![]() ![]() The irony of the setting up of Grant Maintained Schools by the Thatcher government was not lost on those of us still at Abbot Beyne and charged with implementing the 1988 Act. By that time, the old Direct Grant Schools had been forced by the previous administration to choose either to go totally independent or be subsumed into the local authority system. Fifteen years or so later, her government’s Education Reform Act set up Grant Maintained Schools to free schools, if they so wished, from the dead hand of local authority control. Given that person’s later education policies, this may seem surprising – it was none other than Margaret Thatcher. The Secretary of State for Education at the time however, refused to re-open the direct grant list. This gave them much more independence than the voluntary controlled schools such as BGS. These schools were not funded by the local authority but by a grant from central government, hence the name. There were many Direct Grant Schools in the country, prestigious grammar schools such as Loughborough GS, Nottingham High School, King Henry’s Coventry. Another nail was being driven into the coffin.īefore Mr Harris’ arrival, the governors had sought Direct Grant status from the Minister of Education. In 1974, the intake was only 2 forms instead of the usual 3. Pupils who had previously come from outlying villages in both Derbyshire and Staffordshire now were directed to their nearest secondary school. ![]() It is often forgotten that he had taught at one of the leading grammar schools in the North of England, Stockport G.S., and managed BGS as a grammar school very effectively.īy this time, numbers in the school were falling. He was approachable whilst at the same time having considerable presence. He was a man of high principles, as his decision to go into the church five years late clearly showed. The Headmaster, Bill Gillion, announced his retirement in 1973, no doubt seeing the writing on the wall, and after a term when Geoff Henton was acting head, Brian Harris took over the reins in January 1974. But local government re-organisation meant that this independence was soon to be lost, and coupled with a change in the political climate locally and nationally, it became clear that comprehensive re-organisation was inevitable. Burton, it is often forgotten, was then a County Borough, not administratively part of Staffordshire. ![]() Teachers knew that there were plans for re-organisation, but Ted Heath’s victory in the June 1970 general election, contrary to the predictions of every opinion poll, meant that they were unlikely to go ahead. The dreaded ‘C’ word (comprehensive) wasn’t heard a great deal in 1970-71. Robert James was a member of staff at the time of transition from Burton Grammar School to Abbot Beyne Comprehensive: ![]()
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