Priory School was originally formed in 1969 when the Lewes County Grammar School for Girls, the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys and the Lewes Secondary Modern School were amalgamated to form a comprehensive school called Priory School, its name referring to the nearby Lewes Priory. At this point, although the school was comprehensive for children who lived within the town of Lewes, it was also open to children from the surrounding towns and villages who had passed the 11 plus. During this period there was also academic streaming: the names of the streamed groups were based on the letters of the word MOUNTFIELD.
In its early years (from 1969 until around 1980) the school was in three separate locations: the former Girls' Grammar School buildings in Potter's Lane housed the Lower School (ages 12–13), while on Mountfield Road the Secondary Modern buildings housed the Middle School (ages 14–15), with the Upper School (ages 16–18) in the former Boys' Grammar. Later, in the early 1990s, Potter's Lane site was turned into a primary school now housing Southover and Western Road Schools; Priory School itself was split into Priory School (11–16) on the former Secondary Modern site and the Sixth Form (16-18), housed on the former Boys' Grammar School site, merged with Lewes Technical College, which had a site opposite in Mountfield Road, to become Lewes Tertiary College and now East Sussex College.
In 2017 the uniform was changed to prohibit new joiners from wearing skirts, and was said by the headteacher to be "gender-neutral". Multiple news outlets and alumni, including Piers Morgan[1] criticised the move, stating that the restrictions were more of a contradiction than a progression in uniforms.[2][3] This decision led to a protest by students in 2019 on the basis of environmental issues, after it was announced that the change would affect every student, as opposed to just the new joiners.[4][5][6]
Site
Priory School then became centred on the site of the former Secondary Modern School and new buildings have since been added. The adjacent buildings formerly used by the County Grammar School for Boys and by the Sixth Form have become part of the Lewes Campus of East Sussex College (Further Education). The Chapel, of the former Boys' Grammar School, was retained by the Priory School. This chapel was built after the Second World War to commemorate the boys from the school who fought in the war. Next to it is the Music Block, which was rebuilt in 2008 in place of the old temporary one. The new block features improved disabled access, but thin walls and a void beneath the floor make it a rather difficult environment for music lessons.
In 1993, the new revised version of Priory School opened boasting a new wing – the "South Block" – and a heavily refurbished main building. The latter was the home of Lewes Secondary Modern School until 1969, sporting a distinctive copper plated clock tower. The main building included new science labs, a library and design technology rooms, built in anticipation of design technology being in the National Curriculum. The South Block hosts, on the ground floor, the Art, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages and English classrooms and on the first floor the Humanities classrooms. The Performing Arts Block was built recently next to the Main Hall.
The nearby Leisure Centre is used for indoor sports and the nearby Convent Fields, the Cricket Nets and the Tennis Courts, for outdoor ones. Between the South Block and the Main Building is a playground called the Quad. The tarmac playground continues until the chapel but there are large muddy and grassy areas surrounding it.
Arts
Priory has been awarded Arts and Language College statuses, specialising in these areas with increased funding. The three modern foreign languages taught are Spanish, French and German. There is also a Chinese club.
A number of pupils have gone on to make careers in the arts. Eric Goulden and Pete Thomas made their names in the music business. Annabel Abbs and Lucy Atkins have had a number of books published.
Chapel
In 1960 a chapel, designed by Sir Edward Maufe,[7] was built to honour the boys from the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys who died in the Second World War. Their names are shown on the walls of the vestibule, with the Latin motto "Dare Nec Computare" above the door, translating as "To give and not to count the cost".
^Holly Watt. "Secondary school makes uniform gender neutral". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
^"Lewes school adopts new 'gender neutral' uniform policy". Retrieved 7 September 2017.
^"Gender neutral uniform sparks protest at Lewes Priory School". BBC News. 6 September 2019.
