A grammar school has existed in Bourne since the 14th century but very little is known about this early establishment other than that Sir John Fisher was appointed master in 1330. Where the school premises were and how many pupils were taught there over the years is not recorded. Our only evidence today of such an educational facility is the Old Grammar School building that still stands in the churchyard next to the Abbey Church but this was not built until 1678 when it was known as the Free Grammar School of King Charles in the Town of Bourn. It was financed by William Trollope, a local landowner, who left a bequest in 1636 that provided for an endowment of £30 a year to maintain "an honest, learned, and godly schoolmaster" and even then, the premises that we see now have been largely rebuilt since his day. 

Pupils who attended were taught Latin free but were charged tuition fees for English and other subjects and this augmented the schoolmaster's income but the coming of state education for elementary pupils in the 1870s had a serious effect on the numbers prepared to pay for their lessons. Furthermore, there were bigger and better grammar schools in neighbouring towns and these were becoming more accessible as a result of the development of the passenger railway services. The school also had fewer facilities than the others with no playground and, more importantly, no house for the schoolmaster whose salary was being swallowed up by paying to rent accommodation for his family. The school therefore fell into decline during the final years of the 19th century and by 1897, the number of pupils that had once stood at thirty-two had dwindled to just nine and it was officially closed in 1904. There was great concern over its disappearance and in the years that followed there were several attempts to revive it but it was almost twenty years before those who worked so hard for the restoration of secondary education in the town were eventually rewarded and when the First World War ended, it was resuscitated as a co-educational secondary school. Bequests from two charities founded by Robert Harrington (1654) and that from William Trollope (1636) were united to form a single foundation called the Harrington and Trollope Secondary School and this money was supplemented by an annual grant from Kesteven County Council to meet the fees of those who had secured free places while parental fees were required in respect of the other pupils. 

In September 1920, the new headmaster Mr C Pask Matthews, fifty pupils and a staff of three teachers, assembled at the Vestry Hall in North Street and this was to be their headquarters for the next few months, to be used for assemblies and P E lessons, while three forms used the adjoining premises in North Street. The following summer, in July 1921, the new grammar school was officially opened on the present site in South Road and pending the erection of permanent buildings, classrooms were housed in old wooden army huts that had been purchased at a government post-war disposal sale and which were in fact to remain in use for another seventy years. 

A new phase began with the passing of the Education Act of 1944 when it became voluntary controlled and then from 1947, the name Bourne Grammar School was adopted with entrants chosen from the result of the 11-plus examination taken by pupils at primary level in the catchment area and the payment of fees was abolished. The school also lost its preparatory department of children under 11 years of age but nevertheless, the pupil roll steadily increased and by 1965, the number of scholars had doubled to more than 300 and by the beginning of 1986, there were 393 students including a sixth form of 75. There was also a full time staff of 21 with four part time teachers while five others visited to give lessons on specific subjects and there was also a French language assistant.

Building work was undertaken to modernise the premises and to provide additional accommodation to keep pace with the increasing number of pupils. Major extensions were opened in 1961 to provide a new block with a main assembly hall and gymnasium, science laboratories and a library while the playing fields were extended by the incorporation of adjacent meadow land on the north side and further classrooms, a dining hall and another laboratory were added soon afterwards. Modernisation and extensions continued and by 1970 the school was sufficiently well established to withstand outside pressure for change. The Labour government's abolition of school selection at the age of 11 plus heralded the introduction of comprehensive education throughout Britain and although many county education authorities favoured the new system, there was a sufficient head of steam in the town to avert reorganisation and so Bourne Grammar School survived. 

Scholastic achievements have also progressed year by year, at O and A level, and a significant number of students annually gain admission to the various universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, and these successes continue today while the school enjoys an enviable reputation in the locality and beyond. 

In his detailed pamphlet A History of Bourne Grammar School, published in 1986, J D Birkbeck, the former history master and deputy headmaster, contemplated that William Trollope could hardly have envisaged such remarkable growth for the small school he founded three and a half centuries ago but that surely he would have been proud of its achievements. The changes have been even more dramatic since then. The curriculum is now designed to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world, embracing the impact of new technologies and recognising the links between education and employment. The facilities are also being continually upgraded and by the autumn of 2000, there were 925 students including a sixth form of 230, a phenomenal change to the grammar school of 1947. 

A new self-contained multi-purpose teaching block was opened in the autumn of 2001 at a cost of £1.1 million and containing classrooms for languages, music and art. Then in the autumn of 2004, a further two-storey extension was opened at a cost of £1 million, providing a library and a learning resources centre equipped with 25 computers. The development also meant that ten mobile classrooms on site that had provided temporary teaching space could finally be phased out, much to the relief of pupils and staff.

Dr Stuart Miles, who had been head teacher since January 1998, left the school in the summer of 2004. He had been off for five months the previous year after suffering serious injuries in a car crash and in July 2004, the governors issued a statement saying that he had resigned on health grounds with effect from August 31st. Since his arrival, BGS had been consistently ranked among the top performing schools in the country’s national league tables. An Ofsted report earlier in 2004 praised him for his clear vision and leadership and the school’s high quality of education and pupil achievement. Peter Cookson, a senior teacher at the school, was appointed acting head in his place and in November 2004, a new head teacher was appointed, Jonathan Maddox, aged 39, who took up his duties in January 2005. See box at end.

By this time, the school had expanded considerably with more than 1,000 pupils and a budget of £3.2 million a year.

Tradition remains a strong and potent force in the life of Bourne Grammar that maintains high standards of both attainment and behaviour. Speech Day has been an annual event from the start of the Harrington and Trollope school, held then in the Corn Exchange which was large enough for the gathering of pupils, parents and guests and the speeches and prize-giving were always accompanied by some entertainment and invariably ended with the school song, Forty Years On, shared with Harrow School and many others around the country and well embedded in the traditions from its early days. But there was eventually widespread feeling that its predominantly masculine, sporting theme was no longer relevant in the changing climate and so a new one was chosen. 

This was Vigila et Ora or Watch and Pray that was specially arranged for a first performance in April 1984 at one of the regular musical concerts with choir, vocalists and instrumentalists, that had become a much loved event each year.

In the summer of 2005, the new head teacher, Jonathan Maddox (see box below) proposed that the school should bid for specialist status to become a centre for the performing arts such as music, drama and English by he year 2007. This would make it eligible for up to £650,000 in additional resources but first the school must raise £50,000 to support the application. A local company, Delaine Buses, had already pledged £5,000 to launch the fund to finance an arts centre which would also be used by other schools and further support to raise the remaining amount was sought from other businesses and parents in time for the bid to be submitted in October 2006. “The performing arts are strong subjects at the school yet drama currently has no specialist teaching place”, explained Mr Maddox. “The generous contribution from Delaine Buses has got us off to a magnificent start.”

REVISED JULY 2005

See also   Charles Pask Matthews

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