Stockport Grammar School is a co-educational private day school in Stockport, England. The school was founded in 1487 by Sir Edmund Shaa, a former Lord Mayor of London, and is a member of The Heads' Conference.
History
Foundation
The school was founded in 1487 by Sir Edmund Shaa, who was the Lord Mayor of London in 1482 whose will provided for a school and a small chapel in St Mary's Church in Stockport and funds to maintain a priest to chant masses and teach grammar. Alexander Lowe, the Mayor of Stockport, left the school a permanent home in Chestergate in his will. The school became increasingly successful with pupils being accepted at the ancient universities of Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews, while the curriculum became increasingly broad with the rudiments of Greek joining a study of Latin, the Christian religion, writing in English and arithmetic.Nicholas Carlisle, Concise Description of Endowed Grammar Schools (1818)Stockport Grammar School | Stockport Grammar School. facebook.com. Retrieved on September 7, 2012. Five years after the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths met to discuss the possibility of transferring the school to a different site, new buildings opened where Greek Street meets New Wellington Road. As well as paying for the building, the Goldsmiths also increased the salaries of the headmaster and usher and paid the running costs. Move to coeducation In 1980, girls were admitted to the school. They were in convent house, separated from the boys. The school site The school has been based at three main sites over the years, the first of which is St Mary's Church where it was founded in 1482, it then moved to Greek Street in 1832, and finally to the current Hallam site in 1915.
Greek Street Site The Greek Street building was designed by Philip Hardwicke in 1830 and construction began later that year. The school moved from St Mary's Church in 1832, where it stayed until 1915. In 1915 the Greek Street building became unsuitable for the demands of a modern school, and the school was relocated to its present site.
Current site on Buxton Road The Hallam site was inaugurated on 29 January 1916 by the Chairman of Cheshire County Council. The Hallam Hall, seen from across the Old Quad below was named after the Mayor of Stockport and benefactor Ephraim Hallam.
New Woodsmoor building 2013 - present
In 2011, planning permission was received to erect a new teaching block on the Woodsmoor side of the site,Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, notice of planning decision. stockportgrammar.co.uk. Retrieved on January 20, 2012. to replace the Woodsmoor hall and laboratories that were demolished in 2010.New building | Stockport Grammar School . stockportgrammar.co.uk. Retrieved on January 20, 2012. The build was completed in June 2012, and the "black and white tower" and classics block were demolished later that year. Academic performance
The % of A level grades at A* and A for 2023 at Stockport Grammar was 39%. In 2025, the average grade at A-Level was B+, compared to B on average in all Stockport schools and B− average across the UK.
Houses The school has four houses which nowadays are named after benefactors of the school. The houses used to be North South, East and West before they were changed in 1949 at the same time the school replaced football with rugby. The houses compete in 3 main competitions, first is The Fallows Shield, followed by The Brown Cup and The Philpot Trophy.
Nicholson Nicholson House, which used to be North, was named after William Nicholson of Reddish, he was the first known pupil and went on to become the head. After attending the school William attended Caius College, Cambridge, in June 1581, where he completed his B.A. and later his M.A. Due to Goldsmiths' Company records being missing there is no official date for when he became Head but it is thought to be in 1587. He later died while still in office and was buried in Stockport on September 5th 1597. In his will William left money to pay for an usher for the school, as well as some dictionaries.
Warren Warren, known as East pre 1949, was named in honor of the Warren Family, who were Lords of the Manor of Stockport from the 13th to the 19th centuries. Sir Edward Warren, who was Baron of Stockport at the time, gave additional money to the school masters above the salary they were paid by The Goldsmiths' Company in the late 1500s. John and Edward Warren, Sir Edward Warren's descendants, arranged a payment to the school out of the manorial rates to go to the schoolmaster.
The Bursary Fund A bursary provides financial assistance for pupils who may not be able to afford the fees otherwise. The school runs the bursary program on a means-tested system; the amount of the bursary depends on family income, full support is available for families earning less than £32,000 yearly.
Giving Day Between 18 and 19 March 2026 the school hosted its very first giving day in aid of the Bursary Fund. In just 36 hours, the school raised £129,696 from 299 donors."In just 36 hours, we achieved an incredible £129,696 from 299 donors, and we are truly grateful to count you among our generous supporters." (Received in an email from [email protected]) Some of the giving day events included an inflatable obstacle course race between the houses in the Senior School. Vernon won that which meant the whole house were able to collect a tub of ice cream with their dessert on the Friday. The Junior School learnt how to play quidditch which was won by Arden. However the main event was the Head to Head battle, inspired by the BBC show Gladiators the Senior School head (Sarah Capewell) was called Sarah 'The Boss' Capewell, and the Junior School head (Mathew Copping) was called Mathew 'The Mighty' Copping. They had 3 rounds and Sarah 'The Boss' Capewell came out on top.
Extracurricular activities
In their 2023 inspection, the Independent Schools Inspectorate said "Pupils experience a broad curriculum complemented by an extensive selection of co-curricular activities" and "Co-curricular activities provide opportunities for pupils to learn relaxation techniques for their physical wellness".
