King's School, Macclesfield

The King's School, Macclesfield, is an independent school for day pupils in Prestbury, Cheshire, England, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1502 by Sir John Percyvale, a former Lord Mayor of London, as Macclesfield Grammar School.

The King's School
Address
Alderley Rd, Prestbury Prestbury , Cheshire , SK10 4SP United Kingdom
Coordinates	53°16′35″N 2°09′52″W / 53.2763°N 2.16435°W / 53.2763; -2.16435
Information
Type	Private day school
Motto	Challenge, Develop, Foster, Support
Established	1502; 521 years ago (1502)
Founder	Sir John Percyvale, Feoffees
Department for Education URN	111473 Tables
Head of Foundation	Jason Slack
Gender	Mixed
Age	3 to 18
Enrolment	1,337 pupils
Houses	4 (Gawsworth, Adlington, Tatton and Capesthorne)
Colour(s)
Website	https://www.kingsmac.co.uk/

History

The King's School was founded in 1502 within the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Macclesfield. It was re-founded by Edward VI in 1552 as the "Free Grammar School of King Edward VI". It moved to Cumberland Street, 300 metres further from the town square, in 1844. In July 2020 the school moved to a new location adjacent to its long-held Derby Playing Fields, on the outskirts of Macclesfield.^[1]

In 1844 a Modern School, with a more commercial and technical curriculum, was built by the governors to run in tandem with the Grammar School. It merged with the Grammar School in 1912.^[2]

The school operated as a direct-grant school and offered scholarships for boys from state elementary schools from 1926 until 1966, when its application to continue as a direct grant grammar school was refused and it became fully independent.^[3][4]

The boys' junior school was opened in 1947. In 1993 girls from age 11 to 16 were admitted and housed with co-educational juniors, and later infants, at the old Macclesfield High School site on Fence Avenue. The Sixth Form had been co-educational since 1986.^[5]

The King's School's 2020 development plans involved closing the two existing school sites in Macclesfield and opening a new single site school in Prestbury, near Macclesfield.^[6] The development plans involved selling off the two existing school sites for housing development to fund the new school site.^[7] The school acquired greenbelt farmland adjacent to its Derby Fields site for which it subsequently sought planning permission in order to develop the existing school site and the farmland for housing.^[8] Planning permission was granted to the school to build more than 250 houses on the greenbelt land in Macclesfield in July 2016.^[9] The new school was built on green belt land in nearby Prestbury. Planning permission for all sites was confirmed when the Secretary of State declined to call in the plans for further scrutiny in September 2016.^[10] In July 2020 King's School left Macclesfield after more than 500 years of continuous operation in the town and relocated to Prestbury.^[1]

Academia

The school follows the National Curriculum for GCSE in Years 10–11 and A-Levels in the sixth form. In 2012, pupils achieved A*/A in 41% of all exams and A* – B in three-quarters of exams. Pupils achieved the best-ever GCSE results in 2012 with 33% of grades at A* grade, more than 63% of grades at A*/A and 86% at A* – B grade.

In 2011, pupils achieved 75% A* to B grade at A-level, with a 99.7% pass rate, and 60% As and A*s at GCSE.^[11]

Extra-curricular activities

Music

In 2003 the school's Foundation Choir won BBC Songs of Praise Choir of the Year.^[12] It takes bi-annual trips to perform across Europe, having visited Barcelona, Levico Terme, Strasbourg, Lake Geneva and Budapest. In 2016 the choir performed in Prague. The choir and numerous bands also perform at nearby St Michael's Church.^[13] The school's music department is equipped with a recording studio and practice rooms and offers instrumental lessons to the students.^[14] The department also performs musicals such as The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes,^[15][16] a West End musical, in 2012.

Drama

The school performs two to three plays a year; one by the Boys' Division/Sixth Form, one by the Girls' Division, and one by the Juniors. Recent plays include Cinders,^[17] Arabian Nights,^[18] and The Ramayana.

