition. Students are also encouraged to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. There are many more activities which cover a wide range of areas including cooking, building, photography, and much more.

Annual events

Since 2000, all students, parents and staff attend an evening entitled Celebration of Cheadle Hulme School once a year at the Bridgewater Hall, where the achievements of the previous year are celebrated through a series of speeches, and the talents of students are put on display. The school song, Jerusalem, is also sung by all in attendance. A speech is also given by a special guest, often an alumnus of the school. Previous speakers have included Alf, Lord Dubs and Katie Derham. This event replaced Founder's Day, which was held at St. George's Church, Stockport.

Originally, the Celebration event was also used to award the school prizes to those who had graduated in previous years. There are school prizes in each subject, as well as special prizes for things such as overall academic achievement, achievement in sport, and to thank those who served on the school council. Recipients of these prizes were invited back to be presented with them. However, since 2005, prizes have been presented at a special graduation ceremony in a marquee in the school's grounds.

It is traditional for departing Upper Sixth students to take part in pranks on their final day, which are usually done in good humour and with the consent of the school. For example in 1994 that year's departing upper sixth painted the school pavilion pink in the dead of night - much to the amusement of everyone the next day.They are also treated to a free cooked breakfast in the dining hall, served by teaching staff.

150th Anniversary

2005 was the school's 150th Anniversary, and it celebrated this event with reunions and a special logo. A book, "Heads and Tales", was specially produced for the occasion.

Notable Old Waconians

Alumni of Cheadle Hulme School are known as "Old Waconians", a remnant of the original name of the school ("Warehousemen And Clerks").

Politics

Billy Hughes (1914–1995), educationist and politician, Principal of Ruskin College, Oxford, 1950–1979
Alf Dubs, Baron Dubs (born 1932), Labour politician
Chris Davies (born 1954), Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament

Television

Toby Sawyer (born 1969), actor
Richard Fleeshman (born 1989), actor
Kirsten Cassidy (born 1990), actress
Nick Robinson (born 1963), BBC political editor
Katie Derham (born 1970), ITV Evening News presenter
Sarah Wilmshurst (born c.1972), weather presenter

Music

Susan Bullock (born 1958), soprano
Clare Wilkinson (born 1976), mezzo-soprano
Guy Swimer (born 1973), Winner - Benidorm International Song Festival 2004

Headmasters

1855-61 - Mr. McDougall
1861-63 - Mr. Henry Adkin
1863-64 - Mr. Harrison
1865-66 - Mr. Edward Eversden
1867-80 - Mr. William Laurie
1880-84 - Mr. Alfred Stone
1884-1906 - Mr. George Board
1906-22 - Mr. Robert Purdy
1922-54 - Mr. T.T.R. Lockhart
1954-62 - Mr. Douglas Whiting
1962-63 - Mr. David Wilcox (Acting Head)
1963-74 - Mr. Leslie Johnston
1974-76 - Mr. David Wilcox
1977-89 - Mr. Colin Firth
1990-2000 - Mr. Donald Wilkinson
2001-01 - Mr. Andrew Chicken (Acting Head)
2001- - Mr. Paul Dixon

Future

The school is one of the many independent schools considering switching from the A level qualification to the Pre-U exam. In February 2007 a meeting was held at the school attended by over 31 head teachers from across Northern England to provide more information about this qualification.