^yomi-adegoke (8 September 2019). "Gender neutral uniforms make sense - but there should be a choice". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
^"Piers Morgan threatens to wear a SKIRT to his old school after introduction of 'gender neutral' uniform". The Argus. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
^"School closes its gates on pupils protesting against a skirt ban". The Argus. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
^Comprehensive List of Building's designed by Sir Edward Maufe. Retrieved September 2011
External links
Lewes Priory School website
January 21, 2023
priory, school, lewes, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Priory School Lewes news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Priory School is a British co educational secondary school for 11 to 16 year olds located on Mountfield Road in the East Sussex town of Lewes Priory SchoolAddressMountfield RoadLewes East Sussex BN7 2XNEnglandCoordinates50 52 09 N 0 00 58 E 50 86906 N 0 01624 E 50 86906 0 01624 Coordinates 50 52 09 N 0 00 58 E 50 86906 N 0 01624 E 50 86906 0 01624InformationTypeFoundation schoolEstablished1969Local authorityEast SussexDepartment for Education URN114598 TablesOfstedReportsHeadteacherAnthony SmithGenderCoeducationalAge11 to 16Enrolment1 165 pupilsWebsitewww wbr priory wbr e sussex wbr sch wbr uk Contents 1 History 2 Site 3 Arts 4 Chapel 5 Notable former pupils 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditPriory School was originally formed in 1969 when the Lewes County Grammar School for Girls the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys and the Lewes Secondary Modern School were amalgamated to form a comprehensive school called Priory School its name referring to the nearby Lewes Priory At this point although the school was comprehensive for children who lived within the town of Lewes it was also open to children from the surrounding towns and villages who had passed the 11 plus During this period there was also academic streaming the names of the streamed groups were based on the letters of the word MOUNTFIELD In its early years from 1969 until around 1980 the school was in three separate locations the former Girls Grammar School buildings in Potter s Lane housed the Lower School ages 12 13 while on Mountfield Road the Secondary Modern buildings housed the Middle School ages 14 15 with the Upper School ages 16 18 in the former Boys Grammar Later in the early 1990s Potter s Lane site was turned into a primary school now housing Southover and Western Road Schools Priory School itself was split into Priory School 11 16 on the former Secondary Modern site and the Sixth Form 16 18 housed on the former Boys Grammar School site merged with Lewes Technical College which had a site opposite in Mountfield Road to become Lewes Tertiary College and now East Sussex College In 2017 the uniform was changed to prohibit new joiners from wearing skirts and was said by the headteacher to be gender neutral Multiple news outlets and alumni including Piers Morgan 1 criticised the move stating that the restrictions were more of a contradiction than a progression in uniforms 2 3 This decision led to a protest by students in 2019 on the basis of environmental issues after it was announced that the change would affect every student as opposed to just the new joiners 4 5 6 Site EditPriory School then became centred on the site of the former Secondary Modern School and new buildings have since been added The adjacent buildings formerly used by the County Grammar School for Boys and by the Sixth Form have become part of the Lewes Campus of East Sussex College Further Education The Chapel of the former Boys Grammar School was retained by the Priory School This chapel was built after the Second World War to commemorate the boys from the school who fought in the war Next to it is the Music Block which was rebuilt in 2008 in place of the old temporary one The new block features improved disabled access but thin walls and a void beneath the floor make it a rather difficult environment for music lessons In 1993 the new revised version of Priory School opened boasting a new wing the South Block and a heavily refurbished main building The latter was the home of Lewes Secondary Modern School until 1969 sporting a distinctive copper plated clock tower The main building included new science labs a library and design technology rooms built in anticipation of design technology being in the National Curriculum The South Block hosts on the ground floor the Art Maths Modern Foreign Languages and English classrooms and on the first floor the Humanities classrooms The Performing Arts Block was built recently next to the Main Hall The nearby Leisure Centre is used for indoor sports and the nearby Convent Fields the Cricket Nets and the Tennis Courts for outdoor ones Between the South Block and the Main Building is a playground called the Quad The tarmac playground continues until the chapel but there are large muddy and grassy areas surrounding it Arts EditPriory has been awarded Arts and Language College statuses specialising in these areas with increased funding The three modern foreign languages taught are Spanish French and German There is also a Chinese club A number of pupils have gone on to make careers in the arts Eric Goulden and Pete Thomas made their names in the music business Annabel Abbs and Lucy Atkins have had a number of books published Chapel EditIn 1960 a chapel designed by Sir Edward Maufe 7 was built to honour the boys from the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys who died in the Second World War Their names are shown on the walls of the vestibule with the Latin motto Dare Nec Computare above the door translating as To give and not to count the cost Notable former pupils EditSee also Category People educated at Priory School Lewes Annabel Abbs writer Lucy Atkins writer John Authers financial journalist Ralph Brown actor Eric Goulden musician Alex Hughes Church of England priest and Archdeacon of Cambridge Tim Loughton Conservative Member of Parliament for East Worthing and Shoreham Piers Morgan journalist named Piers Pughe Morgan whilst at Priory Lloyd Russell Moyle Labour Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown David Rutley Conservative Member of Parliament for Macclesfield Ronald Smith musician Emma Tucker national newspaper editor Graeme K Talboys writer Pete Thomas musicianReferences Edit Holly Watt Secondary school makes uniform gender neutral The Guardian Retrieved 7 September 2017 Lewes school adopts new gender neutral uniform policy Retrieved 7 September 2017 Gender neutral uniform sparks protest at Lewes Priory School BBC News 6 September 2019 yomi adegoke 8 September 2019 Gender neutral uniforms make sense but there should be a choice inews co uk Retrieved 2 November 2021 Piers Morgan threatens to wear a SKIRT to his old school after introduction of gender neutral uniform The Argus Retrieved 2 November 2021 School closes its gates on pupils protesting against a skirt ban The Argus Retrieved 2 November 2021 Comprehensive List of Building s designed by Sir Edward Maufe Retrieved September 2011External links EditLewes Priory School website Lewes Sixth Form College website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Priory School Lewes amp oldid 1133497686, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