School trips

Trips abroad are arranged by individual departments, including those by the History and Classics departments, in addition to annual foreign language exchange visits.^[19] Pupils are involved in biennial World Challenge Expeditions and recent expeditions have been to Morocco,^[20] Ecuador, India and most recently Namibia.^[21]

The school's Outdoor Activities Club organises regular trips to Yorkshire^[22] or the Peak District, that include walking, climbing and caving.^{[citation needed]}

Sports

School sports include rugby, hockey, netball, cheerleading,^[23][24] and cricket.^[25][26]

Headmasters

• 1502–1533: William Bridges (first)^[27]
• 1533–1560: John Bold
• 1560–1588: John Brownswerde
• 1588–1631: William Legh
• 1631–1648: Thomas Bolde
• 1648–1662: Henry Crosedale
• 1662–1666: Edward Powell
• 1666–1674: Ralph Gorse
• 1674–1676: Thomas Brancker
• 1676–1689: Rev. John Ashworth
• 1689–1690: Caleb Pott
• 1690–1704: Timothy Dobson
• 1704–1717: Edward Denham
• 1717–1720: George Hammond
• 1720–1745: Rev. Joseph Allen
• 1745: Edward Ford
• 1745–1749: Christopher Atkinson
• 1749–1774: Rowland Atkinson
• 1774–1790: Henry Ingles
• 1790–1828: David Davies
• 1828: Thomas Bourdillon
• 1828–1837: Rev. Francis Stonehewer Newbold
• 1849–1872: Rev. Thomas Brooking Cornish
• 1837–1849: William Alexander Osborn
• 1880–1910: Darwin Wilmot
• 1910–1933 : Francis Duntz Evans
• 1933–1966: Thomas Taylor Shaw
• 1966–1987: Alan Cooper
• 1987–2001: Adrian Silcock
• 2001–2011: Stephen Coyne
• 2011–2020: Simon Hyde
• 2020–present: Jason Slack

Notable former pupils

• Thomas Newton (born 1542; died 1607), English clergyman and poet^{[citation needed]}
• John Blundell, economist
• Rev. Thomas Taylor, priest and historian
• John Bradshaw, chief prosecutor of Charles I and the first man to sign his death warrant
• Charles Gordon Hewitt (born 1885; died 1920), British-Canadian consulting zoologist^[28]
• James Hope (born 1801; died 1841), cardiologist and physician
• Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury, known as the Red Dean
• Sir Eric Jones KCMG, CB, CBE (born 1907; died 1986), former Director of GCHQ^[29]
• Tom Margerison (born 1923; died 2014), Founder of the New Scientist, journalist at the Sunday Times and BBC Broadcaster
• Alan Jones (born 1927; died 2009), Scottish first-class cricketer
• The Lord Beith of Berwick-on-Tweed, Alan Beith (born 1943), politician
• Duncan Robinson CBE (born 1943), Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and Chairman of the Henry Moore Foundation
• Christian Blackshaw (born 1949), classical pianist
• Robert Longden (born 1951), British actor, director, composer and librettist.
• Steve Smith (born 1951), Captain of England (28 caps) and the British Lions rugby union teams
• Guy Ryder CBE (born 1956), political scientist and Director-General of the International Labour Organization
• Ian Curtis (born 1956; died 1980), of the post-punk band Joy Division
• Stephen Morris (born 1957), of the post-punk band Joy Division
• Jon Craig (born 1957), Chief Political Correspondent of Sky News
• Michael Jackson (born 1958), former Channel 4 Chief Executive
• Guy Laurence (born 1961), CEO of Chelsea Football Club; former CEO of Vodafone UK
• Peter Moores (born 1962), England cricket coach
• Andy Bird CBE (born 1964), Chairman, Walt Disney International
• Oliver Holt (born 1966), former Chief Sports Correspondent for The Times and current Chief Sports Writer for the Daily Mirror
• Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd (born 1967), Fleet Commander of the Royal Navy, former Captain of HMS Queen Elizabeth
• Richard Pool-Jones (born 1969), former England rugby union and Stade Francais player
• Stanley Chow (born 1974), artist and illustrator
• Helen Marten (born 1985), artist and Turner Prize winner
• Matthew Falder (born 1988), convicted child sex offender^[30]
• Matty Healy (born 1989), singer in The 1975^[31]
• Tommy Taylor (born 1991), England rugby union capped player (hooker) with London Wasps^[32]
• Jonathan Marsden (born 1993), first-class cricketer, teacher at Harrow School
• Tom Hudson (born 1994), professional rugby player at Gloucester Rugby^[33][34]
• Blake Richardson (born 1999), musician, member of British band New Hope Club
• Cameron Redpath (born 1999), professional rugby player at Bath Rugby
• Alex Denny (born 2000), professional footballer at Everton FC^[35]

