Derby High School
Industria Constantia Sapientia (Latin: "Diligence, Steadiness, Wisdom")
Established	1959
School type	Comprehensive
Head Teacher	Ms Alyson Byrne
Location	Bury, England
Patron	Earl of Derby

Derby High School or "The Derby" as it is known locally, is a secondary school, located on Radcliffe Road, Bury. It opened in September 1959 as the Derby Grammar School, for the education of children who passed the Eleven Plus examination. In September 1980 it became a comprehensive school. There are extensive playing fields to the front of the school. The school is easily-recognised with its distinctive tower. It should not be confused with The Derby High School, Derby. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... A Comprehensive school is a type of school providing secondary level education in England or Wales. ... Statistics Population: 60,718 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SD805105 Administration Metropolitan borough: Bury Metropolitan county: Greater Manchester Region: North West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Greater Manchester Historic county: Lancashire Services Police force: Greater Manchester Police Ambulance service: North West Post office and... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... The Earl of Derby is a title in the peerage of England. ... Statistics Population: 60,718 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SD805105 Administration Metropolitan borough: Bury Metropolitan county: Greater Manchester Region: North West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Greater Manchester Historic county: Lancashire Services Police force: Greater Manchester Police Ambulance service: North West Post office and... A grammar school is a type of school found in some English-speaking countries; some of which date back to earlier than the 16th century. ... The Eleven Plus is an examination which was given to students in their last year of primary education in the United Kingdom under the Tripartite System. ... A Comprehensive school is a type of school providing secondary level education in England or Wales. ...

Uniform

The school tie is a navy blue background with diagonal smaller strips of gold and red. The boys wear sports shirts with vertical blue and white stripes.

History

The school's patron was the Earl of Derby, with the school's badge being based on the Earl's coat of arms. Mr GAC Sawtell was the headteacher from the opening until 1979 when he was succeeded by Mr Geoff Wolsternholme. The current headteacher is Ms Alyson Byrne. Old boys include Peter Skellern, briefly famous in the seventies with a chart hit "You're a Lady". The Earl of Derby is a title in the peerage of England. ... Peter Skellern (born on 14 March 1947 in Bury, Lancashire), where he attended the Derby Grammar School (now the Derby High School), is an English singer/songwriter and pianist. ...

Teachers of note

Mr Hogg founded the Bury Amateur Wrestling Club in the school hall in the sixties. The club had some success sending boys to the British Championships. He later moved the club to Porter Street in Bury. Mr Hogg also helped the boys build a GP14 class boat (general purpose 14 foot). GP14 from astern The GP14 is a 4. ...

Dave Edmundson, PE Teacher. Went on to be Secretary of Lancashire County Cricket Club and is now Chief Executive of Burnley Football Club. Lancashire County Cricket Club is an English first-class cricket club based at Old Trafford cricket ground, Manchester. ... Burnley F.C. is a professional football club based in Burnley, in north-east Lancashire, England. ...

Ms Deprez once music head of music at The Derby founded the school choir who travel to the M.E.N. Arena every year to sing and participate in productions.

Buildings and Grounds

The main part of the school comprises a three story building lying on a roughly North-Easterly line. At the North-Eastern end is a smaller single storey block in which Domestic Science and Practical Crafts such as woodwork and metalwork are taught. At the South Eastern end of the main building is a large reception area and kitchen with staff offices and staffrooms. Above the Reception Area is the library and the school's distinctive tower. Running in a North Western direction from the Reception Area is the school hall with a stage at the far end. The two gymnasiums run from the rear of the stage in a North Easterly (boys') and South Westerly (girls') direction. There is also a small hut formerly used by the the sixth form to the East of the Boys' Gym. A house for the Caretaker is to the South West of the Girls' gym. There are extensive grounds to the west of the buildings which abut on the fields of Bury Church of England High School, Bury Rugby Union Football Club, Radcliffe Road and the gounds of Radcliffe Road Baptist Church and the gardens of house on Inglewhite Close. To the rear of the school is a rough track and the embankment of the Manchester Metrolink Tram line. Access by car is via Radcliffe Road or by foot via a path that runs by Bury C of E High School at the back of the school. A Metrolink tram in Manchester city centre. ...

Houses

The school promoted the house system for internal competitions and prefect duties. Originally the school houses were Wren (after Christopher Wren) (house colour yellow), Stephenson (after George Stephenson)(house colour red), Newton (after Sir Isaac Newton)(house colour blue) and Rutherford (after Ernest Rutherford)(house colour green). This changed in September 1980 when the houses and forms (1C, 2B, 4D...and so on up to E, with the number denoting the year group) combined into Coniston, Langdale, Keswick, Derwent, Rydal and Grasmere (towns and villages in the Lake District}. This also coincided with the moving of the sixth form to Peel Sixth Form Centre and the school changing from a grammar school to one providing comprehensive education. Around this time many long serving members of staff left. The school now has no house system. Form names are made up of the teacher's intials and the Year. For example, the Year 9 students in Mr P. Smith's Class are in 9PS. Sir Christopher Wren, (20 October 1632–25 February 1723) was a 17th century English designer, astronomer, geometrician, and the greatest English architect of his time. ... George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English mechanical engineer who designed a famous and historically important steam-powered locomotive named Rocket and is known as the Father of British Steam Railways. The Victorians considered him a great example of diligent application and thirst for... Sir Isaac Newton in Knellers portrait of 1689. ... Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM, PC, FRS (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937), was a nuclear physicist from New Zealand. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Lowfield

The school held a property near Coniston called Lowfield. The property was bought by the school in the early 1960's and was converted over a number of years from a run down old mill into an outdoor pursuits centre. This old house provided many pupils with a weekend holiday in the Lake District. One "highlight" of any visit was a trek up the Old Man of Coniston, a nearby mountain or some of the older boys attempting to gain entry to "The Ship Inn" which was facing the property at Bowmanstead. Lowfield has recently been sold and has been renovated (pictures are on the school's alumni website). Coniston is a village in the region of Furness, the area of Lancashire that moved into the administrative county of Cumbria, in the United Kingdom. ... The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the English Lake District. ...

Today

The school faced possible closure in 2007 due to falling rolls throughout Bury. However the school was saved when it was realised that the Earl of Derby had donated the land under the condition that only a school may be built there. A government initiative to rebuild or refurbish schools will possibly see a new school building erected on the site due to the very poor structural condition of the existing building. A Golden Anniversary has been planned for 2008 (when building started).

External links

• Alumni webpage
• 2001 Ofsted report