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The school is its own Duke of Edinburgh's Award operating authority.Duke of Edinburgh's Award | Stockport Grammar School. stockportgrammar.co.uk. Retrieved on January 20, 2012. In 2010, the school issued its 1000th Duke of Edinburgh Award,Cheshire Life Single Issues - January 2011 digital edition. Cheshire Life Magazine. Retrieved on January 20, 2012. a milestone which was marked by the visit of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.Cheshire Independent Newspaper | Local Community Newspaper for the Cheshire Area. The Cheshire Independent. Retrieved on January 20, 2012. Each participant’s programme is tailor-made to reflect the individuals starting point, abilities and interests.
Model United Nations In 1985 SGS represented the USSR at the 40th anniversary Model United Nations conference held at Central Hall, Westminster, to celebrate the first United Nations General Assembly. In 1990 the SGS delegation won the best delegation award at The Hague Model United Nations.
The school has hosted a biennial Model United Nations (MUN) conference since March 2006. At 2008's conference, Labour MP and former home secretary David Blunkett was the school's guest speaker. At 2012's conference, Senior Liberal Democrat MP, Andrew Stunell was the guest speaker.Greenhead News - The Newsletter of Greenhead College. Greenhead College. Retrieved on January 20, 2012.
Expeditions
The school runs a series of expeditions for Sixth Formers every two years to places such as Venezuela, Vietnam, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, Honduras, Madagascar and in 2015 an expedition to Bolivia & Peru. In 2017, an expedition took 41 students to Borneo. Pupils participate in planning the trips and manage their own finances, accommodation, food and transportation.
Publications
The Stopfordian
The school's annual publication is The Stopfordian, a comprehensive review of the school year.Stopfordian magazine | Stockport Grammar School . stockportgrammar.co.uk. Retrieved on January 20, 2012. The Stopfordian covers both Junior and Senior School. A predecessor was named simply Stockport Grammar School Magazine.
Taking Stock
Taking Stock is the school’s termly magazine and it features news and photos from both the Senior and Junior Schools. First published in 1996 the magazine has 85+ issues.
Old Stops' Review
Old Stops’ Review is Stockport Grammar School's annual magazine which features news from and interviews with Old Stopfordians young and old, memories of times gone by and highlights from the past school year, as well as details on future events and how to keep in touch. It was first published in 2011.
Old Stopfordians Former pupils are known as "Old Stopfordians", not to be confused with simply Stopfordians (the demonym of Stockport being "Stopfordian"), or the former pupils of Bishop Stopford's School at Enfield, who are also known as Old Stopfordians.
Stopfordians Lacrosse Club Stopfordians’ Lacrosse Club became a section of Disley Amalgamated Sports Club in 1987. The Stopfordian Lacrosse club merged into Norbury in 2013 and the merged club runs 3 senior teams in the North of England Leagues.
Old Stopfordians Golf Society The Old Stopfordians’ Golf Society hold regular events where former pupils can get together. Courses they play at include Knutsford, Bramhall and Stockport Golf Clubs.
Notable Old Stopfordians
John Amaechi (1970-), English retired NBA basketball player and broadcaster in the USA. David Armitage (1965-), Professor of History at Harvard University. Thomas Ashe (1836-1889), English poet Sir George Back (1796-1878), British naval officer and Arctic explorer Sir Victor Blank (1942-), British businessman and philanthropist. Peter Boardman (1950-1982), British Himalayan mountaineer and author, died on Everest Geoff Downes (1952-), English rock keyboard player and songwriter for the bands Yes and Asia Marianne Elliott (1966-), Tony Award-winning theatre director Peter Firth (bishop) (1929-2024), former Suffragan Bishop of Malmesbury Michael Gilbertson (1961-), current Archdeacon of Chester Roger Hammond (1936-2012), English film, television and stage actor Mark Isherwood (1959-), Conservative member of the National Assembly for Wales for the region of North Wales Chris Jones (1982-), English rugby union rugby player for The Worcester Warriors Cecil Kimber (1888-1945), automobile engineer, founder of The MG car company Sir Horace Lamb (1849-1934), British applied mathematician and author of several influential texts on classical physics Gordon Marsden (1953-), Labour Party politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool South Paul Morley (1957-), English music journalist Samuel Perry (1877-1954), Labour Co-operative politician and father of the British tennis champion Fred Perry Andy Stanford-Clark (1966-), leading British information technology research engineer for IBM and IBM Master Inventor Di Stewart (1979-), television presenter on Sky Sports William Tobin (1953-2022), astronomer and political candidate John Turner (1943-), recorder player and former lawyer Sir Frederic Calland Williams (1911-1977), engineer and computer pioneer, who developed radar in World War II and the first stored-program digital computer Nina Métivier, a BAFTA-winning writer, producer and script editor, who co-created the teen thriller the A List Abigail Dean, a writer who hit the Sunday Times bestseller lists with her debut novel, Girl A
Headteachers
See also List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom
References
External links Stockport Grammar School Flickr: Stockport Grammar School's Photostream ISI Inspection Reports - Junior School & Senior School