Old Maxonian International Rugby Players

Name	Country	Caps	First capped	Last capped	Notes
Steve Smith (born 1951)	England   British and Irish Lions	0928^[36]	19731973^[36]	19831983^[36]	professional club: Sale Sharks
Richard Pool-Jones (born 1969)	England	091^[37]	19981998^[37]	19981998^[37]	professional clubs: Biarritz Olympique and Stade Francais
Jos Baxendell (born 1972)	England	022^[38]	19981998^[38]	19981998^[38]	professional club: Sale Sharks
Tommy Taylor (born 1991)	England	021^[39]	20162016^[39]	20162016^[39]	professional clubs: Sale Sharks and London Wasps^[39]
Cameron Redpath (born 1999)	Scotland	022	20212021	20212021	professional club: Bath Rugby

Publications

Published books by King's School teachers:

• Banner, Gillian (1999). Holocaust Literature: Schulz, Levi, Spiegelman and the Memory of the Offence. Vallentine Mitchell. ISBN 978-0-85303-371-4.
• Palazzo, Lynda (2002). Christina Rossetti's Feminist Theology. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-92033-6.
• Hill, David (2003). For King's and Country. Chameleon Press.
• Wilmot, Darwin (1910). A Short History of the Grammar School, Macclesfield 1503-1910. Claye, Brown and Claye. ASIN B0028T2CMK.
• Wilson, G. E. (1952). "History of Macclesfield Grammar School, 1503–1890". Leeds: MEd thesis. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

References

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2. . www.kingsmac.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
3. "C. List of schools whose application for Direct Grant status ... have been rejected.". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 31 May 1946. col. 238–239. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
4. . www.kingsmac.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
5. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
6. . Archived from the original on 21 January 2016.
7. "Fourth Planning Application on the way..." Macclesfield Express. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
8. "King's School in Macclesfield submits planning applications for new school in green belt". 16 September 2015.
9. McCann, Phil (27 July 2016). "Green belt private school approved". BBC News.
10. "Full Steam Ahead..." Macclesfield Express. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
11. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. "BBC One – Songs of Praise, Ten Years of School Choirs".
13. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
14. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
15. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
17. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
18. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
19. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
20. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
21. "World Challenge UK – Bespoke school expeditions around the world". 24 October 2020.
22. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
23. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
24. "Cheshire cheerleaders impress Stateside". ITV News. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
25. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
26. . The King's School in Macclesfield. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
27. Wilmot, Darwin. A Short History of the Grammar School, Macclesfield 1503–1910. (1910) Claye, Brown and Claye. Appendix I,i
28. Palmer, T.S. "Notes and News". archive.org/. Vol. XXXVII. p. 511. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
29. D. R. Nicoll, Jones, Sir Eric Malcolm (1907–1986), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004
30. Keeling, Neal (19 February 2018). "'Warped and sadistic' paedophile Matthew Falder jailed for 32 years". Macclesfield Express. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
31. McKeegan, Alice (7 May 2013). "How my schoolboy dream of musical stardom came true". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
32. "NatWest Schools Cup Player Memories: TOMMY TAYLOR". England Rugby. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
33. "ESPN Player Profile". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
34. "Rugby Pass Team of the Week". Rugby Pass. Rugby Pass. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
35. "Everton FC Player Profile: Alex Denny". Everton FC.
36. "Steve Smith". ESPN scrum.
37. "Richard Pool-Jones". ESPN scrum.
38. "Jos Baxendell". ESPN scrum.
39. "Tommy Taylor". Wasps.